Why Optimizing Testosterone is Good for Health

You must have heard about how hormones are the magical potions controlling your body. Different types of hormones exist inside the human body regulating separate functions. Testosterone is also a vital hormone of the human body that deals with the secondary growth characteristics of our body. It is mostly present in the male bodies but females also have testosterone in the form of its derivatives rather than its actual hormonal form.

Importance Of Testosterone Hormone

Testosterone is mostly related to maintaining a healthy male body. Its utmost importance can be explained by the fact that it controls male fertility. Any deficiencies or deficits in the testosterone levels inside the body may cause infertility and many other health issues.¹

Therefore, it is very important to maintain optimal levels of testosterone at all times. Especially if you're aged above 25, you must pay careful attention to your testosterone levels. Why? Because after a certain age when you've reached your peak puberty, your testosterone levels start to go down. The overall hormonal production begins dwindling 1-2% every year.²

Let's see how your daily life activities affect your testosterone levels.

How Diet Affects Your Testosterone Levels?

Your diet plays a key role in maintaining healthy testosterone levels inside your body. Since testosterone hormone is a steroid hormone (reproductive hormone), it is synthesized from lipid derivatives i.e., Fats and Oils. All the food items you eat in your routine diets contain some percentage of fats and oils in them. Different diets have different energizing elements in which lipid composition may vary.³

What to do?

Irrespective of the taste and availability, you should always prefer eating a balanced diet. Your diet plan should include proteins, carbs, along with enough fats and oils to fulfill your body's requirements. Eating fruits & vegetables is considered a healthy diet but it doesn't mean you should completely skip fats and cholesterol. Cholesterol is the key component that helps to produce corticosteroid hormones such as Testosterone. 

You can eat beans, leguminous veggies, fortified cereals, some onion-rich salads, egg yolks, and seafood such as oysters, shellfish, and tuna of fish that has low-fat milk.?

How Sleep Affects Your Testosterone Levels?

Sleep is necessary for returning your body's energy to perform mental and physical functions at its best. A sleep+deprived person can never perform any task efficiently. He stays in a constant dull state facing heavy dizziness with multiple body weaknesses.?

Studies suggest that testosterone levels are also regulated based on your routine sleeping span. Not getting enough sleep can disturb your circadian rhythms and the ability of your body to produce testosterone. As a result, low levels of testosterone caused by chronic sleep deprivation can hinder your sex life as well.?

What to do?

Always make sure to have a goodnight's sleep of at least 5-6 hours a day.

How Exercise Affects Your  Testosterone Levels?

Exercising is a broad term that refers to all your routine physical functions. It doesn't necessarily have to mean going to the gym or lifting heavyweights. Exercising also helps to maintain optimum testosterone levels as it helps to reduce body weight. Increased weight (Obesity) puts you at risk of developing multiple health problems including infertility due to low testosterone levels.?

What to do?

Start using exercise as a means to stay active. You may choose to do heavy weight lifting or gym training. However, a brisk walk for 30 minutes daily should be enough to keep your body moving.? 

References

1. Kelly DM, Jones TH., et al, 2013 April, Testosterone: a metabolic hormone in health and disease. J Endocrinol. Apr 29;217(3):R25-45.

2. Qaseem A, Horwitch CA, Vijan S, et al. January 2020, Testosterone Treatment in Adult Men With Age-Related Low Testosterone: A Clinical Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. Jan 21;172(2):126-133. 

3. Skoracka K, Eder P, et al, 2020 May. Diet and Nutritional Factors in Male (In)fertility-Underestimated Factors. J Clin Med. 9;9(5):1400.

4. Whittaker J, Wu K. et al, 2021. Low-fat diets and testosterone in men: Systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. Jun;210:105878.

5. Tan?i?-Gaji? M, Vuk?evi? M, et alz July 2021, Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Associated With Low Testosterone Levels in Severely Obese Men. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). Jul 26;12:622496.

6. Patel P, Shiff B, Kohn TP, et al, 2019. Impaired sleep is associated with low testosterone in US adult males: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. World J Urol. Jul;37(7):1449-1453.

7. Vingren JL, Kraemer WJ, et al. December 2010, Testosterone physiology in resistance exercise and training: the up-stream regulatory elements. Sports Med. 1;40(12):1037-53.

8. Hooper DR, Tenforde AS, et al, November 2018, Treating exercise-associated low testosterone and its related symptoms. Phys Sportsmed. Nov;46(4):427-434.