Hey everyone! Testosterone is a male hormone and anabolic steroid. It is responsible for increasing muscle and bone mass. It also helps in the growth of your body hair. Sometimes your body doesn’t produce the proper amount of testosterone. Starting from smoking, to obesity, to diabetes, there are many reasons for not having enough. In this article, we will talk about all the problems that may lead to low levels of testosterone.
10 problems that causes low testosterone levels
1. Depression
There has been a lot of talk regarding depression and the way it has affected us over the years. While it is often associated with irritability, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies, depression can also affect your testosterone levels.
Usually, depression can lead to low self-esteem, as well as low confidence. Both of these things can affect your mental health and lower the testosterone in your body.
It has also been shown that low testosterone levels and depression have similar symptoms. These include mood swings, melancholy and sleeping problems.
2. Your Lifestyle
Our modern lifestyle requires us to sit in the same position for hours and stare at a screen. No, we aren’t just talking about work.
We’re also counting the time you spend binge-watching your favorite show on Netflix. Sometimes, your screen time may ruin your sleep, in turn affecting your mood.
Since we use devices on a regular basis, it decreases our energy levels. In the long run, it can lead to lower levels of testosterone. One of the things that act as a catalyst is actually our next entry on this list…
3. Fatigue causes low testosterone levels
One of the common things related to low testosterone is fatigue. Especially, the chronic one that doesn’t go away with sleep.
This type of fatigue affects your overall mental and physical health. Chronic fatigue can lead to lower levels of testosterone in men.
It is especially dangerous for men ages 40 and above. In such a case, people might also feel the loss of bone and muscle mass.
The good news in this case is that you could increase your intake of protein to avoid this problem.
4. Chemotherapy For Cancer
Alright, this is one of those cases that can be reversible. During chemotherapy, a patient may face hormonal imbalance. Due to this, their testosterone levels may go really low.
The patient doesn’t need to worry about this because the hormones can be rebalanced with the help of treatment. But until the chemotherapy procedure continues, they would have to deal with this problem.
5. Alcohol Abuse can cause low testosterone levels
Many of you may be aware of the way alcohol impacts your heart, liver, and kidneys. Too much of this intoxicating drink and you could end up dealing with serious medical problems.
Here’s something else that comes along with alcohol abuse, low levels of testosterone. How does alcohol do it? Well, alcohol damages the Leydig cells that are found in your testes.
In case you are wondering, these cells are responsible for the production of testosterone in your body. Apart from that, drinking alcohol results in the release of certain endorphins.
These endorphins can help you relax, but they can also interfere with testosterone synthesis.
6. Aging
In many cases, low levels of testosterone don’t just happen because of some health-related problem. The testosterone levels of your body also reduce with age.
This is why you may not have the same level of testosterone at 60 as you did at 20. This is a normal aging process. Of course, it doesn’t mean you can’t have enough testosterone.
Consuming a healthy diet along with simple lifestyle changes can assist you in maintaining it.
More on that a little later… Right now, there are few more points we need to discuss before we get to that.
7. Obesity causes low testosterone levels
Alright, we will keep this explanation as short as possible. Fat cells convert testosterone to estrogen. This lowers the overall testosterone levels of your body.
Apart from that, obesity reduces the levels of the protein that carry testosterone in your blood. This protein is called Sex Hormone Binding Globulin or SHBG.
The less you have of this protein, the lower your testosterone levels will be. So, if obesity lowers testosterone, losing weight must really boost it, right?
That depends on how much weight you are planning to lose. That brings us to our next point…
8. Losing Too Much Weight
Losing weight is fine, in fact, if you can stay in shape, it’s good for your body. The problem occurs when you lose too much weight.
This is after you have burned all your fat and there is nothing left. Your body burns muscle and bone mass, this leads to the loss of testosterone levels in your blood.
As a result, we wouldn’t really recommend that you lose weight needlessly. It will only hamper your health.
9. Diabetes can cause low testosterone levels
Many studies have claimed that low levels of testosterone are linked to diabetes. This is because men with low testosterone usually have insulin resistance.
For them, it is important that they get insulin from the outside. Otherwise, their blood sugar levels can get out of control.
Another interesting thing is that no researcher is sure on whether diabetes lowers the levels of testosterone, or if the opposite is true.
But here is something experts know for a fact. Men with diabetes usually have low testosterone levels.
10. Hypertension
While hypertension is already quite dangerous, here’s another reason to hate it. In hypertension, your body’s blood pressure level rises. This causes problems for your heart.
In response, the heart needs to make sure the important parts of the body are getting enough blood. So it puts more pressure on the veins and arteries. Thus creating a problem.
Amid the chaos, your body can’t produce enough testosterone, leading to low levels of the hormone.
Alright, we have spoken a lot about all of these reasons. Now it’s time we talk about how to fix the problem.
5 Easy ways to boost testosterone levels
1. Exercising/Exercise
Working out is one of the most common methods to raise the testosterone levels of your body. Even in people who are aged 50 and above, working out increases testosterone levels, fitness, and reaction time.
Work-out sessions that involve resistance training is usually the best type of exercise to give your testosterone a boost.
2. Protein
Eat more protein and you will see many benefits. It will increase your muscle mass and bone strength.
Apart from this, it will also increase your testosterone. Keep in mind, eating a healthy amount of protein can aid in weight loss.
In case you were wondering, dairy products, eggs, meat, and leafy green vegetables are good for boosting testosterone in your body.
3. Minimize Stress
Stress can lead to fatigue. So if you really want to increase your testosterone levels, you will need to cool off and relax a little more.
A good rest, a long walk, or your favorite music can help you achieve this.
4. Get Some Sleep
Since we have discussed sleep, we would suggest you snooze at least 7 to 8 hours a day. That would help the testosterone levels in your body.
Studies have suggested this. Of course, there are people who still get by on minimal sleep. But it’s still important that everyone gets a sufficient amount as it helps in the long run.
Just make sure you don’t ruin your sleep cycle.
5. Get More Vitamin D
Researchers have discussed the many benefits of having Vitamin D. Yet there is still one that we are going to talk about now.
A 12-month study was conducted and at the end of that study, it was found that testosterone increased by 25% for those who took Vitamin D supplements regularly.
This will certainly add more to Vitamin D’s popularity.
So are you facing issues with testosterone? Does someone you know have this problem? Let us know in the comments below! We would love to hear from you.
