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So sometime last year I had an epiphany of a coin theory which supposedly explains an aspect of the rhythm and essence of how the universe functions.

The idea was that things exist in a circle concept where there was the beginning, the end and back to the beginning again. At the same time things also functioned in opposites.

Thus, the resultant coin theory. A coin has opposite sides andwas essentially a circle. Thus, opposites and circular at the same time.

I thought I was being very profound but some friends who I told asked if I was eating some special popcorn or brownies. But when one looks at the life landscape, there is definitely a circular concept. The planets, including the Earth, rotate around the Sun, the seasons rotate, and time itself seems to be a cycle. And of course, even us humans in our lifespan, we have to admit it is seriously once a man, twice a child.

As we get older and pass the 80-something year barrier, we are slower both physically and cognitively, and eventually we may end up in diapers with no teeth, chewing on baby food, and sleeping most of the day. With the opposites, there are the aspects of yin and yang, light and darkness, male and female, opposites for everything. Opposites are necessary to appreciate the other side. Each opposite cannot exist without the other. Without darkness we cannot appreciate light, for example.

There is even the cycle of gender. The male and the female are opposites and yet they exist in a cycle. Lets review the hormonal lifespan cycle. The foetus in the womb is an all-female one in the first eight to ten weeks. So, we all start off being female as the default gender. By eight to ten weeks, the male foetus is now bombarded with high levels of testosterone, which especially changes the genitalia and the brain.

Males peak their testosterone levels as young adults and, as they get older, their testosterone levels reduce and the testosterone-to-oestrogen ratio changes.

Suddenly their libido is reduced, they are whiny and verbose, and they get man boobs.

With women, as they get older, their oestrogen is reduced post-menopause and although their testosterone levels also reduce, the oestrogen is reduced more significantly, and the ratio also changes.

For many women they get comparatively stronger than the men their age, their libido can increase and seemingly they can become more assertive, some even say more aggressive. Doing a broad brush, one theory suggests that as they get older, old women become more like men and old men become more like women.

A broad brush is difficult, especially with regards to gender, as there are so many factors that affect it, hormones being only one factor. Culture and genetics also play a role. It is a fact that women live longer than men. As an average, women live five per cent longer. Supposedly the oestrogen can protect them against heart disease and circulating high cholesterol levels. Women also have better immune systems. Men also are more prone to drinking, smoking, overeating. Women also have spare back-up genes from the extra X chromosome, while men have no such back-up since they have a Y chromosome.

In terms of physical strength, men dominate at their peak but as they get older, they are more frail, more prone to heart disease, they have more complex medical issues and thus they die younger. It begs the question, though, are men whiny and verbose because their oestrogen-testosterone ratio has changed, or is it because they miss the physical strength and dominance at the peak and they are now saddled with ill health and reduced perception of purpose which makes them stay at home more, reminisce about the previous years and whine about the life now?

Do women actually become more assertive and aggressive as they get older, or is it that they grow into themselves and develop confidence along with better health and living longer lives? Or do they similarly miss the sense of purpose and try to exert the missing matrifocal dominance by being cranky and irritable?

Lets flip it further. Are women and men just showing similar signs of growing old, but society as the observer interprets it differently? Maybe it is all really a manifestation of ageing more so than gender differences. Maybe it is society that is doing the labelling and the assumptions. Maybe both genders are just showing signs of ageing and loneliness.

There are so many factors to consider. Genetics, culture, the more frail Y chromosome, changing hormonal ratios, risk-taking behaviour and presumed invincibility behaviour for men. Women are initially more focused on being the family caretaker and support system. With our system of matrifocal families, the woman prioritises the family and the career over her own needs and, later on in life, when the career has plateaued and the family unit more dispersed, maybe then women have the space and time to assert themselves more or react to the loss.

What I know for sure is that each opposite cannot exist without the other, so we should appreciate and support each other and try to understand the rhythm. The cycle suggests, though, that we all start off as females and end as females.

What ah thing.

Dr Joanne F Paul is an emergency medicine lecturer with The UWI and a member of TEL institute

Excerpt from:
The coin theory - Trinidad & Tobago Express Newspapers

Introduction

Food has become an increasingly visible topic across far-right digital subcultures as well as the broader right-wing online ecosystem. On Telegram, neo-Nazis claim that the war in Ukraine is a Jewish conspiracy to manufacture a food crisis and usher in a New World Order (NWO). In comparison, right-wing users on Twitter supporting Dutch farmer protests frame proposed government regulations to reduce livestock and fertiliser use as a plan to orchestrate food shortages. Meanwhile, influential figures ranging from Alex Jones, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Tucker Carlson have promoted conspiracy theories that fires at food processing plants across the U.S were purposely set to disrupt the food supply chain.

These conspiratorial narratives have surged as threats of an impending global food crisis have emerged over the last year and align with the rising Great Reset conspiracy theory. The Great Reset was a term used in 2020 by the World Economic Forum to outline a vision for a post-Covid-19 economic recovery plan. The far-right has seized upon this term to push a conspiracy theory that globalist elites wish to install a liberal authoritarian one-world government and refer to state responses like lockdowns and mask mandates as forms of biopolitical control.

Food is viewed as playing a major role in the Great Reset in terms of how we produce and eat food in response to projected global population growth and as a means of tackling climate change. Raw food proponents argue that globalists will oversee the removal of meat and dairy products from modern diets and replace food consumption with novel sources of protein such as plant-based and lab-grown meat. Insect-based foods occupy a particular fixation in this dystopian vision, in which an elite will live on a luxurious meat-based diet while ordinary people will be forced to live in small pods and subsist on bugs.

