Testosterone. What is it? Why is it important? What does it do? How do I know if my body is low or not?

No one ever tells you to check your testosterone. 1 in 5 adults have low levels but your general physician will never have you check your levels until you actually request it. It’s just one of those things that’s overlooked until you personally feel the effects and are not sure why. So lets get back to the beginning. What exactly is testosterone and why is it important?

Testosterone is a hormone that is naturally produced in the body (pituitary gland to be exact) in both men and women. Men naturally have a much higher amount of it then women. It plays a vital role in controlling your energy, mood, focus, strength, muscle growth and fat loss. All of these factors are so very important in our every day quality of life! Everybody is genetically born with an “x” amount that their body will produce each day. We peak in our mid 20’s and as we age, it slowly gets lower and lower. This is why a 60 year old man could never pack on the muscle a 25 year old could. But just because we’re genetically predisposition with a specific amount our bodies can produce, it does not mean this amount can’t be easily be altered by our daily lifestyle. You can drastically increase or decrease your levels of testosterone and here is how.

First off, with the crap quality of food and chemicals that is pumped into our food these days, that’s a huge reason why people’s testosterone is dropping. On the flip side, a good healthy diet will actually increase your testosterone. Sleep and rest is also a key factor. Not enough sleep and over training call also lower your levels. You can even lower your levels mentally by stress alone. The way you mentally handle stressful environments can lower levels as well.

How do I know if my levels are low? First off, analysis yourself. Do you get a full night sleep and still feel tired each day? Do you feel weaker in your training than you used to? Do you have a hard time losing fat and gaining muscle even when you feel like you’re doing everything right? Are you depressed for no reason? Low sex drive? If you answered yes to most of these, there is a chance you could have low testosterone. My recommendation would be to see your physician and request to have your levels checked. It’s an easy process and if you do happen to be low, they have medical solutions to help or even a simple solution as cleaning up the diet, stress or more sleep.