This is Whatcha Gettin Today:

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• Testosterone is Important, Mmmk

  • Low T Symptoms For Women

  • So, You Have Low T. Now What?

  • Recommendations and Reviews: …

    • A Few Supplements To Testostertry

Testosterone is Important, Mmmk

Most doctors don't even know that women make testosterone. Even though we all do.

Just like not bothering to teach doctors in training anything about Menopause; apparently, they also don't teach them much about hormones - at all.

So, you might actually be told: Women have Estrogen and Progesterone. Men have Testosterone. Period.

Thing is, we all have all of those. Plus, a whole lot more. Hormones regulate absolutely everything in our bodies.

There are a lot of hormones. Not just the ones associated with "sex".

Oxytocin. Adrenaline. Cortisol. Insulin. Melatonin. Dopamine. You may have heard of these? Guess what? All hormones.

But… These are just some of the more commonly known (not sex) ones. You actually have 64 (known) hormones working to keep everything running correctly in your body.

You also have important Prohormones like Pregnenolone and DHEA, for example.

Pregnenolone starts as cholesterol and actually controls your cortisol levels, makes your neuron hormones, synthesizes DHEA, and also helps you make your "sex hormones".

DHEA mostly just helps make your "sex hormones". Which might be what actually does that job with the Pregnenolone.

Some people argue that balancing your Pregnenolone is the most important thing you can do to balance all your other important hormones. Like, testosterone and estrogen. (BTW: Estrogen can also be synthesized from Testosterone.)

The amount of research finally being listened to, and newly done, has found amazing correlations between hormones and what they actually do in our bodies.

Example: Your brain won't function well without enough estrogen. Or Pregnenolone, for that matter.

So many things that our hormones do are actually kind of a duhhh! once you find out what it is they actually do. Primarily because what our hormones do makes perfect sense when you look at the effects that not having enough, or having too much, has on our bodies.

So, what is it specifically about testosterone that makes it so important for women in The Change?

Well...

You can become physically weak and can't build muscle without testosterone. It also can mean the difference between depression and greeting each morning with elevated energy. Not to mention whether or not you keep that menopause middle, even if you eat a ton of protein and work out like a fiend.

Think you might need a little (operative word, because women really don't need that much) more testosterone?

Scroll down to find out ways you can naturally increase (or balance) your testosterone; and other important hormones while you're at it.

Low T Symptoms For Women

Are pretty much the same as for men:

• Low energy and fatigue

• Depression

• Weight Gain (especially around the middle) & Trouble Losing Fat

• Decreased muscle mass

• Hair loss (especially at temples)

• Joint or low back pain

• Thinning or dry skin

• Decreased sex drive

Testosterone is basically the "build you up" hormone. It helps your body to keep building and stay strong. In a lot of ways.

So, it's not just important for maintaining muscle strength, but bone strength too. As well as helping you maintain a good mood and your cardiovascular health.

So, what does the muscle weakness thing look like? Perhaps you just think you're not working out enough or eating enough protein?

Well, if it's a testosterone issue; maybe you go to pick something up that used to be no problem - not that long ago - and now, you struggle to lift it. Or it's a lot harder than it should be (assuming you haven't been lying around on the couch eating potato chips for several months or had an accident that caused damage). The muscles just can't handle it. Even though it seems like it should be no big deal.

If your testosterone levels are fluctuating, this might actually be something that changes from day to day. "Yesterday I picked it up with no problems! What's going on today?!" Kinda thing.

You might have even gone to your doctor and had a hormone panel run; but your doctor didn’t say anything about your testosterone levels. That might simply be because even OB GYN doctors aren't taught about the importance of testosterone for women.

So, even if your doctor specializes in Menopause, they may not think testosterone is important.

Several studies show that they would be wrong though.

How do you find out then?

You can make sure you tell your doctor to check your testosterone levels - or, find a doctor who actually knows how important that is.

You can also keep reading. The next section is all about what you need to know for testosterone testing, and what you can do to naturally make more of it.

So, You Have Low T. Now What?

Firstly, how do you know if you have Low T?

You could simply guess that you do because you have all the symptoms of it. Or, you can take a test.

The Dutch Test is the preferred one as it measures active testosterone plus your DHEA, Estradiol, Progesterone, Cortisol, Estrogen Metabolites and then some.

The levels you’re looking for when women test for testosterone are two fold. And these are the levels you’re looking for when you get the results from those two:

The regular blood test levels should fall in the 2-5 pg/ml (for an optimal range). With free testosterone levels being 1.1-2.2 pg/ml (for the optimum range).

If you fall below these levels, there are a few things you can do about it.

But first... Let's quickly talk about a few things that can cause low testosterone levels in women.

Like, birth control pills. Which can raise hormone binding globulin which in turn will bind up your testosterone. Which makes your available testosterone lower. Because higher estrogen levels do that.

