Testosterone is a fascinating substance.
I have to admit I knew relatively little about it till recently - other than the fact that it coursed round my body making me feel extremely randy at frequent intervals! A few years ago BBC TV put out a documentary on Testosterone in their excellent Equinox science documentary series - and I learnt a whole lot more.
The facts that most staggered me included: - Testosterone is responsible for sex drive in both sexes! - Men (on average) tend to have 10 times as much testosterone as women (on average) This explained a hell of a lot to me.
I never really knew prior to this: - Why women tended to find men a bit scary - Why I was so hurt by the militant feminists in the 70s claiming that women had the same sex drive as men, only they could control it - when I knew "for a fact" that that had to be wrong by definition - in other words a male sex drive is almost uncontrollable - and to many men it IS uncontrollable.
OK the Militants had a number of points to prove - as did the Suffragettes - and one shouldn't be hard on them if they occasionally lashed out excessively.
There are some conclusions I came to after this BBC programme, many of which were already half-formed opinions: - Men and women can only survive together if they find a suitable compromise between relative sex drives of 1 and 10 in order to be fair to both, and in such a way as to sustain a relationship.
The answer will be different for every couple out there.
- If there is a Primary Designer or God out there, one who (amongst other things) designed and created Darwin to explain how his plan works, then designing one half of the Human Couple with a massive sex drive and an urge to shag anything in skirts (amongst other things!) and the other with a massive urge to nurture her resultant young, then we thereby become the fittest species and are most likely to survive.
If men had a negligible sex drive and/or women had the same sex drive as men, would we settle down and spawn the next generation? No, I don't think so somehow! Testosterone is what defines men as male - though, as I said, it is also found in the female body at about one tenth the level found in men.
As a hormone: - it stimulates the development of male sexual characteristics - it can help prevent osteoporosis in later life - it has an important function in supporting the immune system.
However I think it's also clear that testosterone is to some extent a mixed blessing and you can have too much or too little and there are dangers with both situations.
Too much testosterone: - makes you aggressive and prone to taking dangerous risks - can accelerate the growth of cancer cells when they are already present ("The male hormone testosterone can stimulate the growth of hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells") - is a factor in the onset of baldness Testosterone supplements - to the right level - are helpful: - to restore some sexual vigour if depleted - to restore a basic level of muscularity to the body - to increase fertility and potential to conceive a child Too little testosterone can: - Reduce your aggressive masculine edge and muscularity.
It may make you appear more feminine in your physique.
It may make it easier to cope with life.
- Reduce your energy levels and strength Finally a quote which shows there is more to testosterone than just testosterone, and there are dangers in being too simplistic about the issues involved: "With age a man's testosterone and free testosterone levels reduce and the levels of hormones prolactin and estradiol rise and this leads to an increase in the amount of dihydrotestosterone, an extremely potent form of testosterone.
This causes an overproduction of prostate cells, which leads to prostate enlargement.
" In conclusion my feelings are that excessive testosterone makes life very difficult to handle, not just for you yourself but for those around you, but that too little takes a lot of fun out of life.
Finding your right balance and maintaining it should be possible in today's advanced scientific environment.
I have to admit I knew relatively little about it till recently - other than the fact that it coursed round my body making me feel extremely randy at frequent intervals! A few years ago BBC TV put out a documentary on Testosterone in their excellent Equinox science documentary series - and I learnt a whole lot more.
The facts that most staggered me included: - Testosterone is responsible for sex drive in both sexes! - Men (on average) tend to have 10 times as much testosterone as women (on average) This explained a hell of a lot to me.
I never really knew prior to this: - Why women tended to find men a bit scary - Why I was so hurt by the militant feminists in the 70s claiming that women had the same sex drive as men, only they could control it - when I knew "for a fact" that that had to be wrong by definition - in other words a male sex drive is almost uncontrollable - and to many men it IS uncontrollable.
OK the Militants had a number of points to prove - as did the Suffragettes - and one shouldn't be hard on them if they occasionally lashed out excessively.
There are some conclusions I came to after this BBC programme, many of which were already half-formed opinions: - Men and women can only survive together if they find a suitable compromise between relative sex drives of 1 and 10 in order to be fair to both, and in such a way as to sustain a relationship.
The answer will be different for every couple out there.
- If there is a Primary Designer or God out there, one who (amongst other things) designed and created Darwin to explain how his plan works, then designing one half of the Human Couple with a massive sex drive and an urge to shag anything in skirts (amongst other things!) and the other with a massive urge to nurture her resultant young, then we thereby become the fittest species and are most likely to survive.
If men had a negligible sex drive and/or women had the same sex drive as men, would we settle down and spawn the next generation? No, I don't think so somehow! Testosterone is what defines men as male - though, as I said, it is also found in the female body at about one tenth the level found in men.
As a hormone: - it stimulates the development of male sexual characteristics - it can help prevent osteoporosis in later life - it has an important function in supporting the immune system.
However I think it's also clear that testosterone is to some extent a mixed blessing and you can have too much or too little and there are dangers with both situations.
Too much testosterone: - makes you aggressive and prone to taking dangerous risks - can accelerate the growth of cancer cells when they are already present ("The male hormone testosterone can stimulate the growth of hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells") - is a factor in the onset of baldness Testosterone supplements - to the right level - are helpful: - to restore some sexual vigour if depleted - to restore a basic level of muscularity to the body - to increase fertility and potential to conceive a child Too little testosterone can: - Reduce your aggressive masculine edge and muscularity.
It may make you appear more feminine in your physique.
It may make it easier to cope with life.
- Reduce your energy levels and strength Finally a quote which shows there is more to testosterone than just testosterone, and there are dangers in being too simplistic about the issues involved: "With age a man's testosterone and free testosterone levels reduce and the levels of hormones prolactin and estradiol rise and this leads to an increase in the amount of dihydrotestosterone, an extremely potent form of testosterone.
This causes an overproduction of prostate cells, which leads to prostate enlargement.
" In conclusion my feelings are that excessive testosterone makes life very difficult to handle, not just for you yourself but for those around you, but that too little takes a lot of fun out of life.
Finding your right balance and maintaining it should be possible in today's advanced scientific environment.
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