9 Ways To Boost Testosterone
“Your body produces a lot less testosterone each and every single year no matter who you are. We are all human, nobody is super human.”
Key Takeaways
Do you have low energy, poor mood, and a lackluster sex drive? Low testosterone could be the problem.
The top nine ways to boost testosterone include maintaining a healthy body composition, consuming a wide range of nutrient dense foods, and getting high quality sleep.
Additionally, reducing exposure to toxins, decreasing alcohol intake, and supplementation to prevent common nutrient deficiencies will support hormone production.
Small-scale changes to your daily routine will add up significantly over the course of weeks, months, and years.
Increasing low testosterone may be one of the most effective ways to:
increase energy
improve body composition
improve overall quality of life
Full Story
We’ve already covered why the average testosterone level in American men has taken a nosedive, but we only began to touch on the most effective wats to support optimal hormone production. Do you have low energy, poor mood, and a lackluster sex drive, and think your testosterone could use a boost? Cover your bases in all nine of these arenas to ensure you’re making the right decisions every day to keep testosterone levels high.
Top Nine
Attain + Maintain a Healthy Body Composition
If you’re severely overweight or underweight, your testosterone levels will suffer. In general, strive for a body fat percentage between 8-19% if you’re a male and between 21-33% if you’re a female (1).
2. Manage Stress Levels
High levels of chronic stress drastically reduce testosterone and may be the primary culprit to blame for the low testosterone epidemic. To reduce stress, focus on mindfulness, exercise regularly, consume a variety of healthy foods, and strive for a balance between work and relaxation (2).
3. Get Plenty of Sunshine/Maintain Optimal Vitamin D Levels
Low vitamin D is associated a host of chronic health conditions as well as low testosterone. If you’re one of the high percentage of Americans that are deficient, supplementing with vitamin D, especially in the dark winter months, can certainly boost testosterone (3, 4, 5).
4. Eat a Wide Variety of Vitamins + Minerals
Just as low vitamin D can be a cause of low testosterone, so can deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and E.
To prevent deficiencies, be sure to consume a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, seafood, and nuts and seeds (6-10).
5. Resistance Train
Studies have consistently shown that those that exercise frequently have higher testosterone than those that are sedentary. Specifically, lifting weights has been shown to be the most potent testosterone boosting form of exercise (11, 12, 13).
6. Prioritize Quality Sleep
Inadequate sleep quality is one of the most significant drivers of low testosterone. To optimize sleep quality and hormone production, get 7-9 hours of sleep in a cool, dark room, reduce high intakes of alcohol before bed, and aim to go to bed and wake up at the same times every day (14, 15, 16).
7. Reduce Exposure to Environmental Toxins
Avoiding exposure to toxins is one of the most effective ways to maintain optimal hormone production. The 3 most important ones to be wary of include:
BPA - avoid canned foods that aren’t labeled “BPA free”, avoid handling receipts (often coated with BPA), choose “BPA free” Tupperware.
Phthalates and other additives in plastics - avoid using plastic containers/toys that contain BPA. Avoid products that contain “fragrance” in the ingredients, as it may mean the product contains phthalates. Choose phthalate free personal care products.
Glyphosate - Choose organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, especially if they are included in the “dirty dozen”, a list of produce that is traditionally high in glyphosate (63). Consume more sulfur rich foods such as eggs, onion, and garlic, as sulfur plays an important role in the body’s detoxification process (64, 65).
Hormone disrupting chemicals are especially concerning because they can enter our bodies in detrimental amounts without noticeable symptoms. To prevent excess exposure without driving yourself crazy, prioritize changes in the most important areas and try not to stress out about every possible exposure (17).
8. Don’t Drink Too Much Alcohol
One of the litany of negative effects of high alcohol consumption is decreased testosterone production (18, 19, 20).
To prevent low T, try not to consume more than the recommended amount of 1 drink/day for women and 2 drinks/day for men (21).
9. Consider Supplementation
While the majority of supplements fail to live up to their advertised hype, especially in regard to hormone production, some may have a small positive effect. In addition to the aforementioned vitamin D and zinc, ashwagandha, DHEA, and fenugreek have all been shown to boost testosterone in those with already low levels (22-27).
