Dramatic New Testosterone Research
Dramatic New Testosterone Research
You're facing 40 and wondering what changes lie ahead. One that's likely, according to clinical studies, is a drop in testosterone.
In a process some doctors term "andropause," testosterone levels in the body often decrease by one percent a year after age 40, and by age 70, many men produce only a third of what they once pumped out.
Such news is bound to interest those who want to live a long life at full tilt; some scientists now believe that inadequate levels of the hormone can quicken traditional symptoms of aging, such as declining muscle mass, hair loss, and diminished sex drive.
According to 1999 studies by Pennsylvania State University researchers, men with higher levels of testosterone may be less vulnerable to high blood pressure, heart attacks, frequent colds, obesity and depression.
Other studies suggest that testosterone supplements may boost bone health, making men less vulnerable to bone-weakening osteoporosis, which affects two million American men.
So why aren't men lined up outside drugstores waiting to fill testosterone prescriptions? Many men don't even know about natural testosterone supplements - or the symptoms of deficiency.
Of the one million men in the United States with inadequate levels of testosterone, only about 100,000 to 150,000 are receiving treatment, according to the ALZA Corporation, producer of testosterone supplement patches.
Some men may find that naturally occurring problems associated with aging are exacerbated and begin at a much younger age. Osteoporosis, trouble with sex drive and erections, loss of body hair and muscle mass, breast enlargement, depression, infertility and small testes are the main symptoms.
Testosterone supplements like African Fly helps prevent at least some of these, increasing muscle mass and bone strength, a sense of well-being and sex drive.
"We also know that testosterone levels rise before competition," says Dr. Alan Booth, professor of sociology and human development at Penn State and chief investigator of last year's study. "That helps competitors in terms of visual acuity and sensitivity to demands. It helps stamina and makes men more willing to take risks. They feel they can win."
So how do aging men who experience some of these symptoms know if they need testosterone supplements? Experts agree that for now, men need only be aware of the warning signs of low testosterone and to take a natural supplement if they occur.
For those who have a real problem, some suggest daily testosterone supplementation.
As Dr. Stephen J. Winters, an endocrinologist at the University of Louisville, points out, men face a much different problem than women. "In women the [hormonal] change is very abrupt around age 50.
Within one year after menopause, they are making only 10 percent as much estrogen as they once were. They have hot flashes, irritability, sleeplessness. But in men, testosterone loss happens much more slowly and to nowhere near the same extent. It's not really male menopause."
Men who raise their testosterone levels through steroids, for instance, can experience a number of consequences, from depression to "risky, anti-social behavior," says Winters.
African Fly is a natural liquid supplement that gives the male body the nutrition it needs to produce more testosterone and release the ineffective testosterone that has binded to the estrogen in the body which is a part of the aging process.
Vital Signs
Testosterone levels normally decrease by 20 percent between morning and evening.
African Fly came into my life about four years ago while at a friend's Christmas party. After opening the presents and stuffing our faces, we sent the kids to bed and then...