The testosterone reference range for most labs in the US runs between 350 – 1200 ng/dl (nanograms per deciliter), plus or minus a few points depending on the lab that did the testing.
This is the reference range for the amount of total T in your system, and it includes testosterone that is bound up by carrier proteins, called sex hormone binding globulin (SBHG).
And it’s important to note that while it’s a good thing to have a high total testosterone number…
It’s VITAL that a certain percentage of that T is free, or unbound, because free testosterone is the only type that your body can actually put to use.
So we need to pay special attention to this number because free T is the material your body uses to create muscle, build sex drive and synthesize sperm.
In short, free testosterone is your masculinity fuel and if you allow your numbers to fall too low, your overall state of manliness is going to decline.
So lets take a close look at what the free testosterone ideal reference range should be.
Ideal Free Testosterone Levels
Many doctors will give a man a clean bill of health if his free T levels are above 15 pg/ml.
I’ve even heard from men who’ve been given a thumbs up with levels as low as 8 pg/ml and in my opinion this should be a punishable crime, because numbers that low are not healthy on any level…
Unless you’re looking to lose your erections, libido, muscle mass and possibly even your life if you stay there too long.
The bare minimum every man should shoot for is 35 pg/ml because once you fall below that number bad things begin to happen.
The worst of which occurs in your arteries, which explains why men with low free testosterone often have issues with erectile dysfunction.
Here’s how it works…
HDL cholesterol is responsible for a process called Reverse Cholesterol Transport where excess cholesterol attached to your artery walls is removed, sent to your liver and flushed out of your body.
And you MUST have optimal levels of free testosterone in your blood for this reverse cholesterol transport process to work properly.
But many men don’t, so they rush to their doctor and complain that they can’t achieve an erection, because their arteries have become blocked up with this excess cholesterol.
Now what the doctor SHOULD do in this situation is take immediate steps to boost free testosterone levels, then get the patient to clean up his diet, exercise and use supplements to improve artery health.
But this rarely happens and what most doctors do instead is prescribe a drug like Viagra to treat the Symptom, and they’ll do absolutely nothing to treat the Cause.
This explains why it’s extremely important that you don’t just randomly select any old doctor and hope for the best…
You need to take plenty of time selecting your medical man.
And never hesitate to fire him and move onto another if he ever pulls out his prescription pad and tries drug a symptom instead of treating the underlaying cause that brought it on in the first place.
Free Testosterone Ideal Reference Range
Moving on….
Your arteries aren’t the only thing you need to be concerned with because low free testosterone also increases your risk of developing prostate cancer, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure.
But it’s impact on your sex life is where you’ll probably feel it first.
You’ll have less sexual desire, lower ejaculation volume, and weaker erections if you can actually muster up the motivation to try and have sex at all.
And while these sexual side effects of Low Free T are extremely unpleasant, you need to remember that the more serious stuff can actually kill you.
And that script for Viagra will do nothing to stop that.
I’ve seen several free testosterone reference range charts on the web, but most follow the party line and do very little to show you where your numbers should be, so I’ve created my own.
Let’s take a look the Free Testosterone Ideal Reference Range…..
I suggest you use this chart as your guide and if your numbers are not optimal, make sure you don’t over complicate things.
If your levels fall below that magic 35 number, simply take steps to bring it back up and avoid the mistake of attempting to use drugs or hormone replacement to do it.
Instead, make lifestyle changes that will free up your bound testosterone naturally, such as diet, fat soluble vitamin optimization, chemical reduction and proper exercise.
Once you start you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to boost Free T, which will make you wonder why doctors even prescribe those drugs and artificial hormones in the first place.
Free Testosterone Ideal Reference Range Conclusion:
If you’d like to learn how to boost your free testosterone levels naturally…
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References:
Reverse Cholesterol Transport https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0076687986290953
Evaluation of Assays Available to Measure Free Testosterone https://www.metabolismjournal.com/article/S0026-0495(02)52409-4/abstract
Men with Coronary Artery Disease Have Lower Levels of Androgens Than Men With Normal Coronary Angiograms https://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/11/890.short