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[69.67.186.41]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id af79cd13be357-8f0b92892e4si573303785a.207.2026.04.23.15.06.24 for (version=TLS1_3 cipher=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 bits=256/256); Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:06:25 -0700 (PDT) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of bounces+tjphuhs=gmail.com@bh.mail.beehiiv.com designates 69.67.186.41 as permitted sender) client-ip=69.67.186.41; Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; dkim=pass header.i=@bhmta.beehiiv.com header.s=bh header.b=5IX41Izy; dkim=pass header.i=@mail.beehiiv.com header.s=bh header.b=WKABGUYk; spf=pass (google.com: domain of bounces+tjphuhs=gmail.com@bh.mail.beehiiv.com designates 69.67.186.41 as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom="bounces+tjphuhs=gmail.com@bh.mail.beehiiv.com"; dmarc=pass (p=REJECT sp=REJECT dis=NONE) header.from=beehiiv.com X-BmtaRef: eyJfQF8iOiJcXF8vIiwicmVjaXBpZW50IjoidGpwaHVoc0BnbWFpbC5jb20iLCJ4X2xpc3RfaWQiOiJmZDQxNjMwZS1lOTFmLTQ2ZDktYTI3NC1iNzQwZGFiNzU2ZDIiLCJ4X3N1YnNjcmliZXJfaWQiOiI5YzQwZDYzOS02ZTFkLTQyOTItYTlkNy0wZTRjYmJiNWQ1ZGIifQ== DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=bhmta.beehiiv.com; s=bh; c=relaxed/relaxed; bh=48hxgoI/iDUr8VAXYEr6Ft9bAKwB3xgymqOjTTtI+wo=; h=from:subject:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding: list-unsubcribe:feedback-id:list-unsubscribe-post:reply-to:to:cc: content-type:feedback-id:from:subject:to; t=1776981984; b=5IX41Izy3yGXzDwKDZMNf+iAFlUbGmwan9BmnL0RBf66Evz8RoeRUQBAqIrqdMQNRb8RyQaOj YohssBjZsfTMR6+gfoz1GXxPWZJ+XWfWjJ13bLR/QnYYUCACY2azheNMUafPcWGyVi1I0VzScuK 8K8vRUt4LAWS630NmXafHu17ALsX+JOv9lonC+dYQOKdCaLlYpn9ASzMA+pH4ODqEejJRkpwAkA U2R9XwYVkqdCY+edrs2KBQt2n17vDYEjiJkMEN1vVa0bjalK5rge3JbQi1KOU4T8up5iT0m0nJL 7jD/HxNRhFFSz4j6Ta6cK+lLQ/DqLtNTyCK3Xo2TjL8A==; DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=mail.beehiiv.com; s=bh; c=relaxed/relaxed; bh=48hxgoI/iDUr8VAXYEr6Ft9bAKwB3xgymqOjTTtI+wo=; h=from:subject:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding: list-unsubcribe:feedback-id:list-unsubscribe-post:reply-to:to:cc: content-type:feedback-id:from:subject:to; t=1776981984; b=WKABGUYkVXqvX983NHYXVTtwzaS0oS+HqfP8q0wNDwg4ommDs1fhYWY2P45gdOq55y5NaQ63P Nob8LYa4t4BmyV2IafaMYp3E5huoosk+5Q9/kVlShgisUKyANwYabzPFelZCNsgi2UrI4OUffQ4 ZqUXsBOS286jJWUZ0MGtEAcMflEI0DIdhffnzJ8x4sejAO1oSr/BbSs+Pg31b/7SNlpzr78TK1N TS8SQb4ktGfNgfIdFWZmo39hB3XwfeRVQgyOO0leFjyHWN6gesWLBBs5XcEQdFQk0zYUEqVg+8j XXW9RCemQ/I8Elb+fIume9XfdwY6clZjbi1mQQDcrjgg==; Received: from mail.beehiiv.com by bhmta(mta13) with HTTP id for ; Thu, 23 Apr 2026 22:06:24 +0000 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="QlJoClJ0SLuKvrYKTJyoIw" To: "tjphuhs@gmail.com" Feedback-ID: aac7380d-b4c3-4104-a250-5115aa17c15f:newsletter:fd41630e-e91f-46d9-a274-b740dab756d2:c8f61fda6a60803 From: Hunter Williams List-Unsubscribe: , List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click Reply-To: =?utf-8?Q?Hunter=27s_Health_Hacks?= Subject: Women and Testosterone X-Batch-Id: 507bf97f-9ae4-4034-8114-c1285918648f X-Subscriber-ID: 9c40d639-6e1d-4292-a9d7-0e4cbbb5d5db X-Subscription-ID: 663283104 sId: fd41630e-e91f-46d9-a274-b740dab756d2 x-beehiiv-ids: {"account_name":"https://huntershealthhacks.beehiiv.com/","campaign_id":"aac7380d-b4c3-4104-a250-5115aa17c15f","category":"newsletter","email_generated_at":1776981983,"user_id":"fd41630e-e91f-46d9-a274-b740dab756d2"} x-beehiiv-type: newsletter x-list-id: fd41630e-e91f-46d9-a274-b740dab756d2 x-list-owner: x-newsletter: https://huntershealthhacks.beehiiv.com/p/women-and-testosterone x-newsletter-id: https://huntershealthhacks.beehiiv.com/ x-newsletter-signup: https://huntershealthhacks.beehiiv.com/subscribe Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2026 22:06:24 +0000 Message-ID: <20260423.220624.640b4637@mta13> --QlJoClJ0SLuKvrYKTJyoIw Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Happy Thursday! =0A=0A=E2=80=9CFYI, in case you missed it, I launched a giv= eaway yesterday to celebrate 100,000 active newsletter readers. You can reg= ister to [win here](https://hunterwilliamshealth.com/giveaway) (apologies f= or the tech issues yesterday, the website crashed in the first 30 minutes).