Introduction:
If you're a natty lifter, you may have wondered how to naturally increase Testosterone for muscle growth, libido, and general vitality. In this article, I will share some science-based tips on optimizing your Testosterone levels in three different ways.
1: Good habits to help boost testosterone production.
2: Natural Testosterone Boosters (Supplements and herbs)
3: Foods to help increase testosterone production
Low Testosterone levels lead to frustrating problems inside and outside the gym. Low libido, loss of muscle mass, substandard recovery, poor energy levels, poor concentration and sleep, lower bone mass, poor moods, and metabolic syndrome are all problems that lead from low test levels.
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Continue Reading "How To Naturally Increase Testosterone"
If you are a man, it's in your interest to make sure your testosterone levels are naturally optimized. Some people need to visit the doctor to inject exogenous Testosterone ( Testosterone replacement therapy), but hopefully, if you follow these suggestions, you'll be able to keep your Testosterone at the upper limit of normal and not have to use steroids.
Before we consider how to naturally increase Testosterone, we need to answer the question, what is Testosterone, and what does it do?
Testosterone is the principal sex hormone in male humans. It plays a central role in developing the male reproductive tissues such as the testes and prostate while promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle, bone mass, and body hair growth.
Testosterone is also instrumental in the development of the penis. It also deepens the voice during puberty and is responsible for muscle size, strength, and sperm production, and later in life, it may play a role in balding.
It works by signals driven to the pituitary gland from the brain, which transmits signals to the testes to produce and increase Testosterone levels. There's a feedback loop to regulate Testosterone levels in the blood. When Testosterone levels rise too high, signals are sent to the pituitary gland to reduce production from the brain.
Testosterone is vital for men, but women need it too, although in a different ratio to estrogen. It's one of several androgens (male sex hormones) in females. These hormones have important effects on ovarian function, bone strength, and sexual behavior.
To naturally increase Testosterone levels can be seen as a good thing; on the flip side, too much can also create problems such as heart muscle damage and increased risk of heart attacks, acne, Liver disease, Prostate enlargement, difficulty urinating, and increased risk of blood clots amongst other issues.
Testosterone is so much more than its reputation would suggest. Men and women need the proper amount of Testosterone to develop and function normally. Checking testosterone levels is as easy as having a blood test.
When we talk about how to naturally increase Testosterone and why so many of us have low Testosterone levels, we must consider how lifestyles have changed. In the old days, we were hunting and doing basic things to survive. Today, we've gotten away from primal tendencies and replaced them with a much more stressful lifestyle which has somewhat changed our circadian rhythm.
We're at about one-third of the Testosterone of our forefathers, which is where we don't want to be if maintaining muscle mass and having vitality late on in life is our objective.
The medical term for low Testosterone is Hypogonadism. The exact level this starts at depends on which medical organization you ask. Generally, total blood levels would usually need to be below 350 nanograms per deciliter before noticing negative symptoms. An excellent natural range can be twice that amount leading to 800 and 900 nanograms per deciliter.
When you hear me talking about testosterone levels or how to naturally increase Testosterone, I'm referring to how much is circulating in the blood, which can happen in three different ways.
About 60% circulates the blood tightly bound to a particular glycoprotein called SHBG. 38% is weakly bound to albumin, while the outstanding 2% is called "Free" at any given moment. Being free Testosterone allows it to be the most active, quickly passing into cells to activate the androgen receptors inside.
The bottom line is you want your testosterone receptors to be very receptive to Testosterone so that the Testosterone can easily fit in the receptor.
Now we know a little more about this hormone, let's go ahead and find out how to naturally increase Testosterone.
1: Pay attention to your caloric intake. Stay too long in a caloric surplus or caloric deficit can have your body to perceive that your body is under significant stress.
An extreme example of this would be someone who eats far too much and does way too little. He's waiting for the diabetes type 2 bus to come and pick them up. From there, lots of bad things can happen, including low Testosterone. On the flipside is the person who eats far too few calories below their maintenance for long periods.
From a year-long macro perspective, it's makes sense to ebb and flow between surplus calories to build muscle, below maintenance calories to restore insulin sensitivity, and lose body fat and maintenance calories. Carrying around too much body fat can convert Testosterone into estrogen and disrupt other hormones.
If you're a lover of extreme intensity in the gym, and prone to over-doing it, you could be killing your testosterone levels. Many people don't know when they're over-trained. An excellent way to see if you are over-training is by doing a mental checklist. Ask yourself;
When you're thinking how to naturally increase Testosterone, remember that too much workout volume can hinder your body's ability to recover. We often see the stress response (Cortisol) that comes with too much volume influence androgen production. In such situations, your body looks for ways to conserve energy. Do it for long enough, and your body will have little choice but to down-regulate Testosterone.
One of the best natural Testosterone boosters is getting enough quality sleep, as sleep helps to modify Cortisol.
Cholesterol can be converted into Testosterone or estrogen. While this is the case, there's often a competition whereby the cholesterol will not turn into either Testosterone or estrogen but turn into Cortisol instead if stress levels are too high.
