It’s scientific fact.
Unfortunately, from the time a man hits 30 his testosterone levels have been as high as they will ever be naturally. Although this doesn’t mean the plummet is immediate, it’s actually quite manageable. After the fall has began, T levels can be seen to drop around a percentage every year. It’s barely noticeable at the time but as the years fly-by that difference really begins to show.
What is the normal Testosterone Level for men over 50?
Normal T levels for men in their 50s average around 500 – 600ng/dl, click here to learn more about the statistics of men with low testosterone. But it should be noted that anyone below or in the 270 – 300ng/dl region, are the people we are trying to reach with this article.
Symptoms become present such as:
- Loss of interest in sex, or diminished libido
- Weaker erections
- Depression
- Lower energy levels, perpetually tired
- Poor stamina
- Lower muscle mass
- Weaker bone density
- More fat around the abdomen
- Mood swings
- A loss of interest in exercise
- Insomnia
It’s actually pretty common among older guys, and if you click here, we’ve got quite a few statistics on it on our homepage.
What are the options?
Luckily, there are a few, some more effective than others, some more dangerous. One that fits the extreme of both of those categories is TRT, Testosterone Replacement Therapy.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
It’s been more and more popular over the last few years, and it has been known to yield results. It’s effectively administering your body with pure testosterone to replace what you’ve lost, typically either through injections or orally.
There’s quite a few studies into how well TRT actually works, one in particular from The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism did a large study on men with low T undergoing TRT. The results proved to be effective, and a lot of the men benefited greatly from the treatment having a much better mood and greater energy levels.
If you’re interested you can read more about this study here.
The Downside
That said TRT isn’t all miracles and manliness, quite the opposite it, like all things TRT does have it’s drawbacks. In a study concerning erectile dysfunction, men given TRT and Viagra saw results on par with the group administered the placebo. Here’s the link from the Annals of Internal Medicine concerning that study.
Also it’s worth noting that in 2010 there was a large look into the administration of TRT and heavily analysis into 51 studies regarding the area, it was deemed that safety on the whole judged as “low quality” with not a lot of insight into the long term effects of the treatment. More about that over here.
There’s also other studies that look into the dark side of TRT, apparently due to influx of the hormone in the body it can also greatly increase the risk of prostrate cancer. Men who use TRT should get checked regularly for any anomalies. You can read all about it here.
The study I’m going to touch on now regarding TRT is a rather shocking one found by analysts that looked into 17 different trails by Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The results were greatly inconsistent and men only seemed to have a mild raise in libido and had made barely any progress with their erectile dysfunction – fairly similar to the findings of the study I mentioned earlier.
Main side effects of TRT
According to this 2012 study by the Mayo Clinic TRT patients may experience:
- Outbreaks of Acne
- Rashes and skin complaints
- Lower Sperm count
- Growth in breast tissue (gynecomastia)
- Potential for heart disease
- Shrunken testicles
Weight Loss, Controlled Blood Sugars
A main reason for low testosterone in men is insulin resistance. In short this is when the body produces insulin but does not use it to it’s full capacity. This eventually leads to a build up of glucose in the blood cells which doesn’t get absorbed and can lead to some serious health problems like Type 2 Diabetes, but also low testosterone. This is because insulin interferes with the central hormone pathways in the body in a negative way which highly affects T count.
I put together an article recently on reasons why men have low testosterone. It’ll cover this in more detail.
The key to get a healthy testosterone level is to have a healthy body. Constant diet monitoring and exercise are the answers to increasing bloodflow and lowering body fat (fat also contain lots of estrogen).
Many low carb diets can help out with this problem, although it may take a few years for your levels to catch up.
Natural Testosterone Boosters
These are one of the most popular alternatives on the market to combat low T, and we back that logic up 100%.
Natural T-Boosters are the way forward and been helping men deal with their low T over the last couple of years quite effectively with their ability to encourage the body to produce more testosterone by using completely safe and natural ingredients.
The main aim of Testosterone Boosters usually follow along these lines:
- Lifts Sex Drive
- Adds Muscle Mass
- Cuts down body fat
- Raises Overall Energy
- Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
- Heightens Mood
- Benefits Cognitive Function and Improves Mental Quickness
Some of them are very impressive, some however, definitely aren’t. You need to be wary of certain types of product on the market and what to look for. We’ve prepared a guide for the best ingredients to look for when in the market for a booster for the T-Levels.
What are the side effects from Natural Testosterone Booters?
It really depends on the ingredients used. But on the whole they are relatively safe, we’ve made a list of reported effects here – we must stress however these outcomes are highly unlikely.
We review quite a few of the best natural testosterone boosters for low t and have made a list of some of our top choices.
The Dangers of Proprietary Blends
A big tip when looking for one of these products is to always check the ingredients. A lot of the manufacturers of these products use ‘Proprietary Blends’ these are a mixture of ingredients passed off as a single ingredient dosage. It fails to inform us of the all measurements of the individual components used to make up the blend. They are usually titled something like a ‘Formula’ or ‘Matrix’ to give it a feel of being something high end or scientific. Do not believe this, it is a shill to pass you off with cheap ineffective components with only minute doses of working ingredients.
How to Increase Testosterone Levels in Older Men Conclusion
On the whole, when it comes to raising those T levels whilst competing with Father Time is to always do it safely.
When studying the treatments involved in raising testosterone levels, one should always be wary of the more extreme methods like TRT. The main answer to boost those shrinking levels is to live a healthy, active lifestyle and if necessary seek out some kind of natural testosterone supplement.
There’s a few more reasons why your T might be low, we put together a brief list of them a while ago here.
We do a fair few reviews of those on this site and will happily offer you some guidance.