To advance their ideology, far-right narratives claim that modern health alternatives such as plant-based milk or meat are harmful and affect sexual reproductive abilities due to the presence of hormones. Additionally, industrial control over the food supply, i.e. Big Agriculture (BigAg), and patterns of food consumption by elites is believed to be a powerful tool for societal control. Reverting back to foods deemed to be more traditional or natural, such as raw meat, milk, and eggs, is therefore seen as a way to rebel against modern unhealthy diets and break away from the system of control, while also regaining a sense of masculine natural order through consumption.

Raw Egg Slonking

Perhaps the most prominent and one of the most influential voices on this issue, who was recently featured in Tucker Carlsons much-discussed End of Men docuseries trailer, goes by the pseudonymous Twitter handle Raw Egg Nationalist. A key thinker within Frogtwitter, a loose network of pseudonymous Twitter accounts with alt-right origins, and the Right Wing Bodybuilder (RWBB) community, his esoteric cookbook Raw Egg Nationalism was published by the white nationalist Antelope Hill Publishing Company. Raw Egg Nationalism describes itself as a physical and political ethic built around the massive consumption of raw eggs, and promotes slonking a 36-raw-eggs-a-day diet. It is said to have been followed and perfected by American bodybuilder Vince Gironda as a more effective means of attaining protein, enhancing muscle mass gains, and increasing testosterone levels.

Raw Egg Nationalist frequently spreads ideas relating to diet and nutrition and features full-page ads promoting the consumption of a variety of food products from raw milk and honey to animal fats and olive oil, all the while promoting Great Reset narratives. In his article Beyond The Wall: Becoming a Barbarian in the Age of the Grain State, he declares If we care about freedom today, we need to think carefully about the relationship between control of the food supply and social control. The Great Reset, the latest iteration of the globalists plan for world government, has at its centre a new agricultural revolution. Raw Egg Nationalist encourages regenerative farming, buying local produce, and the decentralisation of agriculture as ways to push back against the Great Resets aim to control the food supply.

Dr. Benjamin Braddock is another promoter of raw egg slonking, who describes raw egg nationalists as emphasising the health and vitality of the nation-state and all who live in it. Braddock states that the corrupted toxic food supply is an outgrowth of the large-scale low-quality mindset of globalism that has no concern other than the bottom line. No loyalty to the health and vitality of the country or anyone in it. Nationalism is closely linked to physical health, with the health of the nation-state dependent upon the health of men who can stand up to the globalist agenda. Braddock says, rejects establishment narratives that eating raw eggs can cause salmonella: They want you weak. I want you strong. That is why I now bring to you the esoteric knowledge of the raw egg cult.

Finally, another figure within this subculture is Mike Mahoney, also known as Mike Ma, whose website describes himself as a proponent of raw milk, raw eggs, raw organs and features links to sites that warn of the dangers of fluoride in tap water and locations for buying raw milk. Ma has authored the accelerationist novels Harassment Architecture and Gothic Violence, both of which are regularly advertised in Raw Egg Nationalists Mans World magazine. Harassment Architecture is also a popular text among neo-Nazis and has been shared on Telegram alongside far-right terrorist manifestos.

At the end of his novel Gothic Violence, Ma includes a nutrition addendum which declares that the world of today is more desperate for a dietary renaissance than any other point in time, warning against the consumption of fluoridated tap water, packaged foods, and seed oils, and calling on his followers to eat meat and drink raw milk every day. While meat can symbolise masculinity for the right, the more extreme paleo-style diets advocated by Mike Ma can be seen as a far-right form of hypermasculinity, symbolising potency and a communion with nature. Meanwhile, raw milk advocates claim that nutritional and health benefits are reduced through the pasteurisation process, while far-right activists have seized upon raw milk as a symbol of white supremacy, with white Europeans said to have a genetic mutation to continue digesting lactose into adulthood.

Seed Oils, Soyboys and Anti-xenoestrogen Activism

In addition to the raw egg, meat, and milk craze, the gastropolitics trending in online far-right subcultures include hostility toward seed oils, the latest food product undergoing a backlash, with a notable anti-seed oil movement thriving on Twitter over the last year. Most scientific experts reportedly dont cite seed oils as unhealthy. However, several nutritionists have warned of health problems associated with high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in seed oils, and these claims have recently gained traction in mainstream spaces. While the movement against seed oils is quite diverse, far-right activists are particularly keen supporters of the cause, promoting abstention from consuming anything containing the product, with claimed health benefits including protecting skin from sunburn.

An equal fixation has previously been placed upon soy-based products, which are said to increase mens estrogen levels and decrease testosterone (although scientific studies reportedly dispute this). The term soy boy is used to describe weak and effeminate men who lack masculine characteristics. At the heart of the alt- and far-rights obsession with soy, writes journalist Will Sommer, are fears of internal weakness, and a distrust of the food supply and the rest of the modern world. These anti-soy conspiracies gave rise to a new issue area within far-right politics, with rising influential thinkers labelling themselves anti-xenoestrogen activists, meaning those who are against the consumption of food believed to produce estrogen.