Science tells us that being a nose breather during sleep is also crucial because it increases the amount of oxygen you can bring into your system and the amount of carbon dioxide you can off-load. This reduces apnea as breath-holding in sleep leads to a buildup of carbon dioxide and eventually the stress hormone cortisol, which decreases Testosterone in negative ways.
Some stress, but not all stress is good for the body. Constantly find yourself in the thick end of life where stressful situations consume you negatively; you need to take yourself out of that situation, especially if you have building muscle on your mind. Chronic stress raises Cortisol levels and decreases Testosterone while making it harder for the test to fit in the receptor.
Sounds funny, but this isn’t a joke. Xenoestrogens are bad news. You don't ever want to eat or drink anything hot in plastics. This includes warming food up in a plastic tub inside the microwave or drinking hot coffee in a plastic cup. Always use glass or stainless steel instead. Certain plastics have estrogen-mimicking effects and act like estrogen in your body. High estrogen has the same effects as low Testosterone
Now I touched on how to naturally increase Testosterone with easy things to implement; I'm going to move to a few natural testosterone boosters and supplements you can use. Speak with your doctor before adding any new supplement to your daily routine.
Good evidence suggests a lack of Vitamin D, zinc, and magnesium can all lower testosterone. In its active form, Vitamin D isn't a vitamin but instead classed as a hormone that is synthesized within the body curtsy of inactive vitamin D that you can get through sun exposure and diet. In recent studies, just correcting vitamin D raised test levels by 18-30%. Dosage: 3,000 – 5,000 IU/day
Zinc can naturally increase testosterone levels. Links between mild zinc deficiencies and low test, saw researchers check to see if there was a relationship between the two. After testing 40 healthy men by eliminating zinc for 20 weeks from their diet, they found that they were down significantly when they remeasured test levels. Dosage: 25- 50mg per day
When tested and combined with intense activity, magnesium showed a strong and independent positive association with Testosterone because demanding physical activity can quickly deplete magnesium levels. Dosage: 200-400mg at night.
If you want to naturally increase Testosterone, ensure you get adequate vitamin D, zinc, and magnesium.
One of the best natural testosterone boosters is the herb Ashwagandha. In one study, two groups of young men trained for eight weeks, with one group supplementing with 600 milligrams of Ashwagandha and the other group with nothing. By the end of the study, the group given Ashwagandha had test levels up from an average of 630 to 726, while the other group saw no change in test levels.
We all know that Creatine has been shown to lead to more effective workouts, fat loss, and more muscle-building, but did you know that Creatine has also been shown to increase serum testosterone levels by around 15%? Many different Creatine products are on the market; none out-performs the good old tried and tested "monohydrate."
Tongkat Ali is another way to naturally increase Testosterone. While you're not getting the Testosterone straight into your system like you would with TRT, Tongkat Ali allows the Testosterone that is bound to SHBG to be released, so you have a higher level for the tissues to use. There's also a thought that it might reduce the metabolism of Testosterone, meaning that your body uses Testosterone and may degrade and get rid of it out of the system. Tongkat Ali may help Testosterone to hang around longer.
While we've spoken about things you can do and take to up your natty test levels, certain foods can naturally increase testosterone levels.
The first thing I'm going to tell you to do is to eat enough good fats. If you've been shying away from consuming good-quality fats, it's time to pull your socks up and add some good fats into your diet. The testosterone molecule is derived from cholesterol.
Cholesterol is the backbone of all the sex hormone molecules. Without it, you can't make Testosterone. While your body makes a little cholesterol, you can help it produce more by consuming some animal fats such as pasture-raised whole eggs.
If you want to learn how to naturally increase Testosterone, you must most certainly think about lowering the amount of sugar you have in your diet. When you eat lots of sugars, starches, or simple carbohydrates, it elevates your insulin levels.
When insulin levels are sky-high, it tends to decrease testosterone levels. Raising insulin levels when building muscle has its time and place, and that's not when you're sitting around downing a big bag of skittles or gummy bears while watching tv.
References:
Effect of Tongkat Ali on stress hormones and psychological mood state in moderately stressed subjects
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669033/
Tongkat Ali Standardized Extract Improves Testosterone and Stress Hormone Balance and Mood Parameters in Subjects with Moderate Stress
Ashwagandha and Testosterone: the science behind the link
https://www.getroman.com/health-guide/ashwagandha-testosterone/
Ashwagandha For Testosterone Male Sexual Function
https://ksm66ashwagandhaa.com/ashwagandha-for-testosterone-male-sexual-function/
Vitamin D and Testosterone in Healthy Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/102/11/4292/4096785
The Interplay between Magnesium and Testosterone in Modulating Physical Function in Men
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3958794/
Great book about xeno-estrogens: https://amzn.to/2XlhhXT
To recap, in this article, we've covered some easy-to-implement ways to naturally increase Testosterone from habits to employ or drop, supplements to take, and foods to eat or avoid. Now, don't sit on this information; go out and make a difference if you're serious about wanting to naturally increase your Testosterone.
I hope you found our "How To Naturally Increase Testosterone Helpful.
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