67: Men, Moods, Motivation, and Mojo
Did you know men can be affected by hormonal imbalance? Their energy, moods, weight, heart health and overall outlook on life are heavily influenced by the state of their hormones.
Many men don’t realize how their diet and lifestyle habits are triggering their body to convert testosterone into estrogen which makes them have the “Low T” that leads to weight gain, man boobs and poor stamina.In this week’s podcast I’m explaining what’s going on with men’s hormones and how to get things into better balance. Ladies, listen in to get a better understanding of what your man is going through and tell him to listen too. This will be an eye opener for the guys!
EPISODE 67: Men, Moods, Motivation, and Mojo
SHOW NOTES
(0:00) Intro
(0:44) Welcome back to the club!
Happy Father’s Day!
In honor of all the men in our lives, we’re going to talk all things dude today.
We’re going to focus in on hormones and ladies this is going to make you understand your man so much better
Guys - I’m going to explain some things about your hormones that you’ve likely not heard before and I hope a thousand light bulbs go off for you today so that you can put the puzzle pieces of your health and vitality together in a better way.
(2:01) Men can experience as real a hormone imbalance as women:
It’s often a little more subtle and doesn’t present as dramatically as it does for women - but it’s there and it can wreak havoc for you.
Even though men don’t banter around their hormonal problems with their buddies like we women do, I think we’ve all noticed an increase in the conversation about “Low T” - low testosterone.
It’s becoming more and more prevalent not only in older men, but younger men too.
Men also go through their own version of menopause:
It’s called andropause: it’s when the production of androgen dominant hormones like testosterone and DHT decline.
Just like Our female hormone production declines, their male hormone production declines. Women have a more abrupt drop in hormones but men is more gradual and subtle.
As women we’re more groomed to understand and anticipate our hormonal changes over our lifetime.
But we don’t take this into account with men so much. We don’t recognize that they can have hormonal imbalances and their version of menopause too. A decline in their hormones not only affects their sexual drive and stamina, but it affects their outlook on life - their mood, their motivation, their energy. It affects their metabolism, their cardiovascular health, their weight.
Just as women are experiencing hormonal problems younger and younger these days due to poor food, decreased sleep, increased stress and toxic chemicals, men are experiencing hormone problems younger and younger as well.
Men as early as their 20’s can experience something called “functional andropause” which is like their hormones behaving as if they were already in andropause. It occurs when the ratio between testosterone and estrogen are way out of balance.
A healthy ratio would be something like 50 to1 testosterone to estrogen but we may see it as low as 8 to 1. This skewed ratio not only affects their libido and fertility, it affects their overall health and demeanor.
Hormonal imbalance in men can show up in:
Physical presentation (weight gain, having man boobs, erectile dysfunction)
Attitude, motivation and lack of interest.
He may be more discouraged, pessimistic, and less productive at work. He may withdraw from activities and relationships he once enjoyed.
He may be battling this sense of failure of function in both the bedroom and the office and not understand what’s going on with himself.
From the outside looking in - we think our man is acting like a giant b-hole. But there’s internal disarray because his hormones are so off kilter.
My hope is that there will be more guy listeners this week or that there will be some powerful nuggets of info that the ladies can take back to their men:
Did you know you can get man boobs if you’ve got too much estrogen in your body?
Did you know that there are more testosterone receptors in your heart than anywhere else?
Did you know that too much belly fat turns your testosterone into estrogen?
(9:00) Let’s start with the big T - Testosterone:
Testosterone is the hormone of libido in both men and women.
When we think of testosterone, we mostly associate it with men and sexual drive, their ability to maintain an erection and produce sperm.
Men are more likely to seek medical intervention when they start experiencing the side effects of low testosterone in their sex lives. That’s one thing that will finally move them to action. Like, who cares about my heart…….Unfortunately, men often prescribed “band-aids” pills or hormone replacement without really trying to get to the root cause of the problem.
Testosterone is not just about sexual function. As I teased earlier, it’s incredibly important for cardiovascular function - there are more cellular sites for receiving testosterone in the human heart than any other muscle of the human anatomy.
As testosterone declines, cardiovascular risks increase:
Cholesterol and triglycerides increase, arterial plaque increases, coronary artery dilation decreases, insulin levels increase.
Testosterone levels impact red blood cell production:
Red blood cells carry oxygen to the tissues, low testosterone could interfere with this process and impact energy levels.