One of the most well-known of these voices is the pseudonymous Bronze Age Pervert (BAP), whose now banned Twitter bio previously described himself as a Free speech and anti-xenoestrogen activist. Bronze Age Pervert is host of the Caribbean Rhythms with BAP podcast and author of self-published Bronze Age Mindset, a cult reading among far-right internet circles that promote atavistic masculine virtues rooted in classical antiquity as a means of enacting political change. While much of his discourse is laced with irony and characterised by trolling, his persona has been described as unmistakably fascistoid.

Like Ma, Bronze Age Pervert is an anti-xenoestrogen activist who laments the destruction of beauty in modern society and idealises previous civilizations. BAP is fixated on the aesthetics of the male human body and presents images that worship the natural beauty of man, which he deems to have been buried by the modern trash world. One of the corrupting ills of the modern world that he identifies is the modern food industry, described as full of harmful chemicals that slowly destroy your essence. He similarly blames the pollution of the earths waters on chemicals emitted by obese high-fructose-corn-syrup-guzzling beasts.

Finally, although the consumption of raw eggs, meat, and milk has been framed as a masculine practice within these online subcultures, it has gradually been adopted by more mainstream far-right figures, including female influencers. These women in particular promote the narrative that consuming raw meat, dairy, honey, and anti-seed oils, has beneficial properties for both male virility and female fertility. As the central producers of food within their households, far-right women showcase various cooking recipes to incorporate these products into everyday meals for the whole family. These influencers claim nutritional benefits while also incorporating a far-right ideological message of a pending Great Reset that can be avoided through self-sufficient homesteading and connecting with local farmers who support our values.

Conclusion

Many of these anti-modern ideas concerning diets are not necessarily new. The mass consumption of raw eggs can be traced to a broader trend of fitness minimalism, while the consumption of raw milk and meat can be linked to alternative nutritionist Aajonus Vonderplanitz, who Mike Ma directly cites. Vonderplanitz pioneered the primal diet and fought legal battles for consumer access to raw milk. Anti-xenoestrogen activism also predates the adoption by far-right activists, with alternative nutritionists like Ray Peat having written extensively on the harmful effects of estrogen. His works are shared alongside Mans World magazine and content by BAP on sites linked to the manosphere. Both Peat and Vonderplanitz are being increasingly embraced by figures on the far-right. This importantly represents a common far-right strategy which taps into pre-existing communities and offers ideologically-driven solutions as a means of radicalisation and retention for broader appeal. Overlap between various communities, such as the prepper/survivalist scene and accelerationist movement, merge through shared practices like raw food consumption.

Similarly, gastropolitics has long played a historical role within the far-right. Maintaining the ideal masculine and feminine body devoid of modern influences is a far-right fetish that aestheticises the purity of racial reproduction. As indicated above, a healthy body is projected as a healthy nation, which is atomised into individual heteronormative family units. The contemporary far-right continues this legacy through raw meat and dairy, as well as anti-seed oils, production and consumption. No longer is a reliance on BigAg, representing state control, necessary for survival. However, one key aspect of situating the importance of this movement is its high visual and aesthetic reproduction within digital cultures. While its origins are esoteric and fringe, it has steadily become more visible and recognised as a form of in-group community building among the broader far-right ecosystem, largely mainstreamed through prevalent right-wing figures. This type of conspiratorial spread, when linked to the Great Reset, may present the potential for violent consequences.

Dr. Eviane Leidig is aMarie Skodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Culture Studies at Tilburg University. Her research focuses on the far-right, gender, and digital cultures, as well as platform governance and regulation.

Joshua Farrell-Molloy is a Research Fellow with the Accelerationism Research Consortium. He holds an MA in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies from the University of Glasgow and his research focuses on the far-right, online extremist subcultures and foreign fighters.

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The Emerging Raw Food Movement and the 'Great Reset' GNET - GNET

Red Boost is a nutritional supplement designed to support blood flow, making it easier to get and maintain an erection.

Available as part of the Hard Wood Tonic System, Red Boost claims to rapidly restore penis function by targeting blood flow using natural ingredients.

Keep reading to discover if Red Boost lives up to the hype today in our review.

Red Boost is a blood flow support supplement available exclusively online through HardwoodTonic.com.

By taking two capsules of Red Boost daily, you can use a blend of maximum strength natural ingredients to support blood flow.

Red Boost is marketed specifically to men with erectile dysfunction and other sexual function issues. Many men relieve ED symptoms by increasing blood flow. When its easier for blood to flow to your penis, its easier to get and maintain an erection.

Red Boost features a combination of libido boosters, testosterone boosters, and blood flow enhancers, including stinging nettle, horny goat weed, and tongkat ali, among others.

Each bottle of Red Boost is priced at $59 and backed by a 60 day moneyback guarantee.

Red Boost works by supporting blood flow, testosterone, and libido using a blend of natural herbs, plants, and nutrients.

Some of the advertised benefits of the supplement include:

Some people use Red Boost because their poor blood flow makes it difficult to get an erection. Others use Red Boost to boost sex drive or support testosterone. As you get older, all of these symptoms can increase, worsening sexual function. Red Boost aims to help with a blend of proven ingredients.

Blood flow and blood supply play a crucial role in erection quality and overall sexual performance.

