It’s more than just a male sex hormone and can be the foundation for a healthy lifestyle Testosterone may be the world’s most discussed hormone. With the Olympics approaching, its performance-boosting powers will soon be under the spotlight again. When prisons are overcrowded, crime levels rise, testosterone is fingered as the culprit.
In 2008, the chair of the International Monetary Fund even blamed it for the financial crash, saying: “I honestly think that there should never be too much testosterone in one room.” “We’ve chosen to vilify testosterone because of its mis-association with aggression. But that’s just factually incorrect,” says Dr Rob Stevens, founder of The Men’s Health Clinic in Dorset.
“Testosterone is actually a calming hormone . It’s the counterbalance to cortisol – the stress hormone.” In fact, we may have got testosterone all wrong.
A 2022 review of available studies found no association between the hormone and muscle mass, strength or performance in women . Other rigorous studies have found little relationship between it and anger. A growing body of research suggests that for men, and in fact for women too, it can sometimes be the key to improving your midlife health and relationships.
What is testosterone?.