An abnormal testosterone test result doesn’t guarantee that you have a medical condition. "Normal" ranges for testosterone also vary significantly based on your age and sex. There’s very little risk to getting a testosterone blood test. While there’s a clinical reference on "healthy" levels of testosterone, there’s no established information on the optimal range to diagnose abnormal levels in women. It’s okay for testosterone levels to fluctuate for women in different stages of life. Typically, HRT supplements estrogen and progesterone (female hormones), but certain therapies can also deliver testosterone. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often the first-line treatment for low testosterone levels in women. Here’s a look at medical and non-medical, natural treatments for low testosterone in females. It delivers meaningful doses of ashwagandha, zinc, and maca, but a lack of fenugreek and longjack (tongkat ali) means it may not pack quite the same punch as its competitors. At the end of 12 weeks, he’d more than doubled his free and total testosterone, moving from a near clinical deficiency to the high range of normal. We also put our product to the test, having our managing editor take it for 12 straight weeks along with baseline and follow-up testosterone measurements. The trick is to get the right testosterone booster for your needs. Of course, hormonal imbalances can wreak havoc on the body. That, in turn, could result in increased energy levels and enhanced libido. And like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy. It contains just five ingredients, one of which lacks enough scientific support for us to believe it’ll make a major difference in testosterone levels. However, the 2009 study was too small to be conclusive, and other studies show a drop-off in testosterone levels with high D-aspartic acid doses.5 It offers some of the best-researched ingredients for addressing low testosterone levels, and it provides those ingredients in quantities that studies have shown to be effective and safe. "If your body has low testosterone levels, then you may not feel like having sex at all. This could lead to erectile dysfunction." These organizations have established specific guidelines and thresholds to standardize the testing process. Should having diets that are optimized to increase testosterone production be banned as well? The wide range of medical complications that each individual athlete make it near impossible to have a black and white protocol on how to deal with the complex scenarios that we see play out from time to time. Different sports governing bodies, such as the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the IOC, have their own regulations and criteria for gender eligibility. Others suggest that if you want to compete in the Olympics, you forego certain rights of privacy in the name of fairness in sports. Many advocates argue that these tests are inherently discriminatory and violate the principles of equality and dignity. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sets the standards and guidelines for anti-doping testing in Olympic sports. Advancements in analytical techniques and biomarker research are continually improving the accuracy and effectiveness of testosterone testing. Epitestosterone is a steroid hormone that is closely related to testosterone, and the ratio between the two is typically consistent within an individual. The use of performance-enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids that boost testosterone, has plagued sports for decades. Indeed, transsexual athletes are now allowed to compete in the Olympics in their adopted gender, providing they have undergone gonadectomy with appropriate hormonal replacement for at least 2 years (Reeser, 2005). Ultimately, world-class athletes have a variety of physical and psychologic attributes that enable their success in competition. The requirement that top finishers produce a urine sample under direct observation would seem likely to catch any male competitors posing as women (Women's Sports Foundation, 2010). Defining the upper limit for endogenous testosterone is complicated by the dynamic changes in testosterone across a number of temporal scales. Accordingly, it has been difficult to establish a threshold separating endogenous testosterone from exogenous sources. Androgens likely also act on specific substrates in the brain to increase aggression and motivation for competition (Gleason et al., 2009; Hermans et al., 2008). As surprising as it may be, women can also be bothered by symptoms of testosterone deficiency. In fact, as men age, testosterone levels drop very gradually, about 1% to 2% each year — unlike the relatively rapid drop in estrogen that causes menopause. Women with high testosterone levels, due to either disease or drug use, may experience a decrease in breast size and deepening of the voice, in addition to many of the problems men may have. One treatment available for many of these problems is spironolactone, a special type of diuretic (water pill) that blocks the action of male sex hormones. Part of this may be due to the difficulty defining "normal" testosterone levels and "normal" behavior. That means testosterone doesn’t just help you grow muscle; it may help you bounce back faster after workouts, reducing soreness and supporting better training frequency. Let’s take a closer look at what the science says (and what it doesn’t) about testosterone’s relationship with muscle growth, endurance sports, and athletic performance. For men passionate about sports, performance, and physical fitness, testosterone often gets a lot of attention and with good reason.
