Naturally, as men age, their testosterone declines. As human biology dictates, we expect this, and a natural decline in sex hormones occurs in both men and women. Younger men, however, are presenting with symptoms of low testosterone, even in their 20’s. The key word here is symptoms of low testosterone, but when we test their testosterone levels, we often see that they are within the range they should be for age and sex (in many young men.) So why are so many young men showing up with symptoms of low sexual desire, trouble with morning erections or less spontaneous erections, low mood, depression and fatigue?

I have definitely heard my fair share of gym bro talk, and some of this information is harmful and incorrect. Knowledge sharing is important, but when it comes to our health, I do not believe that a one size fits all approach is ideal. General health recommendations are the starting point for good health, but when there are concerns, identifying the cause should be the beginning. Hormones are powerful, which is why when they are out of balance, low, or even high, we often experience symptoms. Keeping that in mind, there are lots of things to consider before starting on testosterone replacement therapy that you should be discussing with your prescribing physician.

We live in a world where our exposure to household products, detergents, fillers in food, diet and plastics, promote an estrogenic state in our body. Often times, we supplement with so many things, but do not take time to address our gut microbiome or liver metabolism which play a strong role in the detoxification and elimination of our hormones. Testosterone has many pathways, and one of them is the formation of Estradiol. This is through a process called aromatization. Some men feel that they don’t have enough testosterone, but hormones behave relative to each other. A higher level of estrogen for a man can definitely make his testosterone feel like its low, when it isn’t.

The main producers of testosterone are the testes and the adrenal glands. During periods of stress, our pituitary gland sends out a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) that acts on our adrenal glands to produce cortisol. This helps us cope with stress, but the feedback is to inhibit another hormone called Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH.) This is the relationship between the HPA (Hypothalamic-pituitary axis) and the HPG (Hypothalamic- pituitary gonad axis.)  Recall that stress comes in different forms, and as individuals, our ability to cope is individual. As children we are programmed differently to deal with stress, and some people may have experienced stress earlier in life and now it is impacting them in the present day. Other forms of stress people often don’t think about are when we get sick. Our immune health can also be a cause of stress. Most people today experience stress due to work-life balance and the demands of society. I find many of my patients benefit from support here, particularly using nutrition and botanical medicine!