The Relationship Between Low Cholesterol & Testosterone – Is There Any Link?

High cholesterol levels point towards the dark future of your body!

You might be wondering why?

Well, cholesterol levels can work as a foundation for many diseases. It has been related to one of the most fatal diseases of all time which is atherosclerosis.

But it’s not all, we can actually list up a huge number of diseases which high cholesterol levels can bring in.

But the trendsetters have something else on their mind too. There has been a recent upsurge in the number of rumors on how cholesterol and testosterone are linked together!

But are these just rumors or there is a solid truth lies in between them?

To clear away all your doubts about the high cholesterol effect on testosterone or just the relationship between testosterone and cholesterol, here we are with all you need.

Our following blog deals with whether cholesterol has any role in your testosterone levels.

But it’s not just the cholesterol that we are focusing on! We also have a list of foods that can give your testosterone levels a high surge.

So what are you waiting for, scroll down, and find out what you can do to boost your testosterone and how cholesterol affects testosterone.

How are Testosterone and Cholesterol Linked?

Testosterone also is known as the male hormone has vital functions in your body. It acts on your secondary sexual characters and also has an active role in regulating your sex drive.

The male hormone also has effects on your muscular and bone strength making it quite important for your daily activity.

On the other hand, cholesterol can be defined in a single line as a type of fat in our body.

However, to understand how testosterone can be linked to cholesterol it is important that we know everything about what cholesterol is and how it works!

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol as we said earlier is a kind of fat that is present in your bloodstream.

Even though certain foods can boost your cholesterol levels, around 80% of cholesterol is actually made in your liver.

The process of production of cholesterol in your body is quite a complex one as it has around 37 steps in it.

If we look at cholesterol more closely, it can be termed as a type of lipid or blood fat.

To be more precise, it is a type of lipid which is called sterol or in other words, steroid alcohol.

Now, after hearing the word steroid many of you might be wondering whether cholesterol is a steroid?

Well, we can say YES!

Cholesterol is one of the most common steroids which is found in your body. In fact, it also has got precursors which can give rise to steroid hormones in your body.

Here you must know that testosterone is also a steroid hormone.

But with this, a question arises “Is testosterone made from cholesterol?”

Let us understand some other vital functions of cholesterol in your body.

What are the Functions of Cholesterol?

Cholesterol has been notoriously famous for the diseases it brings. But the truth is it has got many vital functions to play in your body.

These functions are:

• Creating membranes – as you must have studied somewhere in your primary classes that cell membranes form integral parts in animals or humans. Thus, cholesterol is an active ingredient in creating cell membranes. It not only builds membrane but also works in keeping it healthy.
• Cell signaling – Cell communication is important for every function in your body. Cholesterol has an active role in maintaining cell communication.
• Proper functioning of the brain – Cholesterol has important functions and makes sure that the brain functions properly.
• Composition of bile salt – Cholesterol produces bile acid which has an active role in breaking down fats.
• Production of hormones – As mentioned earlier, cholesterol forms a precursor of hormones and thus has a vital role in the production and maintenance of hormones.

Since here we are focusing on the relationship between testosterone and cholesterol structure.

And to understand this we must know the different types of cholesterol.

Types of Cholesterol

As we said earlier, cholesterol belongs to steroid groups. Thus, it belongs to a family called non-glyceride lipids.

Some of the other members of the group non-glyceride lipids are:

•       Sphingolipids
•       Waxesṣ
•       Lipoproteins

The third lipid, which is lipoprotein is important in terms of cholesterol.

Cholesterol cannot travel across your bloodstream alone, thus they bind with a protein to form lipoproteins.

Now there are two types of cholesterol concerning lipoprotein.

#1. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL- C)

Low-density lipoproteins are famous as the bad cholesterols. They are high in cholesterol but fall low on protein

Thus, if you have a high dosage of LDL C in your body can cause extra fat accumulation in your body leading to developing plaques in arterial walls.

This accumulation of plaque can cause risk to your cardiovascular system as it clogs or narrows your arterial walls.

Such a disease is called atherosclerosis that increases the chance of stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, and numerous diseases.

However, if you have low levels of LDL C can also lead to metabolic syndrome.

For those you don’t know what it is, metabolic syndrome is a combined case of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

#2. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL C)

Also famous as the good cholesterol, HDL C is opposite of LDL C

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol consists of a high dosage of proteins and less amount of cholesterol. What makes it good is that it sends cholesterol back to the liver where it has to be broken down.

