Over the past few years, many of my patients have come to me with health conditions that are either directly or indirectly influenced by their levels of testosterone.  Indeed, maintaining healthy testosterone levels in both men and women can be tricky after the age of 50.  Too much can cause just as many physical problems as too little and, as new research shows, levels even determine the outcome of social situations where innate trust come into play.  Recently, I became aware of some new and interesting research findings involving testosterone that I’d like to share with you.

Testosterone: Some Interesting Social Findings

As I’ve advised my male and female patients alike over the years, testosterone is not just a man’s hormone. In fact, it is a master driver hormone that both men and women share that sparks not only their sex drive but their energy levels in general.

Typically in both sexes, after the age of 50, when both men and women start to go into the “hormone pauses”, i.e., andropause in men and menopause in women, testosterone levels can fall significantly and libido right behind it. Fatigue and depression can also set in as a result.

There are many things that men can do to boost their testosterone levels back to normal levels from dietary changes to supplements and perhaps even injections if they’re required.  But what about the ladies?

This is what I explain to my female patients. Testosterone is as responsible for a woman’s libido as it is for a man’s and actually, perhaps more importantly, for the maintenance of the human species!  Testosterone peaks in a woman when she is ovulating and therefore most likely to conceive.  After menopause, testosterone decreases but can also be replaced in the same ways it is in a man; diet, supplement, prescription if necessary, to restore a healthy libido, and fight fatigue and depression.

Recently, researchers learned also of the social significance of testosterone.  Seems Nature also gave testosterone an additional kind of “big brother” role in certain women to help them choose the right mate as it influences how she perceives trustworthiness in a mate. First let me give you a little background chemistry regarding this.

Prior research has shown that when people get a hug, or a soft touch on the hand, or arm, they secrete a “feel good” hormone called oxytocin that affects the brain, signals them to relax and makes them trust the person giving the hug or the touch.  This phenomenon could cause people, especially women, to wrongly trust others, such as criminals who use these psychological ploys to their advantage.

Researchers, when trying to find if there was an antidote to the oxytocin effect, found that when women were given a drop of testosterone under their tongue they were less likely to trust a smiling face than when given the placebo.

In fact, the experiment worked most profoundly in women who were the most trusting in general, as if Nature had developed a hormonal alert for those most in need of its protection.  Apparently, testosterone triggers decreased interpersonal trust and increases social scrutiny and more rational decision making, causing the women to be more wary of, and/or not choose, certain men as potential mates.

Now, as I counsel my female patients, a woman doesn’t need to carry a vial of testosterone drops in her purse to help her make more rational social choices about potential mates or male friends.  It seems a man’s natural level of testosterone naturally triggers this response in certain women. It likely explains why some women are both drawn to very virile men but are also more skeptical of their motives towards them.

The take home message of this research for men is knowing that many women have this kind of ‘natural selection’ response.  Therefore, take a little more time to first develop a friendship not based on sex to gain trust.  Even more interestingly, further research shows that once a woman chooses a man for her reproductive mate, and they conceive a child together, a man’s testosterone levels drops by 50% which is Nature’s way of ensuring the new dad will help take care of the newborn.

Testosterone Boosting Needs to be Done Carefully

It’s been known for a few years that decreased levels of testosterone can result in increased risk of earlier death in men. The most likely reasons of a man’s testosterone dwindling are his diet and his age. We talked about andropause above, but if a man eats a lot of plastic packaged foods that must be heated in a microwave, his testosterone levels will decrease even more.  Heating in plastic food containers, or drinking plastic bottled water that has heated somehow, causes the release of female hormones called xenoestrogen into the food and water, which he consumes.

In an effort to restore dwindling levels in men and to try and keep men healthier longer, testosterone boosting has been done more and more with injections, gels and pills.  However, recently, researchers had to stop a (gel) trial because of adverse effects in the men they studied.  Some men suffered heart attacks and other serious cardiac events.  Recently, though, raw pine pollen has been shown to be a very rich source of plant testosterone as it carries the male sperm of pine trees and, unlike synthetic testosterone, doesn’t carry the side effects and doesn’t cause the body to stop its natural production.

