Testosterone plays a necessary part in the growth of both males and females, but it plays a leading role in males. Testosterone is a male sex hormone involved in the development of masculinity. It involves the growth of genitals, deepens the voice, facial and body hair. It also majorly contributes to the growth of reproductive organs and secondary sex characteristics in men.
Testosterone helps make a boy turn into a man but ever gave a thought, what makes testosterone? Where does it come from? Testosterone is synthesized from cholesterol. But this does not mean that high cholesterol will produce more testosterone.
The production of testosterone is carefully regulated by the pituitary gland located in the brain. Therefore, testosterone also regulates mood.
Females’ bodies also produce testosterone, but in a very less quantity. Its production significantly increases during puberty and starts to decrease gradually after the 30s. Apart from both growth and development, testosterone is also responsible for sperm and is associated with sex drive. There are many other important aspects of testosterone upcoming in this article.
Does Testosterone Play An Important Role In Male Well Being?
Why are men like this? The answer lies in this section. In men, testosterone plays a vital role in most of the qualities of men, such as:-
- Development of penis and testes
- Deep voice
- Facial and pubic hair; responsible for balding
- Muscle size and strength
- Sex drive(libido)
- Production of sperm
- Helps in maintaining mood normal
- Bone growth
- Verbal memory
- Thinking ability
There are some additional benefits of increasing testosterone levels in men. This means as you increase testosterone level, you will be entitled to the following benefits:-
- Healthy heart and blood
- Decreases fat
- Increases muscles and their strength
- Stronger bone
- Improves mood(positively)
What Happens When A Man’s Testosterone Is Low?
Logically, a low level of testosterone or hypogonadism in men will affect the benefits of testosterone(mentioned above). Although, low testosterone might be a result of genetic or metabolic disorders, sometimes autoimmune diseases and testicular trauma can be a direct cause.
Whereas there are some indirect causes of low testosterone, such as excessive exercise, malnutrition, synthetic steroid abuse, and hormonal imbalances in the pituitary gland. A low level of testosterone can lead to the following changes in men:-
- Difficulty with sexual performance and muscle building
- Low sex drive
- Low self-esteem
- Erectile dysfunction
- Weight gain
- Less body and pubic hair
- More fat and less muscle, increasing the risk of heart disease
- Depressed feeling
- Weak bone strength, increasing the risk of fracture
- Lowered sperm count
- Fatigue
Apart from aging, other health complications can lead to hypogonadism, such as
- injury of the testicles
- result of cancer treatment involving chemotherapy or radiation
- AIDS
- Kidney disease
- Alcoholism
- Liver cirrhosis
What Happens If Testosterone Is High In Males?
Excess of anything is bad, even testosterone. Abnormal high levels of testosterone can cause problems in both males and females. As per a study, more than 9,000 men in Europe and the United States are found with high levels of testosterone or hypogonadism. Signs of high testosterone in a man include:-
- Aggressive and irritable behavior
- More acne and oily skin
- Increase in muscle mass
- Risk of sleep apnea and infertility
- Headache
- Heart complications
- High blood pressure
- Increased appetite
- Swelling of the legs and feet
- Mood swing
- Enlarged prostate
- High cholesterol, resulting in a heart attack or stroke
Check out medicines for high cholesterol and hypertension: Fenofibrate(Lipicard), and Amlodipine(Amlip) respectively.
So the bottom line is, that it is better to balance the amount of testosterone to have better growth, neither less nor more. So how is it possible? Let’s see.
Also Read: Low Testosterone Causes In Men And Symptoms
How Can I Get My Testosterone Levels Balanced?
Below are some healthy lifestyle habits that will help you balance testosterone levels. There is no limit, there must be other things that help in making your body more healthy. As such parameters depend on the
Physical Workout: All types of exercises work to improve testosterone easily.
Heavyweight lighting and high-intensity interval training is the best type of exercise to boost testosterone in both the short and long term.
Healthy Diet: Diet having balanced fat, protein, and carbs is considered best to increase testosterone levels, fitness, and reaction time.
Caffeine and creatine monohydrate intake may further boost your testosterone level when combined with an exercise plan.
Too much fat is toxic to sperm-producing cells. Therefore, it is considered to avoid eating junk food as it contains too much fat, reducing the sperm count.
Overweight men who eat junk food experience an immediate drop in their testosterone levels. Junk food has a decisively negative effect on a man’s serum testosterone levels.
Men frequently consuming a high-fat diet have to face an adverse impact on both their mental and physical health continuously.
Stress: Long-term stress can lead to a reduction in testosterone count.
Stress can increase food intake, resulting in weight gain and storage of fat, leading to a decrease in testosterone. Therefore it is important to remain stress-free.
Vitamin and Minerals: Vitamins and Minerals also play a vital role in the production of testosterone. Vitamin D3, A, C, E, and B boost testosterone levels.
Minerals such as Zinc and Vitamin B help in enhancing the quality of sperm by 74%. Other effective ways to handle low testosterone: Testosterone Gel (Cernos), and Testosterone Capsules (Cernos Soft Gelatin).
High-Quality Sleep: Apart from a balanced diet and physical activity, rest is also important.
It is necessary as muscles get relaxed and repaired during sleep, resulting in a 15% increase in testosterone level.
