We often talk about Testosterone, but sometimes you hear the concept of free testosterone and how much is useful in a muscle mass gain cycle!
This, for many, raises a question mark. – Testosterone… okay, but what is free testosterone?
What Is Free Testosterone?
Approximately 98% of the testosterone that the body produces binds to either globulin binding sex hormones (SHBG) or albumin. This is called “related testosterone”. The remaining 2% are known as “free testosterone”.
This single or free testosterone is what binds to testosterone receptors in body cells. When the cell absorbs free testosterone, it enables its functionality, such as cell replication in bones and muscles.
Free testosterone is also responsible for creating secondary sexual characteristics in men. These include things like hair and a deeper voice.
Why Is It Important To Know The Level Of Free Testosterone?
As the name suggests, total testosterone is the entire hormone that is present in the bloodstream. While some testosterone tests only account for total testosterone, they may not be as useful as previously thought.
Why: 98% ratio is normal for associated testosterone – but apparently abnormalities may happen. Limiting tests to total testosterone levels ignores the possibility of excessive attaching to SHBG or albumin.
This means that it is possible to have normal levels of total testosterone, but still not have enough free testosterone to perform the basic functions of the hormone itself.
Too little free testosterone can lead to poor muscle development, irritability, decreased sex drive and a number of other problems that a person may not easily associate with too little free testosterone.
Therefore, while overall testosterone levels may look good, a low level of free testosterone can lead to incorrect diagnosis and treatment plans. For example, a patient may not need more testosterone.
They may simply need fewer substances that tend to convert testosterone into other substances such as estrogen.
This may be critically important to test for free testosterone levels and not just for total testosterone. If you are having a hard time determining your testosterone levels, there are online sites with professionals like Male Excel that can help you determine where you’re at.
Bioavailable Testosterone
Until recently, free testosterone was the only species considered biologically active. However, it turns out that the part of the hormone that is associated with serum albumin tends to become available in the capillary bed.
The group of albumin with testosterone is very weak and easily ruptured, releasing testosterone, adept of being resented by tissues.
So, all no – SHBG – related forms of testosterone are considered bioavailable.
One way to monitor bional testosterone is that it is like a reserve stock ready for use when the body is low in free testosterone.
However, scientists still do not know how much bioavailable testosterone continues to be absorbed by cells under these conditions. For more information abou anabolic substance Testosterone you can check PharmaGear web store. There have a lot of articles on this theard.
Conclusion
The higher the level of free testosterone there is in the body, the more you will feel the function of testosterone this one. This means: stronger libido, more tone and more muscle mass.