by Vic Shayne, PhD

LOW TESTOSTERONE, LOW SEX DRIVE
Testosterone hormones are produced primarily by a male’s testes, but are also produced in small amounts by the female’s ovaries and the adrenal gland, an organ found in both sexes. After puberty, testosterone plays a key role in the regulation of the sex drive. Low testosterone levels causes a drop in sexual desire, and appropriate levels of testosterone increases sex drive and sexual interest in both sexes.

Progesterone is produced by only two sites in the body: the gonads (ovaries) and the adrenal glands, which produce it in tiny quantities as a precursor for the creation of over 100 identified types of other hormones. By contrast, estrogen is produced by the pineal gland, hair follicles, breasts, liver, adrenal glands, ovaries, and body fat.

COFFEE DRINKING BOOSTS ESTROGEN LEVELS
Drinking more than two cups of coffee daily may boost estrogen levels in women and could worsen conditions such as endometriosis and breast pain.

“According to the researchers, women who drank the most coffee had higher levels of estradiol, a naturally occurring form of estrogen, during the early follicular phase, or days 1 to 5 of the menstrual cycle.

“Higher estrogen levels would not be beneficial for women who for example have endometriosis, breast pain and family histories of breast or ovarian cancer, especially arising premenopausally.

“The study included nearly 500 women aged 36 to 45 who were not pregnant, breast-feeding or taking hormones. All women answered questions about their diets, smoking habits, height and weight. Researchers measured the women’s hormone levels during days 1 to 5 of their menstrual cycle.

“Women who consumed more than one cup of coffee a day had significantly higher levels of estrogen during the early follicular phase of their menstrual cycle. Caffeine intake from all sources was linked with higher estrogen levels regardless of age, body mass index (BMI), caloric intake, smoking, and alcohol and cholesterol intake. Women who consumed at least 500 milligrams of caffeine daily, the equivalent of four or five cups of coffee, had nearly 70% more estrogen during the early follicular phase than women consuming no more than 100 mg of caffeine daily, or less than one cup of coffee. This study provides a basis for believing that coffee consumption increases estradiol levels. While these effects are modest with one or two cups, they are more evident at higher levels of consumption.”
(Source: Fertility and Sterility October 2001;76:723-729)

ESTROGEN TOO HIGH, PROGESTERONE LOW
(Source for the following: Hormone Replacement Therapy When Is It Necessary? (Part 2)Tim O’Shea, mercola.com, 2004)
If estrogen levels get too high, progesterone can no longer keep the dynamic balance, which happens in American women who live their adult lives with pathologically high levels of estrogen. Three main reasons for the high levels:
• overrefined diet
• no exercise
• external toxic sources of estrogen : xenoestrogens

Refined carbohydrates, hard fats, empty foods and too much of it all raises estrogen to abnormal levels, as much as twice the normal, which are maintained for the better part of adult lives of most American women. Dr. Ellison of Harvard University found that estrogen levels are much lower in women who eat little and perform strenuous physical work, as in locales with non-industrialized lifestyle. The opposite is true for the American woman who eats too much and gets little exercise: abnormally high estrogen levels are the direct result. Menopause is a much bigger deal in industrialized countries, because estrogen decline is so radical – the difference between pre and post estrogen levels is significant. This hormonal rollercoaster dip is stressful, and the real cause of of menopausal discomfort.

Xenoestrogens — estrogens from outside the body. “Many external toxins have estrogenlike effects in the body. Most are petroleum derivatives. Xenoestrogens are in plastics, computer chips, PVC, pesticides, soap, clothes, DDT and other modern manufactured goods. There has been extensive zoological research in the area of xenoestrogen effects on animals and resulting birth defects. In studies of panthers, alligators, birds, turtles, seals, fish, and many other species from diverse parts of the globe, scientists are finding a common theme: feminization of males, decreased sperm counts, low male testosterone, and extremely high levels of estrogen in females, with plummeting numbers of offspring.

“Between 1950 and 1970, some four million pounds of the pesticide DDT, illegal today, was dumped into the ocean in Los Angeles. Examples of eggshell thinning, gonad shrinkage and feminization in males, overdeveloped ovaries in females, and failure to thrive are some of the defects found in seagull studies at UC Davis by Michael Fry. In 1981, Fry published his research in the journal Science. Shrugged off for years by the scientific community, Fry’s work is now being corroborated all over the world in dozens of other species.”

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