Testosterone: Functions, deficiencies, and supplements

Testosterone: What It Is and How It Affects Your Health

As blood levels of testosterone increase, this feeds back to suppress the production of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus which, in turn, suppresses production of luteinising hormone by the pituitary gland. Levels of testosterone begin to fall as a result, so negative feedback decreases and the hypothalamus resumes secretion of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone. It’s unusual for men to have naturally occurring high testosterone levels. If a man’s body is producing high levels of testosterone, it may be a sign of adrenal gland disease or testicular cancer. Studies show that testosterone therapy can benefit your sexual health and performance.

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.

The discussion of the key results is appended below under different subsections. It acts on the male body and brain during critical developmental periods – in utero, around birth, and during puberty – with effects on behaviour that often show up down the road. Boys tend to play more roughly than girls, even though young children’s testosterone levels don’t differ very much. Scientists believe that higher testosterone in fetal males drives this preference, as it does in other mammals. Violent crime, which is overwhelmingly committed by men, doesn’t peak when testosterone peaks in the late teens; instead, it peaks in men’s 20s, the phase of life when size, strength and competition for mates are at their highest. The existence of the paternal California mouse, as well as emotionally sensitive, high-testosterone human roughnecks, is entirely compatible with the hormone driving sex differences in aggression.

“This is part of trying to understand the underlying mechanisms of the immune system.” Dr. Reina-Campos is looking forward to working closely with collaborators, here in San Diego and across the country, to understand how skyrocketing estrogen levels during pregnancy affect T-cell activity in mammary tissue. Not all species have evolved ‘traditional’ sex roles; environment and culture shape human behaviour; and not all men behave in stereotypically masculine ways.

I see unambiguous evidence that it can account for some of the large and extremely impactful differences between men and women, particularly when it comes to sexual psychology and aggression. Its starting point is what the anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy has called the ‘coy female’ paradigm – the idea that asymmetries in what it costs females versus males to have babies make males more motivated by mating success. Males potentially invest as little as a sperm, while females contribute a nice plump egg and, in mammals, full bed-and-board in utero and lactation. Over evolutionary time, this means males will develop traits that help them fight for access to females, and appear more appealing to females browsing for their next mate. This case study belongs to a robust body of evidence that makes me sceptical of the significance of testosterone.

Doctors don’t always recommend TT if you have a normal age-related drop in testosterone. Prescription testosterone treatments are available as gels, skin patches, and intramuscular injections. The potential side effects of prohormones plus their unproven clinical benefits make them a poor, possibly dangerous choice for boosting testosterone. Your hypothalamus and pituitary gland control the amount of testosterone your gonads (testicles or ovaries) produce and release.

You acknowledge that sex is an important variable for understanding mating, and you don’t endorse radical sex-neutral theories. But then you take T-Rex (and me along with him) head-first into straw-man territory. This is where maleness is described as ‘a sort of “essence” that determines … predispositions of the male sex role.’ What serious biologist thinks this? My view is that the sexes are born (on average, as always) with different predispositions, leading to what are called ‘traditional sex roles’, which T-Rex gets right. This pattern, of females being more nurturing and males being more competitive, applies to our own species. We do small testicles mean low testosterone – https://www.duresta.nl/pages/afslankpillen.html, agree on some things – such as the value of reproductive autonomy, a world free of the threat of male violence, and flexibility of gender expression.

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.

The fact that Carole and I agree on these things isn’t surprising. I appreciate that contemporary evolutionary biologists recognise the diversity of mating systems, and don’t think of sex as an essence that underpins a ‘natural law’ across the animal kingdom of coy females and competitive males. My objection is with the T-Rex view, in which essentialist thinking creeps in via the back door. And then there are what we might call the ‘sex-reversed’ species, which Charles Darwin discussed in The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871).

It also plays a role in maintaining the health of the testes and prostate gland. Low levels of Testosterone can lead to infertility, decreased libido, and erectile dysfunction. Testosterone deficiency is a medical condition that occurs when the body does not produce enough testosterone to fulfill the needs of the androgen receptors. Another aspect of low testosterone occurs when testosterone bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) cannot break free of the bind to enter the androgen receptors. In that scenario, a person could have normal total testosterone but low free testosterone levels. For example, the hormone stimulates the body to make new red blood cells. Testosterone can also affect a man’s bone density, fat distribution, and muscle strength.