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Testosterone Therapy: What Men Need to Know About Low T and TRT Treatment Los Angeles Times

Bigger, Faster, Stronger? 6 Benefits of Testosterone

Sceptical, that is, that this hormone is the root cause of the many gendered differences in behaviour that we see in humans. Obesity, lack of sleep, stress, and poor nutrition can all tank testosterone levels. Regular exercise, weight loss, clean eating, and managing sleep hygiene can go a long way in restoring natural production or enhancing the benefits of TRT if you’re on it. Low testosterone during puberty can cause slow growth in height and strength, limited development of pubic hair, the voice doesn’t deepen, and reduced growth of male sex organs.

But even in nonhuman animals, testosterone is just one variable in a complex system, one of many factors that feeds into an animal’s decision-making. Social context and experience can override T’s influence on behaviour, or even stand in for T’s absence. Moreover, T responds to contexts and situations, helping us adapt to them. This means that how much T a body has, and how it reacts to it, are inextricably intertwined with the individual’s history and experience – including, in our own case, the influence of gender norms. Generally, total testosterone levels below 300 ng/dL (nanograms per deciliter) may indicate low T, but it’s nuanced.

I wouldn’t presume that these men are repressing a predisposition to be bellicose womanisers. ​​This doesn’t mean that men spend their lives trying to tear each other apart. We are not a highly polygynous species like the elephant seal, in which lots of fierce aggression is a sensible reproductive strategy. All animals use aggression judiciously, but it depends on the costs versus the rewards for particular animals in a given environment. In humans – who are arguably mildly polygynous – individual proclivities for aggression vary widely, but males still have a heightened propensity for it. Given enough alcohol, an honour-based culture, the right kind of threat or the ready availability of guns, it will show itself.

But bodybuilders take supraphysiologic doses of it—that is, amounts much higher than any woman’s body would ever make on its own. When experts prescribe testosterone to postmenopausal women, it is intended to replicate the amount a younger woman makes, and taking too much can lead to an array of unpleasant side effects. You see, while men have more of it, testosterone is not a "male hormone"—it is a human hormone that is just as important in women as it is in men.

People who are overweight are at an increased risk of low testosterone levels due to a higher amount of aromatase being produced in belly fat. That is also why doctors recommend losing weight to improve testosterone levels. Testosterone therapy may make sense for women who have low testosterone levels and symptoms that might be due to testosterone deficiency. However, the wisdom and effectiveness of testosterone treatment to improve sexual function or cognitive function among postmenopausal women is unclear. In recent years, researchers (and pharmaceutical companies) have focused on the effects of testosterone deficiency, especially among men. In fact, as men age, testosterone levels drop very gradually, about 1 ml of testosterone cypionate a week% to 2% each year — unlike the relatively rapid drop in estrogen that causes menopause.

Yes, TRT has been said to lower sperm count, especially if taken without precautions. That is one reason why some men are prescribed hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) alongside TRT to maintain testicular function and fertility potential. Let’s look at the main functions of testosterone and get an overview of what testosterone imbalances can look like.

In this account, ‘T’ becomes the potent, hormonal essence of competitive, risk-taking masculinity. Sex drive is a nonclinical term that means enthusiasm or interest in sexual activity. The presence of it (or lack thereof) can indicate the state of your mental and physical functioning.

An evolutionary perspective can help to make sense of these patterns. Testosterone is responsible for developing male characteristics, such as the deepening of the voice, body and facial hair growth, and increased muscle mass. During puberty, testosterone levels increase, leading to the development of masculine features. Deepening of the voice occurs due to the growth of the larynx, which Testosterone stimulates. It also stimulates the growth of facial and body hair, leading to the growth of a beard, mustache, and body hair. It promotes the growth of muscle mass and strength, which is why men typically have more muscle mass than women.

If fertilization does not occur, the corpus luteum degenerates, leading to a decrease in hormone levels and subsequent menstruation, initiating a new cycle5. I agree that there are strong sex-correlated patterns across species. In some human populations, these conditions meant sexual selection was similarly strong on both sexes. Whichever way sexual selection leans, it surely operates via a range of mechanisms that respond to social, material and physical conditions – and, in the case of humans, economic and cultural ones.

Some of the participants stated that they had growth of hair on the back due to increased testosterone levels after exercise. Before each session, participants were instructed to abstain from alcohol, caffeine, or strenuous physical activities or sports for a full day. And 12 p.m., followed by breakfast consumed at least two hours before the commencement of the session.