Your arteries and veins carry blood to and from the penis. Heres what happens to blood flow when you get an erection:

During an erection, your arteries expand to increase blood flow to the penis

Blood arrives in your penis, filling two tubes of spongy tissues in the penis; these two tubes are called the corpus cavernosa

As the spongy tissue fills with blood, it swells the area, making the penis large and stiff and angling it out from the body

Then, the veins in your penis narrow, trapping the blood and making it easier to maintain an erection

Once the man ejaculates, or once the man is no longer sexually aroused, the veins expand, allowing trapped blood to return to the body.

When you increase blood flow say, by taking blood flow supporting supplements or exercising more often you make it easier to get and maintain an erection. Conditions that restrict blood flow can make it harder to maintain an erection, as can conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and other issues.

Erectile dysfunction is more common than many people realize. Its also increasingly common at younger ages.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, approximately 40% of men are affected by erectile dysfunction by age 40. As you get older, your chances of developing the condition increase.

As you age, you have a higher chance of developing conditions that impede blood flow and worsen erectile function. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and physical injury, for example, can all make it harder to get and maintain an erection.

Some men take supplements to support blood flow and healthy blood pressure. Others take cinnamon, garlic, fish, onions, citrus fruits, and other natural foods linked to cardiovascular health.

Thanks to Red Boost and similar ingredients, men can fix erectile dysfunction without prescription drugs or side effects. The formula contains all-natural ingredients to support blood flow in various ways.

Red Boost contains a blend of herbs, plant-based nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to support blood flow, testosterone, and libido in various ways.

Here are all of the ingredients in Red Boost and how they work, according to the manufacturer:

Horny Goat Weed: Horny goat weed is rich with a natural chemical called icariin that appears to be linked to blood flow, libido, and sex drive. Used for centuries as an herbal sexual health booster, horny goat weed lives up to its name by boosting libido. Its been proven to work in multiple major studies in humans. Some researchers believe horny goat weed also has antioxidant effects to support healthy blood flow and inflammation, which could provide further sexual health benefits.

Tongkat Ali: Tongkat ali is found in virtually every testosterone support supplement sold online today. Also known as Eurycoma longifolia jack, or Longjack, tongkat ali can support healthy inflammation while raising levels of nitric oxide (NO), widening and relaxing your blood vessels while making blood flow more easily. Some studies also show tongkat ali can impact testosterone, libido, and sex drive in various ways.

Fenugreek: Red Boost contains fenugreek, a root extract found in many sexual health supplements marketed to men. Used since ancient times for its purported effects on fertility, libido, and testosterone, fenugreek can rejuvenate the body and improve sexual performance in various ways. Some studies have shown fenugreek can genuinely raise testosterone levels. Although fenugreek may not work for everyone, its one of the most science-backed natural testosterone boosters available today.

L-Citrulline: Citrulline is an amino acid found in many preworkout supplements for its ability to support blood flow and pump. If you want to maximize blood flow and performance during your workout, then you might take an L-citrulline supplement. The makers of Red Boost extend that concept to sexual performance. By taking L-citrulline before sex, you can widen blood vessels and support blood flow throughout the body, making it easier to get and maintain an erection.

Nettle Root: Red Boost contains nettle root, a traditional plant for supporting prostate health and overall male health. Today, some studies show nettle can support prostate health using a blend of antioxidants. If you have prostate issues like benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH then it can be difficult to urinate, maintain an erection, and become sexually aroused. As you get older, youre more likely to develop BPH. Red Boost aims to help with a strong dose of nettle root.

The makers of Red Boost cite 15 studies on the official References page, including peer-reviewed research published around the world. Although Red Boost has not been studied, the individual ingredients within the formula have been studied to verify their benefits. Well review some of that research below to determine if Red Boost can really fix erectile dysfunction.

Horny goat weed is one of the most important ingredients in Red Boost. Some studies show icariin, the active ingredient in horny goat weed, can help with erectile dysfunction. In fact, its been used in traditional Chinese medicine for that purpose for thousands of years. In this 2010 study, researchers found horny goat weed led to a significant improvement in erection quality in rats when taken at three different doses and compared to a placebo. Rats had greater erection quality based on cavernous nerve stimulation testing and assessment of intracavernous pressure (ICP), two common measurements of erection quality.

Tongkat ali is a popular natural testosterone booster that has shown some evidence it can work as advertised. In this 2013 study, researchers found tongkat ali could impact stress hormones and improve mood in a group of moderately stressed subjects. If your erection dysfunction issues are caused by stress, then tongkat ali may be able to help. A separate study on tongkat ali found it specifically led to significant increases in free and total testosterone in men and women.

Red Boost also contains fenugreek. In this 2016 study, researchers gave fenugreek or a placebo to a group of 60 healthy male subjects. Participants took 600mg of fenugreek extract per day for 8 weeks. Researchers found participants in the fenugreek group had significant anabolic and androgenic activity compared to the placebo group, suggesting fenugreek could increase free and total testosterone while stimulating overall testosterone production.

L-citrulline may the most science-backed ingredient in Red Boost. L-citrulline has been shown to improve blood flow in multiple studies. In this 2017 study, for example, researchers examined the effects of L-citrulline on a group of older adults. Researchers found L-citrulline improved blood pressure and improved muscle blood flow during exercise, which validates L-citrullines effectiveness as a preworkout.

Its also true that stinging nettle can support prostate health, as advertised by the makers of Red Boost. In this 2013 study, researchers found stinging nettle extract could help patients with benign prostate hyperplasia, reducing symptoms and improving outcomes. However, theres limited formal evidence stinging nettle can significantly improve sexual performance.

