Get Notified when there's something new from Health in FocusTestosterone for Both Men and Women
By Jacobus Hollewijn
Your Daily Health Pearl Minute # 37
Men and Women both make testosterone. Men make it pretty much all their life; women drop their monthly production when they get into menopause.
I dare to say 99% of men do NOT know that from testosterone we make two more hormones?
What happens is there are two different enzymes that start “pulling” on testosterone and converting it into other hormones.
Having this information is super-important once boys become adult men. I think this should be taught in school!
One of these ENZYMES is called AROMATASE. Aromatase converts testosterone into the female hormone called ESTRADIOL. To have s-o-m-e is essential, amongst other things estradiol helps prevent bone-loss and fractures; but elevated Estradiol is a problem for most men. It may very well trigger prostate cancer and even some cardiovascular issues.
Then there is the enzyme called 5-ALPHA-REDUCTASE, which converts testosterone into DHT (or Dihydrotestosterone).
DHT will give men more muscle, lean body-mass, facial and body hair, more libido, and natural growth of the external genitalia.
However, too much conversion into DHT may cause thinning hair and baldness, and possibly an enlarged prostate.
Women also produce Dihydrotestosterone from what little testosterone they produce. Elevated DHT in women actually may cause male-resembling features, such as excessive facial and body hair, and a PMS symptom called PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS.
Dr. Michael Murray, N.D., a leading researcher, author and lecturer in the field of natural medicine, suggests to take Saw Palmetto extract, standardized to contain 85-95% fatty acids and sterols, at a dosage of 160 mg., once or twice daily. He says at this dosage the herb Saw Palmetto has been shown to be effective in roughly 90% of cases involving high DHT.
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