THE TESTOSTERONE CRISIS!
Muscular Development|September 2022
5 Reasons It’s Happening and 5 Ways to Fight It
RICK COLLINS
THE TESTOSTERONE CRISIS!

Testosterone (“T”) is the so-called “He Hormone” even though it’s produced in the bodies of both men and women. Men produce more of it, which is why, on average, dudes have bushier beards and deeper voices than Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift. Men’s T levels peak during our teen and early adult years, then decrease about 1% a year after age 30. But beyond normal aging, there’s a mysterious generational decline going on. Let’s start with the numbers. Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism spanning three decades found that when the T levels of same-aged American men were compared, the men of the 1980s had higher average T levels than the men of the ‘90s, and the men of the new century have on average the least T of all.1 For example, a 60-year-old man in 2004 had T levels 17% lower than those of a 60-year-old in 1987. Another study of Danish men produced similar findings, with men born in the 1960s having 14% lower T than those born in the 1920s.2 Lower T is associated with lower sperm counts, raising concern for the next generation. A 2017 study found that average sperm counts in Western countries had nosedived by 59% between 1973 and 2011, making low T and plummeting sperm counts a major public health issue.3

Why are average T levels dropping in recent generations? In my book Alpha Male Challenge,4 coauthored by James Villepigue with an esteemed group of expert contributors, we cited the usual suspects: poor diet, lack of exercise, less demanding physical labor, more obesity, ingestion of phytoestrogens, and exposure to various environmental toxins (including endocrine disruptors like parabens and phthalates). Surely, all are possible culprits (see sidebar for 5 suggestions on naturally boosting your T).

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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Muscular Development.

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FLERE HISTORIER FRA MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENTSe alt
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