Hormonal Imbalance - Male And Female

By Zhang Bing

 

The Causes Of Hormonal Imbalance In Men

The concept of male menopause is slowly but surely gaining acceptance in today's society with many reports of men undergoing physiological changes just as women do. 

However, even men themselves are not yet aware of the fact that their hormone levels decline in midlife.  They definitely feel the symptoms but they do not associate all that anxiety, fatigue, weakness, depression, sexual dysfunction or irritation to the male menopause. 

Testosterone and estrogen are two important hormones in men.  While estrogen, a predominantly female hormone is essential for men too, high levels of it can cause several health issues. As men grow older, hormonal imbalance is cause with the reduction in testosterone levels reduce and increase in estrogen.  This combination is dangerous and has the potation for stroke or heart attack in men.
Unlike in women, where there is a well-defined period for the hormone production to stop, decline in the male hormone testosterone, can be a very slow process.  Studies show that the testosterone levels in men begin their decline around 30 years of age and the rate of decline increases when they are around 60 years old. 

Hormone levels in men can be influenced by dietary factors, such as high levels of fat and low fiber content, which are said to have an effect on the production of testosterone. Hormone imbalance can also be caused by all the things that are part of the modern lifestyle - saturated fats, such as red meats, processed foods and fast foods, preservatives, refined sugar products as well as hydrogenated oils.

fat manHormone production in men is guided by the important minerals such as copper, zinc and selenium.  Selenium also protects the male sex glands from heavy metals and free radicals, apart from helping with testosterone production.  Imbalances occur if these minerals are not consumed through diet.
The effects of estrogen are mimicked by environmental estrogens, chemical toxins and foreign compounds, which can make the hormonal balance, go hay-wire. These environmental estrogens can also lead to urinary tract disorders, low sperm count and testicular cancer.  In men, the production of testosterone is slowed down by high estrogen levels.

Lifestyles play a major role in hormonal imbalance, especially smoking, which is considered to reduce testosterone levels.  Nicotine and other substances that are present in cigarettes, are said to increase the activity of those enzymes that deactivate testosterone and other male hormones.  Alcohol also increases the estrogen levels, while decreasing testosterone.  However, modest consumption of alcohol has not been shown to have any side effect.  

Emotional stress also affects the hormones, and chronic stress affects the adrenal hormone DHEA.  When a person is stressed out, the adrenal glands, instead of producing DHEA, concentrate on producing cortisol.  DHEA is said to be the main ingredient of male hormones and when it is not produced in enough quantities, it limits the testosterone production.  On the other hand, high levels of cortisol can also lead to imbalances in blood sugar as well as replacement of muscle with fat. 

This is why hormonal imbalance also causes an increase in body weight.
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