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The best natural ways to raise low testosterone levels...

Maybe you've got a slight paunch, and find it hard to climb a flight of stairs without feeling out of breath. You've got less muscle and more fat than you did in your twenties. You might be one of the many who experience problems with their love life, ranging from problems getting an erection to a complete loss of interest in sex. If any of this sounds familiar, it's possible you're suffering from low testosterone levels.

For men, testosterone levels play a key role in almost everything. Testosterone builds emotional well-being and self-confidence. It affects how fat, fit or strong you are. It governs your mood, and plays a part in how aggressive you feel.

Unfortunately, testosterone levels begin to decline slowly but surely as you reach middle age. The testes (the place where most testosterone is made) are less responsive to hormones that control testosterone production. To make matters worse, "free" testosterone - the kind that's most biologically active - declines to an even greater extent.

Since testosterone plays a vital role in muscle growth, most men find it gets harder and harder just to maintain muscle mass, let alone build it, as they age. Even worse, low testosterone levels make it more likely that you'll gain fat. Research from the University of Washington, for example, shows a link between low testosterone levels and abdominal fat [37].

Not only does it affect the way you look, testosterone also affects the way you feel. Because the human brain is filled with testosterone receptors (the parts of the brain that respond to testosterone), your mood is affected if testosterone levels drop too low.

Termed by some "irritable male syndrome," low testosterone levels might explain why some men become grumpy and irritable the older they get. Stress can also cause men of any age to experience a drop in testosterone levels.

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