The missing hormone for male performance (not testosterone)

March 21, 2016 Matt Cook Anti-Aging, Drug & Supplements, Living Healthy, Men's Health, Natural Remedies, Vitality & Relationships 0

Nothing more misleading than the terms “men’s hormone” for testosterone, or “women’s hormone” for estrogen or progesterone.

The reality is that both men and women need and produce both of these hormones.

In this newsletter I want to talk about the role of progesterone in sexual behavior and erectile dysfunction:

The missing hormone for male performance (not testosterone)We will use rats because it’s pretty hard to do these experiments on people.

Through a series of clever manipulations in the study, they gave certain rats testosterone and progesterone, and they gave other rats just testosterone or just progesterone.

And then they observed the frequency and quality of their sexual behaviors.

They found that mice who had both progesterone and testosterone had by far the most sexual acts and most completed sexual acts.

Mice that were given progesterone AFTER testosterone, but not at the same time, did not score nearly as high in sexual activities as mice given both testosterone and progesterone at the SAME time.

So what is the role of progesterone in the human male?

Estrogen is a necessary hormone for men and women, but estrogen is quite often too high.

Because of the dangers of unopposed estrogen, progesterone is the most powerful hormone that controls and limits estrogen.

It’s long been known that men with prostate problems often have high estrogen.

That’s what is great about progesterone — progesterone in moderation can help oppose this excess estrogen, and increase sexual abilities.

MASCULINE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IS
REGULATED BY… AN AREA RICH IN PROGESTERONE RECEPTORS, AND THAT THERE IS A CIRCADIAN PATTERN OF PROGESTERONE SECRETION IN THE MALE.

So let’s try to look a little bit more at the role of progesterone for men, and see when we may want to get some extra progesterone prescribed by our doctor.

The missing hormone for male performance (not testosterone)How much progesterone do men need?

THE REFERENCE RANGE FOR PROGESTERONE LEVELS IN ADULT MEN IS 0.13–0.97 NG/ML

The ranges of progesterone needed for men are actually not that different from women at all.

That’s sort of surprising because everyone thinks progesterone is for women, but as we’ve seen, it’s not true that progesterone is just for women.

It’s required for men also and in similar dosages.

Let’s explore what progesterone does in the male body.

Roles Progesterone Plays in Men

Progesterone is required for sperm to enter the egg.

  1. Sperm needs to be created in the presence of progesterone so that the sperm can fuse with the egg, what is called the acrosome reaction.
  2. Progesterone is required in the Leydig cells in order to create testosterone.
  3. Progesterone levels in the prostate sometimes fall (due to too much estrogen), and this seems to lead to estrogen dominance and prostate inflammation. Small amounts of progesterone often get rid of prostate inflammation completely.
  4. Progesterone has a sedative and anesthetic effect involving the GABA receptors in the central nervous system. Progesterone is required for mood stabilization. And progesterone interacts with fat and helps counter the excess estrogen produced by fat cells.

One of the most interesting effects of progesterone is to increase the absorption of magnesium

Most of us are low in magnesium, and it’s extremely difficult to get enough magnesium into the human body.

Progesterone seems to help magnesium enter the body with ease.

THE SERUM MAGNESIUM CONCENTRATION IN YOUNG HEALTHY MEN WAS DIRECTLY AND SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE PROGESTERONE LEVEL

All of this shows how…

progesterone contributes to mental health when it’s in the right amounts.

Too much progesterone can lower your sex drive and shrink your penis and genitals.

However, that is true of many hormones in excess.

If you don’t have enough progesterone, your estrogen levels can be too high.

And even if you have sufficient testosterone, you may not have any good sexual performance, erections, or even the ability to make a woman pregnant.

So make sure your estrogen and progesterone levels are in balance.

It will support your sexual function as a man.

 

Citations

Progesterone: the forgotten hormone in men?
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13685530400004199

Progesterone modulation of androgen-dependent sexual behavior in male rats
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0031938494002473

Click for more information on Progesterone, for information on Men’s Health, or for more on how Progesterone effects Men.