= =0A=0A[https://hunterwilliamshealth.com/giveaway](https://hunterwilliamshe= alth.com/giveaway)=E2=80=9C =E2=80=94 =0A=0ALet me tell you about a convers= ation I have over and over again.=0A=0AA woman reaches out. =0A=0AShe's tir= ed. Her mood is flat. Her focus is gone. Libido is nonexistent. She's read = enough to know hormones are involved.=0A=0AThen I ask what her testosterone= levels are.=0A=0ASilence.=0A=0AMost women have never had them checked. A l= ot of providers never offer. And when they do get tested, the result gets w= aved off as "normal for your age" without a number ever being shared.=0A=0A= Testosterone is the most abundant biologically active sex steroid in a woma= n's body. Not estrogen, testosterone. =0A=0ACirculating levels run roughly = ten times higher than estradiol, even at peak reproductive years.=0A=0AAnd = production starts dropping in your late 20s. By 45, most women have lost ab= out half of what they had at 25.=0A=0AWhy do I bring this up? =0A=0ABecause= [a new study in the ](https://www.mdpi.com/3852210)_[Journal of Personaliz= ed Medicine](https://www.mdpi.com/3852210)_ just put real numbers on what h= appens when you actually replace testosterone. =0A=0ALet=E2=80=99s look at = what they found. =0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=0A=0A**The Myth **=0A=0ATestoste= rone in women does heavy lifting across nearly every system that matters. = =0A=0AIt drives energy production at the mitochondrial level. =0A=0AIt regu= lates mood by modulating dopamine and serotonin signaling. =0A=0AIt maintai= ns lean muscle. =0A=0AIt supports hippocampal neurogenesis, which is a fanc= y way of saying your brain needs it to grow new memory-related neurons. =0A= =0AIt stimulates red blood cell production. =0A=0AIt influences insulin sen= sitivity and lipid metabolism.=0A=0AEstrogen and progesterone matter. I'm n= ot arguing against them. But they cannot do what testosterone does. They op= erate on different receptors and different pathways.=0A=0AWomen who do BHRT= with only estrogen and progesterone are running a hormone protocol with a = missing pillar. =0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=0A=0A**The Study **=0A=0AResearc= hers tracked 332 women on individualized testosterone replacement therapy. = =0A=0AAges ranged from 27 to 78, with an average of 45. A subset of 120 wom= en also got paired blood work at baseline and 12 weeks.=0A=0AThe protocol w= as simple. =0A=0AStart with a blood test, administer a low physiologic dose= , retest, and then adjust. =0A=0AThen target the upper end of the premenopa= usal range, 25 to 50 ng/dL total testosterone (still too low in my opinion,= but better than nothing). =0A=0ADelivery options were topical cream, oral = troches, or subcutaneous injections. =0A=0AWomen rated change across eight = symptom domains. =0A=0AEnergy, depression, irritability, anhedonia, sexual = interest, relationship satisfaction, concentration, and memory.=0A=0AEvery = single domain improved.=0A=0AInterestingly, libido was one of eight things = measured, and it wasn't even the star of the show.=0A=0AThe real headline w= as what testosterone did to everything else.=0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=0A=0A= **Energy **=0A=0A84.3% of women reported improvement in energy and fatigue.= That was the highest number of any domain.=0A=0AWhen researchers asked wom= en to pick their single biggest benefit, energy took the top spot again at = 64.2%. =0A=0AMood came in second at 49.7%. Sexual desire was third at 41.3%= . =0A=0ARead that one more time. Energy and mood ranked above libido.=0A=0A= The FDA has never approved a testosterone product for women in the US. =0A= =0AThe only sanctioned clinical use is postmenopausal low libido. =0A=0ATha= t framing has shaped how doctors think, how insurance covers it, and what w= omen even believe they're allowed to ask for.=0A=0AThe data tells us that f= raming is way too narrow.=0A=0AThe hormone that gets prescribed for sex dri= ve is actually delivering its biggest value in energy and mood. =0A=0AThe c= linical guidelines haven't caught up.=0A=0A_**If you're exhausted and flat = and your hormones are low, testosterone might matter more than any suppleme= nt, stack, or peptide you're currently chasing.**_=0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =0A=0A**Mood and Cognition**=0A=0ADepression improved in 70.8% of women. Ir= ritability in 69%. Anhedonia, which is the clinical term for loss of pleasu= re, improved in 67.5%.