Remember testosterone? It’s still there, just not in the quantity it was when you were in you twenties. Now comes a study that suggests that the decline of testosterone is a good thing, at least for your family, because the aggression-related hormone appears to take a timely dive when a man has kids. Peter Ellison, a professor of evolutionary biology at Harvard has a few things to say about that in an interview with science writer Karen Weintraub. First, he says, the new study suggests that
like women, men have reproductive states –times in their lives when they are more likely or less likely to mate. That in turn implodes the one-dimensional perception of men as eternal seekers of sex. Ellison suggests that low testosterone might be good for more than the family; it might be good for a man’s health, because the more time a man spends in low testosterone states may influence his risk of diseases like prostate cancer or osteoporosis later in life. He also reminds us that while testosterone supports useful things like sperm production, libido and sex drive, and maintenance of muscle mass, it is associated bad things like aggression and temper. Finally, the professor warns that manipulation of testosterone places men at greater risk of being abusers – either of their partners or of their offspring.
Read Karen Weintraub’s interview with Ellison in the Boston Globe.
I totally disagree with, at least half of this article.. One, when he indicates that testosterone can cause prostate cancer, that is NOT proven and there are equal studies that suggest just the otherwise. It it well documented that it gives the middles aged male considerably more energy just after one month of therapy;yes, it does increase sexual drive and the abliity to have spontaneous erections; however, not a sex crazed lunatic; it has been associated with aggressive behavioral patterns, but that seems to be true thoughout life. I have never seen it turn some male into an angry, ready to kill, type of demeanor unless they have taken far more than the recommended dosage.. Are we to assume that estrogen, then turns women into submissive, non assertive and meek. I have seen it do wonders with men who were on the brink of severe depression.. you take that ability to express themselves, and you are depriving them of a good quality of life…………. gw… nurse practitioner, M.S., psychology
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