Testosterone is important for healthy bone density. I mean, actual bones people - get your head out of the gutter.
Testosterone is an anabolic (or building up) hormone and so influences lean body mass.
It is very important for building healthy skeletal muscle which, if you listened to the episode on Why You Need More Protein, you’ll remember that Dr. Lyon calls muscle the organ of longevity.
So there you go, We think of testosterone mostly in the reproductive and sexual context, but it’s important for so many other important functions. Direct impact on men’s health but also his sense of well being, vitality and mood.
(11:58) DHT:
Another important hormone is DHT which is the most potent anabolic steroid hormone and is 10x stronger than testosterone in the way it functions in the body.
It is mostly produced by the skin and the liver - which reminds us we need good liver function.
Even slightly low or high levels of DHT can impact a man’s vitality and drive.
Increased levels are associated with benign prostate hypertrophy, male pattern baldness and excessive body hair.
Too much DHT can actually lead to a loss of androgen dominance.
(12:58) Estrogen:
Men need and make estrogen too.
They make a little in their testes, but they mostly make it in their fat cells. This is also true of post-menopausal women. The primary site for estrogen production is in fat. The more fat you have the more estrogen is produced.
When we see a lot of belly fat or breast tissue (like man boobs) that is a tip off that a man could be in estrogen dominance. Men need some estrogen, but obviously we don’t want them to have too much.
Estrogen promotes growth and proliferation of cells. Unabated cell proliferation can lead to major health problems in both men and women. We don’t want estrogen contributing to cancer cell growth for instance.
To get to the roots of having too much estrogen we have to consider things like excessive stress issues and poor dietary choices. Both would lead to weight gain which increase fat, and lead to more estrogen production.
There’s an enzyme called aromatase that is found mostly in fat cells and it’s job is to convert androgenic hormones like testosterone and DHEA into estrogen.
This process is called aromatization and it’s a real problem for men who are overweight (especially men with excess belly fat) because those fat cells are not only producing estrogen, they’re also using aromatase to turn their testosterone into estrogen.
And even though men need some estrogen, their primary hormone is not meant to be estrogen, just like ours isn’t meant to be testosterone. And when these are off, it affects us much more than just our reproductive or sexual lives, it affects our overall lives in general.
I listened to the most fascinating podcast with Dr John Grey - remember him from Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus? He talks about how it affects our relationships when men and women are dominant in each other’s primary hormone - it’s just not how we’re designed.
(16:00) Beta Glucuronidase:
Is an enzyme produced in the gut and when it’s too high, it can interfere with the body’s ability to eliminate estrogen and therefore allow it to be reabsorbed
This creates estrogen overload in the body.
If men have sluggish liver and detoxification function, that can lead to recirculating estrogen too.
We also have to consider the levels of progesterone in men.
When progesterone is too low in men, it can increase the aromatization process - the one where testosterone is converted into estrogen.
Sufficient levels of progesterone are key to maintaining a healthy balance between testosterone and DHT.
Men make their Progesterone in their adrenal glands (remember that the adrenals glands in both men and women are hormone makers and it’s why it’s SO important to assess adrenal health when we’re trying to figure out hormonal issues). If adrenal function is compromised, your body’s ability to make hormones is compromised too.
DHEA is another hormone that both men and women make in the adrenal glands.
It plays an important role in energy production, strength, stamina, stress-handling, healthy moods, brain function, immune function, and anti-aging.
This is why it’s so important to consider adrenal health and to get your cortisol tested alongside the sex hormones.
(18:47) Testing:
Just a reminder that I can do all of this testing on both women AND men.
There’s a great test called the DUTCH that measures all of this stuff and gives us some incredible insight into what’s going on.
We can have the kit shipped straight to you, you do it at home, it’s a urine test, and when the results come in we go over the results and get a game plan together to get things on track.
Part of what we’re going to do is try to identify root causes. If you listened to last week’s podcast about the 5-Step Healing Process - that’s essentially what we do. And we’ve talked a lot here in past episodes about the kinds of root causes that will throw the body out of whack when it comes to hormonal dysregulation.
(19:41) Diet:
First and foremost is diet of course.
To make hormones you need healthy fats and plenty of protein in your diet and not too many carbs.
Excessive carb intake leads to too much insulin production and insulin resistance.
Insulin is our storage hormone - the more carbs you eat, the more insulin you produce to store away energy. Too much storage (fat storage) means weight gain.
