Testosterone Is Not the Issue, So What Really Matters?
- Mar 23
- 8 min read
Written by Shaun Sargent, Co-Founder STAIT
That we age is a given, how we age is a choice. STAIT – Unapologetically Strong. A first-class academic, award-winning professional, and global CEO, he is dedicated to continuous growth and inspiring others along the way.
The article highlights the increasing emergence of (young) men seeking to add exogenous testosterone as a way of “quick fixing” an incorrectly perceived issue, in the belief that this issue is the cause of many of the physical and mental issues they face in their daily life.
In 2025, reports in Australia that over 196,000 men participated in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) illustrate the magnitude of the issue. The same can be seen in the UK, USA, Europe, and, not to mention, GCC countries, where pharmaceutical aid is readily available. It’s a universal issue.
These figures are a drop in the ocean, as they don’t include men who receive their TRT from private clinics, and or elicit sources overseas. It’s a huge issue, and many top endocrinologists say these men are being sold a lie. I agree. The leading specialists say these men are being swayed away from evidence-based medicine towards a profit-driven pharmaceutical company-led system, with the promise of a “quick fix”, and “it’s not your fault”. After all, who doesn’t fall for a quick fix and some “it’s not your fault” ego stroking from time to time.
To state the obvious: Testosterone isn’t the sole issue
Yes, we see symptoms of low testosterone utilisation, but it doesn’t mean adding in extra exogenous hormones will solve the issue. Indeed, it may make it far worse. Lifestyle is a major cause of the low testosterone utilisation issue, but of course, to change this takes consistency, and it isn’t always easy.
And of course, all of this is fueled by social media, which has a way of pushing forward ideas of how life should be, rather than the reality of how it is, as a way of selling quick-fix solutions to problems that aren’t the actual problem.
This isn’t anything new, this marketing technique has always been an issue, with the work of Edward Bernays in the early 1900s, who used psychological techniques to influence lifestyle and spending habits. He made it sexy for women to smoke, his Times Square photos of young women smoking cigarettes created the demand for all women to follow suit, and acceptance by society of the act, and a desire to ‘be like’ all rolled into one.
Today, we have even more sensory overload and manipulations to persuade us that by doing “this”, the life we seek will happen. It’s easy to look at an image now and be swayed as to what created that body. Even worse, with the advent of AI, is the question that should be asked, "Is that an actual body? Is it photo-shopped?" or "Is it simply a computer-generated image?" So good are the fakes now, it’s extremely difficult to tell. Yet we are all influenced by this and can fall into the trap of “if I do what is being suggested here, I too can be like that.”
Sadly, sorry to ruin the illusions of social media
"There is no such thing as a magic pill. Testosterone levels are not the only issue. Lifestyle is."
Back to the perceived male hormone problem. Basically, if I inject this, all my life’s issues will be solved. How sad, how inaccurate, and how dangerous is this ever more popular and normalised act.
In previous times, when steroids were (and still are) illegal, the limited source was from the guy at the gym. Few would risk this. Fewer would admit to it. Many denied it when challenged.
Now, TRT (steroids rebranded) is readily prescribed to unsuspecting men by unregulated online clinics and seen as an acceptable, normal act. Taking TRT is a badge of honour for many. Almost “me-too”, not wanting to be left out, the lemming phenomena perhaps? Celebrities gleefully recommend it, and even the Secretary of Health in the USA extols the virtues of it. Yet few discuss the risks, indeed many ‘fitness professionals’ go online and promote it.
How many times do you see a so-called health expert proclaiming, “Of course I’m natural, I take bioidentical testosterone, it’s different from steroids.” For completeness, so too did Arnold Schwarzenegger when he won the Mr. Olympia. He didn’t admit to it for decades, preferring to pretend he was gifted, proclaiming his true ‘natural’ status. How times have changed. Not to say he didn’t sacrifice, train incredibly hard, and be genetically predisposed to muscle growth. But he has certainly paid a price for using his ‘bioidentical testosterone’. After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
In truth, the act of using TRT, in essence, is only one step removed from Arnold. Yet it’s seen as ok, as it’s purchased not from the dodgy gym dealer but a legit source. In many ways, the gym dealer is probably more likely to know more about ‘the gear’ and how to take it safely than many of these unregulated online clinics that peddle this expensive illusion.
The ‘quick fix’ peddled is for a problem that isn’t the problem, merely a symptom of the problem. Low Testosterone, or actually more accurately, low testosterone utilisation, is akin to the canary in the mine – it’s a warning that all is not well in the body. Killing the canary won’t stop the problem nor protect the miners. Similarly, adding more testosterone to a body that cannot utilise it will not resolve a low testosterone uptake issue. Indeed, it will add further to the issue, for in the body’s non-utilisation, and the body’s systems being overloaded, come the serious issues that can occur. Liver damage, heart damage, blood pressure, excess estrogen, and cancer. Not good at all.
Ignoring the canary only leads to bigger issues. Adding in exogenous testosterone, potentially triggering biofeedback loops, conversions to highly estrogenic substances that are carcinogenic, not to mention shutting down self-production of sex hormones, infertility, heart disease, and gynecomastia, doesn’t sound like a solution.
To be clear, I am not against TRT when it’s a valid medical case and taken under proper medical supervision. It can be extremely helpful.
So what am I advocating?
What I am advocating for is that men’s wellbeing must be viewed holistically, and with constant effort, to create lasting health. Not looking at the overwhelm of ‘wellness optimism’ posts on socials, most likely to be fake, whilst avoiding the daily work required to maintain a healthy body.
