Testosterone, Naturally: What Actually Moves the Needle
A long-form conversation on what testosterone actually does, how to measure it properly, and which levers genuinely change it. The recurring theme: body composition, sleep and micronutrient status matter far more than exotic supplements, and free testosterone plus SHBG tell a story that total testosterone alone hides.
Overview
Derek from More Plates More Dates walks through testosterone from the ground up: its role in muscle, bone, insulin sensitivity, red blood cell production and neurological health, plus its indirect work through conversion to estrogen and DHT. He then turns to measurement, explaining why total testosterone reflects production capacity while free testosterone reflects what is actually available to tissues, and why SHBG quietly governs the difference.
A large section covers reference ranges and their limits: receptor density and sensitivity vary enough that two men with identical numbers can feel completely different. The conversation maps out where the system breaks down, from testicular structural issues like varicocele to insufficient pituitary signalling. Lifestyle takes centre stage, with body fat, sleep, alcohol, chronic under-fuelling and extreme endurance training identified as the dominant levers.
On supplements, zinc, magnesium and vitamin D come out as the reliable options when someone is deficient, with boron, standardised ashwagandha and eurycomanone-tested tongkat ali as adjuncts. The final third covers hormone therapy candidacy, delivery methods and their very different risk profiles, fertility preservation, women's much narrower reference range, and the androgen biology behind hair loss.
Key quotes
5There's an array of things that are supported critically by testosterone.
Even though total test decreases by 1% a year, your free test will decrease by up to 2% per year.
Is there a trend downwards? I would say yes. And I think it is mostly dictated by the obesity, the diet, the lifestyle stuff.
Adherence almost trumps optimal in some capacity.
Zinc, magnesium, vitamin D — those were the three things that move the needle most reliably.
Key ideas
9Testosterone is a systems hormone
Beyond muscle, it supports bone integrity, insulin sensitivity, neurological health, red blood cell production and fertility. Much of its work happens indirectly, through aromatization to estrogen and conversion to DHT.
Women make it too, at a tenth the concentration
The same functions apply in women at much lower magnitude, with testosterone also serving as the substrate for estrogen production. Low androgen signalling in women can look like flat libido, poor body composition response and weaker bone support.
Total versus free testosterone
Roughly 60% is bound to SHBG and 38% to albumin, leaving 2-3% freely circulating and available to bind receptors. Total reflects production capacity; free reflects what tissues can actually use, and both are worth seeing.
The number is not the whole picture
Androgen receptor density and sensitivity vary widely, so identical readings can produce very different experiences. Symptoms and repeated measurements carry more weight than a single value against a reference range.
Where the signal breaks
The chain runs hypothalamus to pituitary to testes. High gonadotropins with low output point to a testicular issue, sometimes structural, such as a varicocele; low gonadotropins point upstream to signalling shaped by lifestyle and age.
SHBG is the quiet regulator
It rises with age faster than total testosterone falls, so free testosterone declines roughly twice as fast. Liver health, oral medications, contraceptives and very low-carbohydrate diets all push it upward, and DHT binds to it even more avidly than testosterone.
Body fat is the largest single lever
Excess fat raises aromatization, and the resulting estrogen signal tells the brain that hormone levels are adequate while actual testosterone production stays low. Losing visceral fat restores the feedback balance and typically lifts production noticeably.
Environment matters less than the basics
Endocrine-disrupting compounds do interact with androgen and estrogen receptors, but the discussion places their practical magnitude well below obesity, diet, sleep and alcohol. Sensible swaps like glass over heated plastic are worth doing without treating them as the main event.
A short supplement list with real signal
Zinc, magnesium and vitamin D show the most reliable effect when someone is genuinely deficient. Boron may lower SHBG, standardised ashwagandha works indirectly through the stress response, and tongkat ali standardised for eurycomanone appears to support local production, while tribulus, D-aspartic acid and fenugreek are described as largely disproven.
Practical takeaways
7- 1
Test in the morning, and test twice 36:00
Fasted, hydrated, early morning sampling reflects the daily peak, and biotin-containing supplements can distort assays. One reading is a snapshot; confirm before drawing conclusions.
- 2
Ask for free testosterone and SHBG 1:04:00
Total testosterone alone can look fine while free testosterone sits far lower than expected. Seeing SHBG alongside both makes the picture interpretable.
- 3
Fix the foundations before anything else 1:24:00
Body fat, sleep quality, alcohol intake and adequate calories account for most of the variance. These are free, and they change the baseline everything else is measured against.
- 4
Pick the plan you will actually keep 1:56:00
Resistance training sits at the top of the intensity hierarchy for hormonal support, but the regimen and diet you adhere to for years beats the theoretically optimal one you abandon in six weeks.
- 5
Check micronutrient status first 2:08:00
Magnesium in particular is rarely adequate in multivitamins because of its weight, and vitamin D needs both sufficient intake and proper conversion. Correcting genuine deficiency is described as worth roughly 100-150 ng/dL.
- 6
Look for standardised extracts 2:20:00
With ashwagandha that means a patented format such as KSM-66 or Sensoril standardised for withanolides; with tongkat ali it means third-party testing for eurycomanone rather than meaningless extract ratios.
- 7
Build a comprehensive baseline 2:50:00
Haematology, lipids, metabolic markers, SHBG, sensitive-assay hormone testing and gonadotropins before any intervention make later changes interpretable. Without a baseline, it is very hard to tell what changed and why.
Topics & chapters
15Why testosterone matters
Opening framing on testosterone as the primary anabolic hormone in men, and its reach into bone, metabolism and neurological health.
Testosterone in women
The same functions at roughly a tenth the concentration, plus its role as substrate for estrogen production.
The longevity trade-off question
Speculation on why females outlive males across mammals, and the metabolic cost of sustaining a larger body.
What a life without androgens looks like
The historical castrati as an illustration of incomplete maturation, low estrogen and poor bone integrity.
Total versus free testosterone
How binding proteins split the total, and why both numbers carry different information.
Measuring it properly
Morning timing, fasted and hydrated sampling, confounding supplements, and the case for repeat measurement.
Reference ranges and receptor sensitivity
Why identical values feel different between individuals, and when symptoms should outweigh the number.
LH, FSH and where the chain breaks
Primary versus secondary patterns, structural issues such as varicocele, and reading gonadotropins.
SHBG: the hidden regulator
Age, liver health, oral medications, contraceptives and very low-carbohydrate diets, and the disproportionate effect on DHT.
Symptoms worth noticing
Libido, morning erections, recovery capacity, strength, mood regulation and body composition as a constellation rather than a single sign.
Lifestyle factors that drag levels down
Alcohol, smoking, poor sleep, obesity, under-fuelling and extreme endurance training in a deficit.
Environment and the downward trend
Endocrine disruptors in perspective, assay differences across decades, and why the basics dominate.
Diet and training
Fat as hormone substrate, carbohydrate and insulin signalling for free hormone, protein for recovery, and resistance training at the top of the hierarchy.
Micronutrients and supplements
Zinc, magnesium, vitamin D, then boron, standardised ashwagandha and eurycomanone-tested tongkat ali, and what has been disproven.
Hormone therapy, methods and risks
Candidacy, delivery methods and their very different profiles, haematocrit, lipids, sleep apnoea, prostate, fertility preservation, women's protocols and the androgen biology of hair loss.