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The Natural Testosterone Plan: For Sexual Health and Energy
How to maintain optimum testosterone levels for the male body through the use of herbs, nutritional supplements, and diet
• Explains the phenomenon of andropause--male menopause--and how to deal with it
• Reveals scientific evidence of testosterone-blocking agents in the environment that alter men’s essential chemistry as they age
• Presents safe, organic plant medicines that can restore optimum testosterone levels
• Contains the most up-to-date natural treatments for impotence, infertility, and prostate disease
The recognition of the middle-age stage in male development of andropause, which is comparable to women’s menopause, is hampered by the lack of a clear understanding of the chemistry and physiology specific to aging men. Men are still capable of reproduction well into and beyond middle age. Yet a man’s sexual desire and potency varies, often according to his testosterone level. Recent studies show that the lowered testosterone levels endemic in aging men--the gradual drop that is quite normal--is being exacerbated by environmental agents. Testosterone-blocking estrogen agents are present in insecticides, industrial materials, pharmaceuticals, and foods. Men are daily inundated with a “cocktail” of estrogen agents that alter the fine balance of testosterone that makes them male.
In The Natural Testosterone Plan , Stephen Harrod Buhner shows why men need help to maintain their testosterone levels as they age and explains how safe, naturally occurring phytoandrogens--plant medicines that contain male hormones--can remedy the depletion exerted by the environment. Buhner details how each phytoandrogen works, when its use is indicated, and the most appropriate method of application.
• Explains the phenomenon of andropause--male menopause--and how to deal with it
• Reveals scientific evidence of testosterone-blocking agents in the environment that alter men’s essential chemistry as they age
• Presents safe, organic plant medicines that can restore optimum testosterone levels
• Contains the most up-to-date natural treatments for impotence, infertility, and prostate disease
The recognition of the middle-age stage in male development of andropause, which is comparable to women’s menopause, is hampered by the lack of a clear understanding of the chemistry and physiology specific to aging men. Men are still capable of reproduction well into and beyond middle age. Yet a man’s sexual desire and potency varies, often according to his testosterone level. Recent studies show that the lowered testosterone levels endemic in aging men--the gradual drop that is quite normal--is being exacerbated by environmental agents. Testosterone-blocking estrogen agents are present in insecticides, industrial materials, pharmaceuticals, and foods. Men are daily inundated with a “cocktail” of estrogen agents that alter the fine balance of testosterone that makes them male.
In The Natural Testosterone Plan , Stephen Harrod Buhner shows why men need help to maintain their testosterone levels as they age and explains how safe, naturally occurring phytoandrogens--plant medicines that contain male hormones--can remedy the depletion exerted by the environment. Buhner details how each phytoandrogen works, when its use is indicated, and the most appropriate method of application.
- GenresHealthNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2007
40 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Harrod Buhner
40 books392 followersStephen Harrod Buhner is an Earth poet and the award-winning author of ten books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine. He comes from a long line of healers including Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States under Eisenhower and Kennedy, and Elizabeth Lusterheide, a midwife and herbalist who worked in rural Indiana in the early nineteenth century. The greatest influence on his work, however, has been his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.
Stephen has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
from
http://www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html
and
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=5...
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.
Stephen has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
from
http://www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html
and
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=5...
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 17, 2018
Lately it seems like I'm on some Stephen Buhner reading spree and his Natural Remedies for Low Testosterone is a book dedicated to problems related to the male aging process and infertility.
As a preface, I'll say that I have had issues with the author's scientific rigor in previous books I read. I like his style and think he does a fine job at collecting relevant scientific studies for the plants he describes. Unfortunately, he also entertains some irrelevant or bogus studies - for example ones about the homeopathic usage of a plant extract. Caveat lector.
The author asserts that while there are many books dedicated to natural methods of easing the female aging process, there are none for the male one. The book tries to fill this void by describing andropause; hormones that are most relevant for men's well-being and plants that stimulate or retard their production; herbs enhancing male sexuality and fertility.
One of the claims from the book, that hops in beer retard the production of testosterone, got internet-famous and I've seen it lambasted on several sites. Even though hops really do contain phyto-estrogen I couldn't find any study that would confirm or deny the claim that it's relevant to the male hormonal system as a whole. For what it's worth Buhner's precautionary-principle based warning seems more reasonable to me than the critic's outright dismissal of the claim.
On the whole Natural Remedies for Low Testosterone seems to follow a pattern that seems familiar to other books of this author: the-sky-is-falling claims followed by several topical chapters describing plants and supplements dedicated to some ailment. The materia medica is sourced so one can make his own mind about the, sometimes unbelievable, claims put forward by the author. All of this is topped with good humor and a pleasant writing style.
I don't have any objections that to this book in particular, and I still don't know how much of what the author writes is make-believe. But since I keep coming back to this author there must be something right about the author - while outlandish at times, Buhner presents the information in a very digestible and easily-approachable manner that's great for initial research.
