Disclaimer
Before reading this article please be mindful that this is an information only. It is not intended to suggest people to have testosterone replacement therapy or any type of hormone replacement therapy. If any information in this article is an interest to you, please consult with your physician first.
Basics of Testosterone
Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroids. Although it may seem that testosterone is only for male, however, female can also produce testosterone. Testosterone can be secreted by testes and adrenal glands which receives signal from pituitary gland at the base of the brain. Because of testes and adrenal, men can produce more testosterone compared with women, however, compared with estrogen, women can produce more testosterone in absolute amount.
Testosterone plays important role in sexual behavior, muscle improvement, bone improvement, sperm production in men and ovarian function in women. For health male total testosterone count should be 300-1000ng/dl and for female 15-70ng/dl. There is another metrics called free testosterone and this should be about 2% of total testosterone count.
When Testosterone is Too Low
When testosterone level is too low symptoms such as, reduce body and facial hair loss, muscle loss, low libido, increase in breast size, poor concentration and increase of bone fracture may happen.
When Testosterone is Too High
Although higher testosterone can help increase muscle mass, however, when testosterone level is abnormally high, negative side effect can happen. These can be decrease in sperm count, heart damage, enlarging of prostate, liver disease, acne, weight gain, increase in blood pressure and cholesterol, insomnia, blood lots, aggressive behavior and mood swings.
Habits to Increase Testosterone Level without TRT
Majority of times, when people are looking in to Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is to have more energy and build more muscles. Currently, age of those who are receiving TRT are getting as young as 14 years old mostly because of delayed puberty or wanting to look more muscular. However, there are other ways to improve testosterone level without TRT.
Exercise, especially strength training, seems to be the most effective way to increase testosterone level. It is important to challenge your body by lifting heavy object or pushing body with high intensity interval training (HIIT) seem to have more impact on testosterone production.
Consuming protein can also help improve testosterone level. At the same time production of insulin also seem to have positive impact towards production of testosterone. Which means carbohydrate can play important role. This can be tricky for those who need to lose weight because over production of insulin can lead into obesity. If you have weight to lose, it is important to work on it by minimizing carbohydrate intake. Once the weight is down and insulin sensitivity has improved then you can add more carbohydrate to your meal. Keep in mind that people can handle carbohydrate differently. Adjust your carbohydrate intake according to your body. Fat intake is significantly important for not only testosterone level but also overall hormonal balance. Number of research have shown that low fat diet can decrease testosterone level.
Managing cortisol level is another factor that contributing to healthy testosterone level. Cortisol is very important hormone which help get our body ready during stressful situation. When cortisol level is elevated for extended periods of time, this may impact on testosterone level. Cortisol can be managed by exercise, sleep, and even with proper dieting. Of course, cause of stress can vary and if it is out of your control, it may be best to seek help from therapists.
Regarding TRT
Although it is a option to get your testosterone level up, you will need to understand that there are consequences when done wrong. Testosterone is secreted by signal of pituitary glands. Sometimes signal can be blocked off for whatever reasons. It is very important to consult with physicians before receiving a treatment. For women, it is best to work with their gynecologist so they can guide you to the appropriate path.
Even when you are a candidate of TRT, keep in mind that if your daily habits are poor, most likely you will not be able to take advantage of the treatment. Daily habits can be exercise, diet, sleep, social life and so on. Before considering TRT be sure to check you daily habits and fix what you can. Many of the reason why testosterone level gets lowered is due to the poor daily habits as I explained earlier.
If you are younger athletes playing high school or collegiate sports, you can get banned from playing so be sure to be mindful of what consequence you will have by stepping into TRT.
Kota Shimada
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