Andropause (male manopause) squelching your fire? Fuel the flames again with two simple herbs
If you listen closely, you can probably hear it: Women every-where yelling out a collective Ha It seems they arent alone anymore in the great hormone battle, now that the concept of male menopause is gaining more acceptance in medical circles.
Of course, its not exactly the same: With menopause in women, there is an abrupt change in oestrogen levels when the functioning of the ovaries goes into rapid decline. In male menopause (or andropause, as its sometimes called), the decline of testosterone is much more gradual. But gradual or not, this decline in testosterone is associated with significant health issues, some of which are often mistakenly attributed to the natural ageing process. They include poor libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, depression, poor memory, osteoporosis and even a pot belly.
The good news is that there are herbs that can help counter the bodys declining production of testosterone and improve male sexual function. Some of them have been proven in scientific studies. acomplia. But before I get into specifics, I want to make one important point absolutely clear: None of these herbs contain testosterone or the precursors of testosterone. Their action is far more subtle. To understand how such subtle actions could possibly have such potent effects, it helps to know a bit about the natural mechanisms that control testosterone production in the male body.
Considerable improvement in just 30 days
Most testosterone is produced in the testicles under the influence of the pituitary hormone known as luteinizing hormone (LH). If the pituitary releases more LH, the testicles produce more testosterone. So herbs that enhance the action of the pituitary gland and trigger the release of more LH are your best bet for boosting your sexual function and combating all the other problems that go along with declining testosterone levels.
My favourites are Tribulus and Korean ginseng. Of these two, Tribulus is the one that has the most powerful and certain activity.
When researchers gave Tribulus leaf to healthy male volunteers, it increased their levels of LH and testosterone.
1 Scientists arent 100 per cent sure why this works, but one theory is that Tribulus phyto-chemicals interact with the part of the brain (the hypothalamus) that senses the testosterone levels in the bloodstream and somehow creates the impression that there is less testosterone than there really is. Thinking that testosterone levels are too low, the hypothalamus sends a chemical signal to the pituitary to release more LH, which increases testosterone levels.
In one study, conducted in Bulgaria, 12 of 14 patients reporting reduced libido reported considerable improvement after just 30 days of using Tribulus. The herb also enhanced libido in 27 of 36 patients with chronic prostatitis.
2 One study shows 100% success rate
Clinical trials have also confirmed that ginseng has a significant role to play in boosting testosterone levels and treating male sexual issues.
3 In one open study, 66 male patients were treated with
4 grams of ginseng extract per day for three months.
4 Sperm count, total testosterone, free testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) rose in all the men after ginseng treatment.
In a second clinical trial conducted in Korea, the effect of Asian ginseng on impotence was compared to placebo and the drug trazodone.5 A total of 90 patients were followed, with 30 patients in each group. Ginseng worked for 60% of the men in that group, whereas the trazodone and placebo groups only showed 30% improvement.
Your two keys to success: The right doses of the right products
To get the sorts of impressive results the men in the studies experienced, you will need to take rather high doses of the herbs. For Tribulus, take one tablet (250 mg of standardised concentrate, equiv-alent to around 5 to 10 grams of dried herb, containing 100 mg of furostanol saponins) three times per day. But a word of warning: Its the leaves of the Tribulus plant that have the most therapeutic value, not the fruit or the root ” though these are sometimes mistakenly used in some products.
According to one investigation of Tribulus products, there were insufficient levels of the active furo-stanol saponins in the majority of the formulas tested.
6 So if you want to try Tribulus, my advice is to check with a qualified herbalist or naturopath who can help you find a good quality product.
As for ginseng, the dose needs to be around 2.4 to 5 grams of root per day (or extracts equivalent to this amount). At this dose, watch out for signs of overstimulation such as irritability, insomnia and even increased blood pressure. If you experience any of these, taper back your dose and check in with your physician as soon as possible.
There are lots of herbal fads out there being promoted for male menopause, but in my experience and reading, Tribulus and ginseng are, by far, the most proven and effective.
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