Testosterone does not lead to aggressive macho behavior at all. This hormone plays an important role in your health. Not only that, it brings great benefits, from protection against Alzheimer's to easier weight loss. You can read all about testosterone in this article.
The 12 real benefits of testosterone in men
Testosterone is one of the most famous and also most notorious hormones in the body. Everyone has an opinion about it: men who have high levels of this hormone are aggressive machos, antisocial, impatient, quick to lash out and exhibit cocky behavior.
Testosterone has also been given a bad name by the use of anabolic steroids (this is the chemical variant of testosterone) by strength athletes.
But testosterone is much more than that. This hormone affects your social and cognitive functioning and also your physical health. The right level of testosterone helps you stay healthy. So you need this hormone. Below you can read all about the 12 benefits of testosterone in men.
1. Testosterone can help you lose weight
When there is a testosterone deficiency it will often result in an increase in body fat. Testosterone actually plays a role in regulating insulin and fat storage.
When there is too little testosterone, more fat will be stored. This is therefore one of the underlying causes of the well-known love handles in men.
Unfortunately, an increase in fat tissue results in a further decrease in testosterone levels. This stimulates the body to convert testosterone into estrogen.
This vicious circle is probably the reason why obese men generally have lower than normal testosterone levels and higher estrogen levels.
However, research shows that it is possible to break this vicious cycle. Increasing testosterone levels can help to rebalance hormone levels.
In fact, when the levels of the sex hormone rise again, you can ensure that there is a cycle where testosterone increases and body fat decreases [1] . So one of the many benefits of testosterone is that it can help you lose weight.
2. Testosterone stimulates risk taking
The hormone testosterone is related to obtaining and maintaining high status. Testosterone causes you to be motivated to improve your status.
Studies show that men who have low personal power and status, but high levels of testosterone, are willing to take a lot of risks to gain more status.
On the other hand, men who have high levels of testosterone and high status do not want to take risks. They naturally want to keep what they have.
So as long as status and personal power are at stake, testosterone makes it easier to take risks.
Scientific studies have shown that testosterone is also related to status in non-human, male primates (monkeys). Testosterone levels rise when they hold or must defend a dominant position and fall when they lose a dominant position.
Also playing a "game" on your own turf, like gorillas, affects your testosterone levels. From this, you might tentatively conclude that the increase in testosterone levels is partly responsible for the fact that home games are won more often than away games.
3. Feeling better about yourself (helps against depression)
Men who suffer from depressive symptoms might have low levels of testosterone. This has been shown by research [2] . However, it remains unclear whether the depression is caused by low testosterone levels or whether depression causes lower testosterone levels.
Preliminary research seems to indicate that treatment with testosterone could help men with depression. Among other things, they notice an improvement in their mood.
You can also do a lot yourself to increase your testosterone levels. This product helps you to increase your testosterone level in a natural way, without chemical junk.
Testosterone helps you exude more self-confidence, feel more assertive and have easier conversations. This, of course, also comes in handy when you're trying to pick up women.
In the animal kingdom, male animals with higher testosterone levels are also more successful in finding a partner. So it turns out that this is also true for human men.
In a study, pairs of two men had to compete to get the attention of an attractive woman [3] . Their conversational skills and assertiveness were found to be related to their testosterone levels as measured before the test.
The scientists indicate that in books and movies you often see that the confident and bold men often win the hearts of women. So this study shows that there is a grain of truth in this stereotype after all.
So, one of the benefits of testosterone is that it makes you feel more confident and easier to be assertive.
This several studies show that low levels of testosterone may be linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease [4] . In 2010, scientists at the University of Hong Kong examined 153 men. They were at least 55 years old and did not have dementia.
47 of these men had mild cognitive problems, such as with clear thinking and memory loss. Within a year, 10 of these men developed Alzheimer's and they also had low levels of testosterone.
There are several studies showing this link. Researchers at the University of Southern California gave mice with Alzheimer's disease testosterone and this seemed to slow down the progression of the disease.
Because of this, scientists suspect that Alzheimer's disease may be preventable by ensuring that older people's testosterone levels remain at optimal levels.
The studies on testosterone and Alzheimer's disease have already shown a link between this hormone and brain function. It appears that there is also a link with cognitive abilities, and especially in older men.
