The liver does all sorts of wonderful things in our lives; it metabolizes Human Growth Hormone into IGF-1 and IGF-2, it filters toxins from the blood, it helps to regulate the flow of insuline from the pancreas to name a few. Part of it's function is also to release a protien called Sex Hotmone Binding Globulin (SHBG) in an effort to keep sex hormone levels like testosterone from becomming too high. Sometimes, the liver does its job too well, producing more SHBG than is needed. The result is that testosterone gets locked up and carried away before the body has a chance to use it. Testosterone exists in 2 states in the body: free and bound.
Free testosterone is the testosterone that our bodies use to build muscle, produce pheromones, maintain health and libido. Its the stuff that dreams are made of, the holy grail of manliness.
Bound testosterone, on the other hand, has no bioavailability. It simply is attatched to a protien, floating around the bloodstream, unable to interact with any receptors in the body. Basically, its now junk and it will be removed by the liver.
If your blood test showed up with low free testosterone, high bound testosterone, and low estrogen, then you are likely a victim of SHBG. The condition is not likely to get better unless you are willing to be proactive.
Since we cannot live very long without a liver due to its multitude of functions, its best to leave this organ alone and treat the SHBG in the bloodstream instead. Any alteration of liver function can have a domino effect on the rest of the body.
The most effective way of nuetralizing SHBG comes not from the pharmacy, but from the roots of a common weed: urtica dioica, the common stinging nettle. It is interesting that a plant which is so hated by farmers and outdoorsmen offers an inexpensive and safe solution to such a terrible problem.
You could don your work gloves and hiking boots to harvest roots and prepare your own extract. But if you are not a glutten for punishment, you can easily pick some extract up at a health food store and even at some pharmacies.
There are several dietary suppliments geared toward men and men's health that include stinging nettle root and are very reasonably priced when weighed against the benefits that they provide.
Whether you dig your own, or purchase it, whichever option you choose will be preferable to soaking your system with external sources of testosterone and sending your testicles on a crash course with atropy.
