Low Testosterone in Young Men: Don’t Underestimate This Red Flag

While most of us know how testosterone levels naturally decline in aging males, there’s still little awareness on how detrimental low testosterone in young men can be to their long-term health.

After all, testosterone deficiency opens the door to serious health complications such as prostate cancer, obesity, and even depression. As the primary male sex hormone, testosterone is heavily linked to how well your brain and body can function.

Here’s a quick list of the normal testosterone ranges based on testosterone testing for younger age groups. However, keep in mind that these numbers are not absolute. Normal testosterone levels can differ significantly from one individual to another. 

• Below 25 years: 697 ng/dl

• 25-29 years: 637 ng/dl;

• 30-34 years: 597 ng/dl

Your testosterone level is measured in nanogram per deciliter based on a small sample of blood. For a better understanding of how this range works, you can read more on the different types of testosterone found.

To do your testosterone reading, doctors will ask you for a simple blood test. This is usually done in the morning when your testosterone is at its peak.

If you don’t have the time to visit the hospital or need a convenient way to monitor your testosterone, you may use a ready-to-use testosterone test kit at home. Instead of getting a bloodtest, you will be using a saliva sample and sending it to a lab for analysis.

Low testosterone, also known as androgen deficiency hypogonadism, is a condition where the production of this hormone is inhibited or its destruction boosted. As a rule, this is the manifestation of an underlying illness. Primary hypogonadism is caused by testicular failure, while secondary hypogonadism (aka hypogonadotropic hypogonadism) is brought on by a disease in the pituitary gland or hypothalamus.

Factors that induce low T include acquired and hereditary conditions such as:

If you want to be on the safe side, be wary of the early symptoms of low testosterone. Generally, the following signs and symptoms are the most common: 

Many of these signs are common in cases of low testosterone in young men. If that's the case, we highly recommend you to consult with a doctor and determine the possible causes. Remember that they could be the manifestation of an underlying health condition.

While testosterone replacement therapy is often prescribed to men with hypogonadism, the practice still lacks conclusive evidence on its clinical benefits for younger men. There have also been reported cases of side effects (such as increased heart attack risk), with their long-term impact still under study.

Luckily, those artificial injections, creams, and gels used in testosterone therapy aren’t all that necessary. In fact, increasing your total testosterone levels naturally is as simple as it gets. 

What we’re about to tell you isn’t some new-fangled therapy or trend, but simple yet effective truths that have been around for a long time.

Everything you eat has an impact on your body and health. We just cannot stress this point enough.

Switching to a low-fat, high-fiber diet is a good start for achieving normal testosterone levels in the long run. Aim for a daily menu with enough whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fish to support a healthy metabolism.

​Avoid eating sweets and basically anything that contains high levels of unhealthy fats, as both are have been shown to reduce testosterone levels significantly.  

Studies indicate that acute exercise has a positive correlation with testosterone in young people. After all, exercise is proven to produce biochemical changes in our body, more so if you pump up the intensity.

While it’s obvious that working up a sweat is good, too much exercise can actually lead to lower testosterone – a common problem among professional athletes.

​This doesn’t mean that you should avoid exercise. Rather, just make sure to get enough rest and learn how many reps are enough for you.

Being nutritionally deficient in zinc, iron, or other essential nutrients leaves you vulnerable to male hypogonadism – and this applies even if you’re not what most would consider an older man (or, to be more specific, a middle-aged man).

Supplementation is another route to take when the first two aren’t enough. Also, remember that addressing a specific and confirmed dieficiency is more effective than shooting for general boosters and vitamin blends.

Try to limit yourself to water-soluble variants as they are easy to flush out from your system when in excess.

Even if it happens to be within a healthy range today, your bioavailable testosterone (the kind that hasn’t been caught by the sex hormone-binding globulin) can plummet without any warning.

The growing frequency of low testosterone in young men is surely a cause for concern, but it is not an untreatable condition. Just be sure to maintain a sense of well-being to keep yourself healthy even as you age.