hackskii

I thought it would be a good idea for our older chaps to understand testosterone, its decline and its effects on the body, and how to possibly raise it.

First of all testosterone starts to decline in the 20’s and keeps declining till we die.
Testosterone is the most important hormone in a mans body.
Studies show that low testosterone levels predisposes men to develop coronary artery disease, elevates triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels, causes muscle wasting, osteoporosis and impotence.
In fact some studies have shown that the onset of impotence is associated with the onset of death in 20 years because it reflects the degeneration in function of other organs.

Sounds like we need to keep this hormone going doesn’t it?

Testosterone is actually metabolized (chemically converted) in to two other hormones.
First testosterone is converted into estradiol (a strong estrogen) through a process called aromatization.
This is when the enzyme called aromatase converts testosterone to estradiol by a process called aromatization.
Testosterone is metabolized into another hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), this conversion is controlled by the enzyme 5a-reductase.
DHT is actually a stronger androgen than testosterone.

As we age testosterone drops and at some point we end up with more aromatase enzyme.
Aromatase resides in fat and some cells.
I am not sure why aromatase is higher but I have my suspicion due to more body fat and lower test levels probably allowing for that (body fat).
So if testosterone is low and the aromatase enzymes are high then this would make sense why men over 50 have higher estrogen than younger men.

If that were not bad enough.
When estradiol and to a lesser extent DHT reach the hypothalamus, they inhibit the release of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) this causes a negative feed back loop.
The reduced amount of GnRH reaching the pituitary results in a reduction in the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) which will slow down the production of testosterone from the testes. Or to make it simple just leave you with lower testosterone levels.

About 95% of the testosterone in the male body is produced in the testes by Leydig Cells (also called interstitial cells). The remainder is produced in the adrenal glands.

Testosterone: Free or Bound?

Testosterone circulates in the blood in two different forms called free and bound.
About 70-80% of circulating testosterone is bound to a protein named sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)
When testosterone is bound to SHBG it is essentially out of action.
Another 20% or more of circulating testosterone is bound to another protein, albumin.
Testosterone bound to albumin may be biologically available under certain conditions.
This leaves only about 1-3% of circulating testosterone as free, which is completely available and potentially active at testosterone target cells.

Total testosterone levels really don’t vary that much in age.

So checking total testosterone wont give you an accurate measurement of ones testosterone levels and doing that type of testing is just not going to give the big picture of things.
What really matters is free testosterone for biological activity in the human body.

Many men between 50-60 when checked for free testosterone will show them to be deficient, whereas when checked for total testosterone they remained in the normal range, not requiring replacement.

Professor Alex Vermeulen found that both total testosterone and free testosterone levels decline with age, while SHBG, which binds testosterone, rendering it permanently unavailable for biological uses, increased. Free testosterone declined farther and faster rate than total testosterone.

Now from my reading, I have come across some interesting things,

First, if men have more estrogen (estradiol) when they get older and more aromatase enzyme and less testosterone there is an imbalance in the ratio of testosterone to estrogen.
So blocking some aromatization should help release more LH and have less estrogen floating around in the body, thus raising testosterone.
This is another reason I feel it is a necessity to block estrogen during a cycle.

How is this done?

I suspect Urtica dioica (stinging nettle) root.
A study in Germany, showed that stinging nettle extract may inhibit the enzyme aromatase.
Other studies have shown that stinging nettle extract binds to the protein SHBG allowing less testosterone to be bound to SHBG allowing for more free testosterone bioavailability.
So if stinging nettle hinders aromatization (actually keeping more testosterone around), and less estradiol floating around (which can reduce LH bad for test production), and bind to SHBG which allows more free testosterone to circulate around in the body. I feel that this for the older guys would help in test production.
Not only that stinging nettle is used in Europe for prostate problems and this is also a older mans disease.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

I feel that keeping levels of free testosterone up as you get older actually can have an anti-aging effect on the male body.
This effect can keep cholesterol manageable, body fat down, lean muscle mass up (heart is a large muscle), help keep insulin in control, help bone density, help memory, and many other things.

There are other natural aromatase inhibitors like Chrysin, Zinc, DIMM and others but none to my knowledge bind to SHBG.

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Scott


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dirtride

good post

winger

Bump for company read.........lol

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Captain Hero

good read. Wouldnt working out into old age be a good idea for blokes? As moves like Squats and deads help the body produce testosterone and GH right?

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the_gre8t_1ne

Good post!

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If you smelalalalalalooouuuu
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the gre8t 1ne.......is cooking!?
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also find me at
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hackskii

Oh yes absolutly.
I have heard of studies where active men have higher test levels than inactive men.
Yes this is true.

Its kindof like use it or lose it kindof thing.
But estrogen and fallen test levels are a recipe for disaster.
Estrogen causes 6 types of cancer in women and 2 in men (colon and prostate).

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"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin


Scott


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hackskii

bump for paul to find

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Scott


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winger

Bump for stinging nettle and chronic masturbation. Hey might work.

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