Testosterone is commonly stereotyped as being a male hormone; however, testosterone is also one of the six hormones produced by the female reproductive organs. As one of the important hormones needed to regulate a woman's body, it is essential to understand the role of testosterone in women before and after menopause. Testosterone, along with other hormones in the body, can greatly affect the health of a woman.
Continue reading to learn all about testosterone, and how it is produced within the female body.
Definition of Testosterone
What is testosterone? As the primary male sex hormone, the medical definition of testosterone usually refers to it as being a naturally occurring androgen, which is produced in the testes of men. Androgens are a group of male hormones that are responsible for the development of the male reproductive system and secondary male sexual characteristics such as voice depth and facial hair. Certainly, within the male body, testosterone is produced in vast quantities, and yet it is also produced, in smaller amounts, by the ovaries, in women.
Testosterone, despite its reputation as being a masculine entity, perhaps fueled by the history of abuse by bodybuilders and athletes, is in fact a many-gendered hormone. This hormone, often narrowly interpreted as a source of aggression, bulging muscles, voracious sexual libido and bodily hair growth, is vital for the general well-being of both men and women, especially those women going through hormonal changes like the menopause.
Read on to discover how this notorious hormone is produced within the male and female body and why it is important for a woman experiencing menopause or other hormonal changes to understand fully the effects this male hormone will have on her changing body.
Production of Testosterone
Despite confusing gender stereotypes, women and men actually produce exactly the same hormones, just in different amounts. It is true though that the manufacture of testosterone within women is much lower than in men; women only produce about one-seventh the amount of testosterone each day that men do. However, this small quantity of testosterone is still important for normal sexual development within women before, during, and post menopause.
In women, the production of testosterone is split equally between the
ovaries and adrenal glands. The amount produced is on average a tiny three tenths of one milligram a day. Not many people realize though that a woman's ovaries primarily produce testosterone and that it is from this that the essential hormone estrogen is then made. Without the ability of a woman's body to make testosterone she cannot make estrogen.
It is after puberty that a woman's body begins to produce a constant supply of testosterone.
The peak of testosterone production is in a woman's early twenties. As a woman ages, her levels of testosterone production decrease and thus there is less of the hormone flowing around her body.
This decline in testosterone production is felt most severely during menopause.
At the time that a woman reaches her natural menopause, or after ovary removal, the level of testosterone production within her body is usually only about
half of what it once was. Furthermore, women who are on estrogen replacement therapy may have an even more reduced testosterone production level.
There is much confusion surrounding the role of testosterone production in women. Even though the amount produced may seem insignificant, a woman's body, just as in a man's, needs to continually produce a certain level of testosterone in order to maintain its emotional and physical health.
A testosterone imbalance can lead to many irritating symptoms and in some cases illness; fortunately, there are many alternative treatment methods available that can treat testosterone imbalance in a natural and safe way. Click on the following link to learn more about
testosterone imbalance treatments.
