[00:00:00] Well, hey there. Welcome back to our third topic in the hormone series. This is a series that I've started doing every couple of weeks. I'm trying to get out at least one a month where I try to teach you a little bit about a different hormone, how it's affected and what you can do about it naturally.
I've already done an episode on high estrogen. I've done an episode on high cortisol, and today we're going to be talking about testosterone. I am going to talk a little bit about high testosterone, but more so I'm going to be talking about low. testosterone and letting you know that yes, your testosterone matters.
It's not just about testosterone and men, that when your testosterone gets off, it can cause problems. So we're going to dive deep into this subject. And don't worry, I have so many more hormones to cover as well. So we are just getting started. And before we get into today's episode, the truth is it doesn't matter what our topic is. I can promise you that sleep is going to help you with your fitness journey, fat [00:01:00] loss, building muscle, your hormones, your relationships, everything. Sleep is literally like the miracle drug. It really is. And this is one of the reasons I love my Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheets.
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so first let's break down what testosterone is. Testosterone is a sex hormone along with estrogen and progesterone. Everyone makes testosterone. Obviously testosterone is heavier in men because it is the hormone that initiates the development of male internal and external reproductive organs during the fetal development.
So, development. It also helps men go through puberty and it is essential for production of sperm in their adult life. So that is more of a man based hormone.
For females, the main sex hormones are estrogen and progesterone, but we do make small amounts of testosterone and it really is needed for vital and balanced hormones.
In women, testosterone is made in [00:03:00] the ovaries and the adrenal cortex. Typically, majority of the testosterone that is made for women is by converting the hormone DHEA,
And Andro Stina Dion, if I'm saying that wrong, I'm sorry, but it's a really long word. I think I'm pronouncing it correctly, but it's made by converting those into testosterone, and then a smaller amount is made by about 25% in the adrenal glands and about 25% in the ovaries.
The reason I'm explaining to you that it's made by these other hormones and in the adrenals and ovaries is because. Knowing this helps you understand that when it gets off or when there is a hormone imbalance, that there are other hormones affected, that everything is intrinsically connected.
So if your adrenals or cortisol or anything is off, it's going to mess with your hormone production. So understanding that makes a difference that it's truly all connected.
So now let's talk about why women do need some testosterone. Testosterone is super helpful for women because [00:04:00] it helps our libido. It puts you in the mood and it makes things a little bit easier for you to get in the mood. Even your thoughts and stuff can be adjusted. I saw one study that said that women who had low libido even had less sexual thoughts.
So it totally affects libido. It affects your bone density.
I linked a study in the show notes that showed the connection between women and testosterone and bone mineral density because I think it's a really interesting study but it just shows how much your testosterone can help your bone density.
It's a big one. It also helps you build muscle and keep muscle on your body, making that muscle mass better. It helps with cognitive function. It helps with your mood. It helps with your menstrual cycle and fertility.
It helps with blood cell production and your metabolism. So it is a big part of lots of things that are happening in the female body. Now, as I mentioned, it is obviously made in much smaller amounts than for males, but clearly it is still a very important hormone. among many hormones, [00:05:00] which is why I wanted to break it down today.
So
let's talk about what happens when our testosterone is low,
separating that out from when it's high, and then what we can do about it or what we can be aware of.
Some typical and very traditional signs that your testosterone might be low is obviously decreased libido, difficulty reaching an orgasm, thinning hair. You're extra tired or just fatigued, vaginal dryness, depression, and anxiety, loss of muscle tone or muscle mass, and you might even have some issues with a weight gain.
You're going to feel weaker, like your strength is less. You might have irregular menstrual cycles, dry skin, mood swings, and brain fog.
Two other things I do want to point out when we're talking about signs that it's low is sometimes they can be very subtle and they also can mimic conditions like hypothyroidism or iron [00:06:00] deficiency, which is also known as anemia.
Low testosterone is also called low T. So if you ever hear someone talking about low T, they're talking about low testosterone.
And in women, low T can also be misdiagnosed as just simply depression or anxiety. So knowing those symptoms is really important.
Now, while we are talking about low testosterone today, I do want to point out some of the symptoms of high testosterone, mainly because there are a few symptoms that overlap, but when you see the big amount, you can kind of differentiate a little bit better. So, if you have high testosterone, you might have some symptoms like increased acne,
An excess in body hair, specifically on the face, but it can even be on like the back and other places around the chest. So just an increase in hair, but especially in the face. Enlarged clitoris. Decreased breast size.
A deepening voice. Ovarian cysts. PCOS. Increased muscle mass, so you can actually hold muscle more because [00:07:00] your testosterone is extremely high. And then the Symptoms that overlap, which is why I wanted to name the other ones first, is irregular periods. If it's super high, it can cause low libido because it's causing other hormones to be off and mood swings.
