Progesterone

Many people, even some physicians, do not consider progesterone to be a male hormone (it is). Once again. Men and women produce estrogen (they do). Once again, men and women produce exactly the same hormones, but in different amounts. I prescribe progesterone for most of my male patients over 50 for a number of reasons. As men get older, their levels of progesterone decrease, becoming almost non-existent around the age of 50. This is about the same age when men start putting on their “middle-aged paunch.” Could there be a connection?

The answer is most definite yes. And the reason? Progesterone is the number one hormone for lowering insulin levels, the hormone that creates fat right around the middle. This is also the time of life when men may experience fatigue between 3 and 4 in the afternoon or getting sleepy while driving or after eating – the classic times for tiredness related to over production of insulin. When insulin goes up and blood sugar goes down.

A brain deprived of sugar gets sleepy. The number one cause of people falling asleep while driving is hypoglycaemia. The number one cause of hypoglycaemia is too much insulin.

The number one cause of too much insulin is low progesterone. One of the first benefits people experience after starting progesterone is that they no longer get sleepy in the afternoon, after eating, or while driving.

Another reason I believe men over 50 should take progesterone is that I suspect that it prevents prostate cancer. I cannot point to studies that show this, but it is logical. As men approach andropause, their progesterone levels drop and their estrogen levels start rising. This is also about the time that prostate cancer becomes a risk. If estrogen causes six different cancers in women, why wouldn´t it be good in men as well? Not only cancer of the prostate but also cancer of the colon be caused by excess estrogen in men´s bodies.

Other benefits from progesterone in men are as follow: prevention of Alzhiemer´s disease, prevention of osteoporosis, prevention of coronary artery spasm, reversal of depression, and elimination of asthma.