Naturally Boost Testosterone – Tips, Lifestyle Changes

5 Ways to Naturally Boost Testosterone

Certain lifestyle changes can help keep it from getting too low.

By Erica Sweeney Published: Feb 12, 2023

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Men’sHealth

Edited for content. The opinions expressed in this article may not reflect the opinions of this site’s editors, staff or members.

Key Points

‧ Testosterone levels decline as men age.

‧ Maintaining a healthy weight is recommended for optimal testosterone levels.

‧ Resistance training and supplementation will also help maintain higher T levels.

TESTOSTERONE IS RESPONSIBLE for so many important functions, from building muscle to getting (and keeping) erections to bone health and red blood cell production. So, maintaining normal levels of the essential hormone—which vary from person to person—is crucial.

There are several natural ways to give your testosterone a boost and keep it from getting too low. Low is generally under 264 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL), although most doctors are just as concerned about any symptoms that you have, like low libido, fatigue, irritability, and erectile dysfunction. They typically factor in your labs and your symptoms before prescribing testosterone replacement therapy.

“The goal is general well-being,” says Ahmed El-Zawahry, M.D., a urologist at the University of Toledo Medical Center. “Testosterone treatment is only necessary when a person has symptoms associated with low testosterone.”

Not everyone who has low testosterone experiences symptoms, he adds. The impact varies depending on the individual, their age, size, and how physically fit they are.

Testosterone, which is produced in the testicles, naturally declines as you age, Dr. El-Zawahry says. After your 30s or 40s, you can expect it to drop about 1 percent to 3 percent a year.

Aging is something you can’t control, of course. But, you can control other factors that contribute to low T. There are a few ways to naturally boost your testosterone, or at least help keep your levels from getting too low.

How Can You Boost Testosterone Naturally?

With testosterone, more isn’t always better—and, it’s not in any way linked to manliness. It’s rare for men to have naturally high testosterone, which can cause low sperm counts, high blood pressure, and mood swings.

But, you don’t want it to get too low, either, or you’ll experience a range of symptoms, like always feeling tired or erectile dysfunction. Here are some natural ways to keep your testosterone in balance.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

The weight-low testosterone connection is an “interesting paradox,” says Anthony Hackney, Ph.D., D.Sc., a professor of exercise physiology and nutrition at the University of North Carolina. Low testosterone is linked to being overweight or obese, as well as being underweight.

Hormones in fat cells can inhibit testosterone production by increasing estrogen, which affects the pituitary glands that signal to the testicles how much testosterone to make. On the other hand, “When you’re going negative in your caloric balance, your testosterone is going to drop,” Hackney says.

Maintaining a healthy weight will keep your T levels in their normal range, whatever normal means for you (the “normal” range is a gigantic 264 to 916 mg/dL.

Eat a Balanced Diet

“Having an unhealthy diet with empty calories causes increased body fat,” Dr. El-Zawahry says. “This will cause a vicious cycle of lower testosterone: more fat, less exercise, and then, more fat.”

Eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein will keep you healthy overall, including keeping your T levels normal.

There aren’t necessarily any magic foods that will raise your levels, however. Dr. El-Zawahry says omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish like salmon, have been shown to help with testosterone synthesis. There’s also some evidence certain nutrients in eggs, garlic, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts can have a positive influence on testosterone, but it’s not like they’re magic bullets for low T.

Limiting high-sugar and high-fat foods will help keep testosterone in a healthy range, too. These foods have been linked to lower T levels, says Jamin Brahmbhatt, M.D., a urologist at Orlando Health.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Everyone needs at least seven hours of sleep a night, but most people don’t get that much. That can affect many aspects of your health, including testosterone production.

T levels increase while you sleep, peaking around 3 a.m. to 8 a.m., and are tied to your circadian rhythms. So when you stay up too late or don’t stick to a sleep schedule, it disrupts your circadian rhythms and testosterone production.

A small study of healthy young men showed that their T levels dropped by 10 to 15 percent when they only slept for five hours a night.

“Good quality sleep on a regular basis is just really critical,” Hackney says. Strive to get seven or more hours a night by creating a routine of going to bed and getting up at the same times every day.

