Proven Ways to Boost Testosterone Levels Naturally

Investigators found that testosterone converts into a type of estrogen at certain stages of your life. There’s a need for producing more testosterone, especially in men but sometimes men don’t produce enough testosterone naturally. This is a matter of concern for them. Testosterone is a sex hormone that is an essential part of your body. According to scientific and biological studies, boosting testosterone levels regulates the sex drive, produces sperm and red blood cells, strengthens muscle mass, produces bone matter, and distributes the fat equally in your body. However, the major function is related to controlling sex drive. As you study the complex effects of testosterone, you will acknowledge that a small amount of this hormone converts into estradiol, a well-known form of estrogen.

Why Do Testosterone Levels Lower Down in the Body?

With progressive age, often men lose the ability to produce enough testosterone thus producing less estradiol. These changes usually attributed to testosterone deficiency might be due to the decline in estrogen. Thus there are lower testosterone levels that cause sluggish sex drive and this is, no doubt, a frustrating condition. However, this is not the only reason to try to boost testosterone levels in your body. Because more problems are directly linked with lower testosterone levels:

• Abrupt increase in body fat.
• Fatigue and tiredness.
• Erectile dysfunction.
• Feeling depressed and irritable.
• Reduced muscle mass.
• Disturbed sleep cycle.

However, this is not a matter of worry because the decrease in testosterone levels over time is a natural phenomenon. According to a medical report published in 2022, more than half of men lose their ability to produce enough testosterone over the age of 75. However, some younger men also experience this trouble at early ages due to having underlying health conditions, including sleep apnea, diabetes, and being overweight. 

Most men regain their lost ability to boost testosterone levels by making healthy lifestyle habits that can help them boost testosterone levels naturally. The Organization of Sexual Health in the US. has reported that adding more of certain nutrients into your daily diet and lifting weights can help you boost testosterone levels naturally. 

What is Testosterone?

Testosterone is a steroid hormone. It is produced in the testicles, ovaries, and adrenal glands in the human body. This is a specific hormone assigned to males at birth and is an important trigger that drives physical changes in males with puberty, including beard and mustache growth, voice changes, and muscle development. Females also have testosterone but in very low amounts rather than higher estrogen levels. Higher Levels of testosterone are essential for men especially in their adulthood to maintain their sexual life, and general health and reduce their disease risks.

Boosting Testosterone Levels Naturally

Boosting testosterone levels in the body plays a vital role in your body-building program. Its optimal levels increase your muscle strength and body mass.

Moreover, this hormone also plays a crucial role in maintaining health and sexual well-being in females.

Here are some proven ways to boost testosterone levels naturally in your body:

Improve Your Diet Plan

Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet plan can benefit you by boosting testosterone levels naturally in two easy ways:

• Reduces the risks of higher blood sugar levels.
• Promotes healthy weight with a balanced weight loss.

Obese men are more likely to experience low levels of testosterone because an excess amount of fat in the abdomen is the main culprit for lowering testosterone levels. This fat reservoir in your body produces a higher amount of an enzyme “aromatase” that converts testosterone into estradiol which results in dropping your testosterone levels. For this reason, your healthcare provider asks you to lose weight by incorporating a healthy diet that can help you achieve your goal of losing weight.

The key to a healthy diet plan is plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits with a balanced quantity of healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. You can get these nutrients from whole grains, fish, and chicken.

You must avoid junk foods and refined food items. Because chips, carbonated drinks, and frozen foods can create spikes in your blood sugar that result in a reduction of free testosterone levels in your body.

Eat Foods Rich in Protein and Fat

What you eat affects the levels of several hormones in your body. Eating healthy fats and proteins in enough quantities helps you boost testosterone levels naturally. However, continuous starvation as dieting and abrupt eating like overeating can disrupt your hormonal balance. 

People assume fats are harmful for health but the fact is consumption of healthy fats in moderate amounts can support your testosterone balance. Thus a low-fat diet is also a cause of a decrease in testosterone levels.

So taking a well-balanced, nutritious diet based on whole foods is the best proven way to achieve your goal. The balanced hormonal levels assure your optimal health.

Strength Training, Cardio and Weight Lifting Exercises

Exercise is always the first and foremost step to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. If you’re a beginner you should start with low-intensity workouts but if you’re already exercising, you may need a workout regimen focused on weight loss to boost your testosterone levels. 

Generally, doctors suggest mild cardio and strength training exercises for weight loss but how is it possible to combine the both?

