Do Women Really Need Testosterone?
When you hear “testosterone,” do you think only of men? It’s all too common to assume that this hormone is purely for male health. But in reality, women need it just as much as men, just differently.
A woman doesn’t need the same testosterone level as a man and it doesn’t perform exactly the same duties, but it’s still a vital part of your healthy, balanced system!
Testosterone is a hormonal chemical mainly associated with men. However, women produce testosterone as well. Testosterone is very good for the female body. Sure, women will need it if they are trying to tone their bodies. But, research has revealed much more about this so-called male hormone.
Testosterone production is substantially lower in women than it is in men. After puberty, a woman begins to produce an adult level of testosterone. The production is split between the ovaries and the adrenal glands. In men, the testes produce testosterone. Women produce just a fraction of the amount of testosterone each day that men do. Here are several ways testosterone can impact the life of a woman:
1. Weight lifting increases levels of testosterone in women.
This helps to build muscle mass without the fear of “bulking up.” Your repetition range for these exercises should be between 3-5. You would typically do 4-5 sets of each exercise. Rotate heavy lifting days with light lifting days. Do circuit weight training with the lighter weights, with little or no rest between sets.
Women burn more fat by increasing exercise-induced growth hormone. Growth hormone is also important for building muscle. Intense circuit weight training and interval cardio workouts will increase growth hormone levels in the body.
2. Testosterone helps maintain muscle and bone mass, in women, and contributes to their sex drive.
If you give testosterone replacement to testosterone deficient women, they often feel better, but are not specific as to how.
One of the tough things about research in this area is what has been measured and what has not. Testosterone levels, muscle mass and bone strength have been measured. When testosterone levels in the blood increase, bone density improves.
Although few researchers have attempted to measure changes in sex drive and overall quality of life, these important effects are much more difficult to assess. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine evaluated sexuality and quality of life in women with low blood levels of testosterone. After raising their blood levels of testosterone, using a medicated skin patch, their health and sexuality improved.
– via www.yourtango.com
The Importance of Testosterone For Aging Women
Let’s stay you’re nearing menopause – or have already been through it and are living your vibrant post-menopausal life. Is all of this talk about testosterone even applicable to your body and life?
Actually, yes, even more so! Testosterone plays a major role in the aging process and could change the game for you when it comes to things like energy, sex drive, youthful skin, and more!
Numerous studies show that maintaining youthful testosterone levels in males confers powerful anti-aging effects. Testosterone-deficient men develop abdominal obesity (pot bellies) and diminished muscle mass, along with a loss of sexual interest and performance ability. Low testosterone is also associated with heart attack, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, and depression.
While doctors are slowly recognizing the benefits of testosterone therapy for aging men, evidence that women also become testosterone deficient is largely ignored. Controlled studies show that slightly increasing testosterone levels in aging women restores sexual drive, arousal, and frequency of sexual fantasies. In fact, low testosterone levels in women of all ages seem to suppress libido and cause sexual dysfunction. Restoring youthful testosterone in women has been shown to improve mood and well being, and to provide many other health-enhancing benefits.
While expensive testosterone drug patches for women are available by prescription, safe and inexpensive natural approaches also can increase testosterone levels in women.
Testosterone in Men and Women
While it is well known that a surge in testosterone production in the testes of boys brings about the changes that lead to manhood, it is not well known that women also produce testosterone (albeit at about one-tenth the level as men) in their ovaries and adrenal glands. As in men, levels of testosterone peak in women in their twenties and decline thereafter. Like men, women not only experience a decline in testosterone production, but also in hormones such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which falls dramatically for women after menopause.
Although doctors have known that women produce testosterone, most mainstream physicians have believed that hormones like testosterone are not important for women. Only levels of the “female” hormones progesterone and estrogen were thought to have any significant bearing on a woman’s health and well being. Over the last decade, however, more and more evidence has been brought forth suggesting that testosterone is a very important hormone for women, especially in terms of staying fit, lean, and sexually active.
– via LifeExtension.com
Have you had your testosterone levels checked? Do you think it might be time to talk to your doctor about hormone therapy?