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Answers to A
Man’s Questions
About Natural Progesterone
By Dr. John R. Lee
Testosterone is Only Part of the Picture
Some years back, a handful of men called or wrote me to tell me of their experiences with Natural Progesterone (NP) cream, usually resulting from handling it by helping their wives apply it. They all reported that their symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/Hypertrophy (BPH), such as urinary urgency and/or frequency decreased considerably, while their sexual performance increased. Needless to say, this gave me a lot to think about.
Since that time, several men with prostate cancer have also told me that their PSA levels – one indication of prostate cancer – decreased when they started using a daily dab of NP cream, and that they have had no further progression of their prostate lesions since using the cream. One man called me to say that his bone metastases are no longer visible by Mayo Clinic X-Ray tests.
Although I retired from over 30 years of medical practice ten years ago, six of my former patients with early prostate cancer have been using the NP Cream (along with diet, some vitamin and mineral supplements, and Saw Palmetto) for about five years. All now report that their cancers have shown no progression.
The Wrong Treatment All These Years
Since Huggins showed, in 1941, that castration (removal of the testicles) slowed the progression of prostate cancer, physicians have assumed that it was the resulting lack of testosterone that slowed the cancer, and ever since then have relied on testosterone suppression to treat the disease. However, the testosterone suppression benefit only lasts two to three years, and then the prostate cancer progresses to an androgen (male hormone)- insensitive state and continues to spread. Despite this knowledge, traditional medicine continues to treat metastatic prostate cancer patients with “androgenic blockade” through castration (orchiectomy) and/or hormone suppressing drugs.
I remember reading studies done 30-40 years ago showing that testosterone supplementation prevented survival of prostate cancer cells transplanted into test mammals. In more recent (and some as yet unpublished) studies, it has been shown that in prostate cancer cell culture, testosterone itself kills the cancer cells. A 1996 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that in mice, testosterone will shrink prostate tumors.
Tracking the Culprit
Why does prostate cancer occur so often in aging men? Consider the changes in testicular hormone production as men age:
-
Testosterone Levels fall.
-
More testosterone is changed to dyhydrotestosterone (DHT) by the
5-alpha-reductase enzyme, stimulating prostate cell growth. -
Progesterone levels fall.
Progesterone is vital to good health in men.
It is the primary precursor of our adrenal cortical hormones, as well as testosterone.
Men synthesize progesterone, although in smaller amounts than women, but it is still vital
to them.Since progesterone is a potent inhibitor of 5-alpha-reductase, the decline of progesterone
in aging males plays a role in increasing the conversion rate of testosterone to DHT.
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Estradiol (an estrogen) increases.
Testosterone is a direct antagonist of estradiol.
Both the fall in testosterone, and the shift from testosterone to DHT, increase the effect of estradiol.
[Editor’s Note: French studies indicate that at Andropause (male menopause), testosterone levels drop by about 50% while estradiol levels increase by about 50%.]
Male estradiol levels are equivalent to or greater than that of menopausal females, but normally estradiol’s effects are suppressed (antagonized) by a male’s greater production of testosterone.
Perhaps estradiol is ALSO the culprit (along with DHT) in abnormal or cancerous prostate growth.
Getting Down to the Gene Level
Embryology teaches us that the prostate is the male equivalent of the female uterus. The two organs differentiate from the same embryonic cells and share many of the same genes as the oncogene, Bcl-2, and the cancer protector gene, P53. It is not surprising then, that the hormonal relationships in endometrial cancer would be the same as in prostate cancer; that is, that both are very sensitive to the harmful effects of unopposed estrogen (estradiol) and are protected by progesterone. Researchers T.S. Wiley and Bent Formby, Ph.D., have done test tube studies that verify this relationship; but human studies still need to be done.
The course of prostate cancer growth, like breast cancer growth, is not due to a linear progression of cancer cells multiplying from one rogue cell; it is due to the continued presence of an underlying metabolic imbalance. This underlying imbalance in all hormone dependent cancers is “estrogen dominance” (more estrogen than the balancing hormones progesterone and/or testosterone). Prevent the estrogen dominance, and you will prevent the cancer.
If the cancer is already underway, correcting the estrogen dominance will slow the cancer growth and prolong life. The benefit of castration in prostate cancer, stems from estradiol reduction, not testosterone reduction. Given the choice, I would choose testosterone and progesterone supplementation over castration.
Excerpt from The John R. Lee Medical Letter, January 1999.
Should Men Supplement With Natural Progesterone?
Men over 40 can use progesterone cream to supplement their naturally declining progesterone levels. One benefit is an increase in libido. Testosterone has also been found to stimulate new bone formation increasing bone density; a lack of progesterone can result in osteoporosis and/or osteoarthritis.
Older men with rheumatoid arthritis have reported relief from pain and swelling after rubbing natural progesterone cream on their joints.
Where Can I Find a Suitable Cream?
Progesterone can be found in health food stores in various potencies at prices from $15 (usually very weak concentrations) to $45 for a 2 oz container. Concentrations considered effective (because they contain a normal physiological dose in a small dab) are those that contain 460 mg/oz., and a minimum of 920 mg/2 oz. Adam’s Equalizer Men’s Body Cream contains these amounts and is available from local representatives for under $30.
Where Should I Apply Progesterone Cream?
Natural Progesterone is manufactured from plant sources (Mexican Wild Yam or Soy) and is oil soluble. It should be applied externally to any fatty tissue such as the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, neck, inner arms, thighs, scrotum, or areas of inflammation (NP is an anti-inflammatory). Vary the location of application so as not to apply in the same place for 4-5 days.
How Should I Apply Progesterone Cream?
Use 1/2 tspn (a small dab on the fingers about the size of a nickel twice daily at approximately 12 hour intervals for three weeks, then do not apply for the next five days. An easy schedule to remember is to use the cream each month from day 6 through the end of the month. Stop on days 1 to 5 of the next month and begin again on day 6.
Contrary to some misinformation, men also have hormone cycles, although not as obvious as female cycles. Progesterone receptors exist on most cells in the body of both genders, and receptors “tune down” when constantly exposed to the same hormone. After using progesterone supplementation for a month, the body responds by aligning hormone production with the new cycle. But cell receptors must “rest” for at least 5 days in each monthly cycle or the hormones will have less effect.
Is a Prescription Necessary for Men’s Progesterone Cream?
No. By law, natural substances cannot be patented, so drug manufacturers can receive no large monetary profits from their sales. Prescription versions of NP are chemically altered, patented substances called “protestins” or “progestagins”. which are NOT identical to human progesterone. These substances produce some of the effects of natural progesterone, but also produce the adverse side effects of these unrecognizable chemicals that your body cannot identify or deactivate. For this reason, chemically altered versions of this natural substance made by the human body can create negative side effects when used in place of it.
The PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) lists some of the adverse side effect of “progestins” as epilepsy, fluid retention, headaches and migraines, asthma, cardiac or kidney dysfunction, and depression. The FDA has evaluated natural progesterone and has found NO adverse side effects from it. Mega intravenous doses have been found only to act as a mild sedative.
To Obtain A Salivary Hormone Test Kit, contact the laboratories listed below.
ZRT Laboratory, 1815 NW 169th Pl.
Suite 5050,
Beaverton, Oregon 97006
Phone: 503 466-2445, Fax: 503 466-1636,
e-mail: info@zrtlab.com
Diagnos-Techs, Inc, 6620 192nd Place,
Suite J-104
Kent, WA 98032,
Phone: 1-800-878-3787, 1-206-251-0637
For more information on Natural Progesterone and how beneficial it is, refer to Dr. John Lee's Web Site.