As a preface, I'll say that I have had issues with the author's scientific rigor in previous books I read. I like his style and think he does a fine job at collecting relevant scientific studies for the plants he describes. Unfortunately, he also entertains some irrelevant or bogus studies - for example ones about the homeopathic usage of a plant extract. Caveat lector.
The author asserts that while there are many books dedicated to natural methods of easing the female aging process, there are none for the male one. The book tries to fill this void by describing andropause; hormones that are most relevant for men's well-being and plants that stimulate or retard their production; herbs enhancing male sexuality and fertility.
One of the claims from the book, that hops in beer retard the production of testosterone, got internet-famous and I've seen it lambasted on several sites. Even though hops really do contain phyto-estrogen I couldn't find any study that would confirm or deny the claim that it's relevant to the male hormonal system as a whole. For what it's worth Buhner's precautionary-principle based warning seems more reasonable to me than the critic's outright dismissal of the claim.
On the whole Natural Remedies for Low Testosterone seems to follow a pattern that seems familiar to other books of this author: the-sky-is-falling claims followed by several topical chapters describing plants and supplements dedicated to some ailment. The materia medica is sourced so one can make his own mind about the, sometimes unbelievable, claims put forward by the author. All of this is topped with good humor and a pleasant writing style.
I don't have any objections that to this book in particular, and I still don't know how much of what the author writes is make-believe. But since I keep coming back to this author there must be something right about the author - while outlandish at times, Buhner presents the information in a very digestible and easily-approachable manner that's great for initial research.
November 7, 2019
Actually skimmed but..
Premise is: environment is hurting male hormone system due to: PCB, estrogen in water etc. Points out that some foods are more beneficial than others in order to keep T optimal. I did not research this book thoroughly before buying unfortunately. While there is a lot of information I'm kind of skeptic of it's usefulness since bibliography cites this study: Effects of ginseng ingestion on growth hormone, testosterone, cortisol, and insulin-like growth factor 1 responses to acute resistance exercise. - PubMed - NCBI. This is poor study with n = 8 which concludes in the abstract:
I mean, what the heck?
Premise is: environment is hurting male hormone system due to: PCB, estrogen in water etc. Points out that some foods are more beneficial than others in order to keep T optimal. I did not research this book thoroughly before buying unfortunately. While there is a lot of information I'm kind of skeptic of it's usefulness since bibliography cites this study: Effects of ginseng ingestion on growth hormone, testosterone, cortisol, and insulin-like growth factor 1 responses to acute resistance exercise. - PubMed - NCBI. This is poor study with n = 8 which concludes in the abstract:
Human growth hormone, testosterone, cortisol, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. The responses of plasma hormones following ginseng consumption were not significant between CON and GIN treatments during the 2-hour recovery period. These results do not support the use of ginseng to promote an anabolic hormonal status following resistance exercise.
I mean, what the heck?
October 4, 2012
I was fascinated by the author on a podcast and the book didn't disappoint. It's essential reading for men trying to counteract the estrogenic chemicals in the food and water supply that are turning men into women. It's also written nicely a reference so you quickly see protocols and then read in detail why the herbalist author recommends them.
Challenges some long standing ideas: who knew hops (in beer) are highly estrogenic? Or that it was the Protestants who popularized putting hops into beer and even legally required them for beer in the German Beer Purity Act of 1516? (Those pesky Protestants didn't like sexually and mentally stimulating herbs the Catholic monks were putting into their beer.)
Women are mostly the ones concerned about chemicals in the food supply, but it turns out men are the ones being most affected, including substantially lowering their life spans.
Challenges some long standing ideas: who knew hops (in beer) are highly estrogenic? Or that it was the Protestants who popularized putting hops into beer and even legally required them for beer in the German Beer Purity Act of 1516? (Those pesky Protestants didn't like sexually and mentally stimulating herbs the Catholic monks were putting into their beer.)
Women are mostly the ones concerned about chemicals in the food supply, but it turns out men are the ones being most affected, including substantially lowering their life spans.
December 12, 2018
One of the most important books available on men’s health today.shows why men need to take action to maintain their testosterone levels as they age and explains how safe can remedy the depletion caused by the environment.
June 21, 2022
Superb very detailed exceptionally researched book. This book has so much useful information about the topic of Low Testosterone and will be of benefit to any man over 40. Read it.
Read
June 2, 2023the first two chapters were good
but the rest was ... i couldn't get into it
idk
but the rest was ... i couldn't get into it
idk
September 25, 2012
Read this for the herb and health information. Although it focuses on male issues like prostate cancer and infertility ect the in depth info on herbs and foods to boost testosterone and foods to avoid is really good. Some day I may need the other as well but it was definatly worth reading even without it.
May 5, 2013
A great little book that is packed with great information.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews