A Summary of Testosterone

Testosterone. Most everyone has heard of it. Very few people fully understand
it. Testosterone is a steroid hormone which belongs to the androgen group.
Androgen is the natural or synthetic hormone that causes our body to
develop and maintain male characteristics, by binding to free androgen
receptors. With the exception of the use of anabolic steroids, all the
testosterone in our bodies will have been produced within the body.
Testosterone is mostly created in the leydig cells, located in the testes,
however traces of testosterone are created in the adrenal gland.

Types of Testosterone:

Free Testosterone:

Free Testosterone is the most organic type of testosterone our bodies

produce; however our bodies are just as good at binding free testosterone
molecules with proteins. This accounts for the fact the only 2-3% of the
testosterone in our bodies in free or bio-available. The rest of the
testosterone in our blood attaches to two different types of protein: Albumin,
and SHBG.

Albumin Bound Testosterone:

Albumin is a type of globular protein found throughout the body. Serum

albumin is found in our blood plasma and one of its functions as a globular
protein is to bind water, fatty acids, pharmaceuticals, and hormones. Your
liver creates albumin which then binds with free testosterone, unfortunately
rendering it biologically inactive. In contrast, some studies have observed
that albumin bound testosterone is weakly binded and can be easily
detached in some cases. The only remaining unbound plasma testosterone
will bind with SHBG.

Sex Hormone-Binding-Globulin Bound Testosterone:

SHBG-bound testosterone the most prolific type of testosterone, accounting

for 40-50% of total plasma testosterone levels. SHBG-bound testosterone can
still be carried to areas of need in our bodies, but because its bound its
biologically inactive. Unlike albumin bound testosterone, SHBG-bound
testosterone is very strongly bound and cannot be separated. The reason that
SHBG strikes fear into every manly-mans heart is because the liver is very
efficient and producing SHBG to regulate plasma testosterone levels,
meaning one can have high testosterone production, but simultaneously have
a significant quantity of it being bound with SHBG, resulting in symptoms of
testosterone deficiency.

Sub-Type of Free Testosterone:

A constant victim of bro-science is a bi-product of free testosterone called

Dihydrotestosterone, or 5a-DHT. 5a-DHT is created when 5-alpha reductase;
an enzyme involved in steroid metabolism, converts free testosterone into
5a-DHT. Although 5a-DHT is a sex steroid and androgen hormone like free
testosterone, its much more potent as an agonist of androgen receptors.
Perhaps the most important aspect of 5a-DHT is its function as an antagonist
of estrogen. 5a-DHT inhibits estrogen in a number of ways. Firstly, it does this
by decreasing estrogen-induced RNA transcription at the estrogen receptor
itself. Secondly, 5a-DHT directly prevents the production of estrogens from
androgens by inhibiting the aromatase enzyme, which converts androgens to
estrogens. Lastly, 5a-DHT slows the amount of secretion of gonadotropins in
the hypothalamus. By reducing the production of gonadotropins, our bodies
have less building blocks to produce estrogen. Additionally, two important
aspects of 5a-DHT are its role in hair loss/hair growth, and prostate health.
However, the amount of evidence supporting both sides of the hair loss
dilemma and prostate health make it difficult to reach an actual conclusion.
Therefore, those two aspects wont be discussed further. From what we DO
know definitively, 5a-DHT might be the king of all testosterone, but
unfortunately the turnover rate from free testosterone to 5aDihydrotestosterone is a tiny 5%.

Optimal levels of testosterone:

Testosterone is the hormone that gives men the characteristics of men and in
todays society, testosterone deficiency is becoming more and more prolific,

posing many health risks for men. When getting testosterone levels checked,
there are two types of tests available: free testosterone, and total
testosterone. Total testosterone is the combination of free testosterone,
albumin-bound testosterone, and SHBG-bound testosterone. Because free
testosterone accounts for such a small amount of our plasma testosterone,
its usually measured in picograms per milliliter (pg/ml). However, because
albumin-bound testosterone and SHBG-bound testosterone make up the
majority of our plasma testosterone, they are measured in nanograms per
deciliter (ng/dl). So what is the normal range of testosterone? According to
Mayo Clinic, for males 15-16 yo, 17-18 yo, and 19-29yo, normal levels of
testosterone are respectively: 100-1,200, 300-1,200, and 240-1,070 (ng/dl).
After age 30, testosterone is expected to decrease by 1% each year.
According to any doctor referencing a chart similar to this, a testosterone
level of 400ng/dl at 40 years old may be considered normal, but this certainly
does not mean that level is optimal. With this being the case, dipping below
300-500ng/dl depending on your body may not result in symptoms of low
testosterone. Although actual serum testosterone tests are very expensive,
testosterone deficiency presents a variety of physical symptoms.

Hopefully now you better understand what your testosterone levels mean and
how testosterone works.