Testosterone is the “male” hormone that gives men their masculine behavior and physical features. It is this hormone that regulates and controls a wide range of male bodily functions such as his sex drive and sexual health amongst many others.

Increased in testosterone level during our puberty years is the reason for the changes in our body that transform us from a boy to a man. These changes include being able to grow beard and bodily hair, increased penile size, increased muscle mass and strength. No wonder even though our female counterparts do have some of this hormone albeit in much lower quantity, testosterone is commonly referred to as the male hormone.

The problem is that as our age increases, the natural production of testosterone begins to decline as well. It is thought that we lose production of about 1 percent of this hormone each year as we grow older. Because of this gradual decline, no immediate effects are seen or felt initially. But by the time when we are in our forties, the effects begins to be seen more significantly.

Some of these effects are low sex drive, increased in body fat especially around the belly, erectile dysfunction, loss of lean muscle mass, mood swings and depression just to name a few. Because of the decrease in this hormone, some men experienced sharp drops in energy level and thus are always feeling fatigued and tired.

Although hormone replacement therapy can restore the levels, they come with side effects and must be administered by trained medical care givers such as doctors. The good news is that there are some natural ways to help our bodies increase the production of testosterone.

Eating the right kind of foods can help increase our testosterone production. For example, a healthy diet consisting of lean protein, low fat with plenty of fruits and vegetables can help in boosting up our testosterone level. This is because increased fat deposits in our bodies will make us produce more estrogen (female hormone, yes, men do have them too) which negates the effect of testosterone production. So if you are obese, then try to lose weight.

Weight ressistant exercise can also help to increase your testosterone level. The exercises that you do must be rather intensive for good results and therefore, a stroll in your neighborhood will not do anything to increase your male sexual hormone.

Avoid alcohol whenever possibe as alcohol is a suppressant and a toxin which affects natural testosterone production. This is because when you drink alcohol, your body’s defence mechanism gets real busy processing alcohol to rid of it out of your system and the process to produce more testosterone is affected.

Have enough sleep as most of the hormone is produced when you are asleep. So the shorter time you spent sleeping, the least they are produced. Furthermore, when you do not have enough sleep, your body is under stress and when you are under stress, you will produce another hormone called cortisol which again is your testosterone’s nemesis. That goes to say, you must also reduce stress, any kind of stress whether they are work problems, mental anguish or deadline pressures.

Simply said, if you want to arrest the decline of testosterone production and help your body to produce more of it, then live a healthy lifestyle. If that is not enough to improve your sexual health, then you may also need herbal supplements to boost your testosterone production.

Author Bio: Chris Chew is a fitness, health and relationship consultant. Read his free articles at How To Have Sexual Stamina and Human Growth Hormone Testosterone Supplements

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: testosterone, hormone, sexual health, erectile dysfunction, sex drive