Although the hormone testosterone is usually associated with men's health, women's bodies also produce some testosterone, according to the Mayo Clinic. If the amount of testosterone in a woman's body is either too low or too high, certain symptoms or diseases may develop. Some medications or supplements may help balance testosterone in women. Always talk to your doctor about your symptoms and your plans for treatment, including any supplements you plan to take.
Identification
Testosterone is a hormone secreted by the reproductive glands in both men and women, according to the Monterey Preventive Medical Clinic. Although women's bodies make less testosterone than men's, both men and women need testosterone for a number of different functions, and both may become ill if testosterone levels are too low or too high. Your doctor can check your testosterone levels with a simple blood test, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Function
Testosterone performs many different tasks in the female body, according to Natural News, a nonprofit collection of public education websites. Testosterone helps to convert the food we eat into muscle rather than fat. It also provides a sense of overall well-being and contributes to feelings of motivation, assertiveness and achievement, and keeps internal organs, including the liver, kidneys and blood vessels, healthy. Testosterone may be especially important to aging women because it helps ward off osteoporosis, or weakened bones, according to Natural News.
Significance
Balanced testosterone levels are important for a woman's health. Low testosterone may leave a woman at greater risk for depression, osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease, according to Natural News. Testosterone levels that are too high are often a symptom of diseases such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, according to the Georgia Reproductive Specialists clinic. High testosterone may also trigger unwanted side effects such as excessive hair growth, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Methods
Balancing testosterone in women starts by finding out whether a woman's testosterone levels are too low or too high, according to the Monterey Preventive Medical Clinic. If levels are too high, medications like spironolactone, flutamide or finasteride may help decrease testosterone levels, according to the Georgia Reproductive Specialists clinic. Testosterone levels that are too low may be treated with a testosterone patch or supplement, according to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine and reported by CNN.
Considerations
Balancing a woman's testosterone by adding or removing hormones in the body is difficult, according to the Monterey Preventive Medical Clinic. Too little testosterone may decrease a woman's sex drive and increase her chances of osteoporosis, while too much testosterone may make her insulin-resistant, a precursor of type 2 diabetes. If a woman receives too much testosterone through treatment, she may also develop aggressiveness, unwanted facial or body hair or similar symptoms, according to the Monterey Preventive Medical Clinic.
