Picture this, a man in a white lab coat with glasses and holding a clipboard stands in front of you. You’re in a tiled room with what appears to be a one way glass. You’re sitting on an examination table. Lights are dull white and with a hint of a flicker. The man in the coat says, ‘You are not the man your father was.’
What feelings does that arouse in you?
Does it bring shock and you denying it possible?
Or do you feel guilty that some part of it is true?
Or does it leave you effervescing with anger, ready to ?
Or does it percolate through you as a wave of sadness?
Researchers from Massachusetts have reported that the average concentration of testosterone in men has dropped by a percent a year (and that’s not including age related changes!) This is not exclusive to men from the United States; it has also been reported in Danish men. As alarming as this might seem, this is not the only issue found and reported by researchers. In fact,
- Decreased Sperm counts
- Weakness (as measured by grip strength)
- Increased Occurrence of Reproductive Problems such as testicular cancer
And the reason for this remains as mysterious as the sinking of the Titanic. Just as it’s obvious the iceberg caused the Titanic to sink, obesity is associated with the lower testosterone. But there are other reasons that are suspected to influence testosterone levels. This includes –
- Lower levels of smoking. Nicotine, the main chemical in tobacco is an aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase inhibitors lower estrogen levels and has been found to increase levels of hormones that stimulate testosterone production. (That said, which it might seem attractive to smoke to increase your testosterone levels, nicotine can also cause heart disease which is not so attractive.)
- Increased office jobs. I can fondly recall working for my grandfather to herd dairy cows to earn pocket money as a child during the holidays (and no, there wasn’t a union.) Today, I’m typing this on my desktop and don’t need the same level of athleticism or fitness that I needed as a kid.
- Everyday exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and toxins certainly don’t help. You’ll find these chemicals in household products are also attributed to the lower testosterone concentrations
Some of this research was performed more than a decade ago and the reality is that as a nation, we’ve actually accelerated by –
- Smoking Less (which… is a great benefit for the community; my lungs thank you,)
- Increased Time Behind a Computer (thank you COVID for remote work and from gym closures)
- More Harmful Chemicals (like Bisphenol A (aka BPA) and Phthalates) now than ever before, chemicals that impact our health are found everywhere – from the cleaning agents we use to keep our house clean, to the fragrances we use to impress our partners, to the cosmetics, personal hygiene products and even the plastics packaging our food. It’s inescapable!
Even though our habits and lifestyle as a whole have not improved, there are some things we can do about this. When I started biohacking, I wanted to find out natural supplements that would help boost performance in the gym, become more focused and be more confident.
After researching countless hours of scientific studies, I’ve found several ingredients that would act to correct deficiencies, improve alertness, help me sustain exercises at higher intensities but also give me more confidence. Unfortunately there’s no single ingredient that achieves all of this. That’s why I’ve put together sets for different purposes.
Currently, there’s three sets on my website that helped me become more confident and perform better. These are the Alpha Set, Recovery Set and the Wellness Hacker Set. These are the Alpha Set, Recovery Set and the Wellness Hacker Set. You can find these here.
