As we come to realize the importance of testosterone in our lives and we dig deeper into the issue of what is the proper testosterone level to maintain and how to maintain healthy levels we come to know that it is not just the total level of testosterone in our blood-stream that is important.
Indeed the most important thing is what is the level of free testosterone in our body that is available to be used to build muscle mass, stimulate our sexual interest and to cause us to keep minimal body fat levels.
Free testosterone is the real issue because it is only free testosterone does all the things we hope for from testosterone.
On average men have only 2% to 4% of their total testosterone free from the proteins the remainder of the testosterone is bound to.
The protein-bound testosterone is in storage for future uses as they occur, and they are bound to the proteins in order to allow the hormone to be soluble for it to flow with our blood, and to protect the testosterone from being broken down and excreted by the liver or kidney - therefore keeping it storage for when sudden stresses call for it.
The difference between 2% and 4% is of course 100%, and so for our body to stay at 4% means that we have double the amount of free testosterone flowing through our system doing its good work.
Think about this for a moment.
Most people believe that we must have our testes make more testosterone, which to some extent is true.
But the real deal is in getting the testosterone we all do have in our blood right now to be free from its protein bindings.
It is the free testosterone level that dictates what useful testosterone we have in our system driving all those great things we expect from it.