To summarize, testosterone is an amazing and complex hormone that drives men and women both physically and socially.  Boosting needs to be done carefully.  I recommend that you start with diet changes and natural based supplements first to see what kind of boosting effect they afford before turning to synthetic hormones and then only under the care of a doctor.

Kathryn Schulz is a journalist, author, and public speaker with a credible (if not necessarily enviable) claim to being the world’s leading “wrongologist.”  She is the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, and writes “The Wrong Stuff,” a Slate series featuring interviews with high-profile people about how they think and feel about being wrong. She was a 2004 recipient of the Pew Fellowship in International Journalism (now the International Reporting Project), and has reported from throughout Central and South America, Japan, and, most recently, the Middle East.

Ms. Schulz’s book is a funny and philosophical meditation on why error is mostly a humane, courageous and extremely desirable human trait. She flies high in the intellectual skies, leaving beautiful sunlit contrails. She argues in “Being Wrong” that, of all the things we’re wrong about, our ideas about error are probably our “meta-mistake: we are wrong about what it means to be wrong.” She continues, “Far from being a sign of intellectual inferiority, the capacity to err is crucial to human cognition.”

In this special year-end collaboration, TED and The Huffington Post are excited to count down 18 great ideas of 2011, featuring the full TEDTalk with original blog posts that we think will shape 2012.  Watch international journalist Kathryn Schulz’s TEDTalk and then explore her thoughts in this companion essay.

Ms. Schulz’s Being Wrong is news you may think you can’t use, but maybe there’s a lot that’s right about being wrong.

With a new year around the corner, many of my patients are looking at ways to improve their health.  Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to better your health almost immediately with progressive benefits the longer you stay off cigarettes.  Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of lung cancer,cervical cancer and heart diseaseplus other health concerns such as premature aging.  It is responsible for close to 4 million deaths a year.

If you’re like my patients who smoke and want to quit, I’d like to share with you some of the pros and cons of the quit-smoking products that are out there.

Anti-Smoking Products:  Which Work The Best?
Just like weight loss, there are many commercial products available that claim to be able to help you quit smoking.  You’ve likely seen many ads on television for products with Chantix and Zyban being the most well-known.  However, there are other stop-smoking products that actually have more pros to them than these.  The following is a general rating of some of the most popular methods of quitting smoking to help you decide which one may be of most benefit.

1.  Cold turkey.  No, this isn’t a product; it’s the method of stopping smoking on your own without the use of any products.  You pick a day you want to quit and you just do it.  The pro to this method is that it’s cost free.  That’s basically it.  The cons are that quitting smoking cold turkey is the least successful of all the methods, with only 3% of people succeeding at quitting. The reason for the high failure rate of this method is that your body goes through withdrawal of the chemical nicotine from your blood. Symptoms include anxiety, hyperirritability, insomnia, inability to concentrate and depression, which can last 3 months or more.  My opinion: This method doesn’t get my vote.

2.   Chantix, Zyban.  These are popular, commercial anti-smoking products that are available by prescription.  They work about the same, helping your body withdraw from nicotine gradually.  Chantix offers a support system, however, Zyban does not.  In addition, like most prescription drugs they both come with side effects. Chantix’s side effects include nausea, sleep disturbances, constipation, flatulence, vomiting, plus “additional effects” not cited.  Zyban is actually the drug Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, which acts to counter one of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms of quitting smoking – depression. Like most antidepressants, however, Zyban can have serious side effects such as dry mouth, insomnia, headaches, agitation, jitters (shakiness), appetite increase, and even seizures (though rarely, reports the literature).  My opinion:  I think there are better, safer, nonprescription ways to go about quitting smoking.

3.  Hypnosis. Hypnosis works, in theory, by placing suggestions in the hypnotized person’s subconscious mind while they are in a state of light sleep.  It can work well as a relaxation device, which may be what some smokers need to help them quit.  However, some people are resistant to hypnosis and for them hypnosis likely will not work.  For people who are open to the idea hypnosis may be helpful. My opinion: Used in conjunction with other therapies, hypnosis can be beneficial for relaxation and reinforcement of the positive benefits of quitting smoking.