When the body becomes insulin resistant, you not only become a fat storage machine, you overburden your adrenal glands and increase overall inflammation in the body
For men and postmenopausal women, estrogen is produced from fat. The more fat, the more estrogen. Plus, the more the aromatization process occurs when testosterone is being converted to estrogen.
High insulin and insulin resistance also lead to high blood pressure and increased LDL cholesterol. It also makes the blood more sticky and more likely to clot, contributing to heart attacks and strokes. High levels of insulin also contribute to mood and behavior disorder like depression, panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia and ADHD.
Again, what leads to too much insulin production - too many carbohydrates.
This way of eating also leads to overall body inflammation which strains the health of ALL of your internal organs which compromise their ability to do their job.
One of the biggies would be liver function.
When it comes to hormones specifically, if your liver can’t do its detoxification job well, it can’t get rid of excess hormones in the body.
Anything that impairs liver function or increases the need for detoxification can result in excess estrogen levels.
You must be pooping well to get those excess hormones out of the body.
Your liver must be able to do its job and the bowels must be able to do their job otherwise you can become estrogen dominant - that’s for both men AND women. We really can’t rebalance hormones without proper liver and bowel function.
(23:21) Stress:
Stress is another big factor as I mentioned earlier.
Listen, we’re all going to have stress. That’s part of life. But how you perceive stress and how you handle it will impact your health.
That’s why the Bible says we must constantly renew our minds against what the world is telling us is important to be stressed about. It’s why we have to focus more on what God tells us than the world tells us. We’ve got to stay in our Bibles and our churches for that yall.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We’ve got to build in stress relievers to every day life like I explained in last week’s podcast. Good sleep, exercise, sunshine, nature, time with friends - these things are not luxuries, they are investments in a good life and good health.
When we don’t take care of our stress levels, our adrenal glands get all out of whack which means hormone productions gets all messed up too. Remember that hormone production is downstream from adrenal function.
(25:50) Other Common Issues:
Benign prostate hyperplasia or BHP is a non-cancerous increase in the size of the prostate.
BHP comes from an increase in the number of cells as opposed to an increase in the size of the cells which is different - that’s benign prostate hypertrophy (the size of the cells are bigger).
With Hyperplasia (an increase in the number of cells) there can be the formation of large nodules which impinge on the urethra and create - to put it directly - a pee flow problem.
It’s often referred to as an “obstruction” but it’s more that the urethra is compressed because of the nodules.
When this happens, it requires the bladder to work harder to try and empty all of the urine and this can lead to progressive hypertrophy, weakness, and lack of tone in the bladder muscle.
When PSA or prostate-specific antigen levels are elevated in men with this issue, it is because of increased organ volume and inflammation. It can lead to UTI’s but it’s not necessarily an indicator of increased risk of cancer.
Hormonal imbalances can contribute to these conditions:
Estrogen dominance is suspect in cases of benign prostate hyperplasia - remember that’s the one with the increase in the number of cells which can lead to the nodules which can create a pee problem. I’m not saying too much estrogen is THE cause but it can contribute. Remember that estrogen promotes cell growth and proliferation.
Now with benign prostate hypertrophy - remember hypertrophy is an increase in the size of the cells - and that is often associated with the DHT hormone. Increased DHT levels are also associated with male pattern baldness and excessive body hair. Low levels of DHT can lead to loss of overall vitality and drive.
(28:38) Closing Thoughts:
Ok friends, I think we’ve nerded out enough for one day - thank you ALL for listening and I pray we’ve got some dudes here that have had a million light bulbs go off about their health and happiness. And I hope you ladies have gained a whole new understanding about your guys and are able to impart some knowledge bombs that may instigate change.
Guys- please cut your ladies some slack - whether it’s your wife, mom, sister, daughter - when she’s onto you about your eating or exercise habits. It’s not to be a nag but it’s done out of love. We love you and we not only want you to be around a long time with us, but to be here on this earth in the most vibrant and awesome way.
Don’t forget that I can order hormonal testing and help devise a plan for you based on those results. You can find out more about testing at thechristiannutritionist.com/testing.
I would ask you to Forward this episode to someone who needs it. Tell them your nutritionist made you do it. The more people, the more men and women we can turn toward better health, the more we can get out and shine His light in the world and use this body for Kingdom work.
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!