You also might not be getting the right nutrients to make it. You need cholesterol and DHEA to make testosterone... so, without enough of those... you might have low T.

You need at least a 140 cholesterol level to make adequate DHEA and therefore, testosterone. Which might be an issue if you're a vegan or vegetarian.

Which is why I started taking DHEA, and recently, Pregnenolone as well. Which is part of the cholesterol part.

Also, if you have really high cortisol, you can't make enough DHEA. Since Pregnenolone is responsible for regulating your cortisol, supplementing that can help. But avoiding a massive amount of stress and keeping those adrenals healthy is super important for this as well.

Post menopause, most of your testosterone is being made in your adrenals. So, keeping calm so you can carry on is super important at that stage of your life. Which can also be especially difficult at that stage of your life, depending on what else you have going on (like caring for aging parents on top of everything else, for example).

Post menopause, honestly, might mean you actually don't have any active "sex" hormones at all. So all that serious fatigue and unloseable weight gain and the meno-middle is more likely to show up. Plus the muscle weakness, and bone density issues, etc. as well.

So, a little extra Pregnenolone or DHEA, or Testosterone encouraging herbs can be extra helpful post menopause.

Just a little though.

Now, high Aromatase Activity can also contribute to low T by converting testosterone into estrogens. Which means you have too much estrogen and not enough testosterone.

Things that cause that are:

• Obesity

• Chronic Inflammation

• High Insulin

• White Peony

• Licorice

• Atrazine (a pesticide used mostly on corn and sugarcane)

However, drinking Green Tea and Stinging Nettle Root concoctions, and taking Quercetin, Vit C and Zinc can all help to keep that aromatase activity at a normal level. Which helps keep all of your testosterone from becoming estrogen.

One last thing that fucks up your testosterone balance: BPA! Yep. It screws with everyone's hormones. Even frogs.

So try to avoid BPAs as much as possible in things like the lining in cans, the bottles you buy water and other beverages in, plastic food containers, the paper you get your grocery receipts on. Yeah. It's in a lot of stuff you wouldn't expect.

Also, BPAs are "obesogens". Which means: they make you fat, ya'll!

Guess what, the other kinds of BPs aren't much better. Oh, and the effects are much worse when they get heated up.

So, you might not want to microwave those leftovers in a plastic storage container? Even if it says it's safe... and make sure all your canned food and plastic containers say BPA Free on them... especially if you have low T issues.

Ok. Now you know what not to do, and a few things you can do.

What else can you do to build up your testosterone naturally?

Well, lifting heavy weights is a good place to start. That's also great for your bones. Not saying you should juice up and get crazy cut, but…

Also, reducing or eliminating foods with high sugar and processed flours can be super helpful to balance hormones. Throwing out all those sugary drinks and diet beverages could be a start too... If you’re inclined to drink that sort of stuff.

Plus (don't hate the messenger) coffee - both caf and decaf - lowers your testosterone levels too.

We already talked about how Pregnenolone and DHEA supplementation can help. And... You can also add any, or all, of the herbs from the list in my Andropause post.

You can also keep moving down the page to view a few links to some of the products I’ve used to help level up my own hormones.

Recommendations and Reviews:  

Here you go. I did the research for you.

Well, I did a ton of research. Buuut… Everyone should still DYOR (Do Your Own Research).

_{Medical Disclosure:}

_{I am not a medical professional. These are some things I have used with success. Or know people who have. If you have serious medical conditions, or have an inclination that you might need a professional to guide you through a cleanse - of any kind - seek qualified medical advise. Like a Naturopath. Likewise if you are not sure what your body needs or doesn’t need, a good blood work up to see what your vitamin and mineral levels are can be just as useful as a hormone panel check.}

_{But also: always DYOR, and remember to use your voice to ask informed questions when you do seek advice.}

_{Affiliate Disclosure:}

_{I am Not receiving a kick back from any of the links or companies mentioned here. Which, unfortunately for you, means no special discounts. (Except when otherwise stated in the article;)}

A Few Supplements To Testostertry

As mentioned in the previous post for men, there are quite a few supplements and herbs that can help women (as well as men) balance their testosterone levels. To be fair, most of them are made for men, though.

So, you’re gunna want to take half, or less, of the suggested amounts. Because, those suggestions are aimed at (yes, you guessed it) men. But… men do make (and need) a helluva lot more testosterone than women…

That said… If you're a couple in Andro/Menopause and have not been able to get rid of the dad/mom bod lately... even though nothing about your diet or exercise patterns has changed... this could even be something you do together, to get back a few youthful years on your bodies. Maybe even bring a little more harmony back into the household while you're at it. (Though, maybe not for any children still living with you... cause, you know, increased libido...;)

Ok. On to a few of my favorite things:

• Pregnenolone

• DHEA

• Pregnenolone/DHEA Combo

• Horny Goat Weed

• Saw Palmetto

• Fenugreek