As men, testosterone levels need to be balanced for us to be healthy and fertile. Understandably, we sometimes ask ourselves: are my testosterone levels normal?
And there’s nothing wrong with that. If anything, it’s a very healthy thing to wonder about your hormonal health to prevent disease and improve your life.
If you smoke Cannabis, you might want to explore the connection between weed and testosterone levels. Let’s look at the subject in depth…
What is Testosterone?
Testosterone is the main male hormone – it’s produced in the testes. However, women do produce some testosterone as well, in their ovaries (just so you know).
In men, testosterone is produced in much higher concentrations, resulting in many sexual characteristics, such as a deeper voice and hair chest. Additionally, healthy testosterone levels contribute to a good libido, building muscle mass and maintaining energy levels, amongst many other things.
Problems due to high testosterone levels are infrequent and are usually associated with testosterone or steroid treatments (legal or illegal). Nevertheless, for most of us, there’s a higher chance to have low testosterone levels rather than the other way around. And this could be the result of ageing, being overweight, obesity, diabetes and other diseases. Therefore, if you suspect that you could have low T or just want to make sure that everything is normal, check the following symptoms.
Are my Testosterone Levels Normal? – Symptoms of Low T
It is way more common to experience low levels of T than the other way around. The highest T peak of a male is usually found in his early twenties. It has been suggested that for middle-aged men (30 to 50 years old), there’s a T decrease of about 1% every year.
However, this decrease is not necessarily noticeable in some men. While others experience drastic changes in their middle-aged years and can experience what is now commonly called Male Menopause – or Andropause and/or Hypogonadism. (1)
Low Testosterone Levels can result in the following Symptoms:
- A decline of physical energy and performance
- A loss of physical strength
- A reduction of stamina
- A diminished aggressiveness
- Emotional changes (low self-confidence & lack of motivation)
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Weight gain (especially around the waist)
- A loss of libido
- A higher risk of osteoporosis
- More articulatory issues
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Infertility and low sperm count
If you are overweight or obese, discover why this is affecting your testosterone levels. Click here to know more. So to answer your question: Are my testosterone levels normal…?
Let me show you what are the normal or average testosterone levels in men with a few stats:
- The normal T range in males goes from 270 to 1070ng/dL.
- The average level of testosterone is 679ng/dL.
- The peak of T is usually in the early twenties and then, it slowly declines.
- Testosterone levels that are out of the normal range, are usually considered a risk.
- Research suggest that healthy men tend to have testosterone levels between 400 and 600ng/dL.
Are my Testosterone Levels Normal? – Benefits of Higher T
The benefits of having high T are modest because at the end of the day, you get most of them by being between 400 and 600ng/dL of T. Nonetheless, you should know that high Testosterone Levels will normalize blood pressure, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower the likelihood of obesity and many other preventable diseases. For instance, anything between the normal range will do that but being between 600 and 1000ng/dL will be a better bet, health wise.
Important: However, if you want higher than high levels of T, you should also take into consideration the following.
Men with higher T levels than average are:
- More likely to consume more alcohol
- Also more likely to smoke
- Also more likely to be injured
- More likely to have risky behaviours (sexually, injury and criminal activity) – This point is actually being seriously studied and so far, it seems highly plausible.
Therefore, it’s important to consider that high isn’t necessarily better. Clocking T levels around 400 and 600ng/dL is more than enough to be manly AND healthy. The most efficient way to improve T levels long term is by improving one’s lifestyle. Really.
Are my Testosterone Levels Normal?
As I just said, should you need to improve your T levels, you’ll have to improve your lifestyle. Whether that’s weight loss, learning how to cook and eat healthily, exercising regularly, lifting, managing stress and /or boosting your T levels with natural supplements. There are many things that CAN improve your testosterone levels NATURALLY. By doing so, you will improve your health, libido, erections and sexual performance. For men of 35 years old or more, it’s advisable to check T levels every 5 years to ensure there are within the normal range.
Conclusion
To conclude, if you suspect that your T levels aren’t within the normal range, get an appointment at your GP who will be able to determine your T levels. However, you might want to try the natural way before considering drastic actions.
For example, the use of anabolic steroids is extremely dangerous. The following complications are highly common: high blood pressure, liver disease, an increase of aggressivity, skin infections, high red blood cell count, alteration of sexual organs and…infertility. (2)
In addition, testosterone therapy should be a last chance recourse. If you’ve had had (or suspect) prostate cancer, it’s a definitive no-no and that also applies for men who have problems with their liver, heart or kidneys. Furthermore, any treatment (e.g patches, injections, topical creams or gels) should be done under medical supervision and as a last recourse. For more info on boosting T, continue reading us!
Is you suffer from testicular atrophy, learn how to boost testicular function naturally here.
This article was written by Michael King. (1) The implications of low testosterone on mortality in men. Molly M. Shores. Curr Sex Health Rep. 2014. (2) Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids in athletes. Hartgens F, Kuipers H. Sports Med. 2004.