4.  Laser.  Actually works more like acupuncture or acupressure in helping stop smoking where laser energy is applied to specific points on hands, wrists, ears, face that correspond to addiction in humans, resulting in stimulating endorphin producing nerve pathways.  Endorphins are “feel good” hormones that decrease stress and help you relax, therefore, decreasing the need for “stress smoking”.  Laser therapy ads claim 85% to 90% success rate, but actually the rates are much lower.  Plus these treatments are costly and there are no guarantees.   My opinion: I think there are better, cheaper ways to quit smoking.

5.  Lobelia.  Lobelia contains “lobeline”, a natural, herbal, nicotine-like  substance that is non-addicting and non-toxic. It reduces nicotine cravings and has a tranquilizing effect.   It can help soothe jangled nerves and irritability which almost always accompanies quitting smoking.  It does this by “tricking” your nervous systeminto thinking its getting nicotine but without the toxic side effects.  My opinion: As it’s a natural, herbal product that can help get over the first few weeks of an antismoking effort, Lobelia gets a high mark from me.  However, it must be used exactly as directed as too much lobelia can cause vomiting and/or respiratory depression.

6.  Smoke Deter.  Another natural, homeopathic, based anti-smoking product that uses several homeopathic remedies together for a synergistic effect against the most trying of withdrawal symptoms:  Abies nigra (black spruce), Aconitum Napellus (wolfbane), Avena (oates), Nux Vomica (Poison nut). Used in a spray beneath the tongue whenever cravings/symptoms arise.  My opinion:  Independent reviews of Stop Smoking products rate this product very high at 98%. As a natural homeopathic remedy, I believe it can be safely used as an anti-smoking assistant along with other measures.

7.  Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Like trying to lose weight by eating “diet cookies”.  Does nothing to re-train the body’s cravings for nicotine because you replace the nicotine in cigarettes with nicotine in chewing gum, patches, and inhalers, and now even water! The success rate is very low for this method, only 3%. Not surprisingly, people also get addicted to the replacement therapy as their body has not purged of the nicotine.  My opinion: Just say no.

Quitting smoking is difficult and you may want to try some of the better methods here.  I feel a multi-method approach seems to work the best though.  Gradually reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke a day progressively reduces the body’s need for nicotine; using relaxation techniques like exercise, and even hypnosis, helps reduce stress triggers to smoke; biofeedback reinforces positive benefits of nonsmoking.  Relaxants, in the form of natural supplements, such as a few drops of Valerian in a glass of water a few times a day, helps soothe jangled nerves. All these things can help you reach your goal of a new, smoke-free, healthy new you in the New Year!

Let’s face it: death is a difficult subject. Most of us like to put into the “let’s not think about” folder in our brains. But knowing the most likely causes of death may just help you avoid them and, therefore, live a longer, healthier life. Some enlightening new research has been done on the subject and the results are quite surprising.

A list of the top 15 causes of death was recently complied from records of deaths, which were received from state vital statistics offices and processed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The top 2 leading causes didn’t come as a shock, diseases of the heart (mainly heart attack) and cancer, but the influence tobacco has on this list is a bit of a plot twist.

According to the World Health Organization, tobacco use is a major cause of many of the world’s top killer diseases – including cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer. In total, tobacco use is responsible for the death of almost one in 10 adults worldwide. Smoking is often the hidden cause of the disease recorded as responsible for death.

When looking at lists broken down by age, the causes differ: in general, youth is more vulnerable to violent death (accidents and homicide); middle age is more vulnerable to disease conditions affecting high risk individuals (cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.); and old age is more vulnerable to diseases related to general debility (infection, dementia, chronic disease and accidental falls).