So, comparing those two can kind of help you kind of differentiate between low and high and that there's some that overlap but there's some that are very different. The other thing about these symptoms, especially the low ones which we're going to talk about, is A lot of those symptoms overlap with a lot of different hormones being off.
A lot of those symptoms are the same as if your estrogen was low or some other ones that we've talked about and other hormones that we still plan on getting into in further episodes. So, in this situation, it is really important to
recognize the signs and then,
See a doctor if you're feeling like you need some further help, which I'm going to explain in ways to treat it about blood testing and what you can do about that, but recognizing those differences and trying to find as many signs as possible because [00:08:00] some signs may overlap into multiple hormones, but if you can look at the entire list, it's going to make it a little bit easier, and I will make sure to put those entire lists also on the podcast Instagram.
It's make. it. simple. podcast so that you can see the list and not have to remember it off the podcast.
Now, before we can get into what we can do if we feel like we have low testosterone, I do want to point out how much testosterone interacts with other hormones for females. So, obviously, progesterone is a much higher hormone in females. It's one of our main, obviously, Sex hormones, and I do plan on doing a full episode on that very soon, but having a healthy balance of levels between progesterone and testosterone is really crucial for your overall health.
Balancing your progesterone and testosterone levels really can make you feel optimally well mentally and emotionally and even physically. So, progesterone and testosterone work together in the [00:09:00] body. So understanding how they kind of offset each other is really, really important. Both of them do help with bone density, muscle strength, and sexual function.
So it's really important to see that when the levels are off, it can cause problems in both ways.
For example. If you have low progesterone levels, it can cause a reduction in your bone density. While if you have low testosterone levels, it can cause a reduction in your muscle and your strength and your bone density as well. So, both of them play a big role in regulating your mood and energy, bone density.
muscle mass and strength as well. And both of them have a really important role. So there really is a balance between them that I'm not going to get into a ton today, but recognizing that it's not just about testosterone, but it is a piece of the puzzle. And it is the same thing with estrogen and testosterone as well, which we're going to talk a little bit more about when we talk about things to be aware of because when our estrogen is really, really high, it kind of [00:10:00] pushes our testosterone down in some ways.
So being aware of that makes a difference.
So let's talk quickly about why this is happening. Obviously, testosterone is going to go down as we age. That is a really common factor of why it starts to go down and we start to develop low T. But there are plenty of other factors as well.
Eating disorders have been shown to cause low testosterone.
Certain birth controls, adrenal or pituitary gland conditions are also known to cause low testosterone. And some other factors which can cause it or accelerate it as we age is stress, poor nutrition, environmental toxins, and certain medical conditions.
the best thing about hormones are there is always a lot we can do naturally and then there's a lot we can do medically. So first, let's quickly talk about testing. I've talked about testing in other episodes. I'm super excited. I'm going to have a naturopathic doctor on the podcast in a couple weeks.
[00:11:00] I've already recorded with her. She's amazing. And so I'm really excited for that episode to air. That's actually going to be, I believe, the fourth episode in the hormone topic series. But you do want to get in and get an actual blood test because low testosterone can be very difficult to diagnose because as I mentioned, it can mimic a lot of other issues.
And there are very many signs that overlap into other hormones. So a blood test to test your testosterone and other androgen levels is going to be really, really crucial. It's also really important to note that for women, testosterone levels fluctuate throughout the day. And if you're premenopausal, they also fluctuate throughout different times in your menstrual cycle.
So you do want to get in with a doctor. They're going to tell you the best time to test and working with them directly is going to be helpful.
You can do this through an endocrinologist, a naturopath doctor, and for many people, they can start with a gyno, talk to them, see if they can validate your concerns and take them [00:12:00] serious, and then they can refer you out to a hormone specialist to really help you, as there's plenty online, and then there are obviously some in person, and you can get tests done and have someone online even read it.
It's pretty impressive, so being aware of that and even talking to a gyno to kind of Refer you out is going to be really important as well.
now the ways to treat low testosterone is definitely an area of ongoing research. I read a lot of studies on this. I read a lot of different papers on it, even in a course I'm in,
They talked about how it's very much still an area of research, so that's important to know and that a lot of treatments can kind of be off label, like they haven't really solidified all of them, and they can cause some unwanted side effects due to testosterone going too high, which then can deepen the voice and some of the other things, but they do have testosterone therapy, which is again, why you do want to get in and see a doctor, see if it's right for you, have them evaluate you.
