Increase Testosterone Levels

Here’s how to raise the male hormone testosterone levels naturally.

Nov 11, 2007 Chris Christian

If men don't take action to maintain testosterone levels as they grow older, their testosterone levels begin to fall, and so does their sex drive.

Looking for ways to raise your testosterone levels naturally? The following suggestions can help to boost this important male hormone safely and naturally.

• Try raising your levels through exercise and weight loss before going on testosterone therapy. Start weight training young. Since testosterone declines at a steady rate, it's believed that raising your hormone levels naturally in your 20s and 30s can help to maintain higher levels later on.
• Carrying excess body weight contributes to a decline in testosterone production and an increase in estrogen production, so lose the pot belly. Joseph Zmuda, an epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh says, “two or three extra pounds won't cause this hormonal shift; it really occurs once you're 30 percent over your ideal body weight.”
• When attempting to lose weight, do it slowly: one to two pounds per week. If you exercise intensely and cut caloric intake by more than 15%, the body thinks you’re starving and stops testosterone production, explains Thomas Incledon of Human Performance Specialists in Plantation, Florida. “Ironically, this dive in circulating testosterone stops you from burning body fat efficiently, so you're actually thwarting your hard efforts to melt that tire off your gut.”
• Continue to consume a balanced diet; research suggests that eating a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet can hamper your testosterone levels. High amounts of dietary protein in your blood can eventually lower the amount of testosterone produced in your testes, says Incledon, who observed this relationship in a Penn State study of 12 healthy, athletic men.
• Germen scientists have found that having an erection can boost circulating testosterone levels naturally. Aim to have at least one per day!
• When lifting weights, choose mutli-joint exercises that work your large muscle groups such as squats, dead-lifts, bench press and rows. Studies have shown that these exercises can increase testosterone more than single-joint, small muscle-group movements.
• Make sure to include healthy monounsaturated fats in your daily intake. Research indicates that men who eat monounsaturated fats have higher testosterone levels. Monounsaturated fats are found in high concentrations in canola, peanut and olive oils.
• Heavy lifts. Studies have found that lifting weights that only allow you to do about five repetions (70 to 85 percent of one rep max) produces the greatest increase in testosterone levels.
• Do at least three sets of each exercise. Research suggests that you will get more testosterone production from doing three sets than you will doing only one or two sets of heavy weight (70 to 85 percent of one rep max).
• Be sure to get adequate rest. Research shows that over-training can actually hurt testosterone levels. A study at the UNC showed that over-training could reduce testosterone levels by as much as 40 percent. Give muscles one full day to recover.
• Don’t drink more than three alcoholic drinks per day. Alcohol affects the endocrine system, causing your testes to stop producing the male hormone.
• Don’t skip meals. The body needs a steady supply of nutrients to produce testosterone; eat five to six small meal throughout the to ensure you get a steady supply of nutrients.
• Make sure 30 percent of your diet comes from fat – no more and no less. The body needs dietary fat to produce testosterone.
• Get a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. Sleeping is when your body does the bulk of its healing, repairing and producing. Skimp on sleep and you skimp on, you guessed it, testosterone production.

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Muscle helps produce testosterone