Testosterone is the king of hormones with it’s powerful ability to boost muscle mass & burn body fat.
It also supports mood, sleep, sex drive, energy levels, overall health, and quality of life. So how can you start increasing your T levels today?
Testosterone is essential for your good health and well-being. Although it is often referred to as the male hormone women also have small amounts of it in their body.
You may be surprised to know that levels of testosterone in a woman actually increase for the first 3-4 months of a relationship!
Side effects of low testosterone levels include loss of sex drive, loss of muscle mass and even lower bone density. It can also increase your likelihood of contracting a range of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and coronary issues.
Even if you weren’t looking to build more muscle, you should certainly be looking to increase your testosterone levels; alongside supporting muscle growth it helps to reduce fat levels in your body.
Here are 15 natural ways to boost your testosterone levels naturally and safely:
1. Exercise
There are so many benefits to regular exercise that it is ridiculous to think anyone would resist doing it.
Alongside improving the health of all your vital organs and making you feel good, regular exercise has been shown to boost testosterone levels.
It is recommended that you complete high intensity training 3 or 4 times a week; this explosive form of exercise will promote testosterone production in your body.
Of course, if you are not already doing this you should start slowly to ensure you do not get injured.
2. Weight Training
You will be pleased to hear that weightlifting is an excellent way to naturally build testosterone levels.
This is because it is a form of resistance or strength training which has been shown to increase testosterone levels.
When weightlifting it is important to push your body to its limits and have a rest period of 48 hours before you work the same muscle group again.
Ideally you should only be able to manage a maximum of 8 to 12 reps with your weights or 10 to 15 reps for legs exercises; any more than this means you need to increase your weights. This principle is known as progressive overload.
This rep range is ideal if you want maximum hypertrophy which means building the most muscle mass possible.
3. Diet
As always what you eat affects your body’s performance and its ability to produce testosterone as well as completing other natural processes.
A balanced diet is more than just taking the right number of calories or ensuring you eat all the right nutrients and minerals.
You need to consume approximately 40% carbohydrates, 35% protein and 25% fat and it should be done through the consumption of unprocessed foods.
Eating known foods that boost testosterone such as oysters, avocados, olive oil and pomegranate should also benefit you a great deal.
4. Avoid Processed Sugar
A healthy diet means avoiding processed food.
This is one of the predominant hiding places for processed sugars but not the only place you will find them. In fact, sugar is added to the majority of shop bought products.
However processed sugars will boost your insulin levels and give you a short term energy boost.
Unfortunately this leads to insulin resistance, fat storage and an increase in estrogen; which reduces your testosterone levels.
It is best to avoid all processed sugars.
5. Fat
Not all fat is bad for you.
In fact saturated fats are essential for improving your testosterone levels. Research shows that consuming monounsaturated fat and even saturated fats can increase the level of testosterone in your body.
This should not be a surprising fact; fat is a critical part of any diet; it is only the modern approach to dieting which has labeled fat bad. Of course, like anything, in excess it can be detrimental to your health.
Olives, coconuts, salmon, raw nuts and avocados are just a few examples of foods with healthy fats.
6. Vitamin D
Vitamin D can be gained just by sitting in the sunlight.
However, if you are not fortunate enough to live somewhere which enjoys year round sunshine you may wish to get this via a supplement.
Vitamin D can be taken as part of a multi-vitamin or is included in most T-boosters. Although scientists are still trying to work out exactly how vitamin D causes an increase in testosterone, several studies have shown it to be the case.
Research so far suggests that vitamin D helps the body to absorb minerals while stimulating muscle growth through the production of testosterone.
7. Zinc
Zinc is known to boost the immune system.
However, it is also considered to be an essential mineral which influences your body’s production of testosterone. In fact, zinc is one of the essential ingredients for testosterone production.
Most of the zinc in the body is found in the testes and its presence is linked with continuing testosterone production even during a heavy workout.
These findings have been confirmed by a number of surveys including one performed by the Wayne State University in Indiana; where they noted a 93% increase in testosterone after 6 months of adding zinc to their diet.
8. D-Aspartic Acid
This amino acid is thought to have a direct effect on testosterone production through the adjustment of hormone levels.
In fact, studies into this nutrient show a testosterone improvement of 42% in less than two weeks!
9. Reduce Stress
When you get stressed your body releases a hormone called cortisol.
This primes your muscles for action; effectively allowing you to fight for survival or run away.
However, cortisol also affects the levels of other hormones in your body. As it is designed to prepare your muscles for action it effectively shuts down many of the other normal body functions; including testosterone production.
The more often you feel stressed the lower your testosterone levels are likely to be. It is, therefore, important to reduce your stress levels whenever possible.
You can start by evaluating when you get stressed and how you can avoid the situation; although it may not always be possible.
It has been suggested, although not yet fully researched, that long term stress can block your testosterone production all together over a period of time.
10. Sleep
Sleeping is easy and extremely healthy.
Although everyone is different the average male should aim to get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep every night. This is the time when your body heals and your hormones balance.
While this is known to help with decreasing appetite, research also shows that men who get the right amount of sleep will have higher levels of testosterone than those that don’t.
11. Natural T-Booster
Testosterone boosters are designed to improve the level of testosterone in your body by providing the right ingredients to encourage your body to make more of this important hormone.
The top testosterone boosters will have vitamin D3, zinc and d-aspartic acid in them; although you may also find ginseng and several other powerful ingredients present.
They work by providing the basic nutrients needed for testosterone production and stimulating the body into producing more; which it is perfectly capable of doing.
12. Avoid Chemicals
You are almost certainly aware that there are a number of chemicals which are bad for humans and bad for the environment.
What you may not realize is that there are chemicals which have been linked to lowering testosterone production and they are in common plastic items.
The chemicals are known as phthalate and the study shows a drop of between 24 and 34% in young boys; this is significant as it confirms the issue of falling testosterone levels through generations.
It is advisable to avoid reusing plastic bottles or any chemicals which contain these phthalates.
13. Cholesterol
The common view of cholesterol is that it is bad.
However this is not strictly true. Excess cholesterol in your body is bad; it will clog your arteries and lead to a variety of health problems.
However, cholesterol has been found to be one of the building blocks essential for the production of testosterone.
This means you need to be consuming some cholesterol to maintain your testosterone production.
The actual level of testosterone you require will depend upon how active you are as it is important to keep your cholesterol balanced.
You need to focus on HDL cholesterol such as that found in eggs, avocados, seafood and red meat.
14. Branch Chain Amino Acids
Whey protein is high in branch chain amino acids.
You can also find them in a variety of dairy products; especially cheese. These amino acids are a natural way of boosting the anabolic action in your body.
Synthetic BCAA’s can be absorbed exceptionally quickly into the bloodstream where their role is to disrupt the production of insulin which can have a detrimental effect on your glycemic control.
It is therefore best to boost your BCAA’s through food consumption as this will only have a positive effect on your testosterone production.
15. Review Medications
Finally, it is important that you review the medication you are currently taking; if any.
Although it is probably necessary for your health, it is possible that the medication is having an adverse effect on your testosterone production.
You can check each medication on the internet or even with your doctor. It should be possible to switch to another type of medicine if it is likely to be affecting your testosterone levels.
Summary
Boosting your testosterone levels naturally is not just possible, it is the best way of increasing them without risking any negative side effects.
As you will now be able to see, the 15 ways shown are all easy to implement in your daily life and will make you feel more energetic, stronger, aid muscle growth and even improve your sex drive. It has to be worth the effort!
