Anxiety and Low Testosterone — A match made in heaven
We really are living in the age of anxiety, eh?
Anxiety is a common phenomenon that nearly every living being has experienced, but for some unfortunate individuals the grips of anxiety and depression are so strong that it becomes pathological, wrecking their daily lives.
Researches around several Science related disciplines have shown that anxiety and related disorders are on an all-time high, according to World Health Organisation (WHO), Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression prevalence increased by 25% globally.
Amongst all of this situation scientists are constantly researching to find new therapeutic and clinical ways to find new cure for these mental health issues. One such ground-breaking study has been done by the researches at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
To investigate the mechanisms behind anxiety these scientists carried out a research on rodents, where they found a surprising co-relation between anxiety and low sex hormone like testosterone.
Now before we move on with this article, first let me explain a couple of terms so that readers can understand the terms irrespective of their background.
1. Ventral Hippocampus — A Region in your brain responsible for learning and memory
2. TACR3 — A brain Neuro-receptor (simply a family of protein found in the hippocampus)
The ventral hippocampus in humans is the region responsible for learning and memory, it is also a crucial region when it comes to regulating anxiety related behaviours, various studies have shown that a shrinkage in hippocampus leads to a host of mental health disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, Clinical depression and learning and memorising.
It is also a key region when it comes to emotion regulation (which the people suffering from anxiety and depression lack).
The study showed that when the rats were given a dosage of TACR3 brain receptor, their testosterone levels increased and they became less fearful.
While in rats with low testosterone, the expression of TACR3 was very low.
It’s outstanding when we see how there is direct co-relation between TACR3 (found in the hippocampus) and testosterone.
Additionally, the rats who were male adolescent showed greater levels of anxiety response to a lower level of testosterone than the adult males. This might explain the crucial role of testosterone in the development of individuals in their teens and young adult age.
Although there was still many gaps in this anxiety — testosterone relation story, this study could still prove as a big leap in our understanding of these mental health issues, which at the core are actually metabolic issues.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, one the world’s top 1% cited neuroscientist, says that at the core of all mental health issues there lies a metabolic issue, and the bridge between what’s mental and what’s physical is really po-rus (even negligible). This statement could alone explain how a sex hormone could be responsible for these “mental” issues to prevail in the human mind and body.
So guys, based on this study, I have curated a list of 5 natural supplements that you can take to boost your testosterone. Because hey! Everybody should benefit from some good old science right?
1. Ashwagandha — A natural Indian Ayurvedic herb helps boost testosterone and reduce stress and helps in deep sleep
2. Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) — Another Indian Ayurvedic herb that helps boost testosterone and might help with premature ejaculation
3. Zinc — It’s an essential mineral for the body that plays various roles, boosting the immunity, supporting metabolism and healing wounds
4. Vitamin D — Just go out in the sun already!
5. Garlic (Allium sativum) — Good for high blood pressure, weak immune system and preventing heart disease
Conclusion
In my opinion we should all be looking for these new researches that provide us with latest insights from these experts so that we can tackle these issues and can find new and effective therapies and cure for our problems.
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