Eat fat, don’t avoid cholesterol, favor multijoint free-weight movements, reduce stress, limit or eliminate sugar from your diet and boost your intake of branch chain amino acids (bcaa) from foods like whey protein.
Testosterone is a male sex hormone that affects more than just sex drive. The hormone is also responsible for bone and muscle health, sperm production, and hair growth. You can lose testosterone as you age, as well as from chronic illnesses. Hypogonadism, also called low testosterone or low T, is often medically treated to prevent future health problems. Along with your doctor’s recommendations, you may consider other natural ways to boost testosterone levels in your body. In this article, we will discuss 7 natural ways to boost testosterone levels in your body. Read on to find out what those 7 natural ways are:
7 Proven Ways to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally
Eat fat
Often thought as a “physique destroyer,” dietary fat is actually one of the most critical players when it comes to optimizing natural testosterone production. It’s now recognized as a sure way to increase testosterone levels. Diets with higher amounts of monounsaturated and saturated fats have been shown to increase testosterone levels. Keep in mind that when it comes to dietary fat, it’s not just the amount of fat you eat, but also the type of fat. Examples of quality monounsaturated fats: olive oil, almonds, avocados, peanut butter examples of quality saturated fats: red meat, coconut oil, egg yolks, dark chocolate, cheese.
Don’t avoid cholesterol
Testosterone is derived from cholesterol, so it should come as no surprise that if your diet is lacking in cholesterol, you’re also more than likely shortchanging yourself when it comes to the muscle-building hormone. Keep in mind that the majority of testosterone in your body is bound to proteins, but only the unattached, or free, testosterone is considered bioavailable and readily available for tissue uptake. Furthermore, incorporating whole eggs into a moderately carbohydrate-restricted diet improves the lipoprotein profile (increased hdl cholesterol).top cholesterol-containing foods are typically the ones that are high in saturated fats. Some of your best choices are red meat, egg yolks, and seafood such as shrimp, squid, and lobster.
Consume test-boosting ingredients testofen (fenugreek extract)
Testofen, a standardized extract of fenugreek, is thought to support free testosterone levels, muscle mass and sexual drive in men. Other than this, the major nutrients you need to consume are:
Zinc is an essential mineral that plays a critical role in testosterone production. Mild zinc deficiency has been associated with suppressed testosterone concentrations. Zinc plays an important role in modulating serum testosterone levels in normal healthy men.
D-aspartic acid (daa)
D-aspartic acid (daa) is an amino acid present in neuroendocrine tissues and is believed to impact hormone levels by increasing the activity of testosterone production. Daa helps support the release and synthesis of lh and testosterone in humans.
Vitamin d is arguably the most important vitamin when it comes to testosterone. Vitamin d has a strong relationship with testosterone levels.
Diindolylmethane (dim)
Diindolylmethane (dim) is a component of indole-3-carbinol and formed during the digestion of vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. Dim can help support a healthy balance of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone in the body. It does this by converting potent forms of estrogen into less potent forms, reducing the overall effects of estrogen in the body. The end result is a more balanced hormonal environment for healthy testosterone production! This ingredient has been shown to be most effective when paired with other testosterone boosters with little data to support it being taken alone.
Favor multijoint free-weight movements
Just as your diet has a major influence on testosterone levels, so does your training. High-intensity weight training (choosing weights so that you reach muscle failure by 10 reps) can stimulate increases in testosterone secretion. However, you must also choose the right exercises and the right tools of the trade if you want to take full advantage of this natural testosterone boost. Essentially, the more muscle mass you stimulate, the more testosterone you’ll secrete. Squats stimulated a greater testosterone response than leg presses. Stick with multijoint exercises like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts—the kinds of compound lifts that’ll help jack up your testosterone levels. Since machines isolate a muscle you’re working (less stabilizer activity), they’re not as good a choice compared to free weights.
Reduce stress
When you’re under a lot of stress, your body releases high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone actually blocks the effects of testosterone, presumably because, from a biological standpoint, testosterone-associated behaviors (mating, competing, and aggression) may have lowered your chances of survival in an emergency (hence, the “fight or flight” response is dominant, courtesy of cortisol). In the modern world, chronic stress, and subsequently elevated levels of cortisol, could mean that testosterone’s effects are blocked in the long term, which is what you want to avoid. Common stress-reduction tools with a high success rate include prayer, meditation, laughter and yoga, for example.
Limit or eliminate sugar from your diet
Testosterone levels decrease after you eat sugar, which is likely because the sugar leads to a high insulin level, another factor leading to low testosterone. Remember foods that contain added sugar and fructose, as well as grains like bread and pasta, should all be limited.
Boost your intake of branch chain amino acids (bcaa) from foods like whey protein
Bcaas result in higher testosterone levels, particularly when taken along with resistance training. While bcaas are available in supplement form, you’ll find the highest concentrations of bcaas like leucine in dairy products – especially quality cheeses and whey protein. Even when getting leucine from your natural food supply, it’s often wasted or used as a building block instead of an anabolic agent. So to create the correct anabolic environment, you need to boost leucine consumption way beyond mere maintenance levels. That said, keep in mind that using leucine as a free form amino acid can be highly counterproductive as when free form amino acids are artificially administrated, they rapidly enter your circulation while disrupting insulin function, and impairing your body’s glycemic control. Food-based leucine is really the ideal form that can benefit your muscles without side effects.
These natural methods are backed by research and are recommended for those who do not want to depend on medications. Let us know in the comments section which methods have worked for you.
References
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0162480
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5434832/
