When it comes to something as life and death important as to what to feed ourselves and our families,

we should rely not on anecdotes, but on facts.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Nearly two million women in the U.S. will enter menopause this year.

So what does the research tell us

about the best methods to alleviate menopausal symptoms? Here's our first story.

Testosterone is linked with sexual desire in both men and women. Women normally produce testosterone

throughout the life cycle. Although postmenopausal ovaries continue to produce testosterone

levels naturally decline with age.

Testosterone blood levels decrease approximately 50% by age 50, which may play a role in the decline

in libido using masturbation frequency as a partner-independent proxy.

A syndrome of female androgen deficiency symptoms has been popularized,

but there's no evidence testosterone replacement helps with mood or well-being,

hot flashes, or bone, cardiovascular, or metabolic health.

The only evidence-based reason to try testosterone in postmenopausal women

is for the treatment of low sexual desire that causes distress.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of three dozen randomized control trials involving more than 8,000 women,

found that testosterone treatment significantly increased postmenopausal sexual desire.

The increase in frequency of satisfactory sexual events was statistically significant,

but not clinically significant enough to warrant FDA approval,

especially given the uncertainty about long-term side effects.

...