Normal versus Optimal
By Bartley Harvard Kerr, DC
NRC Founder and CEO
While discussing bio-identical hormone replacement therapy with patients, often the subject of normal hormone levels and optimal levels comes up. “Normal” levels are those ranges revealed in a blood test that the medical community designates to a certain hormone. In the instance for the hormone testosterone in men, a normal total testosterone value is often used. The “normal” range is between 250 to 1100 ng/dL., quite a large distance between the two numbers!
The literature shows that these ranges were formulated many years ago by taking the testosterone levels of a thousand guys ages 19 to 90. The healthy 19 year olds levels were more on the high end of the chart, while the older guys were at the lower end. So, it was concluded that it is “normal” for older men to have much lower testosterone levels than the younger guys. It is also “normal” for the older men to have more health issues than the younger men. It is “normal” for them to fatigue easy, have decreased sex drive, higher body fat and less muscle, among many other unpleasant signs of aging.
Optimal testosterone levels, on the other hand, are the healthy levels of the athletic 20 year old. This is the guy who looks great and feels great with minimal effort and rarely has any health issues. It is difficult, however, for many patients to discuss average versus optimal with their family doctor, as he or she may not be familiar with the concept or has not researched it enough to give their honest opinion. Because of this, they may say that “there is not enough research out there” or “there are not enough long term studies” to warrant giving a patient optimal levels of deficient hormones, despite over 70,000 recent university studies on testosterone alone!
I recently had a meeting with some wonderful primary care physicians who are affiliated with a local hospital to discuss Rejuvenation Medicine. It is always nice to see good doctors willing to listen to new ways to help their patients. We discussed a scenario where a 60 year old man comes into the clinic with all the symptoms of testosterone deficiency and seeks testosterone treatment. He, for the most part, looks and feels like crap. His testosterone levels are 300 – at the lower end of “normal.” I asked the doctors what they would say to the patient. They knew where I was coming from and gave me an honest answer – “Your levels are in ‘normal’ range and this is the way you are supposed to feel.” The next thing I said was after looking around the room was “well, we are all becoming that guy. If you felt terrible like he does, had the same blood work as him and asked your physician if he could help and the answer you get is to ‘live with it, you’re supposed to feel like that, your 60,’ what would you think?
Needless to say, these doctors got it. They were not trained to balance hormones, but they understand the value of optimal hormone levels and the complexity of care that we do at NRC. Modern medicine does not usually allow most doctors sit down with patients for an hour and later on devise individual treatment plans specific to their hormonal and nutritional needs. This is where NRC comes in. As many primary care physician’s rely on an orthopedic surgeon to fix a shoulder or a cardiologist for heart issues, many use NRC for hormonal balance and optimization.
There are many different hormones in men and women, and all of them should be addressed and balanced to allow for optimal health. Optimal hormone levels can help an aging man or woman look better, feel better and be healthier by rejuvenating tissues and attaining the health status of an athletic 20 year old! There is nothing, by the way, wrong with “normal”, but if “normal” for your age is tiredness, loss of libido, depression, increased body fat and wrinkles, loss of muscle mass and sleep, why not stand up to these symptoms and be optimal!
By Bartley Harvard Kerr, DC
NRC Founder and CEO
While discussing bio-identical hormone replacement therapy with patients, often the subject of normal hormone levels and optimal levels comes up. “Normal” levels are those ranges revealed in a blood test that the medical community designates to a certain hormone. In the instance for the hormone testosterone in men, a normal total testosterone value is often used. The “normal” range is between 250 to 1100 ng/dL., quite a large distance between the two numbers!
The literature shows that these ranges were formulated many years ago by taking the testosterone levels of a thousand guys ages 19 to 90. The healthy 19 year olds levels were more on the high end of the chart, while the older guys were at the lower end. So, it was concluded that it is “normal” for older men to have much lower testosterone levels than the younger guys. It is also “normal” for the older men to have more health issues than the younger men. It is “normal” for them to fatigue easy, have decreased sex drive, higher body fat and less muscle, among many other unpleasant signs of aging.
Optimal testosterone levels, on the other hand, are the healthy levels of the athletic 20 year old. This is the guy who looks great and feels great with minimal effort and rarely has any health issues. It is difficult, however, for many patients to discuss average versus optimal with their family doctor, as he or she may not be familiar with the concept or has not researched it enough to give their honest opinion. Because of this, they may say that “there is not enough research out there” or “there are not enough long term studies” to warrant giving a patient optimal levels of deficient hormones, despite over 70,000 recent university studies on testosterone alone!
I recently had a meeting with some wonderful primary care physicians who are affiliated with a local hospital to discuss Rejuvenation Medicine. It is always nice to see good doctors willing to listen to new ways to help their patients. We discussed a scenario where a 60 year old man comes into the clinic with all the symptoms of testosterone deficiency and seeks testosterone treatment. He, for the most part, looks and feels like crap. His testosterone levels are 300 – at the lower end of “normal.” I asked the doctors what they would say to the patient. They knew where I was coming from and gave me an honest answer – “Your levels are in ‘normal’ range and this is the way you are supposed to feel.” The next thing I said was after looking around the room was “well, we are all becoming that guy. If you felt terrible like he does, had the same blood work as him and asked your physician if he could help and the answer you get is to ‘live with it, you’re supposed to feel like that, your 60,’ what would you think?
Needless to say, these doctors got it. They were not trained to balance hormones, but they understand the value of optimal hormone levels and the complexity of care that we do at NRC. Modern medicine does not usually allow most doctors sit down with patients for an hour and later on devise individual treatment plans specific to their hormonal and nutritional needs. This is where NRC comes in. As many primary care physician’s rely on an orthopedic surgeon to fix a shoulder or a cardiologist for heart issues, many use NRC for hormonal balance and optimization.
There are many different hormones in men and women, and all of them should be addressed and balanced to allow for optimal health. Optimal hormone levels can help an aging man or woman look better, feel better and be healthier by rejuvenating tissues and attaining the health status of an athletic 20 year old! There is nothing, by the way, wrong with “normal”, but if “normal” for your age is tiredness, loss of libido, depression, increased body fat and wrinkles, loss of muscle mass and sleep, why not stand up to these symptoms and be optimal!