Men's Health

Improving Sexual Desire and Performance in Men

Through a variety of mechanisms, aging men suffer from the dual effects of having too little testosterone and excess estrogen. The result is a testosterone/ estrogen imbalance that can severely inhibit sexual desire and performance. In youth, low amounts of estrogen are used to turn off the powerful cell-stimulating effects of testosterone. As estrogen levels increase with age, testosterone cell stimulation may be locked in the "off" position, thus reducing sexual arousal and sensation and causing the common loss of libido so common in aging men.

Testosterone is a hormone responsible for sex drive in both men and women. For testosterone to promote youthful sexual interest, satisfaction and performance, it must be freely available to cell receptor sites in the brain, the nerves, muscles and genitals. As people age, testosterone becomes bound to serum globulin and is not available to initiate sex stimulating centers in the brain.

Increasing testosterone by suppressing excess estrogen

For many men, a safe and easy way to increase free testosterone is to prevent conversion of excess estrogen. Too much estrogen plays havoc with a man's sex life by binding to testosterone receptor sites.

Estrogen overload is a serious problem in aging men. One report showed that estrogen levels of the average 54-year-old man are higher than those of the average 59-year-old woman. Estrogen is a necessary hormone for men, but too much causes a wide range of health problems.

Based on the multiple deleterious effects of excess estrogen in men, aggressive actions should be taken to reduce estrogen to a safe range.

There are herbal extracts that have been shown to either increase or decrease testosterone levels. Conversely, herbs that increase free testosterone and suppress excess estrogen are highly desirable for healthy men over age 40 who suffer the premature aging effects of a testosterone deficit, including loss of libido.

Enhanced sexual enjoyment is of paramount importance to a great many people, increasingly so as we age. An enormous amount of published data documents the libido-enhancing effects that occur when testosterone is restored to a youthful level.