If you are a middle-aged man, do you get irritated or lazy, or have a hard time controlling your emotions?
Climacterium is easily thought as a disease only for women nearing their menopause period, where female hormones distribution is suspended. But men in their forty’s to fifty’s can also experience male menopausal, or andropausal, symptoms as their hormone distribution is reduced.
0.4~1.3% of male hormone called testosterone decrease every year from the age of thirty, so by the age of seventy, the level of hormones has decreased half of its original amount. There is not much that can be done for aging, but more patients have shown symptoms of andropause as they started to have more interest in extension of lifespan and health.
Main symptoms of andropause are synchronized with sexual dysfunction of decline of sexual desire and impotence. Other symptoms include muscle weakening, depression, fatigue, hot flashes and osteoporosis. Personality and behavior becomes more feminine or sensitive, and mood swings may worsen.
Menopause progress very quickly, however, andropause progress overtime in their fifty’s to seventy’s, and only 30~50% men have shown symptoms, so it is difficult to recognize on their own. But more than 80% of middle-aged men have sexual dysfunction, which can be seen as a signal for andropause.
According to Eastern Medicine Classical book called ‘Huang Di Nei Jing,’ (Yellow Emperor Inner Classic) men “at age forty start losing hair and their teeth become weak as their Kidney Qi weakens; at forty-five, the face looks worn out as the Yang Qi weakens; at fifty-six, the muscle loses strength due to liver Qi deficiency, Jing essence declines due
to Kidney Qi deficiency, and the body wastes away as the Spleen weakens.”
It explains that man starting at age forty, his Kidney Qi and Yang Qi weakens, and this progresses to aging. The Kidney Qi and Yang Qi mentioned in Eastern Medicine signifies male hormones in Western Medicine. Therefore, we can see that this correlates with Western medical analysis of decline of male hormone distribution, which is what induces andropause.
Andropause involves a drop in male hormone production. Korean medicine focuses on treatments that control the body’s balance, and the use of acupuncture or herbal medicine therapy help in Qi and blood circulation and harmony of body and mind.
The following are lifestyle regulation to overcome andropause:
First, regular exercise and rest are necessary. Reducing body fat and strengthening muscle can increase male hormone level.
Second, have a low-calorie diet. Nut products such as beans, tofu, pine nuts, and walnut increase bone density and help prevent osteoporosis.
Third, chronic drinking and smoking, and stress lowers male hormone level; therefore, abstain from drinking and smoking, and find your own way to relieve stress.
Fourth, thirty-minute exposure to sunlight can prevent depression and insomnia.
Fifth, bathing before sleeping is recommended. Bathing helps lower blood pressure by helping lower-body vessels to dilate, and this helps in blood circulation.
The following is an herbal tea beneficial for revitalizing male hormone production, muscle and bone strength, and stress relief. Boil half a liter of water with 20 g of Gou Qi Zi (Goji berry seed), 20g of Shan Zhu Yu at low heat, and simmer until the volume of water reduces to half. Drink two to three times a day. Goji berry seeds strengthen the bones and muscles, and Shan Zhu Yu is effective in relieving stress and preventing aging. Yin Yang Huo tea is prepared by boiling half liter of water with 20g of Yin Yang Huo for ten minutes. Drinking multiple times is beneficial in strengthening the function of testicles to increase production of male hormones.
Photo Credit(s): Mom's Magazine
Mariana Chelariu
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