Your Sexual Health & Fitness on Fit Talk with ShariFitness
Dr. John Stripling
www.striplingcenter.com
678-356-2000
Center For Sexual Health & Education
www.bestsexualadvice.com
888-LOW-DESIRE
Your sexual health and fitness was discussed on my radio show with Dr. John Stripling. Dr. Stripling is a board certified Urologist who specializes in Sexual Medicine. Dr. Stripling is a member of the American Urological Association, the Sexual Medicine Society, and the International Society of Women's Sexual Health. He is also the co-founder of the Center for Sexual Health and Education in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Palm Beach. He has been in private practice in the Atlanta area for over 20 years and is a frequent speaker on Sexual Medicine Topics on Radio and Television.
We hit all the topics, Testosterone, Andropause, Menopause, Sex Drive, Testosterone Supplementation, and how your health, fitness, wellness and lifestyle plays a role in your sexual health, sexuality and sexual performance.
Ladies, if you thought we had “issues” men have them too.
We started the show off by talking about Testosterone or “T”. Dr. Stripling explained that it is the sex hormone that creates desire in both men and women. It is produced to a small degree in women in the ovaries and adrenal glands, and in men, it is produced in the testicles and to a smaller degree, the adrenal gland.
Your “T” levels climb as you reach puberty and remain high in women until they hit puberty. As a man reaches his early 30’s, his testicles start decreasing the amount of testosterone he produces. For men, if they have low testosterone, they experience Andropause, which is a gradual decrease of testosterone. Your lifestyle plays an important role in keeping your testosterone at a good level and is influenced by strength training exercise and the things you eat. A poor lifestyle can decrease testosterone levels. According to Dr. Stripling, weight training is CRUCIAL in keeping Testosterone levels up.
How does a man know if he is experiencing low testosterone? Testosterone levels are highest around 8 a.m. and lowest around 6 p.m. Generally speaking, you should wake up in the morning with an erection. Other signs of having low testosterone levels are fatigue, irritability, low sex drive, low self esteem and mild depression.
The conversation then moved on to Testosterone supplementation. I asked Dr. Stripling about receiving Testosterone from a Doctor or buying one of the popular over the counter testosterone supplements for your local supplement store.
I learned from Dr. Stripling that Testosterone given orally can be damaging to the liver or increase cholesterol. The best way to receive testosterone supplementation is in a gel you rub on your or you can get testosterone injections.
Most over the counter supplements are made in China and there are a lot of impurities in the product. Studies show that the active ingredient varies from 0 to 200 times what they say it is. Some even have an illicit form of Viagra or Cialis in them. You want to make sure you are buying a quality product from a reputable company.
DHEA is recommended for a man who still wants to have children. Testosterone can suppress sperm count. Dr. Stripling recommends 25 mg of DHEA times a day.
Sexual Health Issues – Erectile Dysfunction, Obesity, Diabetes and the “Hidden Penis Syndrome”.
As a Urologist, Dr. Stripling is very well versed with Erectile Dysfunction. Interestingly enough, Erectile Dysfunction is a canary to heart disease. A study showed that men who showed up at a hospital for a heart attack had begun experiencing erectile dysfunction 5 years prior to the heart attack. Dr. Stripling said, “A doctor that gives you Viagra and sends you on your way is doing you a disservice”.
Diabetics can have problems retracting their penis which can become dangerous because you can’t clean it and can possibly develop penile cancer from not keeping the shaft clean. When a man gets a pad of fat around the penis, it literally works the skin of the shaft up so what is really exposed is much less. Fat eats away at the penis. If you want a longer penis, you need to lose weight to gain length. If you are 25-30 pounds overweight, you are at risk of “buried/hidden penis syndrome.” As you get more and more obese, less and less of the shaft is visible and appears smaller and smaller.
Once again, it all goes back to exercise and diet to maintain good Sexual health.
To learn more about Testosterone, Andropause and your sexual fitness, the following books are recommended.