8 Ways to Naturally Increase Testosterone: Exercise, Diet, Sleep

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That’s why women have testosterone too (yes, it’s true!), even if they don’t have testes. Testosterone plays a key role beyond sexual function and growth, including boosting brain function, improving cardiac health, and protecting your prostate and liver. For customized recommendations to increase your testosterone levels, book a consultation at Advanced Urology. In some people, stress-eating causes weight gain and the increase of harmful fat buildup around the organs.

One 2016 study found that stressful events contributed to erratic changes in testosterone levels in males. According to a 2016 study, men who are obese have 30% lower testosterone levels compared to men who are lean. Maintaining a healthy weight is key for overall long-term health.

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. 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. 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. There are times, however, when testosterone therapy will be recommended by a physician for men or for women, sometimes for different reasons.

Whether you’re new to exercise or just getting back into it, know that everyone’s fitness level varies and the best way for you to burn calories may look different than the guy on the treadmill next to you. Cardio can be a long run, but it can also be walking at a brisk pace. For example, this can occur when people ingest chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol S, from water in plastic bottles or reheated food in plastic containers. However, it is important to note this is still an emerging area of study.

Regular exercise reduces your risk of an abundance of health conditions and diseases. It could even help control sexual health issues such as erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. If you want to check your levels of testosterone, you can take an at-home blood test.

It’s thought that the type of exercise that you participate in affects the level of testosterone produced. Resistance training has been shown to increase testosterone whereas athletes who participate in lengthy endurance training have been shown to have decreased levels of the hormone. On the other hand, foods you should avoid in pursuit of increasing testosterone levels include processed foods, fried foods, plastic-packaged foods, and foods high in sugar and salt. Testosterone may stimulate the prostate gland and prostate cancer to grow. That’s why medications that lower testosterone levels (for example, leuprolide) are common treatments for men with prostate cancer.

The medication you’re taking for other health issues could be causing lowered testosterone as a side effect. Statins, used to lower cholesterol, can lower testosterone in both men and women, for example. You can find D-aspartic acid in foods like beef, eggs, and avocados, but more research is needed on its effects on testosterone. For those reasons, many men are looking for alternatives to testosterone replacement therapy. Eat food such as tomatoes, red peppers, alfalfa, sprouts, eggs, cruciferous vegetables, pineapples, and apples.

Both resistance training like weightlifting, and cardiovascular exercises such as running or swimming, can increase testosterone. Good sleep and learning how to relax go hand in hand — and both boost testosterone levels. The body’s control centers for testosterone and cortisol, a stress hormone, are deeply intertwined. Physiological stressors, such as overexercising, can lead to increased cortisol and decreased testosterone. Leafy greens like Swiss chard, spinach, and kale are loaded with magnesium — a mineral that’s been shown to boost testosterone levels. Magnesium also helps reduce inflammation and improve muscle function, which is key for maintaining high energy levels and optimal hormone balance.

The normal range of testosterone is quite broad, which means that an individual’s symptoms and general health must be taken into account when diagnosing a testosterone deficiency. We have found that male patients are less likely to volunteer information about their symptoms and medical history, so we have to be very targeted with our questioning during a consultation. This steroid hormone can increase fat deposition, resulting in more conversion of testosterone to estrogen. In combination with estrogen, testosterone helps with repairing reproductive tissues, growth, and maintaining sexual behavior. Too much testosterone, however, can you travel internationally with testosterone cause symptoms such as excess body hair or deepening of the voice. In fact, the same study found that long-distance runners may experience low testosterone levels. The researchers speculated that this might be due to inadequate energy and improper nutrition.

Some studies have shown that fenugreek supplementation can improve testosterone levels and symptoms related to low testosterone, such as low libido. For instance, an 8-week study of 49 athletic men showed that taking 500mg of fenugreek daily slightly increased testosterone levels, significantly improving strength and body fat compared to a placebo group. Regular physical activity, especially strength training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), can significantly boost testosterone levels. Weightlifting, in particular, is known to increase testosterone in both the short and long term.