Anyone with a passing knowledge of biology knows that testosterone is the male growth hormone. It kicks in during puberty and is what makes blokes taller, stronger, hairier and generally moodier than they otherwise would be without it.Testosterone Dichloroacetate powder
In men, testosterone levels generally remain fairly high until around the age of 30 when they start to lower (women also have testosterone, but in smaller amounts). It is responsible for fertility, bone density, sex drive, muscle strength and development, fat storage, and the production of red blood cells.
But testosterone’s applications don’t stop there. In the word of men’s fitness, testosterone boosters in the form of tablets, supplements or injections, can help signal our bodies to build muscle mass. Which sounds ideal if you’re tired of wolfing down turkey steak and chicken breasts in an attempt to add some size to your frame.
Testosterone is associated with increased energy, fat loss, muscle gain, and improved mental function,” says nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner Steve Grant. “And who doesn’t want more energy, better body composition, increased strength and recovery and better cognitive performance?”
So if testosterone is such a wonder-drug, it makes sense that the
more we can get in our systems, the better. Not so. While there have
been countless scientific studies proving the benefits of testosterone,
many of the wider effects are still up for debate. What’s more, the
testosterone market is absolutely brimming with misinformation, from
self-accredited experts documenting their bulking journeys on YouTube to
websites selling an alarmingly broad range of unapproved products.
Scientific studies have for the most part been inconclusive on certain
key questions around testosterone supplements. For instance, does upping
testosterone provide you with this plethora of health benefits, or does
being healthy simply promote increased levels of testosterone? A study
published in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry, for example, noted
that men with depression also have low testosterone levels, but could
not definitively say whether low testosterone levels cause depression,
or depression causes low testosterone levels.
There are also various conflicting studies regarding testosterone and
competitiveness among males. Typically, it’s believed that the more
testosterone pumping through your veins, the more of an alpha male you
are. Thankfully, Swiss researchers put paid to such outmoded thinking in
a study that found that men with increased testosterone levels acted
more fairly in negotiations than those with lower levels.
Not only that, but abusing testosterone supplements may even have fatal
side-effects. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association
found that boosting testosterone levels may lead to an increased risk
of heart attack. Meanwhile, there are growing concerns that an
over-reliance on testosterone can even induce strokes. So, what’s in it
for you?