A Dutch study shows a direct link between cognitive functioning and testosterone levels [5] . Conversely, it appears that there is also a negative correlation, between memory loss and testosterone deficiency.
This is the reason why many scientists suspect that testosterone plays a role in preventing brain deterioration in older men.
This is also apparent when you look at some of the symptoms that can occur with low testosterone, for example ''brain fog'' concentration problems and memory loss.
So it may well be that low testosterone can cause complaints in the area of mental functioning. However, it is not the case that scientists have found a link between high testosterone levels and improved cognition.
A healthy testosterone level may help to reduce cognitive aging.
Men are known to be competitive at times: they always want to win and like to show off their skills. Testosterone also plays a role in this. Before a competition or challenge begins, the levels of this hormone rise.
This muscle affects mass, accelerates reactions, improves endurance and makes you feel like the strongest. Testosterone also gives you the desire to continue participating in a game or challenge.
High levels of the sex hormone were a good indicator of whether someone wanted to participate again after losing a game. If the levels had become low, most men did not want to play again, research showed [6] .
From this, the scientists concluded that testosterone is one of the factors involved in competitiveness in men.
Because testosterone affects several facets of health, it may help keep the heart healthy. However, not much research has been done on this and the conclusions are not yet clear.
For example, there is research showing that men with artificially high or low testosterone levels are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease [7] .
Ultimately, most doctors believe that optimal testosterone levels can potentially help prevent cardiovascular disease. Not artificially high (anabolics) but certainly not too low either.
But testosterone prompts you to react in a way that is appropriate to the situation. In many cases, diplomatic behavior is actually best and in others you may find yourself acting more forcefully.
The hormone can motivate you to work hard and get ahead in life and that's basically not a bad thing. It helps you stand up for yourself, be successful and even resist oppression. One of the benefits of testosterone is that it can give you a powerful boost.
Behavior is very complex and testosterone is just one part that plays a role in it.
10. Good for libido and getting erections
The link between testosterone, libido and the ability to have erections is not hard to see. When testosterone levels are low, a decrease in libido and fatigue is often the first thing men notice.
Yet libido (or sex drive) is a somewhat mysterious phenomenon. Researchers don't know exactly how testosterone causes increased libido. Normally, sex drive in men decreases with age.
Also, it is something that can fluctuate and stress, sleep problems and mental problems such as depression, affect the libido. It is therefore almost impossible to indicate what a "normal libido" is.
Some men have low testosterone and still feel sexual desire. Others experience little sex drive while having normal hormone levels.
Low levels of the sex hormone generally do not cause erectile dysfunction. These are usually caused by atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis). However, it is true that excessively low testosterone levels are often associated with atherosclerosis.
Therefore, research shows that one in three men with erection problems, also have too low testosterone levels.
Improving testosterone levels can go a long way toward improving sex life, where a man can experience more satisfaction and a more powerful libido.
11. Helps to strengthen bones
Not only calcium and vitamins like Vitamin B and K are important for healthy, strong bones, but testosterone is also needed for this. It appears to play a role in bone formation. Testosterone stimulates the mineralization of bones, increasing bone density [8] .
When older men suffer from osteoporosis, they often have lower testosterone levels. This can cause bones to break more easily. In order to continue to benefit from strong bones in old age, it is important to ensure that testosterone levels remain optimal.
Testosterone causes the production and activation of muscle fiber precursor cells in the muscles. These precursor cells are also called "satellite cells" or "muscle stem cells" and when activated they can be incorporated into existing muscle fibers, causing the muscle to enlarge.
This increase in size of the muscle fibers is also called hypertrophy. In addition, these muscle stem cells can also form new muscle fibers, which is also called hyperplasia.
The important role that testosterone plays
So it turns out that testosterone is involved in many processes in the body. It plays an important role in maintaining good health. This hormone is necessary for strong bones, helps to maintain a healthy weight and can help prevent heart problems.
It is also important for a good psychological balance, for sexual performance and cognitive functioning. An optimal level of testosterone is essential for your health. So keep checking that you don't develop a deficiency by keeping an eye on the signals of your body and mind.
Repost: NATURALPERFORMANCE.NL