What is testosterone?
What is testosterone - why might you want to take it? And why is herbal testosterone likely to be more tolerable than chemically synthesised testosterone?
The word 'testis' means testicles. Testosterone was first synthesised in 1935 from bull testicles. Testosterone is produced in the male testis. Women also produce testosterone in the ovaries, but in smaller quantities.
.Testosterone is a sex hormone, an 'androgen'. Andros' is man and 'gene' comes from 'genesis', i.e. coming into being or becoming. So the androgen causes the man to become male. On the physical level, this is mainly muscle growth, the formation of a deep voice and, of course, the production of sperm.
.Testosterone also has psychological effects. In my experience, high testosterone levels are associated with increased self-esteem. In the animal kingdom, it is above all the leaders, the 'alpha animals', who have high testosterone levels in their blood.
.It is a mistake to believe that testosterone makes people aggressive. This is a very widespread prejudice. Testosterone is better than its reputation. See also the Spektrum article Testosterone: The underestimated hormone.
What does testosterone do?
.It is true that testosterone drives one to attain a higher social rank. But a higher social rank among people is not achieved through aggression and violence - on the contrary. Social standing among people is achieved through fairness, protection of the weaker, etc.
In game situations, those with higher testosterone levels act more fairly and even more selflessly because they stand up for others. Because they are self-confident and do not need to be aggressive at all.
.There's also a good Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy. In her talk, Cuddy makes a clear distinction between dominance and aggression. A high testosterone level is precisely not associated with aggression, but with dominance. Dominance means I don't need to be aggressive at all.
Cuddy then goes on to tell how you can increase your testosterone levels, just by your posture. If I spread out and make myself tall for two minutes, my testosterone levels go up. It's measurable in the saliva and in the blood. If, on the other hand, I sit there contracted, then that has a negative effect on my testosterone levels.
.This in turn is related to the stress hormone cortisol. The ratio of testosterone to cortisol is decisive. If I have a lot of cortisol in my blood, I am stressed and aggressive. If, on the other hand, I have little cortisol and a lot of testosterone in my blood, then I am dominant and not aggressive.
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Testosterone in the male life course
.Why might one now get the idea of wanting to take testosterone? Testosterone is produced in the human body. In the embryo, it ensures that male sex organs are formed and that the male brain also develops differently from the female brain. This is well illustrated in the book 'The Male Brain' by Louann Brizendine.
.Children have very little testosterone in their blood. Only with puberty, with the hormone surges, is a lot of testosterone formed, which then provides for the appearance of pubic hair, the adolescent typical courtship behaviour, etc.
.The young man in his mid-thirties finally has maximum testosterone levels. I find it interesting that the man produces less testosterone again as soon as he becomes a father. In this context, one also speaks of the 'father brain'.
Later in life, the testosterone level continues to fall, this is also referred to as 'andropause'. What the menopause is for women, the andropause is for men in their mid-fifties. He is still a man, but the testosterone levels drop to such an extent that he occasionally feels tired and weary - no longer as he did in his thirties.
.It is well known that erectile dysfunction is very common among the over-sixties. According to Wikipedia, one in two men over sixty has serious problems with occasional impotence and erectile dysfunction.
Why take herbal testosterone?
There are several answers to this. One answer may be that one is an athlete and wants even more muscle growth, even more performance enhancement. That is also legitimate. Then I would ask myself what side effects taking chemical testosterone can have on one's health.
.So with the preparations that are traded there on the black market, because none of that is legal. Apart from the possibility of contamination, because it can contain anything. The side effects of chemical testosterone are frightening. There are bodybuilders who grow breasts.
.Because the breakdown product of testosterone is oestrogen, so female hormones. Impotence, the risk of heart attack, the risk of tumours increases, arteriosclerosis etc. If you read through the list of possible side effects of chemical testosterone on Wikipedia - you almost fall over. There are almost twenty 'deadly' effects listed.
.I would never take it, but everyone has to decide that for themselves. Why would anyone still want to take testosterone? It's not just that you might want to take testosterone to boost something but maybe also to balance something out.
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Are men dying out?
Recently I saw a documentary on 'Arte' claiming that every second Dane is now infertile, at least those who took part in the study. Sperm quality had become so poor that the documentary was even titled 'Are men dying out?'.
More and more men can still get an erection but they can no longer produce offspring. This is an alarmingly fast-spreading symptom for which there are various reasons. The documentary explores this question and the authors come to the following conclusions
.One main reason for the increasing infertility is probably that the pesticides that can be detected everywhere in our food act like female hormones in the human body. This was first thought of when studying the extinction of amphibians.
.Apart from the birth control pills that are in the groundwater and can no longer be filtered out. Our drinking water is full of female hormones. Soya contains female hormones. Pesticides probably act like female hormones. And plastic!
Every time I drink from a plastic bottle, I ingest small amounts of microplastics, which probably also act like female hormones. Of course, the chemical industry lobby denies this, quite clearly.
You might ask what's wrong with men today. Why are they all suddenly becoming transsexual? As far as I'm concerned, everyone can do whatever they want. I still wonder what is still 'male' today.
The point is that we are exposed to an alarming amount of female hormones through our diet, through our drinking water, through plastic, pesticides and environmental toxins. For that reason alone, I think it makes sense to take plant-based testosterone.
Let's summarise
.Testosterone is a sex hormone, an androgen that makes men masculine. Which stimulates sperm production, stimulates muscle growth and boosts self-confidence.
One motive why one might want to take this is to enhance athletic performance. That's where I personally would always ask myself, "Do I really want to take chemical testosterone?" Or might it not be wiser to take herbal testosterone?
.It has now been known for over thirty years that pine pollen contains testosterone. Why this is so little known is a mystery to me. It comes from a plant and, as far as we know, there are no side effects. It is not chemically synthesised, it is not an isolated monopreparation.
Or you are one of those men who are in the so-called 'andropause'. Or who are infertile or impotent for other reasons, or where there is simply still room for improvement in the relationship. And there is always room for improvement!
I think a strong libido is a sign of intact health and this can be increased infinitely, as we know, if we understand health not as the absence of lack but as the abundance of vital energy!
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