Overall, Red Boost contains a blend of ingredients linked to blood flow, libido, testosterone, and sexual performance. Although we have little information about the dosages or concentrations of these ingredients, its possible Red Boost can support its advertised benefits to relieve symptoms of erectile dysfunction.

Red Boost is priced at $49 to $69 per bottle, depending on the number of bottles you order.

Heres how pricing breaks down when ordering Red Boost online today:

Each bottle contains a 30 day supply of Red Boost, or 60 capsules. You take two capsules daily to support blood flow, health, wellness, and longevity.

According to the manufacturer, the normal retail price of Red Boost is $297 per bottle, which means youre paying hundreds of dollars by ordering through the promotional page online today.

Red Boost has a 180 day satisfaction guarantee.

If youre unsatisfied with the effects of Red Boost, or if you did not experience significant benefits, then you can request a complete refund within 180 days with no questions asked.

Red Boost is made by the same team that created the Hard Wood Tonic System, an erection boosting protocol marketed to men with ED.

The Hard Wood Tonic System includes eBooks, testosterone enhancers guides, supplement guides, and more to help rejuvenate your sexual health and performance. Red Boost can complement the effects of the system and enhance your results.

You can contact the makers of the Hard Wood Tonic system and the Red Boost customer support team via the following:

The company also does business under the name Jetpack or Claro Media. Claro Media is a Toronto-based ecommerce company.

Red Boost is a blood flow supporting nutritional supplement featuring a blend of herbs, plants, and nutrients to support cardiovascular health in various ways, making it easier to get and maintain an erection.

By taking two capsules of Red Boost daily, you may be able to support blood flow and sexual health without the side effects of medication.

To learn more about Red Boost or to buy the supplement online today, visit the official website at HardwoodTonic.com.

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Red Boost Reviews Ingredients That Work or Cheap Scam? Chilliwack Progress - Chilliwack Progress

The fall of testosterone levels the past several decades has fueled something of a health panic, with public figures and influencers leaning in to share their theories on the phenomena.

Mainstream celebrities, including Tucker Carlson, have examined the claim, in his case also spreading other misinformation by doing so.

Naturally, social media has become a breeding ground for such panic, particularly among platforms skewed to younger audiences, such as Instagram and TikTok.

The Claim

A video posted on August 14, 2022, on Instagram claims that testosterone levels have decreased every year since 1980.

Other videos making the same claim, some of which have hundreds of thousands of views, can also be found on TikTok.

The Facts

The central claim in the video is that testosterone levels have decreased 1 percent every year since 1980. The terms aren't clearly defined, but we can reasonably assume that is a 1 percent reduction per year per male on average for the past 42 years.

This would mean that a male's average testosterone level has fallen 42 percent since 1980.

As it stands, there is very little research to support this specific datapoint.

Studies have indeed shown that testosterone levels have decreased since 1980. Some data shows that mean total testosterone decreased among adolescent and young adult men between 1999 and 2016 by around 25 percent.

A similar study was conducted in 2006, which looked at levels between 1988 and 2003. It found that there had been a decrease of around 15 percent.

Newsweek could not find research that directly compared testosterone levels between men in 1980 and 2022 (raising questions about source for the Instagram claim), but did find one study from 1980 that measured "plasma testosterone levels of sexually functional and dysfunctional men."

Using the mean measurement of testosterone in men with "normal sexual function" in this study and compare it with measurements taken in the 1988-2003 study, data shows a 20 percent increase in the testosterone among the men measured in 1980 versus those measured in 1988.

Combining all of the percentage changes across all the studies mentioned so far would provide you with a figure far beyond the 40 percent mentioned in the Instagram video.

The problem is it's methodologically unsound.

The age, geography, health backgrounds and lifestyle of the men across all the studies would not be controlled in the same way, nor is it likely that the methods used to measure testosterone levels were the same across all the studies.

There may also be other unaccounted variables that could have affected the results. A sum of percentages is therefore not substantive enough to support the Instagram claim.

To explore this in more detail Newsweek spoke to Michael Samoszuk, a Medical Officer at Siemens Healthineers, whose previous work on low testosterone has been published in the International Journal of Impotence Research.

"Analytical methods for measuring testosterone levels have improved considerably over the past 40 years, and it is not advisable to compare "apples to oranges", such as levels measured by older methods to levels measured by contemporary methods," he said.

"Major confounding factors are the selection of the men in such year-over-year comparisons and the time of the specimen collection. Were all of the specimens from 40 years ago drawn from men of the same age and level of health as men from more recent studies? I doubt it.

"Also, the time of collection is very important, because early morning blood draws yield higher levels of testosterone.

"In short, unless the comparative studies are strictly controlled for age, health, and time of blood draw, it is not possible to draw any meaningful conclusions about longitudinal changes in testosterone."

The Instagram video also mentions a number of causes behind the purported decrease in the average testosterone levels, such as consumption of saturated/processed foods and lack of exercise.

According to Dr. Channa Jayasena, a Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Reproductive Endocrinology and Andrology at Imperial College and Hammersmith Hospital, London, the reason for the decrease has been quite simple.

"Overall levels of testosterone have reduced, but that is only due to increases in obesity and diabetes in the population testosterone is just a marker of a man's health.

"If you take away these factors, it is really uncommon to need testosterone replacement (0.1-2 percent of men, depending on your age).

"So, saying that testosterone levels have reduced over time is like saying that people in Europe became more radioactive in 1986. That may be true, but is misleading since the rise was caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster."

