What we see here is a Canary Island pine—a mighty tree that grows on Tenerife’s volcanic soils under conditions that not every plant could cope with.
Its pollen interests me for a particular reason: Pine Pollen contain various sterols as well as androgens such as testosterone. This raises an intriguing question: What significance could this have for human testosterone levels?
To understand why this interests me, we need to take testosterone out of the bodybuilding context for a moment.
Testosterone and Cortisol
Testosterone alone tells only part of the story.
On the other side is cortisol. Cortisol is a vital hormone and part of our stress response. It can become problematic when short-term stress turns into a permanent state.
That is when this feeling arises that many people know: constantly being driven, never really being able to unwind, or eventually feeling completely exhausted.
That is why I am particularly interested in the interaction between testosterone and cortisol.
Can Our Posture Change Our Hormones?
A fascinating idea related to this comes from the research of social psychologist Amy Cuddy and her colleagues.
She became known for what is called Power Posing: people adopt an open, expansive posture for a short time—for example, the classic victory pose with their arms raised overhead.
In an early study, the researchers subsequently reported, among other things, higher testosterone and lower cortisol levels.
The idea behind this is fascinating:
Our hormones do not merely influence how we feel and behave. It is possible that our behavior and posture can also influence our internal state.
However, later scientific studies on Power Posing painted a more complicated picture. The purported hormonal changes in particular could not be reliably confirmed.
Nevertheless, the fundamental question remains intriguing: How are the body, stress, behavior, and our subjective feeling of strength connected?
What Does This Have to Do with Pine Pollen?
This is exactly where Pine Pollen came into the picture for me.
I was not simply interested in the idea that more testosterone = better.
Rather, I was interested in whether and how our hormonal balance and our ability to cope with stress can be influenced.
For me, this also connects the topic with adaptogens: not simply pushing a bodily process as high or low as possible, but supporting the organism’s ability to respond appropriately to different situations.
The Power of the Canary Island Pine
Perhaps that is why this tree fascinates me so much.
A mature Canary Island pine radiates something incredibly powerful. And when its pollen cones glow golden in spring, it is almost impossible to avoid associating them with vitality and reproduction.
Of course, a mighty tree is not scientific evidence of any effect its pollen may have.
But it can be the starting point for a good question.
Learn more about Pine Pollen in our comprehensive overview, and find out why our pine needs this particular volcanic soil in How Is Pine Pollen Produced?