The Testosterone Crisis: men's levels are in decline and it's not just bad news for libidos and biceps

Even the BBC are writing about it. Wherever you look, the evidence is compelling. Globally, men’s levels of testosterone are in decline, it’s happening across all age groups, even for men with healthy BMI.

In my forthcoming book on men, I unpack a number of robust studies from credible sources, spread over decades, all of which tell the same story but now mainstream media are catching up and on the case. You may have seen it - only last week, the BBC were talking about men’s declining testosterone levels. (Sex drive and the great debate over whether testosterone can help - BBC News)

This is not a wind-up or social media craze. It’s not a storm in a teacup, whipped up by private healthcare companies, looking to cash in on the soaring demand for testosterone hormone replacement therapy (or speakers needing headlines for airtime) It’s a real issue. A serious issue and the impact goes way beyond libido and biceps.

When I grew up, I thought testosterone was the hormone which made us men aggressive:

• Two blokes scrapping in a pub? It’s all that testosterone!
• Men grunting and groaning in sweaty gyms - cast-iron discs the size of tractor wheels, piled onto steel barbells. You can almost sense the testosterone hanging in the air!
• Leering men in nightclubs? It’s that testosterone (mixed with alcohol and tribal mentality)

If only there was less testosterone, the world would be a more harmonious place, right?

But be careful what you wish for.

There is more to testosterone than libidos and biceps. The lower the levels of your testosterone as a man, the higher your risk of heart disease, diabetes, various forms of cancer, as well as anxiety, depression, fatigue, low energy, inability to concentrate, general poor mental health and low libido. In fact, if as a nation, we’re serious about creating better physical and mental health outcomes for men, the discussion about testosterone should be a national priority. As a conversation starter, we need to be talking about the following things:

1. Better education on what a healthy level of testosterone is, understanding that guidance will differ for varied age groups. Because testosterone gradually declines with age, a healthy level for a 20-year old man, would be higher than a man in his mid 60s. But part of the issue today, is that the guidance itself is not consistent. It depends on who you’re listening to, as to what ‘healthy’, ‘low’, and ‘optimum’ levels are.

2. We need more awareness as to the causes of the decline. Broadly speaking, the evidence shows that it’s mostly modern lifestyle which is the culprit, including;

• Higher carb diets
• Increased sugar consumption
• Obesity
• Sedentary lifestyles
• Lack of vitamin D
• Sleep deprivation
• Ongoing low level stress
• Lack of Vitamin B12, Zinc and Magnesium in our diets (thanks to our love for Ultra Processed Food - 60% of the UK diet is Ultra Processed food and whilst you may love your Waitrose sponge cake, pringles, and bacon sandwich from Greggs, they’re hardly packed with testosterone building blocks (Vitamin B12, Zinc, Magnesium))

So, if you’re feeling stale and washed out as a man - or you know man who is, then it might be a mid-life crisis, he might need to talk it out or join a community of guys, and just maybe, he might need a trip to the GP to check his bloods and testosterone levels.

You could:

A) Contact a private healthcare provider to test yourself.

B) Reach out to your GP describing symptoms of low testosterone and they’ll test you.

C) Head to Superdrug for a private testing kit. They’re only £55 although you’ll need to follow the instructions to the letter and extracting the amount of blood you need for the test and getting it to drop neatly into a test tube which is the width of an ant, is not straight forward!.

Testosterone is in decline - its bad news for men - and its bad news for the people who love them. The good news is that it’s reversable and mostly a lifestyle thing.

For more on this topic, check out my podcast from Men on Show, recorded with my awesome guest Ryan Parke - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA89unYZtzI&t=1050s

If you want to bring the topic of men’s wellbeing to life, either as part of an away day, or as part of a wellbeing week initiative, or as part of men’s health week (June) / International Men’s Day (November) then get in touch and let’s talk. I’m a CPD accredited and TEDx speaker, delivering entertaining, inspirational and relatable keynote talks, grounded in lived experience and global research.

Connect with me at: https://www.andrewpain.co.uk/

And/ Or let’s connect on Linkedin and DM me to book an exploratory conversation