The Ruling

Unverified.

There is evidence which shows that average testosterone levels have fallen since the 1980s, but not to the extent that is claimed in the Instagram and TikTok videos. Different studies have charted 15-25 percent decreases between 1980 and 2019, but the results of those studies cannot be cumulatively drawn together.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check Team

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Fact Check: Have Testosterone Levels Fallen 1% Every Year Since 1980? - Newsweek

Powerlifter Larry Wheels recently took to his YouTube channel to discuss his decision to stop using anabolic steroids. Wheels said hes been on all kinds of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) for the past decade, but he decided to take an indefinite break from the PEDs to challenge himself and see what he can lift without them.

But since he says his body can no longer produce testosterone naturally, Wheels revealed that he is now on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). TRT is a medical treatment for people who produce irregular amounts of testosterone, and he intends to go on 175 milligrams per week, which he says is on the higher side of being a natural, healthy male in his prime.

He recently posted a physique update after a month of TRT, and its easy to see that he already looks leaner:

[Related: NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe Bench Presses 365 Pounds for Reps at 54 Years Old]

Editors Note: BarBend does not intend to make a moral or ethical statement regarding the athletes actions. This article is reporting on the information laid out by the athlete themselves. BarBend is not a medical resource and does not endorse the recreational use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Wheels didnt share what he weighs now, but compared to posts from earlier in the year, hes far more trim, with more noticeable veins and striations and less bulk. One of the biggest differences is in his face, which looks a good deal thinner than photos from just a few weeks ago.

In an Instagram post from August 16, 2022, Wheels wrote about going from 300 pounds down to 240. That was before his steroid and TRT announcements, so its possible hes even lighter now.

[Related: 10 Lower-Body Exercises Named After People to Add to Your Workout Routine]

Wheels mentioned recently that he is pumping the brakes on his journey to deadlift 1,000 pounds which is in part due to his decision to stop taking steroids. A recent back injury played a part in it, too. In the meantime, he recently posted a video of himself and bodybuilder Andrew Jacked working out shoulders and bicepsin Dubai.

In the video, Wheels mentions that his skin has cleared up now that hes off a steroid cycle and that hes expecting to start dropping more water weight soon after. He also says that his strength in the gym hasnt been impacted yet, but hes expecting that to come in the next few weeks.

With Wheels being such an open book on social media, expect more updates on his post-steroid life in the months to come.

Featured Image: @larrywheels on Instagram

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Larry Wheels Reveals a Physique Update One Month After Getting Off Steroids and On TRT - BarBend

A new hormone treatment improved the cognitive function of six men with Down Syndrome by 10-30 percent, scientists said Thursday, adding the "promising" results may raise hopes of improving patients' quality of life.

However the scientists emphasized the small study did not point towards a cure for the cognitive disorders of people with Down Syndrome and that far more research is needed.

"The experiment is very satisfactory, even if we remain cautious," said Nelly Pitteloud of Switzerland's Lausanne University Hospital and co-author of a new study in the journal Science.

Down Syndrome is the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, occurring in around one in 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.

Yet previous research has failed to significantly improve cognition when applied to people with the condition, which is why the latest findings are "particularly important", the study said.

Recent discoveries have suggested that how the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is produced in the brain can affect cognitive functioning such as memory, language, and learning.

GnRH hormones regulate how much testosterone and estrogen is produced and increased levels of it help spur puberty.

"We wondered if this hormone could play any role in establishing the symptoms of people with Down Syndrome," said Vincent Prevot, study co-author and head of neuroscience research at France's INSERM institute.

The team first established that five strands of microRNA regulating the production of GnRH were dysfunctional in mice specifically engineered for Down Syndrome research.

They then demonstrated that cognitive deficiencies as well as loss of smell, a common symptom of Down Syndrome were linked to dysfunctioning GnRH secretion in the mice.

The team then gave the mice a GnRH medication used to treat low testosterone and delayed puberty in humans, finding that it restored some cognitive function and sense of smell.

A pilot study was conducted in Switzerland involving seven men with Down Syndrome aged 20 to 50.

They each received the treatment through their arm every two hours over a period of six months, with the drug delivered in pulses to mimic the hormone's frequency in people without Down Syndrome.

Cognition and smell tests were carried out during the treatment, as were MRI scans.

Six of the seven men showed improvement in cognition with no significant side effects however none showed a change in their sense of smell.

"We have seen an improvement of between 10-30 percent in cognitive functions, in particular with visuospatial function, three-dimensional representation, understanding of instructions as well as attention," Pitteloud said.

The patients were asked to draw a simple 3D bed at several stages throughout the therapy. Many struggled at the beginning but by the end the efforts were noticeably better.

The authors acknowledged some limitations of the study, including its size and that the choice of patients was "pushed by their parents".

"The clinical trial only focused on seven male patients we still have a lot of work to do to prove the effectiveness of GnRH treatment for Down Syndrome," Pitteloud said.

A larger study involving a placebo and 50 to 60 patients, a third of them women, is expected to begin in the coming months.

"We are not going to cure the cognitive disorders of people with Down Syndrome, but the improvement seen in our results already seems fundamental enough to hope to improve their quality of life," Pitteloud said.

Fabian Fernandez, an expert in cognition and Down Syndrome at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the research, hailed the "tour de force study".