The ethnicity factor is also interesting when determining which group of people are affected more by certain factors. The National Vital Statistics Report released the following pie charts detailing the death factors among select ethnicities:

Top 15 Causes of Death

The final results for 2007 were just published, the causes here are the preliminary numbers for deaths in the United States for 2009. The preliminary number of deaths for the year was 2,436,68–here is how the numbers are represented:

15. Assault (homicide): 16,591

14. Parkinson’s disease: 20,552

13. Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (high blood pressure, kidney failure caused by high blood pressure): 25,651

12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 30, 444

11. Septicemia (systemic infection): 35,587

10. Intentional self-harm (suicide): 36,547

9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney disease): 48,714

8. Influenza and pneumonia: 53,582

7. Diabetes mellitus (diabetes): 68,504

6. Alzheimer’s disease: 78,889

5. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 117,176

4. Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke): 128,603

3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases (emphysema, chronic bronchitis): 137,082

2. Malignant neoplasms (cancer): 568,668

1. Diseases of heart (mainly heart attack): 598,607
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-15-causes-of-death.html#ixzz1Wj61a5LI

Red meat is back in the news , and once again it’s being singled out as being uniquely bad for you.  Here’s the sound bite: Eating red meat increases stroke risk while eating poultry reduces it.   But, there’s a little bit more to the story. (There usually is.)

First of all, the 28% increase in stroke risk applied to people eating more than half a pound of red meat a day. That’s two or three servings of red meat every single day–or twice the average amount of red meat consumed by Americans.   Surely that should be part of the story.

But here’s what really makes me crazy. Researchers admitted that they were surprised that eating more fish didn’t seem to reduce stroke risk–but were quick to point out: ”There’s a lot of variation in how people cook and prepare fish, and we couldn’t get down to that level.”

Wait a minute.  What about the variation in how people cook and prepare red meat? When the results don’t line up with our preconceived notions (fish: good), we cite unaccounted-for variables.  But when the data show what we expected them to (red meat: bad), the same variables don’t seem to play a role?

Does anyone else detect a white hat bias?

Related content:

Red meat and Colon Cancer Risk

Hock und Sterb (“Hook & Stab,” the nickname of a thorn tree that grows in the Bush)

There are few more striking symbols of Africa than a thorn tree —

its gnarled branches, graceful form, jagged thorns and abundant blooms,

in many ways reflecting the paradoxes of the continent.

— www.wildwatch.com

Picture this: a king size bed under a white tented canopy in a floor-to-ceiling windowed room with a thatched roof, on the edge of a riverbank in the middle of a game reserve in northern South Africa — a hot bath, an hour massage, a glass of champagne and a delicious orgasm…. I may have found Shangri-La in the middle of the dessert, but Bond,James, just found Paradise in the Bush (with a woman who sports a Brazilian).

I think all couples on the brink of making serious commitment decisions should take a 3-week trip to South Africa.  Maybe it’s seeing real live animals walking about au natural or looking north to face the sun that brought out our primal urges but there’s something to be said for living in a glass house with all that visual exposure to Mother Nature. Chita Banana jumped up in the tree and started swinging right outside our window –and there we were, with all of them-there-born-free looking at us while we’ve got our noses up against the glass, staring wide-eyed back at them.

Bond,James, is here on business and prepped, which was fascinating in and of itself, but I too was well prepared for our trip to South Africa… I read Alan Payton’s Cry The Beloved Country when I was a teenager in the 1960s — and I selected Invictus to watch on the plane ride over. What I gleaned from both did actually come in handy — I was a bit more up on my “who’s who” in the good-guy category of what-happened-when politically since forever — and I could follow the Rugby match between Pretoria (the blue Bulls) and Johannesburg (the red Lions) when we were invited guests to the infamous game where the Lions upset a 20-year winning streak against the Bulls at the stadium in Pretoria.

But from the moment we landed in this incredibly beguiling visual of royal blue skies and gold textured earth, I felt la difference between what was and what is. Alan Paton’s beloved country stopped crying in 1994 when Nelson Mandela and F.W. Klerk decided to make this country a rainbow nation –and shared a Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts (rightly so — both were good men and visionaries). But it’s going through growing pains 18 years later and, having participated in the Civil Rights movement growing up in our country, I am in absolute awe of the true grit these folks have demonstrated to the world in letting go of the past and moving forward.  At least those are the sound bites.

