Can Calcium Help Increase Testosterone Levels?
Have you ever thought that calcium can help boost testosterone levels? It may sound odd, but calcium isn’t only good for bones and teeth. Calcium is important for muscle contraction. This includes the heart muscle. It helps send signals between nerves and muscles. Calcium also helps blood clot, so wounds can heal in time. The body needs it to keep a steady heartbeat. It also takes part in the way hormones are released.
How Does Calcium Support Testosterone Through the Endocrine System?
Testosterone is a hormone in the body. In men, it mostly comes from the Leydig cells in the testes. In women, it is made in small amounts by the ovaries and the adrenal glands. This is part of how the endocrine system works.
Calcium does not make testosterone by itself. But it helps with the cell work and signals that help the body get and use testosterone. If a person has enough calcium, the body's endocrine system can work well. This may help to keep a good level of testosterone.
What Role Does Calcium Play in Intracellular Signaling for Testosterone?
One of the main ways calcium helps with testosterone is by being part of how signals move inside the cell.
Inside Leydig cells, calcium works as a helper to send signals from luteinizing hormone (LH). This hormone comes from the pituitary gland. When LH sticks to its spot on Leydig cells, it starts a chain of actions. This makes more calcium move into the cell.
This increase in calcium amount is important because it turns on certain enzymes. These enzymes help in making steroids, which is a chemical way to make testosterone from cholesterol. If the calcium signal does not work the right way, LH will not be able to help make testosterone as well as it should.
How Does Calcium Influence Enzyme Activity and Mitochondrial Function?
Calcium also helps with enzyme activity in making steroids. Making testosterone needs a few enzymes, like cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.
The way these enzymes work best is partly because calcium helps control cell metabolism and keeps mitochondria working. Mitochondria are needed because they change cholesterol into pregnenolone. Pregnenolone is the starting point for making all steroid hormones, like testosterone.
Calcium plays a big part in helping the mitochondria make energy. This way, Leydig cells get enough ATP and the help of the right enzymes to make steroid hormones the right way.
Why Is Calcium’s Role in Exercise Important for Testosterone?
It is interesting that calcium seems to have a big effect on how the body makes testosterone, especially when you are active or moving around.
Studies show that exercise can help raise both free and total testosterone levels. Calcium can make this effect stronger. This happens because calcium is important for muscle movement. When your muscles work during exercise, calcium ions come out to help with muscle contraction.
This helps power muscles. It also makes a good space in the body for hormones like testosterone to be released. When athletes take extra calcium, they often see a bigger rise in testosterone after exercise than people who get less calcium.
How Does Calcium Work With Vitamin D to Support Testosterone?
Calcium not only has a direct effect on cells, but it also works with vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for making testosterone.
Vitamin D helps the gut take in calcium. It also works like a steroid hormone and has places in the testes where it can act. When you have enough calcium and vitamin D, the body has a good setting to make testosterone.
Low levels of either nutrient can lower testosterone. This shows that calcium works well when you also get enough vitamin D. The way these two work together is important for keeping hormones healthy. It points to how staying balanced with your nutrients helps your body work at its best.
Can Calcium Support Testosterone Indirectly Through Metabolic Health?
It is also good to know that calcium can help testosterone in an indirect way. It does this by helping with overall body processes and heart health.
Testosterone levels can go down if someone has long-term health problems, carries extra weight, or has metabolic syndrome. Making sure you get enough calcium helps keep your blood pressure, insulin, and blood vessels healthy. All these things help your body make testosterone in a better way.
Also, calcium is important for controlling stress hormones in the body. When you have lower stress hormones like cortisol, it can be good for your testosterone levels.
How Can You Check and Optimize Your Calcium Levels?
Therefore, it is really important to keep your calcium level in check so that you have good testosterone levels.
The best way to find out is to do a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) with us. This will show you the level of calcium in your body. It will also let you see if there are toxic heavy metals in your body that can harm your hormonal health.
If you feel ready to add a supplement, think about our Upgraded Calcium. It is a nano mineral supplement that is made for better absorption and works well.