This reduces the chance of you getting any cardiovascular diseases.

In fact, high levels of HDL C in your body can be a sign of good health.

Whereas, low levels of HDL C can pose a threat to your body

#3. Total cholesterol

Total cholesterol also called as the serum cholesterol has both HDL C and LDL C along with the other forms of non-HDL C

Whenever you get your cholesterol levels checked, your report comes out as a ratio of TC is to HDL.

This points towards the percentage of TC being good in your body

With that being said, let us dive closer towards the testosterone and cholesterol relationship

Cholesterol and Testosterone

There are many cases where men fear that their attempts to lower down cholesterol levels can actually lower down their testosterone levels.

The point is, can this fear come true?

Well, as per our previous sections, cholesterol comes in handy in testosterone production.

It is used in the last phase of testosterone production. Your body produces the luteinizing hormone that acts on your testes asking it to convert cholesterol into healthy testosterone levels.

But that’s not where the cholesterol’s connection with testosterone comes to an end.

As per studies, people who use even the best testosterone supplements or androgens see a decrease in their HDL C levels.

This clearly shows that raising your testosterone levels by using supplements can cause your good cholesterol levels to go down!

Though, results can vary in people as many researchers reported that there is no relation between cholesterol and testosterone levels in your body.

On the other side, there have also been reports regarding how a high cholesterol diet for testosterone is beneficial.

Let’s look at some studies to understand what cholesterol actually does to your testosterone levels

With that being said, let us see how diet can affect cholesterol and testosterone.

How can Diet Affect Testosterone and Cholesterol?

At the starting of the blog, we saw that 80% of cholesterol is formed in the liver. However, we can also get levels of cholesterol from your food.

Now, as the studies show that researchers are still not sure about what the connection can be between cholesterol and testosterone, but we know that cholesterol creates testosterone.

So men who wish to just boost their testosterone by eating a high cholesterol diet might just want to have a look below.

Does dietary cholesterol increase testosterone?

There have been many proofs which show that dietary cholesterol has a pivotal role in maintaining testosterone

For example, a study was conducted on a group of men for a period of 8 weeks.

For the study to show results, men were given a low-fat diet. Once the testing phase was over, they were tested for testosterone levels.

And here, the results were astonishing.

Men on a low-fat diet had lower levels of testosterone than others. Hence, a low-fat diet cannot be a solution to your low T-levels.

Here, you must be wondering, if not a low-fat diet than what?

Many foods can still give your declining testosterone levels a surge.

Let us show you some!

Which Foods can Boost your Testosterone Levels?

There are many foods that improve testosterone production or provide you with enough HDL C.

#1: Eggs

Men looking to boost their testosterone levels naturally can go for eggs.

They form the most versatile component of food and also act as a rich source of cholesterol

Moreover, there are rich in HDL C and have an active role in boosting testosterone production

Thus, you can actually include eggs in your daily meals to have your T-levels go high

But make sure you take the right amount of eggs in your diet as the saturated fat present in eggs can cause serious issues

#2. Fish

Fish is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids which are useful in lowering LDL C.

In fact, there are many different types of fish that have been found useful in boosting testosterone levels.

If you don’t have a good hand in buying fish, let us help you with that.

Tuna can be the fish for you if you want to get into bodybuilding as it has a huge amount of proteins

Salmon and Sardines are a rich source of omega -3 fatty acids and can be a good source for testosterone production

#3. Legumes and Grains

The upper two food suggestions might not go well with our vegan readers. So here we have an option for you.

Legumes and grains have a rich property of lowering down LDL C and act on the HDL C for the production of testosterone.

You must be wondering how?

Well, legumes and grains are rich in fibers. They have soluble fibers in them which have a positive effect on lowering down LDL C and boost up HDL C.

Conclusion

With the world going surprised at the recent revelation of cholesterol being directly linked with testosterone, here we have a detailed factual check on the same.

There are many researchers which claim testosterone supplements to be an enemy of cholesterol, but we believe it the opposite

Our above blogs deal with many such claims and bring out the true connection between cholesterol and testosterone.

Testosterone production cannot be linked negatively with cholesterol as the latter acts as a precursor for the steroid hormones.

Other than the above truth, there are many more facts which the above blog covers

We have also curated a list of foods for both vegans and non-vegans to shoot up their testosterone levels

Thus, make sure you don’t miss any point!