This article is written by one my clients, and I found it quite informative from a medical/fitness perspective. Although, my own philosphy is quite simple- as long as one excercises, you beat aging process in various ways. The information may not be relevant to a lot of us for various reasons, but may help others to have a better and longer-lasting sex life.
SEX and AGING
Dr. Ron Aspinall MB BS DA ABAAM
Most people think that declining sexual function is an inevitable and
universal consequence of aging yet some people defy the norm and retain
their sexuality well into their seventh decade and beyond. You don't have to
accept such a decline as inevitable. These hormones can be easily measured
and if low, can be easily corrected.
Sex hormones are produced mostly in the ovaries and testes but are also
produced in the adrenal glands, the brain and even fatty tissue. There are
about 50 known sex hormones but more commonly known ones are estrogen,
progesterone, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone and
androstenedione. Some people retain levels well but many others survive
life with their sex hormones in the basement. Women in their 40's and
beyond commonly have significantly lowered testosterone levels. This not
only decreases sexual desire and orgasm ability, it frequently causes
lowered energy and muscle fatigue, lowered confidence and can adversely
affect her sexual and emotional relationships. While women often have a
dramatic lowering of sex hormones in from their late 30's/early 40's into
their mid 50's (some far earlier), men have a less dramatic but nonetheless
slow and significant decline from the early 30's that progresses throughout
life. Most people take these deficits as inevitable and simply accept and
adapt to these changes without question. They can be damaged by stress,
smoking, chemical contaminants in our food and water, lack of protective
anti-oxidants in nutrient-poor diets, medications and surgery.
Lethargy - this symptom will prompt your physician to measure hemoglobin,
fasting glucose, thyroid, iron, vitamin B12 and other tests if you are
unusually tired but she/he will less often check free-testosterone or DHEA
levels. A year ago I attended an 81 year-old woman that was moderately to
severely tired all day long. Over the years she had gradually become
physically less active but also had become more withdrawn socially. Her
usual lab tests all came back within normal range. Some years earlier,
another physician had diagnosed her with depression but trials of various
anti-depressant medications were discontinued due to side effects. She had
resigned herself to live with these symptoms, putting it down to advanced
age. I tested and found her with almost non-existent testosterone levels.
I advised a trial of testosterone cream for energy and mood benefit (she had
been sexually inactive for two decades) but at first she was hesitant.
"Will it turn me into a sex maniac?" she asked. "Well it might, but I doubt
it. I want to see if it lifts your energy and spirits." "OK" she said. I
saw her ten days later and it was as if she was a new person. She was up
out of her chair walking around like she had done decades before. In ten
days her mood had lifted and she was rekindling relationships she had
neglected for years. Her poor starved testosterone receptors in her brain,
muscle and heart were finally being fed again! A medical colleague of mine
criticized me saying you can't give an elder woman testosterone, it's not
done! I responded "We treat underactive thyroid if we find it, why not
underactive testosterone?" Do all 81 year-old women need testosterone?
Certainly not, but if the symptoms and blood levels show significant
deficit, a trial of treatment should be offered.
Orgasm 101. Another woman I attended was 58 years old, had low sexual
desire, suffered from several years of vaginal dryness and had not had an
orgasm for 6 years. I was not her family doctor but was seeing her in my
anti-aging clinic. She was adverse to take regular hormone replacement with
estrogen and progesterone due to bad media publicity but I did talk her into
taking low-dose vaginal estrogen cream and medium-dose testosterone cream.
At first she said "you know my husband isn't really sure about me coming to
see you - with all these 'new' nutrition and hormonal treatments - he said
these new treatments were weird, not normal medical practice". She came
back for follow-up reporting that her vaginal dryness had completely cleared
in a few days, her desire was up and she (reluctantly) told me that she had
her first orgasm in six years! "Good for you" I said, but then cautiously
asked "But what did your husband say?" She replied "I was delighted but now
he thinks you(r treatments) are really weird!"
Should we mess with nature's course? Nature only intended us to live to
reproductive age and then we are really not needed. Physicians are trained
to replace depleted thyroid, depleted iron and depleted vitamin B12 but are
not trained to replace the sex hormones adequately. Most estrogen and
progesterone are synthetics promoted by the drug companies and have
significant serious side effects. Bio-identical estrogen and progesterone
are safer. Testosterone and DHEA are of enormous value in deficient people
adding enormously to physical and mental well-being. Safer and more
comprehensive hormonal replacement, together with improved nutritional
guidelines (sugar and starch are very unhealthy), can improve quality of
life through the middle and later decades of our lives. Should everyone do
this? No, but people should be aware of, and be given the choice of
maintaining quality of life through improved hormonal replacement and a
low-glycemic nutritional framework.
