Testosterone – For Women?

Not just a man’s hormone

It is well accepted that most women after menopause experience a less than adequate sex drive. This low libido status can often be due to lowered testosterone levels–especially free testosterone (the most biologically active testosterone). This is why many doctors now prescribe testosterone treatment–along with other hormones (hormone replacement therapy or HRT, preferably as bio-identical hormones)–for women suffering from low libido, with great success. Swedish researchers recently published a study showing that testosterone gel given to postmenopausal women with low libido had positive effects on several aspects of sexual life such as frequency of sexual activity, orgasm, arousal, fantasies and sexual interest

Estrogen mimickers – The feminine side of Life

Aside from insulin, estrogen mimickers–also referred to as xenoestrogens–may also play a large roll (no pun intended) in how much fat you carry and how high your risk for hormonally related cancers are. Xenoestrogens come from a large group (tens of thousands) of foreign compounds derived from synthetic materials like pesticides, plastics, body creams, detergents, food supplies and our environment.

Xenoestrogens have the ability to disrupt our natural hormonal systems, creating hormonal havoc which can possibly lead to conditions that affect both men (andropause–male menopause, weight gain–especially in the abdominal area–and increased prostate cancer risk), and women (uterine fibroids, uterine cancer, ovarian cysts, perimenopause, PMS, menopause, weight gain–especially in the abdominal area–and increased breast cancer risk). The problem is that the majority of these xenoestrogens are fat soluble, which means they have a greater potential of becoming lodged within our fat cells, and once there, they are very difficult to get rid of.

When it comes to your metabolism, xenoestrogens are known to cause a disruption in the way your body metabolizes important biochemicals that deal with stress, moods, cravings and sleep. Research presented in the American Journal of Physiology indicates that xenoestrogens have the potential to create an enhanced environment for our bodies to store fat all the while making it extremely difficult to lose it.

An Inconvenient Truth – the solution is your internal environment

The good news is, through diet, exercise, and proven nutrient supplementation, both women and men can alter the way natural estrogens, xenoestrogens and their co-activators react with the various cells of the body, ultimately decreasing

their cancer risk and fat storing ability. In other words, with the right nutrients you can actually turn the right switches on and keep the wrong ones off!

Cruciferous extracts have been documented to help reduce the risk of various cancers, including breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. One interesting fact is that cruciferous vegetable intake in China is more than three times that of North America, which may account for China’s extremely low rate of breast and prostate cancers.

The most important of these research-proven cancer-fighting nutrients can be found in cruciferous extracts of broccoli sprouts, sulforaphane and Indole-3-carbinol (I3C). I3C however seems to be the most powerful of the three, as it has the ability to create beneficial estrogens in the body, all the while blocking the undesirable estrogenic messages to the body.

A solution to the external and internal pollution

Following are a few proven ways in which you can take maximum potential of your natural fat burning ability and in the process greatly reduce your risk of disease–especially cancer. Here are a few tips to help:

• Avoid high glycemic foods–especially processed grains (white flour)
• Supplement with (high alpha) whey protein isolates once or twice a day – Ultimate High Alpha Protein or ISO Energy Protein )
• Supplement with natural–preferably organic fibre formulas – FibreLean approximately 15 minutes prior to each meal
• Supplement with cruciferous vegetable extracts that contain I3C, broccoli sprouts and sulforaphane (all of which can be found in gender specific formulas – Her Energy and Male Energy
• Get adequate sleep as researchers have found a link between insufficient sleep, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance
• Take a long walk after dinner as this will help to clear excess sugars from your bloodstream