Testosterone, the horny hormone, is one of the most important hormones for men. It determines whether a foetus becomes a boy or a girl, makes risk taking more likely (one of the possible causes of the recession was the finance industry hiring young men with high testosterone and not controlling them adequately) and is needed for general health and well being. Testosterone levels rise with exercise and decline with fatherhood, which many men are embracing, possibly partly as a result of a dramatic long term fall in male testosterone levels in the West, leading to talk of the feminization of the Western Male, a potentially sensitive topic given that Caucasians have long been antagonistic to darker skinned peoples, in part because of the perceived superior sexual performance of those with darker skins.
In short all men should know a lot about testosterone, and women need a more high level view with special knowledge of the adverse affects it has on them. Fortunately the biochemical details can largely be left to the experts. The rest should not.
In short all men should know a lot about testosterone, and women need a more high level view with special knowledge of the adverse affects it has on them. Fortunately the biochemical details can largely be left to the experts. The rest should not.
What does Testosterone do?
Testosterone is what makes men male. The process starts in pregnancy and continues, as testosterone levels rise to a peak then start declining after a period associated with the andropause. It also leads to increased bone mass and muscle and is essential for health and well being and is needed to prevent osteoporosis (given the fall in testosterone levels in recent generations the incidence of osteoporosis in men should be increasing but there does not seem to have been any public panic about this.
Testosterone is needed for normal sperm development and mental and physical energy. Increasing the level of testosterone in elderly males has been shown to improve many factors believed to reduce risk of heart problems, such as increased lean body mass, decreased visceral fat mass, decreased total cholesterol, and glycemic control. High levels of testosterone make men more selfish and more likely to punish others who are selfish towards them.
Research, cited in Wikipedia [1], suggests that Testosterone levels play a role in risk taking during financial decisions. This is not unexpected since I recall reading that high testosterone is associated with risk taking in general. However since psychopaths are likely to be over represented in the financial field [7] and are fearless, employing poorly supervised young men in financial trading is a recipe for disaster as the world found out in 2008.
Testosterone seems to affect human attention, memory, and spatial ability. Low testosterone levels may be a risk factor for cognitive decline and possibly for Alzheimer’s like syndromes. Outside a certain range low testosterone may result in mood disorders and aggressive behaviour.
Electromagnetic radiation in the range in which cell phones broadcast (900 MHZ) reduced testosterone in rats exposed to it 5 days a week for four weeks. Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Body noted that most studies done in Europe concluded that cell phone radiation impairs sperm function and noted that he tripled his sperm count when he stopped carrying his phone in his trouser pockets.
It seems highly plausible that keeping a source of concentrated electromagnetic radiation near your body constitutes A Bad Idea and studies have shown that people who chatted on a mobile phone for 30 minutes a day for ten years saw their risk of a brain tumour rise by 40%.
So keep the phone away from the body as much as possible. Once you start you will forget it occasionally but with practice your memory will improve.
Stress
Stress is a root cause of many diseases: heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and it negatively impacts digestive function, immune system and lowers your testosterone levels. When you are stressed you focus on survival, and sex takes a back seat, next to the cell phone in your back pocket. In fact almost everything else takes a back seat too. That back seat gets very full.
Stress lowers you testosterone and increases your level of cortisol, the death hormone. Small amounts of stress MAY be good for you, but large amounts, especially chronic stress, is not.
Quick self help here is to get enough sleep, since Testosterone rises as you sleep, especially as you dream. Also five to ten minutes of quiet contemplation will help. I would have said Meditation, but Contemplation but that might have turned off some Christians, and Contemplation is the Christian term for spiritually directed meditative practices.
Diet and Nutrition
Ancient diet: meat, green shoots and leaves, roots and maybe some fruit
Modern diet: Cereals, Sugar, Low quality Bread, Chips (fries) fried in the wrong sort of fat.....
People eating more fats have higher testosterone levels than those eating more carbohydrates. Fats, especially healthy fats like avocados, nuts or saturated animal fats are filled with nutrients and metabolised well by our bodies. At least 60% of our brain is fat and all of our hormones are synthesized from fats. At one time meat with too little fat was regarded as poor quality. Maybe the Atkins diet is going too far though
By eating healthy fats and less sugar you will start to lose weight and gain more testosterone. The increased testosterone will help you burn fat faster. Consider making nuts your midnight snack and avocados your mid-day snack. Apparently 10cm (four inch) increase in waist size can mean a 75% decrease in Testosterone levels.
Exercise:
Train hard and fast in a sport you like. If you insist on going to a gym stick to compound exercises like squats, bench presses, dead lifts, chin-ups, etc.. Stick to 5 sets of 5 repetitions for maximum boost. Stop groaning and start exercising.
