Train More to Stop the Testosterone Tumble!
Recipes and Health FactsYahoo News reports Testosterone Tumbling in American Males. Well that was enough to grab my attention! Especially when the first sentence states: “The testosterone-fueled American male may be losing his punch“. I need to know the reason for this problem and what is being done about finding a cure!
All joking aside, the study found that overall testosterone levels are lower than they were 20 years ago. While it is normal for men’s testosterone levels to peak in their late 20s and then start to gradually decline, the study suggests that some factor other than age may be contributing to the observed declines in testosterone. The study notes that neither aging nor certain other health factors, such as smoking or obesity, can fully explain the decline.
Well I have several personal opinions about this phenomenon. First we are becoming a fat and lazy nation, I know because I too fight this trend daily. I’m not whining just stating a fact here. We are faced with fast, fat food at every turn and “the man” has us working longer hours just to get by. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for healthy living, you have to work at it. Purchasing food almost requires a special degree if you want to eat healthy. It may be a coincidence but our processed foods became inundated with huge amounts of corn syrup, soya fillers and trans fats starting in the 80’s. We have slowly been socialized to eat bad food! Thankfully that trend seems to be changing.
Now here is an interesting fact, testosterone drops in a body that doesn’t exercise (true for male and for the much smaller amount the female has), it drops in an obese body and moreover body fat produces a female-hormone like steroid. You see Adipose cells make an enzyme called aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen for the fat cell’s use. (estrogen actually makes fat more metabolically active, so it’s not really a bad thing per se) This, however, has the effect of lowering free testosterone in the body as a whole. If you lose fat, your testosterone levels WILL increase. You should note that we are talking about the man-made estrogens present in pretty much every product you can purchase today: soda bottles, laundry detergent, hand soap, gasoline – pretty much anything that is derived from petroleum in some way. These estrogens (IIRC, not the natural estrogens that women produce) block the production of testosterone as well as the natural production of estrogen in women. In women, it contributes to fuglyness (hairy lips, etc.) and things like ovarian cancer; in men it contributes to femininity and general lack of testosterone.
One article I read stated a theory that estrogen (oestrogen), the female hormone, is being dumped into the environment from products (baby products, etc.). Since this chemical doesn’t break down in nature it seeps into our drinking water, cows milk, fish, meat, etc. This means that all these products then contain this chemical hormone that would not otherwise be there. The article gave proof to this theory by citing scientific reports of fish changing sex in estrogen (aromatase) rich rivers. If this is remotely true then this is not a subject to laugh at. While I think this an environmental concern I am sure this problem is to specific regional or geographic areas.
There is one more potential cause of this drop in testosterone that isn’t related to environment or diet and exercise, that is a social change. There have been several articles written by better authors then me on this subject so I will simple state my basic hypothesis. The feminization of boys and men in today’s society rewards behavior typical of lower testosterone levels. There I said it! Our society has so twisted the roles of men and women that men are no longer encouraged to be men, since men have made a mess of the world. At least that is what I was taught in College and from watching almost every television show and commercial for the past 10-20 years! That ends my rant, like I said others have said it better. So back to the topic at hand…
Like all problems if we are going to solve them we need to first understand the problem, the cause and then we can begin to work on a solution. Whining and conjecture will not help to mitigate this problem! What we can do is start by exercising and watching what you are eating (not as you are eating it)! Luckily the Martial Arts helps to control your weight and improve your health (even Tai Chi) which if the studies are to be believed means you are increasing your testosterone level! Just another benefit of training in a martial art!
I hope you found this post interesting at the very least and hope to see some comments from readers with a medical background on the merits of some of these claims. Until then, keep training, if possible with our gear. π
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