He told AFP that while it is "difficult to envision" how such an intensive treatment could be used for young people, it might be better suited to delay the Alzheimer's disease-related dementia suffered by many adults with Down Syndrome.

It was also difficult to predict how such an improvement could impact the lives of people with the condition, he said.

"For some, it could be significant, however, as it would enable them to be more independent with daily living activities such as maintaining and enjoying hobbies, finding belongings, using appliances in the home, and traveling alone."

Agence France-Presse

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Cognition Can Be Boosted in Some Patients With Down Syndrome, Study Finds - ScienceAlert

Currently, male contraception is limited to vasectomies and condoms. The researchers hope to provide more options in the future.

A new study presented at ENDO 2022, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Atlanta, Georgia, suggests that two experimental male contraceptive pills appear to successfully reduce testosterone without causing unacceptable side effects.

The drugs, DMAU and 11-MNTDC, are categorized as progestogenic androgens. These medications reduce testosterone, which reduces the number of sperm. Lowering testosterone levels often has unpleasant side effects. However, the majority of the men in the trial were willing to continue taking the drugs, indicating that the adverse effects were acceptable.

Male contraception options are currently restricted to vasectomy and condoms, and are thus extremely limited as compared to female options, said lead researcher Tamar Jacobsohn of the Contraceptive Development Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Development of an effective, reversible male contraceptive method will improve reproductive options for men and women, have a major impact on public health by decreasing unintended pregnancy, and allow men to have an increasingly active role in family planning.

The study consisted of two Phase 1 clinical trials with 96 healthy male participants. For 28 days, the males in each trial were given either two or four oral pills containing the active drug or a placebo. Testosterone levels fell below normal after seven days on the active drug. The testosterone levels in the placebo-taking men remained within the normal range.

The study found that 75% of men who took the active drug said they would be willing to use it in the future, compared with 46.4% of those taking a placebo. Men who took the four-pill daily dose (400 milligrams) had lower levels of testosterone than those taking the two-pill, 200-milligram dose. There was no significant difference between the two active treatment groups in satisfaction with the drug or their willingness to use it in the future or recommend it to others.

Mens positive experiences in clinical trials and high ratings of acceptability for this male pill should serve to excite the public about male birth control being potentially widely available in the coming decades, Jacobsohn said.

Meeting: ENDO 2022

The study was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Male Contraception Pills Show Promise And They Have No Major Side Effects - SciTechDaily

We can rehash these often underhanded or overly glib points which follow party lines, or we can have a frank discussion about the biological differences between men and women. These distinctions go way beyond reproductive organs, though most of us are unaware of how much due to the prevailing discourse. Biological differences between women and men dont start and stop at the reproductive system. From our backs to our hair to our stomachs, the physiology of both genders offers up fascinating insights into the variations which make us who we are.

Your colon is an organ that is critical to the function of your digestive system. You might think that the colon for both women and men is pretty standard, given that we both need our digestive systems to process the food we eat, but there is one important distinction. The colon in the average female is 10 centimeters longer than a males, meaning that part of it has to lie in her pelvis, along with her bladder and reproductive organs.

A longer colon in women helps them retain fluid during pregnancy to nourish the amniotic sac. With a growing baby inside her, a woman needs much more fluid both to stay hydrated and to keep the sac filled, thereby creating the need for a longer colon compared to a mans. Gastroenterologist Dr. Robynne Chutnik describes the difference as being between a gentle horseshoe and a tangled up Slinky.

The colon in the average female is 10 centimeters longer than a males.

Because of the longer colon, the digestive process for women is much slower as theres more space to move through (sometimes taking an extra 14 hours), which makes us susceptible to digestive discomfort like bloating and constipation. If youve ever wondered why you seem to get more stomach aches than your husband, its just taking your colon longer to process the fuel.

Its frustrating to say the least, but men always seem to be able to drop those few extra pounds (and keep them off) quicker than we can. In fact, women on average tend to have 6-11% more body fat than men. Men also have more muscle than women due to their higher amount of testosterone.

This biological conditioning goes back to prehistoric times. Men need to be lean and muscular to compete with one another, hunt, work, and provide, while women need more body fat for (you guessed it) pregnancy. The male metabolism works much faster than a females, enabling men to lose weight quicker in order to be lithe and lean hunters. Women are in fact biologically wired to store more fat, both for themselves and their children.

While you may have a 30-step skincare routine, your boyfriend still washes his face with a bar of soap thats three years old (sigh). Thats probably because there are tons of differences between male and female skin.

A mans dermis (the deeper, inner layer of skin) is 20% thicker than a womans. However, a mans skin is also prone to more irritation, especially due to shaving, which can remove the surface of skin cells and expose the sensitive layer underneath to more debris and bacteria.

Men also have more oil-producing glands, or sebum, and make about twice as much as women do. Theyre also more prone to acne and clogged pores, which are much more pronounced. When it comes to collagen, both men and women have it hard but women have it harder. Mens collagen is about 65% stronger than womens, which is one reason why men dont get cellulite. While men experience a steady decline of collagen throughout their lives, women lose theirs at a much faster pace once theyve hit menopause.

The variations dont begin and end with organs. The lumbar curve (which gives our spine its shape and curvature) is one vertebra longer in women than in men. Specifically, women have three wedged-shaped vertebrae in their lumbar region, and men have two.

The extra vertebra accommodates the shifted center of gravity during pregnancy.