=0A=0AThese are numbers that would get a psychiatric = drug fast-tracked for emergency approval.=0A=0ATestosterone modulates dopam= ine and serotonin directly. =0A=0AWhen levels drop, mood regulation gets ug= ly. When levels are restored, everything cleans up.=0A=0AThe cognitive piec= e was interesting. =0A=0AMemory and concentration started at the lowest sco= res of any domain at one month. =0A=0AThey didn't show meaningful improveme= nt until the 4 to 6-month mark.=0A=0AWhy? =0A=0ABecause brain tissue takes = longer to remodel than energy metabolism does. =0A=0ATestosterone supports = hippocampal neurogenesis and BDNF expression, but growing new neurons is no= t a 30-day process.=0A=0AThis is the reason so many women try TRT for 12 we= eks, don't feel a cognitive shift, and quit. =0A=0AThey stopped three month= s before the brain benefits were going to kick in.=0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =0A=0ABiomarker Data=0A=0AAll five biomarkers moved in the right direction = with massive effect sizes.=0A=0A* **Total testosterone**: up 151.8% (16.8 t= o 42.3 ng/dL, which is still too low in my opinion, but better than nothing= )=0A=0A* **Free testosterone**: up 216.7% (1.2 to 3.8 pg/mL, again still to= o low in my opinion, but better than nothing)=0A=0A* **Hemoglobin**: up 5.5= %=0A=0A* **SHBG**: down 13.3%=0A=0A* **Triglycerides**: down 12.6%=0A=0A100= % of women saw their testosterone rise. =0A=0A86.7% had meaningful hemoglob= in increases. =0A=0A77.5% had SHBG drop. =0A=0A74.2% had triglycerides come= down.=0A=0AEvery post-treatment value stayed inside the normal physiologic= range. =0A=0ACardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for wome= n. =0A=0ATriglycerides rise through the menopausal transition. Testosterone= therapy pushed them down by nearly 13% in three months.=0A=0AThat's the op= posite of what most people assume testosterone does to women's cardiovascul= ar risk.=0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=0A=0A**Duration Matters More Than Dose**= =0A=0AAt 1 month, only 5.4% of women reported significant improvement in qu= ality of life.=0A=0AAt greater than 12 months, 51.5% did. And not a single = woman in the 12+ month group reported no change.=0A=0AThe benefits compound= .=0A=0AMost published trials on testosterone in women run 12 to 24 weeks. T= he study authors specifically called this out as a problem. These are trial= windows that cut off just as the deeper benefits are starting to show.=0A= =0AIf you start TRT, plan on six to twelve months before you judge the resu= lts. The energy shift comes fast. The mood shift comes within a couple of m= onths. =0A=0AThe cognitive changes and full restoration of quality of life = take longer.=0A=0AReal hormone optimization is a six-month conversation at = minimum.=0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=0A=0A**Final Thoughts**=0A=0AIf you're on= BHRT and still feel off, ask for a testosterone panel that INCLUDES free t= estosterone. =0A=0ADon't accept "normal for your age" as an answer without = seeing a number. =0A=0AA woman at 50 with the testosterone of a 50-year-old= is a woman running on half of what she had at 25. That's not normal! =0A= =0AI favor injections, but in this study, the other delivery mechanisms wor= ked too. =0A=0APick what fits your lifestyle best. =0A=0ATestosterone is fo= undational, and most women who need it have no idea they do.=0A=0ABest,=0A= =0AHunter Williams =0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2= =80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80= =94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=0A=0A**Further Reading**=0A= =0AElggren CW, et al. Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Women Is Associat= ed with Improved Symptom Burden and Favorable Biomarker Changes. _Journal o= f Personalized Medicine_. 2026. [https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm16050231](https= ://doi.org/10.3390/jpm16050231)=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94= =0A=0AYou are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best exper= ience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online:=0A= https://huntershealthhacks.beehiiv.com/p/women-and-testosterone --QlJoClJ0SLuKvrYKTJyoIw Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Women and Testosterone