MEN MUST READ: Hormone fluctuation affects men, too

Probably because of the biological make-up of women, which foists on them more reproductive functions than men, the tendency is for us to conclude that hormone fluctuations don’t affect men. But nothing could be further from the truth!

Indeed, reproductive endocrinologists confirm that men do have their own bad hair days when it comes to susceptibility to the activities of the hormones in the body.

As “touchy” as the male hormones could be, even the strong smell of certain perfumes can send a wrong message to the testicles, making them to shrink almost in a jiffy. While this is a temporary “setback” that soon resolves itself once you get rid of the odour, it tells so much about the way the male body works, underscoring the need for men not to take too much for granted, especially as they advance in age.

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Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology, Oladapo Ashiru, warns that testosterone quantities can move up and down for up to four or five times an hour. He notes that in reality, testosterone quantity is typically higher in the morning and lower at night.

Ashiru says fluctuations in the body do control a man’s state of masculinity, from morning until night.

General Physician, Dr. Soji Ogunseyi, adds, “This explains why men are raving to go, sexually early in the morning than they may after a heavy day’s schedule, because apart from the fact that the body has rested well during the night, the surging quantities of the male hormone, testosterone, contributes to that drive you experience with your spouse early in the morning.”

Talking about reactions to perfumes and allied products, scientists say such beauty products that contain phthalate-based chemicals have been known to cause reduced sperm counts, structural abnormalities, and testicular atrophy in males who are exposed to them.

“That is why you must be careful of the products you use, and also why you should pay close attention to things that give you allergies, as your reproductive life may depend on them more than you realise,” Ogunseyi adds.

It’s not women alone that have estrogen, though they do have it in abundant quantities. Men also have some quantity of estrogen in their bodies, and they only run into trouble when it becomes dominant over the male hormone, testosterone. It is then you see men developing female characteristics such as breasts and soft voice.

Beyond the voice and breast issues, Ashiru warns that wild fluctuations in the activities of estrogen and testosterone can lead to weak, soft, unproductive testicles.

Of course, the role of diet in the up and down movements of the hormones cannot be undermined among the male folk, too.

Nutritionists say if you favour alcoholic beverages, junk foods, and smoking, they will impact your hormonal activities, and definitely not positively.

Consultant Nutritionist, Dr. Simeon Oladimeji, says you are in a better position to maintain the stability or otherwise of your testosterone levels, and that this is based on the healthy habits you maintain in the area of diet and other lifestyle choices.

If you are losing your hair to what has been technically called ‘male pattern baldness’, or loss of bone density, scientists say this is due to low levels of the male hormone, androgen, which includes testosterone and which gives you the known male characteristics in the first instance.

Normally, researchers say, gradual changes in the levels of androgen usually peak at age 50, but many males experience these changes earlier, some in their late 20s and mid 30s, underscoring the wild activities of this all-important male hormone.

Experts even aver that somewhere at age 50 when many men begin to feel dissatisfied with their career, marriage and other life stuffs that had given them hope and reasons to live, they may have hit what is technically called “midlife crisis.”

Ogunseyi says by the time you regularly wake up with depression, feeling generally dissatisfied and sometimes feeling reluctant to get of the bed when you are not sick, it may do you well to see your physician for blood test to determine if your testosterone levels are where they should be, or if they have moved downwards below tolerable level.

Under normal circumstances, men don’t gain as much weight as women do. “This is because they have over 18kg more muscle than women, and 10 times the testosterone, which boosts metabolism, while the increased muscle mass enables men to burn calories the way women can’t,” Ogunseyi explains.

He adds that, as men hit age 40, however, testosterone production decreases to about three percent each year for the rest of their lives. “This makes it harder to maintain a fat-burning metabolism and makes it easier to gain weight,” the physician says.

He adds that in clinical practice, tests have proved that men who have large bellies are more likely to have low testosterone levels, compared to men who have flat tummy.

So, if you are worried about unwieldy weight gain even when you try to imbibe good dietary habit, it may be time to pay your doctor a visit to test your testosterone levels.

Ashiru also warns that it’s not only females that experience menopause; men do, too. He says, “The male version, called andropause, can make a man’s weight break loose, decrease the energy levels, lead to mood fluctuations, give him unexplained joint pain and lowered sex drive.”

When men begin to experience low sex drive, some are quick to blame it on their ageing wife’s unattractive looks, completely ignorant of the fact that it is their biological clock that is fast winding down! So, instead of searching for sexual succour with young females and downing copious quantities of sex-enhancing drugs, see the doctor who is in a better position to counsel you.

Ogunseyi says this is very necessary because late-stage andropause, which occurs after age 70, may also signal the development of age-related memory problems or, God forbid, Alzheimer’s disease.

After all said and done, Ogunseyi strongly advises against the unsupervised use of testosterone supplements which, he warns, can lead to too much of testosterone in the body. “Should this happen, the man can develop liver disease, and it can boost levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol.

Again, Ogunseyi warns, excess testosterone will naturally undergo a chemical conversion in the body, ultimately causing acne and, ironically, male-pattern baldness as in when the hormone is low!

-Punch

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