{"id":207,"date":"2022-04-06T16:03:32","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T16:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/?p=207"},"modified":"2022-04-06T16:03:33","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T16:03:33","slug":"bla-bla-bla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/bla-bla-bla\/","title":{"rendered":"Bla Bla Bla"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No, I am not talking about\nhow you zone out during that conversation, lecture, class, work meeting,\nseminar, or Charlie Brown’s teacher talking. \nBla Bla Bla is what I generally think of the average low testosterone\nmale patient.  Men with low testosterone\nsay things like: I just don’t feel like doing (insert hobby) anymore, I have\nlost drive in life, I don’t feel like working out anymore, I feel so weak, or I\nfeel just bla.  Testosterone is a hormone\nproduced in the testicles, ovaries (yes both men and women produce\ntestosterone), and adrenal glands, and helps maintain bone density, fat\ndistribution, muscle strength and mass, facial and body hair, red blood cell\nproduction, sex drive, and sperm production. \nTestosterone generally peaks during adolescence and steadily declines\nevery year from about 30 years old.  Americans,\nmostly men, currently spend about $2Billion on testosterone therapy per year,\nwhich is estimated to raise to about $4Billion; partially thanks to drug\nmarketing campaigns urging older men to “boost your T” or “do\nyou have low T?”.  People are\nlooking to testosterone hormonal therapy for anti-aging, to mask symptoms, make\nup for unhealthy lifestyle choices, build muscle, promote athletic performance,\nsexual function, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, we must appreciate that hormones, like melatonin, DHEA, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and human growth hormone, are not nutrients, yet they are being treated like they are just another supplement by growing numbers of people.\u00a0 Hormones are powerful, they set in motion, speed up, control or regulate cells, tissues, or organs.\u00a0 Hormones are secreted by the endocrine glands (Hypothalamus, Pineal Gland, Pituitary Gland, Thyroid, Parathyroid, Thymus, Adrenal, Pancreas, Ovaries, and Testes) directly into the circulating blood and ultimately landing in binding receptor sites in, or on, their target cells.\u00a0 The complexity of the hormonal system is great and the inter-connectivity between the hormonal system, immune system, and nervous system take this complexity to a higher level.\u00a0 There is constant communication back and forth amongst the endocrine glands and the nervous system almost like a conversation goes back and forth.\u00a0 There are countless known factors and unknown factors at play; all of which no one yet fully understands.\u00a0 The amazing thing is how the body, when functioning optimally, self regulates to balance hormone levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This self regulation is where things begin to get tricky in today’s society.\u00a0 Recently we have discovered that many things can act like hormones, such as soy products, toxins found in make-up, bug spray, weed killer, abdominal belly fat and much more.\u00a0 Particularly with testosterone regulation, understand that testosterone and estrogen are in balance with each other and compete for receptor sites on cells.\u00a0 We now understand that many of these soy products and toxins act like estrogen and bind to the testosterone\/estrogen receptor site on the cells.\u00a0 This creates a competition for the receptor sites and it seems these toxins are quite determined to not let go of the receptor site; this is where a good purification program can help clear the receptor sites and the extra cellular matrix.\u00a0 Another challenge to balancing testosterone in older men is we are not sure is lower testosterone normal aging or is it due to a medical condition.\u00a0 An additional challenge is that there is significant symptom overlap from other issues such as medication side effects, sleep apnea, thyroid problems, diabetes, and depression, and treating these issues may cause testosterone to rise.\u00a0 When it comes to hormones we don’t even have a consensus on which method of testing is the best, blood, saliva, or urine and what levels are medically relevant at what age and time (some hormones cycle up and down at different times); generally the blood seems to be the least accurate method of testing but yet the most common testing done. \u00a0\u00a0Additionally the quantity of testosterone required to produce different effects in the body varies widely from person to person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that the body\ncan turn testosterone into estrogen?  One\nof the most important factors that affect testosterone levels and the ratio\nbetween testosterone and estrogen is the aromatase enzyme.  Ever hear of someone taking an aromatase\ninhibitor?  Aromatase converts\ntestosterone to estrogen, further depleting free testosterone levels and\nincreasing estrogen levels; and appreciate that estrogen is associated with some\ncancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signs of low testosterone: <\/strong>low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, low sperm count,\nunexplained hair loss, hot flashes, low bone density, testicular atrophy,\ndecrease in lean muscle mass, increased body fat, elevated HbA1c, Osteopenia,\ninsomnia, fatigue, low concentration, lack of motivation, depression, low\nself-confidence, swollen or tender breasts, difficulty concentration or\nremembering, low energy, and high blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Causes of low testosterone: <\/strong>obesity, toxins, parabens, BPA, abdominal belly fat, low tissue calcium, low vitamin D, lack of exercise, testicle injury or cancer, hormonal disorders, infection, liver or kidney disease, low cholesterol, poor sleep, and diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Risks of taking prescription testosterone include:<\/strong> sleep apnea, acne, skin reactions, prostate growth,\npromotes the growth of some prostate cancers, enlarged breasts, testicle\nshrinkage, blood clot or DVT, increased risk for cardiovascular disease, and contact\nwith other people may spread the hormone to those not prescribed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary, the topic of\ntestosterone is a tricky one and it seems we don’t have everything figured out\nat this point.  Clinically, I have had\nmultiple patients who were taking hormones only to find out later they got\ncancer and their oncologist tells them that taking the hormones played a\nsignificant role in what caused their cancer, and proliferated their cancer\ngrowth.  In my opinion, I am not a big\nfan of taking testosterone for most people, and I find that when we clean up\nmany of the lifestyle factors, most people will return to a self regulating\nstate and the symptoms subside.  Like\nmany health problems there are things to avoid and things to do to help us\nreturn to normal regulation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things to avoid include:<\/strong> bad fats such as refined oils and trans fats as these\ntend to negatively effect glands and their hormone output, sugar, high fructose\ncorn syrup, diabetes, high percentage body fat, toxins, soy based products,\nparabens, alcohol, drugs, estrogen or other hormone transfer from contact with\nothers taking hormones, processed foods, and plastics.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things to do:<\/strong>\nlive a healthy lifestyle with adequate sleep, eat real whole foods, exercise, lift\nweights, reduce stress\/worry\/anxiety\/etc, deep breathing, make sure your\nvitamin D levels are good, make sure you are not too low cholesterol as\nhormones are made from cholesterol, encourage optimal liver and kidney function,\nreduce belly fat, and eat cruciferous vegetables .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is my preference to give\nthese lifestyle modifications, and occasionally supplements, adequate time to\nencourage and support the body to both produce testosterone and self regulate\nthe endocrine system and hormonal balance before considering taking\nprescription testosterone.  Until next\ntime, yours in good health Dr. B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2016\/04\/160420211302.htm\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/27095121\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41391-018-0081-6\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/nih-research-matters\/understanding-how-testosterone-affects-men\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No, I am not talking about how you zone out during that conversation, lecture, class, work meeting, seminar, or Charlie…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[64,17,47,93,14,86,18,126,128,127,80],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chiropractic","tag-chiropractic-tips","tag-health","tag-health-tips","tag-healthy","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-hesperia-chiropractor","tag-hormones","tag-low-t","tag-testosterone","tag-toxins"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459,"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions\/459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hannonchiropractic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}