Increase Resistance Training

Regular exercise is beneficial for your health, and certain workouts can temporarily raise testosterone. Exercise is also a key component in weight management, which can also keep your T balanced.

Research shows that strength exercises can increase testosterone levels. But the boost usually only lasts about an hour before your T levels return to normal, Hackney says.

Lifting heavier weights and performing lots of sets can have a bigger impact on your levels than other protocols, he adds. When you start your resistance training session with large muscle groups, like glutes or chest, and then move to small muscle groups, like triceps and shoulders, you could see the largest testosterone response, according to some research.

While extreme endurance-based exercises have been shown to possibly reduce testosterone, that doesn’t mean you should cut out the cardio. Dr. Brahmbhatt says any exercise is good for your body, which is good for your testosterone.

Cut Back on Drinking (and Other Substance Use)

Generally avoiding smoking, taking drugs, and drinking alcohol will improve your testosterone.

Smokers tend to have lower testosterone levels. Heavy alcohol consumption has been shown to reduce testosterone levels in the blood. It can impair testicular function and interfere with hormone production.

Overuse of other substances, like opioids, cannabis, and amphetamines, also have been shown to interfere with testosterone production and testicular function.

“My advice is to avoid these or not to overdo them as much as possible,” Dr. El-Zawahry says. Usually, when you cut out or cut back on these substances, your T levels will return to normal.

Can Supplements Boost Your Testosterone?

There are tons of supplements out there promising to give your testosterone a boost, but Dr. El-Zawahry says most lack scientific evidence showing that they actually work.

There’s some evidence that zinc and vitamin D3 may help raise T levels minimally, Dr. Brahmbhatt says. But, you usually don’t need a supplement unless you have a vitamin deficiency. (It’s always best to talk to your doctor before taking one, especially when you have existing medical conditions or take medications).

There is also some research on the herb Tongkat Ali and its potential to boost testosterone, although experts say the amount it might raise it won’t change how you feel or how you perform.

Anabolic steroids, which are synthetic testosterone, are sometimes misused to enhance muscle-building or athletic performance. They increase testosterone but come with many side effects, like male breast growth, heart problems, high blood pressure, and testicle shrinking.

What to Do When You Think Your Testosterone Is Low

If you’re noticing symptoms like low sex drive, fatigue, depression, erectile dysfunction, and irritability, and suspect you might have low T, talk to your doctor. They’ll discuss with you reasons for these symptoms and will order blood tests to see if your testosterone is low.

You may be prescribed testosterone replacement therapy, and doctors will recheck your levels and talk to you about symptoms regularly.

“Testosterone therapy is not a fountain of male youth,” Dr. Brahmbhatt says. “There are risks, and therefore it’s important to have this therapy initiated by the right people at the right time at the right doses.”

 

 

Can Specific Foods or Diets Boost Your Testosterone Levels?

Can Specific Foods or Diets Boost Your Testosterone Levels?

What you eat or drink may affect levels of the male sex hormone, but whether a diet can increase libido or energy depends on many things.

By Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D.

Published Nov. 2, 2021Updated Nov. 3, 2021

This article is a repost which originally appeared on The New York Times

Edited for content.

Can I increase my testosterone levels through the foods I eat? And if so, which foods or diets work best?

Many men, particularly as they age, are concerned about their levels of testosterone, the male sex hormone touted to build muscle, sex drive and vigor. But individual foods are unlikely to have an impact on testosterone levels — though drinking excessive amounts of alcohol might. If you are overweight, altering your diet to lose weight may help, since carrying excess pounds is a common cause of low testosterone. But in terms of specific foods or diets, any uptick you achieve may not have a noticeable impact on libido, energy or muscle mass.

“If someone was not overweight, I wouldn’t put them on a specific diet to raise testosterone based on the data we have now,” said Alexander Pastuszak, an assistant professor of urology and surgery at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who co-authored a review on alternatives to testosterone therapy.

