We know that men in the modern age are bombarded with estrogens and estrogenic chemicals from every direction in food, water, medications, environment, and products. Which leads me to wonder: what is actually an acceptable testosterone and estrogen level for men?
Testosterone levels have been declining by the decade. There is debate on how much, but clearly there is a significant drop. We have seen data on what "normal/average" testsoterone levels should be in men (~700) these days, so we can assume it was slightly higher.
What was the estrogen level of these men with higher testosterone? Did they have it in the same proportions? For example, if a healthy man today has a test level of 600 and an estradiol of 30, did the man from the 1900s with a 900 test level have an estradiol level of 45, or was it still around 30, or even lower?
And, would he actually have less of an estrogenic effect from that higher estradiol level - since he wasn't burdened with the extreme amounts of estrogens from the environment?
Would it not make sense for us on TRT who have the luxury of control of our hormones to keep our estradiol on the lower end of healthy/normal to alleviate the burden of these estrogenic chemicals, creating a more favorable balance of testosterone to estrogen?
As a side note:
Introducing HCG seems to increase aromatization in a good portion of men as well. Whether this is a direct upregulation of aromatase as has been shown in vitro, or a result of spikes in hormones can be debated, but at the end of the day, estradiol levels rise in the presence of HCG. However, some men report better sensitivity, blood flow, mood, etc. I notice this as well for a couple of weeks, before it dissipates and I start having high e2 symptoms. Excluding those who develop low pregnenolone, is there anything inherent about HCG that makes it necessary for TRT, given that there are plenty of men that seem to get dialed in without it? Or is it simply about finding the right dosage and frequency of cypionate to find a "sweet spot"?
p.s. I am aware of the many benefits of estradiol and this post is not to demonize it in any way, but to gain a further understanding of the declining masculinity of the modern male from a hormonal standpoint and balance my TRT appropriately.
Testosterone levels have been declining by the decade. There is debate on how much, but clearly there is a significant drop. We have seen data on what "normal/average" testsoterone levels should be in men (~700) these days, so we can assume it was slightly higher.
What was the estrogen level of these men with higher testosterone? Did they have it in the same proportions? For example, if a healthy man today has a test level of 600 and an estradiol of 30, did the man from the 1900s with a 900 test level have an estradiol level of 45, or was it still around 30, or even lower?
And, would he actually have less of an estrogenic effect from that higher estradiol level - since he wasn't burdened with the extreme amounts of estrogens from the environment?
Would it not make sense for us on TRT who have the luxury of control of our hormones to keep our estradiol on the lower end of healthy/normal to alleviate the burden of these estrogenic chemicals, creating a more favorable balance of testosterone to estrogen?
As a side note:
Introducing HCG seems to increase aromatization in a good portion of men as well. Whether this is a direct upregulation of aromatase as has been shown in vitro, or a result of spikes in hormones can be debated, but at the end of the day, estradiol levels rise in the presence of HCG. However, some men report better sensitivity, blood flow, mood, etc. I notice this as well for a couple of weeks, before it dissipates and I start having high e2 symptoms. Excluding those who develop low pregnenolone, is there anything inherent about HCG that makes it necessary for TRT, given that there are plenty of men that seem to get dialed in without it? Or is it simply about finding the right dosage and frequency of cypionate to find a "sweet spot"?
p.s. I am aware of the many benefits of estradiol and this post is not to demonize it in any way, but to gain a further understanding of the declining masculinity of the modern male from a hormonal standpoint and balance my TRT appropriately.