Free testosterone! It is what matters. Total testosterone levels are insignificant when it comes to treating low testosterone. Here’s why. Free testosterone is the active form of testosterone in the body. It comprised about 2% of the total present in circulation. Most of it is bound to proteins like albumin and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). This means that 98% is being used for other things. So, if only total T is checked then there is an unclear picture of the active form in the body.
So, when someone checks your total T and not the free T you must ask yourself if they routinely work with men who have low T. Remember those symptoms I wrote about in a previous post: low sex drive, increased abdominal fat, weight gain, decreased muscle tone/strength, loss of morning erections, cloudy thinking, man boobs and low motivation. That’s a lot of effects on the body from one hormone and you certainly deserve to be provided the total picture of your hormone status. The fact that testosterone (and any other hormone for that matter) has so many benefits presents a strong argument as to why OPTIMAL levels of hormones are important to maintain.