In men, normal testosterone levels range from 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter of blood. Ups and downs within that normal range are unlikely to have any impact on sex drive or vitality. Only when levels consistently drop below 300 points — as confirmed in two blood tests by an accredited laboratory — are symptoms like low libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, low mood or loss of muscle mass likely to appear, a medical condition known as hypogonadism.

Starting at around age 40, men’s testosterone levels start to decline by about 1 percent per year. But the drop can vary tremendously, with some older men maintaining levels similar to healthy young men. The trajectory of falling testosterone is steeper among men who gain a lot of weight, said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, professor of medicine at Harvard and the director of the Research Program in Men’s Health: Aging and Metabolism at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Studies on foods or diets and testosterone levels have generally been small and the findings far from conclusive. A recent British review that pooled data from 206 volunteers, for example, found that men on high-fat diets had testosterone levels that were about 60 points higher, on average, than men on low-fat diets. Men who followed a vegetarian diet tended to have the lowest levels of testosterone, about 150 points lower, on average, than those following a high-fat, meat-based diet. Still, Joseph Whittaker, the lead investigator and a nutritionist at the University of Worcester in Britain, said he would not recommend a man increase the fats in his diet unless he had low testosterone levels and symptoms of low T and was already restricting fats.

Another study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research tested two styles of diets in 25 fit men between the ages of 18 and 30. Calories consumed were the same, but one group ate a high-fat, very-low-carb, ketogenic-style diet, consisting of 75 percent of calories from fats, 5 percent from carbohydrates and 20 percent from protein. Men in the other group ate a more traditional Western style, low-fat diet, containing 25 percent of calories from fats, 55 percent from carbohydrates and 20 percent from protein. After 10 weeks of eating the high-fat diet, testosterone increased by 118 points, on average, while after the low-fat diet, levels declined by about 36 points.

Similarly, a study of 3,000 men found that those who reported eating a low-fat diet had slightly lower testosterone levels — about 30 points lower — than men who ate higher-fat diets. But none of the men had low testosterone.

“The moral is that healthy men who are of normal weight with no significant comorbidities are unlikely to benefit from restrictive diets,” said Dr. Richard J. Fantus, one of the study’s authors and a urologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill.

Diet studies are complicated, because changing one component of the diet, such as fat intake, alters so many other things, such as the amount of carbohydrates, protein and micronutrients consumed. It’s unclear which component of the diet may have prompted the hormonal changes, Dr. Bhasin said. Furthermore, testosterone levels may also be shaped by how much a person sleeps, or whether they are jet-lagged, or if they are eating most of their calories at night or in small meals throughout the day.

Dr. Faysal Yafi, chief of the division of Men’s Health and Reconstructive Urology at the University of California, Irvine, says his patients who opt to follow specific diets tend to start exercising more and drinking less alcohol, all of which can raise testosterone levels. He suspects any links between diet and testosterone may be the result of an overall healthier lifestyle.

Some men worry that eating lots of soy foods may cause their testosterone levels to fall, because soy is rich in isoflavones, which mimic the structure of estrogen. But the evidence doesn’t support their concerns, even if men eat foods like miso, tofu or soy milk at every meal. (Doctors did report one anecdotal case in which a 19-year-old man with Type 1 diabetes who followed a vegan diet containing 360 milligrams of soy isoflavones daily — nine times higher than a typical Japanese diet, and 100 times higher than the typical American diet — developed low testosterone levels along with low libido and fatigue. His symptoms improved when he stopped eating the soy-heavy, vegan diet.)

Long-term alcohol abuse lowers testosterone by damaging cells in both the testes, which make testosterone, and the liver, which alters testosterone metabolism. But binge drinking every now and then does not appear to have much of an impact — it lowers testosterone for only about 30 minutes, according to one study, after which levels bounce back to baseline.

Obese men who have low levels of testosterone can increase levels by cutting calories and losing weight — the type of diet does not matter, studies suggest. On the opposite extreme, Dr. Bhasin said he is seeing an increasing number of men at his clinic who have body dysmorphic issues and are suffering from low libido and fatigue. Strict calorie restriction, exercising intensely and being chronically stressed can all cause testosterone levels to plummet and are likely to blame, he said.

