As mentioned, the CEO can be dam-
aged by a head injury. In the case of major head trauma, a drop in testosterone can come on fairly dramatically over a period of weeks or months following the injury. However, the effects of minor head trau- ma, perhaps experienced when a young man is playing football or falls, can build slowly over time—sometimes not showing up until a man is older.
Trouble in Middle Management As mentioned, the pituitary gland is another critical area in testosterone pro- duction. The CEO in the hypothalamus may be giving the correct orders, but it's possible that the pituitary gland isn't re- ceiving the signal. This happens when a man has a tumor in the gland. The most common pituitary tumor is a benign one called a prolactinoma. For- tunately, these tumors are relatively rare. But if a man has one, it means that his pituitary gland is sending a weak signal down to his testicles, which results in lower testosterone production. Other symptoms a man may experience if he has a prolactinoma are blurred vision, head- aches, weight gain and milky discharge from the breasts.
When the Couriers Can't Deliver the Memo to the Factory Your testosterone CEO in the hypo- thalamus might be in top shape. And your pituitary gland, middle management, may be receiving its orders and running smoothly. That doesn't mean there still can't be problems with the appropriate message getting to the testicles. LH, which is produced in the pituitary gland, must be able to communicate to the testicles the need to manufacture tes- tosterone. Normally, the message pene- trates through the cell wall, but if the cells aren't healthy, the message won't make it past the outside of the cell. This can hap- pen when a man doesn't have sufficient amounts of fish oil. Think of fish oil as WD-40 for cells, it lubricates and opens the door for LH (the messengers) to pass through the cell's membrane. If this is a problem in your body, it
won't just apply to testosterone; it will affect your sperm count too. Men who have very low levels of fish oil are un- likely to receive the appropriate message from FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) that also comes from the pituitary gland. FSH knocks at a different door in the tes-
Natural Triad Magazine
ticles, but if it can't get its massage through, it cannot give the testicles the go-ahead to produce sperm. Both sperm and testosterone can be made in such scenarios, but they are usually produced in very limited amounts because the tes- ticles don't have clear orders to manufac- ture testosterone or sperm.
Testosterone Manufacturing Plant Testosterone is made in the Leydig
cells in the testicles once clear orders are received. Since testosterone is made from cholesterol, too low cholesterol results in low testosterone. Zinc, Vitamin A and D are all essential in the manufacturing pro-
Elizabeth Vaughan, MD
cess and deficiencies of any of these will reduce production. Numerous toxins in-
terfere with production of testosterone.
Testosterone Delivery to the Body Testosterone ultimately increases the
vitality of all cells. If it's a heart cell, tes- tosterone helps the heart pump better. If
May 28 - June 18
Greensboro's only organic mattress dealer SYNERGY HEALTH
613 Dolley Madison Road • Greensboro 336-218-7099
Greensboro's only organic mattress dealer SYNERGY HEALTH
613 Dolley Madison Road • Greensboro 336-218-7099 JUNE 2013 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52