But John, I’m Too Busy
You may be thinking “great points, John. But I’m way too busy and have way too much going on to ever make time for all that stuff. Can’t I just take a pill or a shot and call it a day?”
I totally understand, and I’m sure you’re very busy and important. That being said, a short term pharmaceutical fix is not the answer! (Unless, of course, you have an actual medical condition that results in low T. In that case, it may very well be the solution you need). I’m going to show you that seemingly insignificant tweaks to your daily routine go a long way in supporting optimal hormone production. Here is a day in the life of a man that has shaped his routine to prioritize hormone production, Overflowing With Testosterone Timmy.
The Daily Schedule
6am: Wakes up after a refreshing night of sleep. He brushes his teeth, drinks a glass of filtered water with a pinch of sea salt, fills his thermos with black coffee and heads off to the gym.
6:30am: Timmy arrives at the gym and performs a resistance training workout. His workout consists of 5-15 reps, high bang-for-your-buck, compound movements. He is in and out in an hour and heads back home.
8am: After a quick shower, Timmy has left himself enough time to cook and eat a nutritious breakfast (if he wasn’t working from home, he would’ve packed overnight oats to-go in a BPA free glass container). He whips up 2 eggs, a bowl of oatmeal mixed with half a scoop of protein powder, and a ton of antioxidant rich berries. It’s January and dark and cold most of the day, so he takes 5,000 iu’s of Vitamin D3 with his breakfast.
9am: He begins his workday. Every hour, he takes a 5-10 minute break to walk around outside, get some fresh air, and sunshine on his skin. He confronts high stakes situations with deep breaths and tackles each task one at a time, keeping stress low.
12pm: For lunch, Timmy chows down on some ground bison, basmati rice, and a mix of broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms covered in olive oil and a pear for dessert. He leaves himself enough time for another 10 minute walk outside in the sunshine to reset before the 2nd half of work.
Overflowing With Testosterone Timmy
1pm: More work, more activity and stress management breaks. When he can, he stands at his desk to reduce his amount of time sitting. As soon as he finishes his final task for the day, he shuts his laptop and commits to not let work take up any more headspace until the clock strikes 9am the next day.
5:30pm: For dinner, Timmy continues his intake of protein, healthy fats, and high fiber, minimally processed carbohydrates. Tonight, he chooses baked salmon, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and an apple.
7pm: After a long, after-dinner walk with his significant other, he sits down to relax and watch his favorite show, Jeopardy! Of course, he puts on his blue light blocking glasses to reduce his exposure to artificial light and boost his sleep quality.
8pm: For dessert, Timmy enjoys a bowl of greek yogurt mixed with some more protein powder, frozen cherries, and a heaping scoop of almond butter. Along with his pre-bed treat, he takes his zinc and ashwagandha supplements. Timmy chooses zinc because he didn’t consume much red meat, shellfish, legumes, or nuts today. Though he doesn’t take it consistently, he also pops two ashwagandha pills because its cortisol-reducing effects will help him manage his stress during this especially demanding period of work. He passes on beer and wine because he has decided to only drink on the weekends and knows that even a small amount of alcohol before bed will disrupt his sleep quality. When he does indulge, he limits himself to 2-3 drinks
9:15pm: After flossing and brushing his teeth, Timmy is ready for bed. Before he jumps under the covers, he takes 3 minutes to write a short journal entry about the highlights of his day and lists at least one aspect of the day that he is grateful for.
9:30pm: By turning the thermostat down to 66 degrees Fahrenheit, closing the blackout curtains, and getting to bed on time, Timmy has set himself up for a high quality night of sleep. He gets cozy under the covers, closes his eyes, and drifts off to sleep, ready for another day chock full of testosterone boosting habits tomorrow.
Wrap Up
Chronic levels of low testosterone will wreak havoc on your health and well-being, but with these 9 top tools and the daily integration into your routine we have the power to remedy the situation. Small-scale changes to your daily routine will add up significantly over the course of weeks, months, and years. To optimize your hormone production, begin making daily, practical changes in the right direction. If your testosterone levels are low, boosting your levels can be one of the effective ways to improve your energy, sex drive, body composition, and overall quality of life.