The bottom line is that for otherwise healthy men who are following a reasonably healthy lifestyle, fiddling with specific foods or the composition of the diet is not likely to make much of a difference on the testosterone score card. As Dr. Fantus of NorthShore University put it: “I don’t think there is a way to game the system to get really large increases by changing the diet.”

Correction: 

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that men who ate low-fat diets tended to have higher testosterone levels. Men who ate high-fat diets tended to have the higher T levels.

The article also referred to a 19-year-old man with low testosterone levels who was eating a diet containing 360 milligrams of soy daily; his diet actually contained 360 milligrams of soy isoflavones.

 

Testosterone Levels: Can Specific Foods or Diets Boost Them?

Can Specific Foods or Diets Boost Your Testosterone Levels?

What you eat or drink may affect levels of the male sex hormone, but whether a diet can increase libido or energy depends on many things.

By Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D.

Nov. 2, 2021 Updated 12:15 p.m. ET

This article is a repost which originally appeared on The New York Times

Edited for content.

Can I increase my testosterone levels through the foods I eat? And if so, which foods or diets work best?

Many men, particularly as they age, are concerned about their levels of testosterone, the male sex hormone touted to build muscle, sex drive and vigor. But individual foods are unlikely to have an impact on testosterone levels — though drinking excessive amounts of alcohol might. If you are overweight, altering your diet to lose weight may help, since carrying excess pounds is a common cause of low testosterone. But in terms of specific foods or diets, any uptick you achieve may not have a noticeable impact on libido, energy or muscle mass.

“If someone was not overweight, I wouldn’t put them on a specific diet to raise testosterone based on the data we have now,” said Alexander Pastuszak, an assistant professor of urology and surgery at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who co-authored a review on alternatives to testosterone therapy.

In men, normal testosterone levels range from 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter of blood. Ups and downs within that normal range are unlikely to have any impact on sex drive or vitality. Only when levels consistently drop below 300 points — as confirmed in two blood tests by an accredited laboratory — are symptoms like low libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, low mood or loss of muscle mass likely to appear, a medical condition known as hypogonadism.

Starting at around age 40, men’s testosterone levels start to decline by about 1 percent per year. But the drop can vary tremendously, with some older men maintaining levels similar to healthy young men. The trajectory of falling testosterone is steeper among men who gain a lot of weight, said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, professor of medicine at Harvard and the director of the Research Program in Men’s Health: Aging and Metabolism at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Studies on foods or diets and testosterone levels have generally been small and the findings far from conclusive. A recent British review that pooled data from 206 volunteers, for example, found that men on low-fat diets had testosterone levels that were about 60 points higher, on average, than men on high-fat diets. Men who followed a vegetarian diet tended to have the lowest levels of testosterone, about 150 points lower, on average, than those following a high-fat, meat-based diet. Still, Joseph Whittaker, the lead investigator and a nutritionist at the University of Worcester in Britain, said he would not recommend a man increase the fats in his diet unless he had low testosterone levels and symptoms of low T and was already restricting fats.

Another study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research tested two styles of diets in 25 fit men between the ages of 18 and 30. Calories consumed were the same, but one group ate a high-fat, very-low-carb, ketogenic-style diet, consisting of 75 percent of calories from fats, 5 percent from carbohydrates and 20 percent from protein. Men in the other group ate a more traditional Western style, low-fat diet, containing 25 percent of calories from fats, 55 percent from carbohydrates and 20 percent from protein. After 10 weeks of eating the high-fat diet, testosterone increased by 118 points, on average, while after the low-fat diet, levels declined by about 36 points

Similarly, a study of 3,000 men found that those who reported eating a low-fat diet had slightly lower testosterone levels — about 30 points lower — than men who ate higher-fat diets. But none of the men had low testosterone.

“The moral is that healthy men who are of normal weight with no significant comorbidities are unlikely to benefit from restrictive diets,” said Dr. Richard J. Fantus, one of the study’s authors and a urologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill.