Johannesburg and Pretoria are struggling between sanity and insanity from within their relatively new democratic government –surrounded as they are by other countries who are more interested in acquiring personal wealth (and wives) than they are in providing basic human necessities (food and jobs) for their people.  The former makes it tough for the spanking new speed train between Johannesburg and Pretoria to get through a week without vandals steeling the copper from the electrical lines, forcing it to constantly shut down; the latter resulted in a recent wave of xenophobia in a nation struggling with their own internal concept of freedom.

You can imagine how my antenna was up in the Bush; we were escorted to and from our bungalow after dark by a guy with a weapon lest we encounter a hungry four-legged roaming beast.  But my street-smart radar was up in the city too; I was told not to venture out on my own — and I didn’t.  Francois started a tour-guide business shortly after 1994, when he lost his job in the early stages of the South African equivalent of our EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) –and it was from him — (and from other guests at our hotel & local colleagues of Bond,James) that we heard real life stories of personal hardship in the transition and redistribution of wealth and power.

All that aside, the landscape is breathtaking . . .  And not just the Bush.  Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in the country, a “Township” just outside of Johannesburg, that is home to a million people.  With its acres of tin houses, it’s evolved into a showcase of sorts.  A new generation of free men and women who were recently gifted the shanties they were once forced to rent from the white supremacist government, rebuilt their homes along with their lives when it all changed in 1994.  It was a battle ground just before the change (recommended newly released South African film: The Bang Bang Club) — and there is still a sense of danger now, but there is also a very real and visible sense of pride, future and hope for a better life.

We spent just over two weeks in nearby Pretoria and experienced so much of the energy and optimism that’s just beginning to shape their current culture, including a national holiday (Women’s Day) honoring the 20,000 women who bravely marched on the Union Buildings in 1956, protesting against legislation that required native Afrikaans to carry the “pass” — special identification documents (modeled after Hitler’s anti-Semitic campaign) which curtailed their freedom of movement during the apartheid era.

And yet, in a country so richly endowed with gold and diamonds (yes, I bought one girl’s best friend and all . . . okay, so a very small one), and embroiled in cultural economic debate, there is an African beat that overwhelms.  Beaded bangles, earth-colored fabrics, exotic spices, textured landscapes — it’s all multi-dimensional African Art.  And the beautiful and graceful Springbok, their National Symbol, as distinctive in color as they are, with clean striped lines in shades of white, beige & brown — is, indeed, the multi-colors of the people it represents.

So I drift back to Makanyane, our five-star “exclusive” resort in the Madikwe Game Reserve on the border with Botswana.  With only eight bungalows and a maximum of 16 guests, everything about it is gourmet.  And the Safari . . .  where the survival instinct is imperative — and in full view, as we bundle up before dawn, dress in our warmest woolies and are handed a hot water bottle & a blanket to brave the wind chill riding around in an open-air multi-passenger jeep over dirt paths & low water crossings . . . to eye-witness the Circle of Life . . . Pumbaa and his pals tromping around, Mufasa and his brother Scar contently napping in the morning sun, rhinos and hyenas, ostriches and owls –and the most gorgeous and graceful giraffes.  We were Great White Explorers with our very own private guide.  Spoil me Tarzan; I be your Jane.

It doesn’t get better than this.

NOTE TO SELF: Hakuna matata (“No Worries”- -The Lion King)

Keri Russell, Photo: Elle Decor

Good people make good people. That’s why we were so thrilled to hear the news that Keri Russell gave birth last month to her second child with husband Shane Deary, according to PopSugar.

Born on December 27th, Willa Lou joins big brother River in the couple’s sustainable home, a Brooklyn brownstone they restored from studs to seams by repurposing old materials.

Keri, who starred as a devout environmentalist in Fox’s short-lived “Running Wilde” last year, detailed the eco-friendly renovation for Elle Decor last month.  Shane, a contractor, transformed trashed shutters into window casings, reclaimed wood into tables and old pipes into closet poles.

Now the couple has a new cradle to add to their cradle-to-cradle home!

Visit Eco-Stilleto

There are two kinds of people: those who see a movie once, and those who don’t.

I’m a multiple viewer, a serial movie-lover who can see some movies 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 times. I know every line of dialogue, every note of the music soundtrack. I memorize the background, the license plates of passing cars. I can tell you how many sugars the leading man takes in his coffee, and the color of the leading lady’s nail polish.