This differentiation assisted early civilization when they began to walk on two feet, and womens longer lumbar curve has helped accommodate their changing center of gravity during pregnancy. One scientist for The Harvard Gazette explains, To accommodate this shifted center of gravity, womens spines have evolved to help offset the additional weight in the abdomen during pregnancy, so that the back muscles are not taxed in counter-balancing the destabilizing effects of the babys weight.

Another benefit of a curvier lumbar curve? Men find it very attractive.

Body and facial hair have long been a significant indication of maturity and high testosterone in men. The prevalence (or lack thereof) of hair on the body is due to the presence of androgens, a natural hormone that binds receptors together and aids in the production of sex hormones and developing physical characteristics during puberty.

Women have less androgens and less testosterone than men, limiting their body and facial hair. However, we now know that the presence of more hair on women on specific parts of the body, known as hirsutism, is a key marker of hormonal imbalances such as polycystic ovarian syndrome. PCOS is an endocrine and hormone disorder that results in increased acne, cysts on the ovaries, and irregular periods, along with other complications.

More facial and body hair in men is a high testosterone marker, but it has practical purposes as well. Once again, going back to the age of caves and the dawn of civilization, women knew the strength of their potential mate based on the prevalence of his facial hair. While this seems like an outdated concept nowadays, it really isnt, given that we know women on hormonal birth control are predisposed to pick effeminate men with less traditional testosterone markers, due to the influence of artificial estrogen in their system.

It may seem like all of these biological differences benefited humans in a different age or a different time. Now, they simply exist within us without any real purpose. But thats a pessimistic way to go about appreciating our differences. Our biology has worked to our advantage for thousands of years, and its only in a postmodern, egalitarian age that we view these benefits as drawbacks, or ignore them altogether. The biology of man and woman works for their survival and their procreation, which seem primitive and outdated to us now. But humans have always had these natural instincts to create and provide and the contrasting balance of our bodies is ideally designed for those fundamental means.

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The Physical Differences Between Men And Women (It's More Than Just Reproductive Organs) - Evie Magazine

Every woman you know is fighting a lifelong battle against a single chin hair. That viral tweet, recently written by stand-up comedian Julia Claire, has garnered more than 41,000 likes and countingso it sounds like she might be onto something.

Hey, weve certainly been there. Sometimes you just happen to catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and suddenly theres a chin hair right there, in all its glory, protruding from the same spot it always mysteriously appears in, even though you could swear you plucked that sucker like a month ago.

Responses to Claires tweet may have been just as relatable as the original thought: You never see it growing. Its either freshly plucked or 3 inches long, one person tweeted. That thing is not of this realm. Dark forces summon it overnight because I cannot accept that its been growing all this time and I didnt notice it until it was Rapunzel length, another added.

Of course, chin hair (or any facial or body hair, for that matter) is absolutely normal in everyone and nothing to be ashamed of, regardless of your gender, Susan Massick, MD, associate professor of dermatology at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF.

That said, its also totally fine if you prefer to remove any of your body hair, including the ones on your chin that seemingly sprout overnight. Chin hair can seem different and even tougher than other hairs on your face, and theres a reason for that. The hairs on your body can generally be divided into two camps: vellus hairs, which are usually lighter, thinner, and smaller (peach fuzz); and terminal hairs, which are darker, thicker, and longer.

Your bodyincluding your face and neckis covered in vellus hair, but sometimes vellus hair can turn into terminal hair, board-certified dermatologist Ife J. Rodney, MD, FAAD, founding director of Eternal Dermatology and Aesthetics and professor of dermatology at Howard University and George Washington University, tells SELF. The culprit, she says, is usually testosterone; everyone has this hormone in their bodies, but some people produce more of it than others and each persons hair follicles react to varying hormone levels differently. Cis women mostly have vellus hair with very few thick dark hairs on the face, Cindy Wassef MD, assistant professor at the Rutgers Center for Dermatology, tells SELF.

Depending on your health history, you may be more prone to robust body hair growth. People with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), for example, have high levels of androgens (a group of sex hormones that includes testosterone), which then leads to what some consider excessive hair growth.

And, again, each person has a unique hormonal makeup and genetic predispositions, so those random chin hairs are just part of what makes you, well, you. Its hard to say exactly why you might have one or two that grow like a weed in the same spot, but Dr. Rodney says it can happen on a hair follicle by follicle basis. I think of it as those particular follicles have a lower threshold for testosterone, she says.

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Why Do I Have 1 to 3 Sharp Little Chin Hairs That Keep Coming Back? - Self

Testosterone is a hormone essential to the development of male growth and masculine characteristics. Testosterone products are FDA-approved only for use in men who lack or have low testosterone levels in conjunction with an associated medical condition. Examples of these conditions include failure of the testicles to produce testosterone because of reasons such as genetic problems or chemotherapy. Other examples include problems with brain structures, called the hypothalamus and pituitary, that control the production of testosterone by the testicles.

None of the FDA-approved testosterone products are approved for use in men with low testosterone levels who lack an associated medical condition. FDA-approved testosterone formulations include the topical gel, transdermal patch, buccal system (applied to upper gum or inner cheek), and injection.

The manufacturers of two prescription topical testosterone gel products, AndroGel 1% and Testim 1%, were required to include a boxed warning on the products labels. The agency required this action after receiving reports of adverse effects in children who were inadvertently exposed to testosterone through contact with another person being treated with these products (secondary exposure).

03/03/2015

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Testosterone Information | FDA

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