Diet studies are complicated, because changing one component of the diet, such as fat intake, alters so many other things, such as the amount of carbohydrates, protein and micronutrients consumed. It’s unclear which component of the diet may have prompted the hormonal changes, Dr. Bhasin said. Furthermore, testosterone levels may also be shaped by how much a person sleeps, or whether they are jet-lagged, or if they are eating most of their calories at night or in small meals throughout the day.

Dr. Faysal Yafi, chief of the division of Men’s Health and Reconstructive Urology at the University of California, Irvine, says his patients who opt to follow specific diets tend to start exercising more and drinking less alcohol, all of which can raise testosterone levels. He suspects any links between diet and testosterone may be the result of an overall healthier lifestyle.

Some men worry that eating lots of soy foods may cause their testosterone levels to fall, because soy is rich in isoflavones, which mimic the structure of estrogen. But the evidence doesn’t support their concerns, even if men eat foods like miso, tofu or soy milk at every meal. (Doctors did report one anecdotal case in which a 19-year-old man with Type 1 diabetes who followed a vegan diet containing 360 milligrams of soy daily — nine times higher than a typical Japanese diet, and 100 times higher than the typical American diet — developed low testosterone levels along with low libido and fatigue. His symptoms improved when he stopped eating the soy-heavy, vegan diet.)

Long-term alcohol abuse lowers testosterone by damaging cells in both the testes, which make testosterone, and the liver, which alters testosterone metabolism. But binge drinking every now and then does not appear to have much of an impact — it lowers testosterone for only about 30 minutes, according to one study, after which levels bounce back to baseline.

Obese men who have low levels of testosterone can increase levels by cutting calories and losing weight — the type of diet does not matter, studies suggest. On the opposite extreme, Dr. Bhasin said he is seeing an increasing number of men at his clinic who have body dysmorphic issues and are suffering from low libido and fatigue. Strict calorie restriction, exercising intensely and being chronically stressed can all cause testosterone levels to plummet and are likely to blame, he said.

The bottom line is that for otherwise healthy men who are following a reasonably healthy lifestyle, fiddling with specific foods or the composition of the diet is not likely to make much of a difference on the testosterone score card. As Dr. Fantus of NorthShore University put it: “I don’t think there is a way to game the system to get really large increases by changing the diet.”

 

The Best Ways to Increase Penis Sensitivity, According to Doctors

The Best Ways to Increase Penis Sensitivity, According to Doctors

The fix might be simple!

By Zachary Zane Mar 30, 2021

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Men’sHealth

Edited for content

Over the years, you may have noticed that your penis has become less sensitive. We’re not talking completely numb, which is a different story—just a little less receptive to stimulation. This can be a bit of a bummer; while some sexual pleasure is psychological, a lot of it comes from physical stimulation, meaning you might not enjoy sex as much when you have decreased sensitivity. You might even struggle to orgasm, which can be extra frustrating, and leave you desperate for ways to increase your penis sensitivity ASAP.

The issue is relatively common in people with a penis, according to experts. “We see a lot of men in our sexual health clinic who complain of decreased penile sensation,” says Michael Ingber, MD, a urologist and urogynecologist at Garden State Urology. While that may not sound like good news, it does mean urologists are adept at treating folks who experience reduced sensitivity. They know the common causes and can provide solutions.

But before getting to the best ways to reverse the condition, it’s important how penis sensitivity works in the first place. “The penis is innervated [supplied with nerves] by a nerve called the pudendal nerve,” Ingber says. The pudendal nerve doesn’t just provide sensation to the skin of the penis, but also the perineal region, scrotum, and anus.

“Still, the skin on the phallus is the same skin that’s on the rest of your body,” says Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD, a urologist and sexual wellness expert at Orlando Health. “Depending on the thickness of the skin and presence of nerve fibers, sensation can be felt in different ways.” The skin on your penis is less thick than, say, the skin on the soles of your feet, which is why your penis is more sensitive.

Alright, now that you have a better understanding of the skin on your penis and the nerves that cause stimulation, let’s go ahead and address why you may be seeing a decrease in sensitivity and what you can do about it.

Cause: Too much friction

“Your body will naturally decrease sensation to the penis if there is constant mechanical friction in a short period,” Brahmbhatt says. There’s actually a word for the diminishing physiological response to a frequently repeated stimulus: habituation. So habituation can happen “with too much masturbation” or if you “go at it all night.”

