The relationship between aging and declining testosterone is a classic case of correlation versus causation:

Although older age is correlated with lower T, it is not age that is causing the decline.

This fact was made clear in two robust studies, but Australian researchers were the first to actually bring the issue of age and testosterone to the forefront in 2011.

“Age, in itself, has no effect on testosterone levels in healthy older men. It’s more likely that lowering of testosterone is a consequence of illnesses men acquire as they get older, like cardiovascular disease and obesity.”

- Dr David Handelsman

Dr. David Handelsman - MD, PhD, professor and director of the ANZAC Research Institute at the University of Sydney - and his team of researchers recruited 325 men (40-97 years old, average age=60) who had self-reported excellent health and no symptoms to complain of.

Blood samples were collected from these men nine times over a period of three months. When analyzing the data, results revealed that testosterone levels amongst these men did not differ, despite the large age range.

Critics of the study claimed that a sample size of 325 men was too small a segment to make inferences across the population. But the findings of this study have since been validated by two studies that looked at nearly 20,000 men.(1,2)

Total testosterone peaks around age 20, after which it flatlines.

Maintaining optimal testosterone levels is simply a matter of making changes in how you eat, train, and sleep.

It is what every man should strive for and age is not an excuse.

Developing the right diet and lifestyle habits right now will allow you to maintain optimal testosterone levels well into old age.