Rest
Get 8 hours of sleep and allow recovery time between workouts or training sessions. The exercise will make you smarter and increase bone mass thus reducing risk of Osteoporosis.
If you over do it you will actually reduce your testosterone levels.
Drink sensibly: Alcohol eats into your testosterone levels. Getting into a fight while drunk and being kicked in the groin does not help either. I was sitting in a bar once when a voice at the back of my brain said “You have a choice, Alcohol or sex”. So I ordered an orange juice and started reducing my alcohol intake dramatically. Nowadays, after long negotiations with the voice I drink far less and actually savour the experience more. Since wine is being sold in plastic bottles and beer cans may be lined with Testosterone killers more care in sourcing alcohol is needed
Testosterone is needed for normal sperm development and mental and physical energy. Increasing the level of testosterone in elderly males has been shown to improve many factors believed to reduce risk of heart problems, such as increased lean body mass, decreased visceral fat mass, decreased total cholesterol, and glycemic control. High levels of testosterone make men more selfish and more likely to punish others who are selfish towards them.
Research, cited in Wikipedia [1], suggests that Testosterone levels play a role in risk taking during financial decisions. This is not unexpected since I recall reading that high testosterone is associated with risk taking in general. However since psychopaths are likely to be over represented in the financial field [7] and are fearless, employing poorly supervised young men in financial trading is a recipe for disaster as the world found out in 2008.
Testosterone seems to affect human attention, memory, and spatial ability. Low testosterone levels may be a risk factor for cognitive decline and possibly for Alzheimer’s like syndromes. Outside a certain range low testosterone may result in mood disorders and aggressive behaviour.
Testosterone Killers
Cell phonesElectromagnetic radiation in the range in which cell phones broadcast (900 MHZ) reduced testosterone in rats exposed to it 5 days a week for four weeks. Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Body noted that most studies done in Europe concluded that cell phone radiation impairs sperm function and noted that he tripled his sperm count when he stopped carrying his phone in his trouser pockets.
It seems highly plausible that keeping a source of concentrated electromagnetic radiation near your body constitutes A Bad Idea and studies have shown that people who chatted on a mobile phone for 30 minutes a day for ten years saw their risk of a brain tumour rise by 40%.
So keep the phone away from the body as much as possible. Once you start you will forget it occasionally but with practice your memory will improve.
Stress
Stress is a root cause of many diseases: heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and it negatively impacts digestive function, immune system and lowers your testosterone levels. When you are stressed you focus on survival, and sex takes a back seat, next to the cell phone in your back pocket. In fact almost everything else takes a back seat too. That back seat gets very full.
Stress lowers you testosterone and increases your level of cortisol, the death hormone. Small amounts of stress MAY be good for you, but large amounts, especially chronic stress, is not.
Quick self help here is to get enough sleep, since Testosterone rises as you sleep, especially as you dream. Also five to ten minutes of quiet contemplation will help. I would have said Meditation, but Contemplation but that might have turned off some Christians, and Contemplation is the Christian term for spiritually directed meditative practices.
Diet and Nutrition
Ancient diet: meat, green shoots and leaves, roots and maybe some fruit
Modern diet: Cereals, Sugar, Low quality Bread, Chips (fries) fried in the wrong sort of fat.....
People eating more fats have higher testosterone levels than those eating more carbohydrates. Fats, especially healthy fats like avocados, nuts or saturated animal fats are filled with nutrients and metabolised well by our bodies. At least 60% of our brain is fat and all of our hormones are synthesized from fats. At one time meat with too little fat was regarded as poor quality. Maybe the Atkins diet is going too far though
Testosterone Boosters
Lose weight:By eating healthy fats and less sugar you will start to lose weight and gain more testosterone. The increased testosterone will help you burn fat faster. Consider making nuts your midnight snack and avocados your mid-day snack. Apparently 10cm (four inch) increase in waist size can mean a 75% decrease in Testosterone levels.
Exercise:
Train hard and fast in a sport you like. If you insist on going to a gym stick to compound exercises like squats, bench presses, dead lifts, chin-ups, etc.. Stick to 5 sets of 5 repetitions for maximum boost. Stop groaning and start exercising.
Rest
Get 8 hours of sleep and allow recovery time between workouts or training sessions. The exercise will make you smarter and increase bone mass thus reducing risk of Osteoporosis.
If you over do it you will actually reduce your testosterone levels.
Drink sensibly: Alcohol eats into your testosterone levels. Getting into a fight while drunk and being kicked in the groin does not help either. I was sitting in a bar once when a voice at the back of my brain said “You have a choice, Alcohol or sex”. So I ordered an orange juice and started reducing my alcohol intake dramatically. Nowadays, after long negotiations with the voice I drink far less and actually savour the experience more. Since wine is being sold in plastic bottles and beer cans may be lined with Testosterone killers more care in sourcing alcohol is needed
