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How long we live and our overall health is impacted by multiple factors. Many of us are aware that what we eat, how often we exercise and whether we smoke and drink alcohol can all affect this.<\/p>\n
However, there is one aspect of our health that is frequently \u201coverlooked\u201d, according to one doctor. Speaking on his YouTube channel, physician Doctor Mark Hyman, advised \u201coptimising\u201d your hormone health as a way to live longer.<\/p>\n
Hormones are chemical messengers secreted into the blood that coordinate different functions in your body. They affect things like our growth and development, metabolism, sexual and reproductive function and mood.<\/p>\n
According to Dr Hyman, not properly taking care of your hormones could leave you feeling low in energy, motivation and concentration, as well as suffering from low cognitive function. This applies to your sex hormones, thyroid hormones and growth hormones, Dr Hyman explained.<\/p>\n
But while this area of health may be \u201cmisunderstood\u201d, there are steps we can all take to support our hormones. Speaking to his one million subscribers, Dr Hyman first focused on men and their testosterone levels.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> Live longer breakthrough – new jab could lead to ‘50% reduction in ageing’<\/strong><\/p>\n The founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Centre said: \u201cI’m gonna start with you guys first, because they are more straightforward.<\/p>\n \u201cYour testosterone is something that’s not just good to look at if you’re 90 years old, and, you know, are having trouble or if you’re 70 or 60.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are hormones that are things that you should know about your health, all through your life spectrum, and I’ve seen 30-year-olds with the hormone levels of a 90-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTypically\u201d men should have a testosterone level of over 500 nanograms per decilitre (ng\/dL). But probably it should be more like, six, seven, eight, even 900,\u201d Dr Hyman said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don’t have adequate levels of testosterone, you will find your health diminished, you’ll have low energy, low motivation, low concentration, low cognitive function, low libido, low sexual function and erectile dysfunction.\u201d<\/p>\n Your testosterone levels can be checked with a blood test. But there are ways to tell via your appearance.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AadRflBO0MM<\/p>\n Dr Hyman said: \u201cSo when you see men for example who have big bellies. They often have lots of hair on their body or they have, you know, more soft skin.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, what’s going on there? Well, they’re having high oestrogen and low testosterone and so, basically the bigger your belly the lower your testosterone, it’s easy to just look at the mirror but it’s better to know, your number is in, check your blood.\u201d<\/p>\n To improve your testosterone levels there are a number of lifestyle changes you can make.<\/p>\n In your diet this includes cutting down on sugar and starch and eating more healthy fats, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlcohol is not good,\u201d he added. \u201cSo alcohol also increases oestrogen levels, it poisons your liver so you can’t metabolise it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Hyman said having a proper exercise routine and working on your large muscle groups can also boost testosterone levels.<\/p>\n Looking at hormone health in women, he said: \u201cWomen have to suffer a lot more hormonal chaos than men, for a lot of reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir hormones are changing all the time with menstrual cycles, with menopause, with puberty.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are much more sensitive to environmental toxins and how those impact hormonal function. They are much more affected by stress.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re much more effective by alcohol, by dietary changes, by lack of exercise, by smoking. All these things mess up hormones.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it’s important for me to understand what their hormones are doing, how they’re affecting them, why they feel what they feel.\u201d<\/p>\n He warned that having too much oestrogen – the sex and reproductive hormone – is a problem in women.<\/p>\n \u201cIf women are having something called oestrogen dominance this is a really common condition in the world because a lot of things we do causes you produce too much oestrogen in relation to our progesterone, particularly in menstruating women.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, eating too much sugar and starch is a \u201cproblem\u201d.<\/p>\n\n