Solution: You gotta switch it up! If you’re masturbating aggressively with a ton of pressure (often referred to as white-knuckling), they you need to loosen that grip. At first, it won’t feel as pleasurable, but over time, your body will reacclimate, and you’ll regain sensitivity.

Having sex or masturbating with a little less frequency is another way to increase sensitivity, Brahmbhatt adds. If you’re going at it for hours on end or jerking it three or four times a day, give your little fella a break.

Lastly Brahmbhatt recommends changing sexual positions. Again, habituation is a response to doing the same thing the same way over and over again. So if you’re always jerking off with a death grip in the same position, your body will habituate to it. If you only do it in doggy style, your body will habituate. Switch things up so your penis can experience multiple sensations and never habituate to a single one.

Cause: Frequent bike riding

“Riding a bike, especially one with a narrow seat, can constrict blood flow over time, as much as 60%,” Ingber says. “This is because the artery that supplies blood to the penis gets compressed [when you’re sitting].”

Solution: Obviously, biking less would help, but we don’t want to suggest that to avid bike riders. Ingber recommends investing in a split bike seat, which will allow for better blood flow.

Cause: Sitting for too long

Just like riding a bike, “Working from home can put pressure on your perineum and prostate. This is where the nerves and blood vessels that go into the penis travel,” Brahmbhatt says. This can affect sensation and even erection quality.

Solution: Find ways to spend less time sitting, like scheduling daily walks or getting a standing desk. It can also be helpful to set hourly reminders on your phone that tell you to get up and move around.

Cause: Low testosterone

Sensation is a complex process, and your hormones could play a role. “Low T can cause a decreased libido which can translate into a decrease in how you ‘feel’ sexual activity,” Brahmbhatt says.

Solution: Get your testosterone levels checked. If low, your doctor may suggest administering testosterone replacement therapy, Brahmbhatt says. (FYI, there are several delivery methods for TRT. Often, we think TRT and then think injections, but there are also skin patches, gels, and tablets that dissolve in your mouth.) Most people will notice relief from symptoms within 4–6 weeks of starting TRT.

Cause: Alcohol

If whiskey dick doesn’t strike, you still might not have a rewarding sexual experience if you drank too much because your penis will become less sensitive. “Alcohol is a depressant and can cause you to have decreased sensation—as well as a whole line of other things—especially when you’ve had one too many,” Brahmbhatt says.

Solution: There’s no magic number for how many drinks you can have and still be able to get hard, or how many will decrease your level of sensitivity even if you can get erect. If you’re worried about your performance on a day you’re also drinking, keep it to two drinks, max. If you overdo it, don’t panic: whiskey dick or lack of penis sensitivity caused from excessive drinking abates once you sober up. (However, chronic heavy drinking can lead to long-term ED, so be careful there!)

Cause: Medications

“There are several medications that can decrease your ability to perceive pain—a big one is opioids,” Brahmbhatt says. Many meds that decrease pain decrease sensitivity overall, which might be why you don’t have as much feeling down there as you used to.

Solution: Let your doctor know you’re having decreased penis sensitivity. Ask if it has anything to do with your current medications, and then see if your doctor can adjust your meds.

What if there’s no direct cause?

When the direct cause is unclear, lack of penis sensitivity can be challenging to solve. That said, there are some other things you can do to help remedy the problem. “I’ve had patients who have practiced tantra, meditation, and have been able to improve their sensitivity based on this alone, but we also have some innovative therapies that have been working great in several men,” Ingber says.

One therapeutic option is “Platelet-Rich Plasma” or PRP. “This therapy involves taking your own blood and isolating the ‘stem cells.’ These cells are then reinjected into your penis in a few different locations,” Ingber says.

There’s a far less invasive option that works for some folks, and that’s cream specifically designed to increase penis-sensitivity. However, we don’t promise any miracles with these products. A quick read through the reviews of Amazon’s most popular creams shows that it works for some and really does nothing for others. But there’s no harm in giving it a shot.