Is This Why Your Man is Tired and Grumpy?

Although its commonly believed that men just sail through life without the hormone hassles that women get, in fact the man in your life, if he's in late middle age, may be suffering from the same shortage of hormones as a woman does in menopause.

In men, testosterone is a potent driver of their masculinity. It affects muscle development, strength, energy levels, happiness, libido; generally speaking it helps a man feel young and virile. This hormone is why blokes can lift heavier objects, run faster, and talk louder than women!

Testosterone levels peak in a man's late teens and early 20s, and begins to decline from there. From late middle age onwards, a man may notice that he's just not so interested in life any more. He may become grumpy, depressed, lose interest in sex, and even find that his performance at sports is declining. On a physical level he may find that he's putting on weight easily, and his skin is thinning. This doesn't happen to all men of course, but if the man in your life is showing these symptoms, here's what he can do:

Hormone testing can reveal whether low levels of testosterone are the reason why he's feeling older. His doctor can arrange a blood test, or his naturopath can arrange a saliva hormone test.

If his hormone levels are less than optimal, its important for him to assess his diet and lifestyle before reaching for supplements or bio-identical hormones to boost his testosterone level.

A diet high in alcohol, caffeine, sugar and processed foods is not going to help his energy levels, so look here first. Also, daily fitness training will help boost energy too. The difficult part of applying all this is that a man in andropause is remarkably difficult to dislodge from the couch!

Natural therapists use herbs and homoeopathic remedies to treat low hormone levels, along with the improved nutrition, fitness and stress management techniques that help everyone.

So if you believe that the man in your life is demotivated and tired because of low hormones, ask him to visit his health practitioner for a frank chat about testosterone and its effects.