I don’t want to see every movie more than once. There are some I regret even seeing once. “Alien” was one of those instant regrets. The moment John Hurt’s chest exploded and that little alien thing stuck its head out, I was headed for the exit.

The films I could see again and again – and again?

One is The Searcher with John Wayne. Great scenery, great action, and great acting by the Duke, who should have won the Oscar for this and not the ridiculous True Grit.

Any movie with Robert Redford is a must-see-see-see. RR in his prime is tough to resist.

A few other guilty multiple-viewing pleasures include Something’s Gotta Give with Diane Keaton (wow, older women can still have great sex!) …. Gladiator with Russell “Maximus” Crowe (sweat, blood and bulging biceps = an unbeatable combo) … and Singing in the Rain (Gene Kelly has it all over Fred Astaire).

When I was in high school, my friends and I had movie-viewing weekend marathons. We all saw The Sting, The Poseidon Adventure,Fiddler on the Roof American Graffiti and The Way We Were at least 10 times each, thanks to cheap ticket prices and non-existent social lives.

We saw some movies more times than the projectionist, but that was okay. We didn’t have cable or video games or malls. We didn’t have jobs or boyfriends. We had movies, and that was okay with us.

Love may have been lovelier the second time around, but The Way We Were the 14^th? Lovelier still.

Puppy Training Part II–Like some of us, Puppies take time to warm up to other dogs as well as people. Make sure you allow your dog to get comfortable with everyone in the house, give her time to learn scents and recognize everyone. Smothering your dog can hinder her social development. It’s important that you instruct guest to allow the dog to sniff around them and maintain a sense of calm while the pup gets comfortable with this new person.

Try to arrange play dates with your friends or neighbors and their dog to help stimulate your pups social skills. It’s good for your dog to have one on one time with an older dog as well with other puppies. Over time you can gradually increase the number of dogs and people playing together. And once your dog has had all her vaccinations it time to hit the park.

When it’s time for your first trip to the park make sure you get some exercise with her before hand. If your pup is a little tired out, she will be more calm and submissive in this new territory surrounded by many other dogs. Make sure you scope out the park for large dogs and watch for signals from your dog or others that they may not be reading each other in a positive demeanor. In the event of a sticky encounter don’t grab your dog in rescue but use your body and energy to keep the situation from escalating.

Check back soon for more training tips and her dog walkers tutorial.

We started with great gifts for under $20, now we’re upping the budget to super ideas for under $35. Ready. Set. Shop!

Aerolatte with stainless steel stand. The Aerolatte froths milk in as little as 10 seconds. Make cappuccino, hot chocolate, or milkshakes. You can even use it to whip eggs! $29.99 Buy Here

Topsy’s Popcorn. It’s a Kansas City tradition. Topsy’s delicious, gourmet popcorn is available in a variety of savory flavors, including: buttered popcorn, rich caramel, spicy cinnamon, tangy cheese, and decadent caramel with pecans or peanuts. Decorative gift tins are available in styles to suit any holiday occasion. $34.95 Buy Here

Animal Sound Alarm Clock. The children of St. Jude’s designed these fun animal sound clocks to start your day off with a hoot. Or a dog pur or even a frog croak. Three fun animal sound clocks for you to choose from. Proceeds from each sale benefit the hospital. $22 for each or 2 for $40 Buy Here

Glass Garden Globe Plant. The air plant derives all its nutrients from the air and needs no soil to thrive – giving it a somewhat miraculous, ethereal quality. Whether displayed alone or in multiples, their modern textures and pops of green make the globes intriguing pieces of living sculpture. Includes all the elements needed to make a living ornament. $29.95 Buy Here

Air Swimmer Remote Control Inflatable Flying Shark. One of the coolest gadgets around and great fun for family get togethers, office laughs, and kids parties. Once filled with helium, the remote controlled Air Swimmer swims through the air with incredibly smooth and lifelike motion. The infra red remote control unit provides up, down, and tail fin control for moving right and left. The remote control works up to 40 feet. $29 Buy Here

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