Testosterone is a type of sex hormone in men that regulates muscle mass, bone density, and sex drive in them. It also performs a vital role in forming men’s internal and external reproductive systems, controlling energy and mood levels apart from manifesting masculine characteristics like the growth of hairs on the face and body, and a manly voice among others. According to Evan Bass Men’s Clinic – a drop in the testosterone level below normal leads to a condition medically termed hypogonadism.
This consequently affects one’s quality of life with symptoms like lowering libido, lack of bone density, and muscle mass while making one feel depressed or experience ED. There are a variety of factors that impact the balance of testosterone levels causing low T. To explore these factors continue reading
Understanding Low T
Typically, the testosterone level of men should be at a level between the ranges of 300 to 1,000 ng/dl (nanograms per decilitre). Now if this level drops lower than 300 ng/dL, a person a diagnosed to have a low T or low testosterone level. The testosterone level of men starts dropping at around 1% every year starting from age 30.
Similarly, if the T level rises above the normal level, it leads to a ‘high testosterone level. High-T level is equally scary and frustrating as ‘low T’ and can cause aggression, heart problems, high libido, ED, hypertension, infertility, etc. It is worth noting that a healthy male can maintain their T level even at a higher age like 60 or 70 by having a healthy lifestyle.
Diseases and Health Conditions
Men often experience a radical drop in their testosterone level because of certain health conditions and diseases that prevent the normal functioning of the testicles and pituitary gland. Noteworthy that the testicles are responsible for generating men’s sex hormone testosterone while pituitary glands and hypothalamus are the most vital parts of the endocrine system that regular hormonal functions. The diseases may include testicle injury, undescended testes, infection in the testis prostate cancer, and its treatment.
Obesity Can Lead to Low -T
Men who are overweight due to the accumulation of fat generate a hormone termed aromatase which in turn transforms testosterone into the female hormone estradiol. The issue consequently lowers the level of testosterone while increasing the amount of estrogen, another vital female hormone. According to Evan Bass Men’s Clinic, this is the root cause of why obesity in men lowers testosterone levels while affecting their sex drive and sexual performance.
Sedentary Lifestyle Can Result in Low- T
Obesity is closely associated with one’s sedentary lifestyle, which in turn results in a deficiency of the brain’s activity to encourage the hormones vital for the production of testosterone. In fact, it affects the function of the pituitary gland located in the brain to signal the testicles to generate. Moreover, poorly managed or uncared type 2 diabetes can also play a major role in lowering the testosterone level.
Age
Testosterone levels in men normally remain at a peak point in their adolescence or early adulthood. As stated above, a gradual drop in testosterone is a normal phenomenon in men. The gradual deficiency becomes fairly noticeable as they reach age 50 and start experiencing symptoms like low energy, stress, mode swing, fatigue, lessened sex drive, hard to retain an erection, etc. This significant decline in testosterone levels in the blood is called ‘andropause’ or ‘male menopause’.
Conclusion:
Apart from the above factors, issues like sleep patterns, using synthetic steroids to build muscles or increase T level, genetics, etc. are also some reasons that can impact negatively on testosterone levels.
