In the book “Count Down” by Shanna H. Swan, PhD, she found that from 1973 to 2011, the total sperm count of men in Western countries dropped by 59 percent. The quality also nose-dived, with more odd-shaped sperm and fewer strong swimmers capable of fertilizing an egg. Perhaps most important, the DNA they carried was also more damaged.
Other alarming thing she has found is the “1%” effect on male fertility. This is not a good 1% but rather a trending downwards of sperm counts, testosterone, increases in testicular cancer and erectile dysfunction. On the female side of the equation, miscarriage rates are also increasing by about 1 percent per year in the U.S., and so is the rate of gestational surrogacy. Meanwhile, the total fertility worldwide has dropped by nearly 1 percent per year from 1960 to 2018.
This lowering of testosterone in males also shows up as low energy, depression (men are more likely to commit suicide), low motivation, belly fat, blood sugar issues, and addiction. While she points to the fertility aspect in her book there are many other health and societal consequences to low testosterone.
There are 7 MILLION men between the ages of 18-49 who are not looking for any type of work at all right now in the US. Less and less men are entering into jobs that require manual labor, leading a short fall in many of the most common jobs out there. Why does low testosterone in men lead to this issue? Testosterone has been described as “making the tough tasks seem easier to accomplish.” You can do more work but your brain and body do not interpret it as being hard.
What are the functions of testosterone in males?
It helps to do the following:
- Decrease excess body fat
- Works in the brain as a natural antidepressant
- Helps maintain memory
- Increases muscle mass and strength
- Increases sense of emotional well-being, self-confidence, and motivation
- Increases sexual interest and reproductive ability
So having optimal levels of testosterone is a good thing.
What is the cause of the “Disappearing Male” crisis we are facing?
It is our stress, environment, standard American diets, and the toxins we subject our bodies to each and every day. What these things have in common is that many of these chemicals act like estrogen in our bodies. This leads to estrogen dominance in males and lowered testosterone levels. Our hormones become imbalanced leading to the issues we mentioned before. Here is a list of the things we often find in males these days.
- Stress (cortisol steals away from testosterone)
- Toxins: plastics, heavy metals, personal hygiene products
- Increases Aromatase which converts to estrogen
- Diet high in refined carbs (blood sugar imbalances): leads to estrogen dominance
- Medications:
- Asthma Inhaler
- Anti-depressants
- Anti-histamines for allergies
- Cholesterol lowering meds: need this to make hormones
- Tagamet for Acid Reflux
- Opioids
- Gut dysbiosis, gallbladder dysfunction, infections, low stomach acid
Getting your testosterone levels checked through the DUTCH test is a great way to determine the optimal levels that you should be at. It also shows how your body breaks down the estrogen in your body. We want to push the pathway called the 2-OH pathway as it is the safest for our body. The DUTCH test also gives us cortisol levels which goes to how much stress you are under. Stress is a key component that needs to be addressed in men if we want to raise testosterone levels.
What can you do to help yourself?
As we wait for the test results we start to make changes in a male’s diet. Focusing on adding in more quality protein, good fats like avocados/olive oil/organic butter, and eliminating sugary drinks, breads, and pastas as these increase insulin levels and in turn increase estrogen levels as well. This is also the time that we introduce intermittent fasting to men. We want to shorten the window that we eat each day. We start with 10 hours and move to 16 hours of fasting each day. This helps control blood sugar and increases fat burning. Additionally, consume lots of cruciferous veggies and in particular broccoli sprouts which have tons of I3C and DIM which help to detoxify bad estrogen metabolites that cause problems with estrogen/testosterone balance.
We then look to change personal hygiene products that are being used. Shampoo, body wash/soap, deodorant, and skin care products are filled with estrogen-like chemicals. I have patients download the App called “The Healthy Living App” by EWG.org. It serves as a guide for men to buy things that are non-toxic to their body.
Sleep is also a very important aspect to increasing testosterone levels. It is absolutely critical to sleep well in order to produce healthy sex hormones. Inadequate sleep will result in elevated stress hormone production and lowered testosterone. Limit blue light from electronics at night or wear amber colored sunglasses to block them. Make sure the things you fill your head with at night is calming and uplifting to your well-being.
Testosterone levels are highest at night and also after exercise. Not just any exercise, but weight training and high intensity interval training. Going for a walk, running on a treadmill, or getting on the bike will not cause an increase in testosterone. You need to lift weights so that muscle mass will increase.
Lastly we need to help your body get rid of the excess estrogen in your body. We do this by doing a month long liver and hormone detox plan. Estrogen is broken down in the liver and then excreted through the stool. So getting your bowels moving right is key as well.
We do this with our liver detox program for 2 weeks then our hormone balancing program for 4 weeks. I like to add in things like glutamine,fiber, and creatine to help with building muscle and keeping the bowels moving.
Other helpful supplements to help with cravings and blood sugar are Tyrosine, Stress Essentials Adrenal Renew, DHEA, and berberine. Tyrosine, Stress Essentials Adrenal Renew, and DHEA helps with improving dopamine levels and testosterone levels which goes hand in hand with cravings and low energy. Low dopamine levels will cause you to want sugar to increase it quickly. Berberine in great at limiting the insulin spike that many people have during meals which causes you to gain fat and lower your testosterone.
Two other important minerals are zinc and magnesium. These help your body make testosterone as well. Lastly with so many people being vitamin d deficient we add this in as well.
These things will help improve your energy level, sex drive, and motivation to be a better man.
-Dr. Brian Opp, D.C.