I'm just trying to give you information to recognize signs, symptoms, and then [00:13:00] I'm hoping to give you ideas to raise things naturally. But again, seeing a doctor is going to be huge. And I can't wait
to have more doctors on the podcast to talk about this in detail. And even the one I have coming up that we're, we're going to be talking about periods and some of the issues with periods and hormones,
but there are a lot of things you can do naturally.
If you're noticing that a handful of those low T signs, like maybe libido, you're having a hard time keeping muscle on, you're tired, your hair's thinning, you feel anxious, maybe all of those things together. You might have low T and there's some things you can do naturally.
Number one, let's talk about medications.
Medications can definitely lower your testosterone.
So the first thing you need to be aware of, if you think you have low testosterone is what hormonal contraceptives you're having. That's obviously your birth control.
Any antiandrogen medications you're on, any oral estrogen therapy you're on. If you're taking opioids.
Or any corticosteroids. Those are all going to [00:14:00] cause you to have low testosterone or can be a cause of low testosterone. So that's number one. Be aware of your medications you're already on.
Next, what things can we do naturally to try to boost it? The first one is exercise. So when we exercise, there is a surge of testosterone that is produced. And studies have shown higher levels of testosterone is even elicited by doing exercises that use compound movements. That's basically movements where you're using a lot of different muscle groups when you are lifting heavier weights and taking shorter breaks in your sets.
so what does that mean for you? You need to lift heavier weights. So whatever weights you're using now, I'm going to encourage you to bump them up even a couple of pounds, 2, pounds, whatever it is, depending on the muscle group, bump them up.
Really challenge yourself and then make sure that you are using compound movements, which are movements that again are working more than one muscle. So for example, squats and deadlifts are great movements where you're working these [00:15:00] massive muscles lifting heavy and it's going to help your testosterone.
It's also going to help your muscle mass because you're using heavy weights and pushing those muscles, which the more muscle you're going to have a better balance of testosterone.
So it's a win win win.
there is also some research that high intensity interval training has also been shown to boost testosterone in normal amounts. And the reason I mean normal amounts is that you are not Overdoing high intensity interval training because often when that happens, it can actually backfire. So normal amounts here and there mixing it in with heavy strength training, mixing me in with other things.
Next, the thing to think about even when we're talking about high intensity training or any type of training is you cannot be over exercising.
If you are overexercising, there are so many studies that show it decreases Your testosterone, especially if you're overexercising, is really heavy in cardio, so you can't be overdoing it.
If you think you are someone who is over training, then you honestly need to [00:16:00] focus a little bit more on shorter durations of exercise. Lower intensity resistance training or even gentle exercises like walking, yoga, Pilates,
and see how you respond to that.
If everything you're doing is high impact, high cardio, high, high, high, intense, intense, intense, extreme, then yes, it can have a negative effect.
So it's all about that moderation because obviously, as I mentioned, hit in normal amounts can be beneficial. You just don't want to be overdoing it and you don't want to be overdoing exercise.
So the best answer there is really truly a variety, but making sure in that variety, you are really focusing on lifting heavy with those compound movements.
The next thing you can do to make sure you're balancing out those testosterone levels, if you feel like you have low T, and obviously remember the level of testosterone is very, very different for a female than a male. So don't compare. They're totally different.
We have lesser amounts, but we still want it balanced. One of the things you can do is have a really well balanced diet that is rich in healthy fats, proteins, and vitamins [00:17:00] to help regulate your hormone levels. So you're going to want to be aware if you are overdoing your consumption of
refined sugars, trans fats, soy, and even alcohol, because all of those are linked to low testosterone.
So I hope that you heard that loud and clear that insufficient amounts of Fat and protein can lower your testosterone. Stop fearing fat. I'm so glad we're out of the fear of fat phase. I was around 10 years ago. You shouldn't fear fat. You shouldn't feel carbs. You shouldn't fear protein. There's truly a balance of all of them, but you want to make sure you're getting enough of those because that's going to make a huge difference for your testosterone.
Also, when you eat higher protein, it obviously is going to support muscle with, along with that heavy lifting that we talked about for exercise. That's going to help. It's going to help your testosterone levels. So it's like a triple threat, protein, heavy lifting muscle. It's going to make sure you don't have low T or improve the level you have to a normal amount.
You also want to make sure in your foods that you [00:18:00] are not having an overconsumption of any form of estrogen in your diet or in your environment because that can negatively affect your testosterone. So, that is why you want to limit your alcohol intake because alcohol, if you're drinking a ton of it, can mess with your estrogen levels and increase them.
Any foods that are higher
phytoestrogens, such as flaxseed and soy products, those can lead to an increase, or I should say an overall increase in estrogen in your body. I'm not saying those products are bad. I'm saying if you think you have low T, obviously speak with a doctor, work on that.
