Testosterone Basics
The hormone testosterone plays an important role in men’s
health. It helps maintain muscle mass, bone density, and sex drive for starters.
For men, testosterone production is at its highest in early adulthood and drops
a little each year after.
A disease called hypogonadism makes it harder to produce
the right amount of testosterone. Men diagnosed with hypogonadism can benefit
from testosterone therapy. Therapy isn’t usually recommended, however, if your
testosterone levels fall within the normal range for your age.
There’s no magic solution to boosting your testosterone,
but there are some natural things, mostly lifestyle changes and diet, you can
do to help.
1. Lose Weight
If you're overweight, shedding the excess pounds may
increase your testosterone levels, according to research presented at the
Endocrine Society's 2012 meeting. Overweight men are more likely to have low
testosterone levels to begin with, so this is an important trick to increase
your body's testosterone production when you need it most.
If you are serious about losing weight, you have got to
strictly limit the amount of processed sugar in your diet, as evidence is
mounting that excess sugar, and fructose in particular, is the primary driving
factor in the obesity epidemic. So cutting soda from your diet is essential, as
is limiting fructose found in processed foods, fruit juice, excessive fruit and
so-called "healthy" sweeteners like agave.
Ideally you should keep your total fructose consumption
below 25 grams per day and this includes fruits. This is especially true if you
have insulin resistance and are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes
or high cholesterol.
In addition to eliminating or severely limiting fructose,
it will be vital to eliminate all grains and milk (even raw) in your diet. Milk
has a sugar called lactose, which has been shown to increase insulin resistance
so it will be wise to avoid it if you are seeking to lose weight.
Refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels,
waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods also quickly break down to
sugar, increase your insulin levels, and cause insulin resistance, which is the
number one underlying factor of nearly every chronic disease and condition
known to man, including weight gain.
As you cut these dietary troublemakers from your meals,
you need to replace them with healthy substitutes like vegetables and healthy
fats (including natural saturated fats!). Your body prefers the carbohydrates
in micronutrient-dense vegetables rather than grains and sugars because it
slows the conversion to simple sugars like glucose, and decreases your insulin
level. When you cut grains and sugar from your meals, you typically will need
to radically increase the amount of vegetables you eat, as well as make sure
you are also consuming protein and healthy fats regularly.
2. Stay Active
Testosterone adapts to your body's needs, experts say. If
you spend most of your time lying on the couch, your brain gets the message
that you don't need as much to bolster your muscles and bones. But when you're
physically active, your brain sends out the signal for more of the hormone.
If you're getting little exercise now, you should start
from a low dose, gradually increasing it to the proper levels for your age and
fit:
* Walking briskly at least 10 to 30 minutes a day.
* Building strength with several sessions of weights or
elastic bands each week. Work with a trainer to learn proper form so you don't
injure yourself.
* Don't go overboard. Extreme amounts of endurance exercise
-- working out at the level of elite athletes -- can lower your testosterone.
3. Reduce Stress
Stress is a major driver of low testosterone. Ultimately
your adrenal hormones, thyroid hormones and sex hormones are all interconnected
in a beautiful but complicated dance.
A stress-driven phenomenon called “cortisol steal” can
lead to a hormone imbalance where the production of testosterone is decreased
in favor of cortisol. Stress also increases the production of aromatase and
5-alpha-reductase, two enzymes that break down testosterone.
The theory is that stress hormone cortisol 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.
If you relax and breathe, meditate, do yoga or otherwise
boost your parasympathetic nervous system, even for just 10 minutes a day, you
give your hormone system a chance to reboot and rebalance, lowering cortisol
and increasing testosterone.
4. Have More Sex
Just having an erection is enough to circulate
testosterone throughout your body. But having regular sex will also help to
keep your endocrine system stimulated and to boost those test levels. In turn
with increased test levels, you will crave more sex. Therefore, that is truly a
win-win situation.
5. Get Enough
Sleep
George Yu, MD, a urology professor at the George Washington
University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., says that, for many men with low
testosterone, poor sleep is the most important factor. A lack of sleep affects
a variety of hormones and chemicals in your body. This, in turn, can have a
harmful impact on your testosterone.
Make sleep a priority, aiming for 7 to 8 hours per night,
even if it means rearranging your schedule or dropping your habit of late-night
TV. Prize your sleep, just like you'd prize a healthy diet and active
lifestyle. It's that important.
If you're having problems getting good sleep on a regular
basis, talk to your doctor.
6. Stop Eating Sugars
and Grains
Sugars and grains are not the greatest in process of creating
an anabolic state in your body.
This means:
* Try to minimize sodas, sugary drinks, and fruit juices.
* Try to minimize candy and junk food.
* Try to minimize breads and pastas to feel the strongest
effects.
Some carbs which are still pretty good to eat are things
like black beans and sweet potatoes. Trust me, if you do this for your
testosterone, your waist line & energy levels will thank you too.
7. Review Your
Medications
Some medicines can cause a drop in your testosterone
level. These include:
* Opioid drugs such as fentanyl, MS Contin, and OxyContin.
* Glucocorticoid drugs such as prednisone.
* Anabolic steroids used for building muscles and
improving athletic performance.
You shouldn’t stop taking any of your medications. If
you're concerned about your testosterone level, discuss your medications with
your doctor to make sure they're not the problem, and to make adjustments to
your treatment if needed.
Sources and
Additional Information:
http://www.menprovement.com/boost-testosterone-naturally/