Dr. Aspinall is an anti-aging specialist and medical director of Optima
Health Solutions, a progressive anti-aging and preventative medical clinic
in Vancouver, B.C
SEX and AGING
Dr. Ron Aspinall MB BS DA ABAAM
Most people think that declining sexual function is an inevitable and
universal consequence of aging yet some people defy the norm and retain
their sexuality well into their seventh decade and beyond. You don't have to
accept such a decline as inevitable. These hormones can be easily measured
and if low, can be easily corrected.
Sex hormones are produced mostly in the ovaries and testes but are also
produced in the adrenal glands, the brain and even fatty tissue. There are
about 50 known sex hormones but more commonly known ones are estrogen,
progesterone, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone and
androstenedione. Some people retain levels well but many others survive
life with their sex hormones in the basement. Women in their 40's and
beyond commonly have significantly lowered testosterone levels. This not
only decreases sexual desire and orgasm ability, it frequently causes
lowered energy and muscle fatigue, lowered confidence and can adversely
affect her sexual and emotional relationships. While women often have a
dramatic lowering of sex hormones in from their late 30's/early 40's into
their mid 50's (some far earlier), men have a less dramatic but nonetheless
slow and significant decline from the early 30's that progresses throughout
life. Most people take these deficits as inevitable and simply accept and
adapt to these changes without question. They can be damaged by stress,
smoking, chemical contaminants in our food and water, lack of protective
anti-oxidants in nutrient-poor diets, medications and surgery.
Lethargy - this symptom will prompt your physician to measure hemoglobin,
fasting glucose, thyroid, iron, vitamin B12 and other tests if you are
unusually tired but she/he will less often check free-testosterone or DHEA
levels. A year ago I attended an 81 year-old woman that was moderately to
severely tired all day long. Over the years she had gradually become
physically less active but also had become more withdrawn socially. Her
usual lab tests all came back within normal range. Some years earlier,
another physician had diagnosed her with depression but trials of various
anti-depressant medications were discontinued due to side effects. She had
resigned herself to live with these symptoms, putting it down to advanced
age. I tested and found her with almost non-existent testosterone levels.
I advised a trial of testosterone cream for energy and mood benefit (she had
been sexually inactive for two decades) but at first she was hesitant.
"Will it turn me into a sex maniac?" she asked. "Well it might, but I doubt
it. I want to see if it lifts your energy and spirits." "OK" she said. I
saw her ten days later and it was as if she was a new person. She was up
out of her chair walking around like she had done decades before. In ten
days her mood had lifted and she was rekindling relationships she had
neglected for years. Her poor starved testosterone receptors in her brain,
muscle and heart were finally being fed again! A medical colleague of mine
criticized me saying you can't give an elder woman testosterone, it's not
done! I responded "We treat underactive thyroid if we find it, why not
underactive testosterone?" Do all 81 year-old women need testosterone?
Certainly not, but if the symptoms and blood levels show significant
deficit, a trial of treatment should be offered.
Orgasm 101. Another woman I attended was 58 years old, had low sexual
desire, suffered from several years of vaginal dryness and had not had an
orgasm for 6 years. I was not her family doctor but was seeing her in my
anti-aging clinic. She was adverse to take regular hormone replacement with
estrogen and progesterone due to bad media publicity but I did talk her into
taking low-dose vaginal estrogen cream and medium-dose testosterone cream.
At first she said "you know my husband isn't really sure about me coming to
see you - with all these 'new' nutrition and hormonal treatments - he said
these new treatments were weird, not normal medical practice". She came
back for follow-up reporting that her vaginal dryness had completely cleared
in a few days, her desire was up and she (reluctantly) told me that she had
her first orgasm in six years! "Good for you" I said, but then cautiously
asked "But what did your husband say?" She replied "I was delighted but now
he thinks you(r treatments) are really weird!"
Should we mess with nature's course? Nature only intended us to live to
reproductive age and then we are really not needed. Physicians are trained
to replace depleted thyroid, depleted iron and depleted vitamin B12 but are
not trained to replace the sex hormones adequately. Most estrogen and
progesterone are synthetics promoted by the drug companies and have
significant serious side effects. Bio-identical estrogen and progesterone
are safer. Testosterone and DHEA are of enormous value in deficient people
adding enormously to physical and mental well-being. Safer and more
comprehensive hormonal replacement, together with improved nutritional
guidelines (sugar and starch are very unhealthy), can improve quality of
life through the middle and later decades of our lives. Should everyone do
this? No, but people should be aware of, and be given the choice of
maintaining quality of life through improved hormonal replacement and a
low-glycemic nutritional framework.
Dr. Aspinall is an anti-aging specialist and medical director of Optima
Health Solutions, a progressive anti-aging and preventative medical clinic
in Vancouver, B.C
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