But if you think that your estrogen is really high, that Reducing some of those might be helpful to create some balance because that balance between estrogen and testosterone is another really big one along with that balance between progesterone and
And even estrogen and progesterone, they all affect each other. So we just want to make sure everything is in harmony, like the perfect bro harmony from [00:19:00] trolls. Did I really just say that? I did. If you haven't seen it, the last troll movie, I am digressing.
I'm getting back on topic. Okay,
that is a big one, your diet. Obviously, there's things you can do about that to make them a little bit more balanced. And hopefully that helps with some nutritional ideas.
And I'm even going to give some more ideas in supplements, which we're going to talk about in just a little bit.
But first, I want to talk about sleep.
Sleep is huge. When you have enough sleep, it is highly correlated with your free testosterone levels. There was a study done, and obviously the study was done on males, but it is the same for females, that sleep helps our testosterone levels. But the study done on males had males sleep for four hours a night compared to eight hours and literally their levels of testosterone doubled.
The first group, their levels were only 200 to 400 and the second group, they were 500 to 700, like drastically different.
And I can say that this is true,
not necessarily for me, but my husband [00:20:00] had sleep apnea, was having some issues, he'd wake up multiple times in the night, he got on a sleep apnea machine, he's actually lost a little bit of weight, and he has stopped snoring, but he monitors his blood work regularly, and his testosterone went up, it almost doubled, and the Only thing he had changed was his sleep because he was waking up literally multiple times in an hour with a sleep apnea and his testosterone was getting low and he ended up being able to fix his sleep.
And his testosterone literally doubled, which was impressive. So it, it's like really does work. And obviously that's an example for a male. But sleep is a game changer for so many hormones. Not just testosterone. So many hormones where we have mass amounts for. So really try to think about your sleep, making sure you're getting enough sleep.
The last thing that I want to talk about is making sure that you don't have certain difficulties. I'm going to tell you about deficiencies, which can be linked with low testosterone. And not only that you don't have deficiencies in those areas, but I want [00:21:00] to give you ideas of how to add them in, not just through supplements, but through food,
So you can take a supplement for magnesium. I know in a previous episode, I suggested a supplement. I will add that in the show notes last time I didn't get it added. So I will add a supplement you can take for magnesium.
But food wise, you can increase your seed intake for pumpkins and chia seeds, your nuts, including almonds and cashews, Spinach for your greens and black beans for your beans. A couple of simple ideas to just bump up that magnesium.
Oh, and I forgot one more. Salmon. That can be a really good one for seafoods.
That can help bump that magnesium and peanut butter.
The next vitamin you want to make sure isn't low. You don't have a deficiency in it and you can even add it in is
bar on. And if I'm saying it wrong, I'm sorry, but it's B O R O N impacts the body's use of estrogen, testosterone, vitamin D. It naturally boosts your magnesium, which we just talked about how magnesium can help your testosterone. So this naturally boosts the magnesium absorption. [00:22:00] It also is a huge key for your body to metabolize vitamins and minerals, and it plays a big role in bone density.
So that is a great supplement.
And if you want to try to boost it through foods, some foods that have that in it are peaches, prunes, grape juice, avocados, potatoes, legumes, such as peanuts, beans, and green peas. All simple foods you can add in that are going to help you increase your baron.
B O R O N. I'm probably saying it wrong, hopefully not. This is the tricky part when you read a course online compared to saying it out loud, but it's going to make a huge difference. You also want to make sure you don't have a deficiency in zinc, and that you're having enough zinc. You can get zinc through red meat, and poultry, seafood, and also nuts and whole grains.
Now, if you're worried about getting these supplements in, obviously, as I mentioned, you can try to eat them. I gave ideas, but most of these are also included in a multivitamin. So if you have a solid [00:23:00] multivitamin, that is going to make a difference. Just check yours and make sure they're included because that can be very, very helpful for you to naturally boost that testosterone.
Now, those are a couple of really simple ideas, things to be aware of, things to add in, maybe things to limit like the alcohol, but I'm hoping that you got some good ideas. Obviously, this episode on hormones is a little bit shorter. I know in females are Testosterone is a smaller hormone in the amount that we have in our bodies, but it still does make a difference.
I think if we could better understand each hormone that we have and recognize signs and symptoms and what we can do about it, I think it would make a huge difference in how we feel. feel how we're able to reach our goals and just helping us as we move through perimenopause or if you're already in menopause because all of these things play a factor and obviously I will have a full episode on some hormone adjustments for perimenopause and menopause in this series.
[00:24:00] So just keep your eyes peeled. I'm trying to do them every couple of weeks to share and really help you feel powerful in your body by better understanding your hormones.
All right. That's it for today.
As always, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. You are doing so much better than you think you are.
We'll chat next week.