Erin O'Hara: naturopath and wellness expert explains 'male menopause'

Research indicates that while middle-aged men might not go through the exact same hormone shift as their male counterparts, there's evidence they can go through a key shift later in life.

'Male menopause' might not be a clinical term, but the expression has gained popularity as more men report mood swings, depression and other emotional and physical symptoms when they reached a certain age.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara unpacks what it can look like - and how it can impact men's lives.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News TALKS'B and it is time to talk.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well listen.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Erin O'Hara joins us, Now, good morning, Good morning. So
male menopause myth the reality.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, you mentioned grumpy men syndrome, and I was like,
that's what I was kind of going to bring up,
but then I thought I'd make it a safter for
us Sunday Morning and call it male menopause instead. Okay,
fair enough, fair enough? Does it exist? Yeah? So I
think men don't really notice too much that there's the
hormone changes. Like women, there's a sudden decline and there's

(00:41):
a definite noticeable change for women around that sort of
mid forties to fifties of the hormone changes. When it
comes to men, actually, the hormone changes are more subtle.
It's the main hormone for men as testocerone, and the
drop in test sacerone would be on average about one
percent per year from the age of forty onwards, so

(01:01):
it's a lot more of a subtle decline. So it's
not going to be something that you'd suddenly get. So
and symptoms that you'd be like, oh, something's not quite right,
So you might not notice that till you're more sort
of late fifties or sixties or something. Yeah, it'd be
more noticeable later on, and unless there's been other things
like medication uses or a higher body mass index or obesity,

(01:22):
then it would be a little bit more noticeable. Maybe
that that drop in testosterone might come sooner and might
be more noticeable now. Potential symptoms for a drop in
decline in testsoscerine levels can be reduced libido, also rectile dysfunction,
low energy, and low mood. And I think people don't
really relate that to being a change in hormones. Sometimes

(01:44):
they think, oh, maybe it's just the work stress. But
actually sometimes there can be a little bit more to
that of suddenly noticing mood changes, maybe a little bit
more irritable, a little bit more grumpy, or maybe feel
really depressed, low energy and not sleeping that great, as
well as noticing physical body changes like a reduced lean
muscle mass and maybe an increase in body fat. That

(02:07):
might be something quite foreign to you. And that's where
all that change in hormones affects how the body functions.
Now always The first step is like maybe check in
with your doctor, maybe getting some testing done, because not
doctors assume arts, maybe testoscone changes. It's good to actually
get some blood tests done and looking at an androgen profile,

(02:28):
so it's that change in hormones, So looking at free testosterone,
follicle stimulating hormone lucinating hormone SHBG, which is sex binding
hormone globulin. So getting all of those tests done and
then you can kind of be like, is this actually
a hormone change or is there something else going on
that's making your energy and mood and libido and all

(02:49):
those things drop. Now there are natural ways we can
support tesoscerone levels. Always. The first thing is looking at
your lifestyle. So things like exercise amazing build some lean
muscle mass, really good for your hormone levels. So maybe
adding some weight training, some hit sessions really good for
building the lean muscle mass up. Also supporting that with

(03:11):
your diet, because you can't just go to the gym
and not eat well otherwise you won't get the results
of building the lean muscle mass, So eating enough protein. Also,
fats are really important for building hormones, so making sure
you're getting enough of the right type of fats, your nuts,
your seeds, your olive oil, your avocado, all of those
things great for hormone building, hormone balance, and also addressing

(03:33):
your stress, which is one of the big things that
actually has lots of clinical research and dropping testosterone levels
is actually long term stress can alliphate cortisol levels, which
then has a decline in testosterone levels. So if you
know that you're living a high stress lifestyle at she
addressing that and that will have a huge effect on
testosterone levels and help you just get that extra support,

(03:56):
whether it's like bringing in more relaxation tools, which I
think women seem to be a little bit more mindful
around bringing the balance to the life. Maybe men need
to look at, you know, ways of slowing down, maybe
finding the balance, prioritizing good sleep quality, and maybe going
to a yoga meditation class. And yes, men can go
to those sorts of things as well and it's very
helpful for them. So maybe just addressing how you're managing

(04:19):
stress and keeping that balance because it will definitely help
hormone balance. And also the other thing, if you're checking
in with your doctor, look at other options, so things
like sometimes test oser and replacement therapy is required, so
if you're just really not feeling right and testoscer and
levels are really low, that can sometimes be a good
option alongside all your natural things as well. Erin O'Hara,

(04:42):
thank you so much. We'll catch you next week.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news Talks there'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.