Introduction
Most people have heard about the heavy contamination of our tissues, from brain and blood vessels to testicles and placentas, with microplastics. Fewer understand that the severe health damage to us and future generations due to the chemicals that make up plastics. These chemicals are known hormone disruptors. The broadest class of these are Phthalates (pronounced “thalates”). The yearly global production of phthalates exceeds the toxic dose for every man, woman, and child on the planet.
Without exaggeration, the chemicals that created the “miracle of plastics” which revolutionized our world in the mid-1960s have created an exponential increase in chronic diseases that threatens future human and animal life on Earth. In the shorter time frame, it destroys your health.
For those interested in understanding plastic’s threat to our health and how to reverse the risks of chronic diseases caused by hormone deficiency, my book and podcasts can be found at www.NobodyWantsYouHealthy.com
What Are Hormones?
Hormones serve as the messengers and the controllers of the functions needed for life in each of our cells. Hormones act as the engineers that allow our billions of cells to work together as one human unit. Among their many life preserving functions, they repair and rebuild cells, regulate cell’s energy production, control inflammation, and control immune functions. All life forms bigger than a small group of cells are regulated by hormones. It is the only way their various cells can communicate and survive by acting as a single organism.
“Within 8 months of being on pellets, I have the vigor, health and energy I have not had for many years. Even my sex life is back! My doctor is amazed with the transformation in my health”
Testosterone – Fun Facts for All
Here is a shocking truth that most doctors do not know: Testosterone is evolutionarily the oldest hormone of multicell animal life forms, AND it is the most abundant active hormone in men and women their entire life. Testosterone can be thought of as the master hormone. It controls cellular growth, cancer surveillance, metabolism of blood sugar, inflammation of blood vessels, joints, muscles, and brain tissues, and immunity directly and indirectly through regulation of other hormones and Cytokines.
Testosterone is vital to the health and well-being of BOTH men and women. Testosterone in men is mainly produced by the testicles and in smaller quantities by the adrenal glands. In women, testosterone is produced in both the ovaries and the adrenal glands. Testosterone contributes to muscle mass, strength and endurance, decreased fat, increased exercise tolerance, enhancement of the sense of well-being and psychological health. Testosterone protects against cardiovascular disease and reduces blood sugar. It leads to improved lean muscle mass, increased bone density, decrease in cholesterol, improved skin tone, improved healing capacity, and increased libido and sexual performance. It enhances the quality of life for both men and women by decreasing the diseases of aging. Cells that require Estrogen use Testosterone to manufacture Estrogen inside the cell by a chemical conversion that uses an enzyme called Aromatase. Testosterone is present and extremely important in both Women and Men, making adequate tissue levels very important for health in both sexes. (It goes without saying that women require substantially less of it!)
Why should we care so much about testosterone?
Because the average person today has a testosterone level that is only 40% of what it was for their age in 1970. The main cause for our deficiency is the endocrine disrupting chemical class (EDCs) we know as phthalates. Testosterone deprivation results in increased rates of diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, obesity, depression, anxiety, dementia, loss of muscle and bone, breast cancer, prostate cancer, decreased fertility, fibromyalgia among other auto-immune impairments, and more.
Progesterone
Progesterone is primarily produced in the ovary just prior to and after ovulation. It is also produced in large quantities by the placenta during pregnancy and in small quantities by the adrenal glands. If you are on bio-identical estrogen, you should probably be on this hormone as well. It seems to protect against uterine and breast cancers, fibrocystic disease and ovarian cysts. Unfortunately, most U.S. women are prescribed a synthetic horse derived progestin (Provera) which can cause side effects such as bloating, headaches, fatigue, weight gain, and heart disease. Bio-identical progesterone does not have these side effects.
Estrogen
Estrogen refers to a group of similar hormones produced in the body. Like testosterone, Estrogen is a required hormone for the health of BOTH men and women. The main three are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). Estrogens are believed to be protective against heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and memory disorders. It also protects against vaginal atrophy, urinary incontinence, and prevents symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes and poor temperature regulation (e.g. “hot Flashes”). It can improve balance by the “visual somatosensory” system in the central nervous system. Estrogen deficiency is linked to: urogenital atrophy, incontinence, increased skin wrinkles of the face, fatigue, depression, mood swings and decreased libido. However, the vast majority of women we treat need only testosterone pellets (see above) as their body, like men’s, makes all the intracellular estrogen it needs from testosterone, thus avoiding the serious problems that can occur with high circulating estrogen levels in the blood. While estrogen supplementation is rarely necessary, it is important that any estrogen prescribed be a bio-identical estrogen and not a non-human estrogen. The non-bio-identical synthetic estrogens bind nearly 20 times stronger to your cell’s receptors and have been proven to be harmful.
Estrogen Mythology
Elegant studies in 2000 demonstrated that in normal circumstances all of the estrogen (estradiol) inside our cells is made in each cell from testosterone by one enzyme (aromatase).
Each of our cell types regulates how much of this powerful growth hormone it needs. The amounts vary such that bone cells make a lot more than skin cells. Estrogen in the blood cannot cross the cell wall to get inside, and for good reason.
Estrogen circulating in the blood is significantly higher in women than men for only about 2 out of every 4 weeks during their fertile time of life (~35 years). Why is that the case? Breast cells and uterine lining cells have external receptors (binding sites for estrogen on the outside of their cells) that can be stimulated by blood levels of estrogen to make them grow in preparation for potential egg fertilization that month. If fertilization does not happen, the uterine lining falls off (menstrual period) and the breasts decrease. Think of estrogen as a cellular fertilizer.
To be complete, the brain is unique in that it is bathed by CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) that has similar estrogen levels as the blood. The estrogen in the CSF can affect certain parts of the the brain linked to aggression, anxiety, mood and temperature regulation. But, that is not the way these functions are supposed to be controlled for most of a healthy person’s life.
What Are the Symptoms of Hormone Deficiency?
A hormone deficiency or imbalance can wreak havoc on the body in many ways. As “chemical messengers”, hormones play a vital role in the regulation of various chemical processes, including growth and development, metabolism, brain and sexual functioning, and even mood.*
While symptoms of hormone imbalance or deficiency can vary, patients frequently report:
- Fatigue
- Fat gain and muscle loss
- Insomnia or poor sleep patterns
- Mood swings, anxiety, and depression
- Symptoms of menopause (including hot flashes, bone loss, sweating, dry skin, etc.)
- Decreased libido
- Hair loss or thinning
- Memory problems and foggy thinking
- Bladder and urination issues
- Vaginal dryness
- Erectile dysfunction
The above merely represents a sample of the phenomena people with hormonal imbalance or deficiency can face. Many of these symptoms are specifically associated with low testosterone, which is essential to the livelihood of both men and women.
A testosterone deficiency results in many unpleasant symptoms in addition to the massive health problems it causes. Since blood levels of testosterone and estrogen are poorly correlated to the amount of these hormones inside the cells in which they work, symptoms often provide a more accurate picture as to adequate hormone levels.
The work of the Zeig Berlin institute resulted in the validated symptom scales for men and women. The scale for men (AMS) is the Ageing Male Symptom scale versus the scale for women (MRS) Menopause Rating Scale. For your personal use and education these scales are linked to a page on this website.