As in the story of the tortoise and the hare, quiet consistency of effort wins every time. Consistency in what we put in and on our bodies, consistency in the daily physical activity we do, consistency in our sleep regime. Basically, as elite Special Forces operators know, what makes them Special is doing the basics better than anyone else, consistently. Every day, a step further, how you do anything is how you do everything, you are only as good as yesterday. Brilliant advice. Not easy, but necessary.
Taking this all in, what does it mean?
No amount of exogenous testosterone will solve the low testosterone issue if:
Sleep is less than optimal: The article describes that 1 week of sleep restriction to less than 5 hours per night reduces testosterone levels by 10 to 15%, or put another way, if I could sell you something that could increase your testosterone by 15%, what would you pay for that?
Chronic stress is ever-present and out of control: Evolution-wise, the human body prioritises fight or flight over fornication. There is no point breeding kids if you get eaten by a tiger. That hasn’t changed, only now, rather than acute stress as in fight or flight, we have chronic stress. The body doesn’t know the difference, so if we are stressed, our testosterone levels will suffer. And our utilisation of the hormone we do have will be restricted, as the receptor cells will be blocked with the flight hormone instead. The body will then be triggered by biofeedback loops to process the excess (as it sees it, at the time) testosterone out of the body. All giving the symptoms of low testosterone, when in fact that wasn’t the case.
Diets are poor: With processed foods/fast foods/sugary foods making up the majority of calories. If insulin is high, testosterone doesn’t operate. Indeed, fat storage is activated, such that we build reserves for the future. That fat also contains a hormone, aromatase, which is deadly to testosterone. This grabs free testosterone and converts it to estrogen, so belly fat is not our friend, especially if we want more utilisation of testosterone. Be aware of non-organic foods, which can be laced with pesticides and hormone by-products (especially meat and dairy), as these disrupt our natural hormone production. Choose regenerative farmed meat and organic dairy instead.
The presence of xeno-estrogens: Be careful, as personal care products, food, tap water, and plastics all potentially contain xeno-estrogens. They readily dock with the body’s hormone receptors, not allowing testosterone to be utilised. In the book Estrogeneration, the author goes into detail about these, but they are prevalent and can be found in all things we are exposed to and consume daily.
Alcohol is not ideal: The hops in beer are a known high estrogenic stimulator. Brewers' droop is a real term, not a fallacy. Liver health is vital for hormone optimisation, so if it’s working hard to eliminate the night before, rest assured, toxic by-products won’t help hormone optimisation
The solutions aren’t flashy, they need daily, consistent effort, not social media hype
Get an adequate amount of sleep daily. If you cannot sleep, see a sleep expert. It’s worth 10-15% extra testosterone.
Get out in nature, at least once per day, as that’s a great way to de-stress. Walk barefoot if possible. Listen to relaxation music, meditate, and/or practice breath work. The Special Forces know how to downregulate their stress quickly, allowing human optimisation. Seek out breath workers if need be. Walk rather than ride, whenever possible. Take the stairs, not the lift, if you can. Your body will thank you.
Gut health is vital, liver health too. As far as possible, avoid processed food. Make your own ferments if you can, it’s good fun and easy. Eat organic as far as you can, avoid plastics for carrying and cooking, and ditch the microwave. Avoid conventional dairy as it’s laced with hormones. And hormone disruptors.
Choose personal care products that are natural and organic. What goes on the skin enters the body very quickly, and as most are petrochemical-based, that goes into the lymph, then the liver has to detoxify. All the while disrupting hormones. Read 'Estrogeneration' and educate yourself on all the hidden areas of toxicity.
Be mindful of the hidden hormone disruptors in drinks. Hops in beer and mould in wheat are used in brewing. Soft drinks, what to say?! Water in plastic bottles, avoid at all costs, tap water that isn’t filtered as well. Coffee mould is also one of the most potent hormone disruptors, so choose mould-free coffee. Don’t use coffee pods, heat through plastic enhances the xeno-estrogens and massively impacts the body.
Exercise. Nothing beats a daily walk in nature. And to help stave off age-related muscle wasting (sarcopenia). Train with weights at least 3-4 times per week. Research shows a direct correlation between leg strength and the over-70s death rate due to trips and falls.
The best time to build muscle was in your 20s, today is the next best time to focus on this. Muscle is the largest glucose sink in the body, so the healthier the muscle you have, the better you use glucose, avoiding insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes). Less insulin is a good thing for general health, but also avoiding type 2 diabetes, not to mention giving more space for testosterone to operate.
I am sure there are more tips, email me with them, as I am always happy to learn.
In summary
To resolve an issue, we need to identify and address the real issues and then formulate the best long-term, implementable, healthy solutions. The body is an amazing machine. If we feed it what it requires, maintain it as best we can, clean it when necessary, run it as often as possible to keep it fresh, it will happily take us where we want to go. But if put in poor fuel, don’t clean it out, leave it in the garage (ie, no exercise, etc.), and don’t maintain it, we cannot be surprised when it doesn’t operate as it should.
Body knows best – so give it what it needs, and allow it to do what it does.
Read more from Shaun Sargent
Shaun Sargent, Co-Founder STAIT
As a co-founder of STAIT, my personal search for health and personal development is relentless. I seek out the best of the best to learn from and share with. To be the best you can be on a daily basis is the key to human growth.