Strength training and weight lifting workouts are the best exercises to boost your metabolism at higher levels and help you burn extra calories even when you are at rest while cardio is a combination of exercises that help you burn calories speedily. And the combined workouts can help you regain the muscle mass you might have lost due to lesser amounts of testosterone.

Although everyone has different fitness levels, thus don’t follow the person on a treadmill next to you. You have to discuss it with your trainer who can suggest the best one for you. However, cardio is best and suitable for everyone because it can be a brisk walk or a jog at a brisk rate. 

However, if you are a beginner in strength training, try starting with weight lifting exercises or body weight workouts that can rely on your own body weight to build your muscle mass.

Studies prove that exercise is the best way to prevent several risks of diseases. This is an effective way to boost your testosterone levels naturally. Workouts including cardio, weight lifting, and strength training can help calorie burning and balance hormonal levels as well. According to a review report, type of exercise affects the speed of recovery of hormonal balance in the short term. 

Get Plenty of High-Quality Sleep

You need your beauty to rest to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So sleep matters as it’s a tale as old as time. Your health depends on an adequate amount of sleep every night. A regular circadian rhythm helps promote sufficient testosterone levels naturally. 

In addition, a large amount of testosterone is released while you’re sleeping. This shows that good sleep affects your testosterone levels directly. 

According to a 2017 study, getting sleep less than eight hours a day can decrease the testosterone levels in a male which may be up to 10% per day. Thus, avoid just five to six hours of sleep a day because at a time you feel it is enough but it might be a great contributor to lowering the testosterone levels in your body. Researchers have claimed that getting good sleep is as necessary as a balanced diet and exercise for boosting testosterone levels. 

Research done in 2018, involving 2445 teenage boys and adult men, and results showed that impaired sleep is a major source of lowering levels of testosterone. Researches also prove that sleep quality and the ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person. However, a small study also suggested that a lesser amount of sleep brings a reduction in testosterone levels while another study supports the idea that sleeping more than eight hours a day in older men increased testosterone levels. However excess of everything is bad because sleeping more than 10 hours a day is associated with lower testosterone levels. However, people also claim to live normally with less sleep around six to seven hours a day. This thing points out that more research is needed to investigate the exact amount of sleep for a healthy life.

Minimize Cortisol Levels and Stress

Stress is another factor like sleep that affects your entire well-being, including testosterone levels. Stress conditions trigger the release of a hormone called cortisol. This is a helping hormone released in your body to cope with stress. It prepares your body to respond to stressful situations accordingly. This hormone also brings your body back to normal condition. However, whenever you experience a stress condition you will get a prolonged exposure to cortisol that flows into your bloodstream resulting in lower levels of testosterone. 

So if you’re unfortunately living with stressful circumstances with anxiety and depression, you must take steps to reduce stress. One of the best ways to relieve stress is to avoid stress-triggering situations, events, and people. You also can take time for yourself and do something you enjoy to avoid stress. Even a few minutes of stress can spoil your whole day’s activities. Therefore, act upon the deep breathing reminders that your smartwatch keeps bugging you about. You need to get relaxed and slow down the working of your body and mind to relieve a temporary stress influence.

Researchers also showed the dangers of long-term stress that can result in elevated levels of cortisol hormone. Abrupt elevation in the cortisol hormone can reduce testosterone levels quickly. These two are in inverse proportion, meaning one goes up and the other comes down at the same speed. Stress brings an increase in cortisol levels that in turn increase your food intake, harmful body fats, and weight. These negative changes in your body adversely affect the amount of testosterone. Therefore, you are suggested to manage your stress for getting the optimal health and hormonal balance. Practicing some stress-relieving techniques might be helpful for you in boosting testosterone levels.

Address Underlying Health Conditions

An interesting thing about testosterone levels that most of you don’t know is that low testosterone rarely occurs on its own but it’s usually associated with some other potentially underlying health conditions that are often not in your notice. These underlying health conditions include:

• Metabolic syndrome.
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Sleep distraction.

Research shows that the medications you take for treating a health condition also cause low testosterone. Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy are major triggers for lowering testosterone levels. 

In such a situation you need an expert suggestion from your doctor who can understand which medication is dangerous for testosterone. He can recommend a better replacement or any lifestyle change that can reduce the damage caused by the medication for previous health conditions. 

Increase Vitamin D Intake

Studies show that low vitamin D levels are associated with lower testosterone levels. This is a micro-nutrient that has an influential place in maintaining your health and balancing hormones. People deficient in this micro-nutrient experience several health issues, including low testosterone levels. 

In addition, studies support the idea that taking vitamin D supplements helps increase testosterone levels and improve erectile dysfunction. You can make up for vitamin D deficiency by getting direct exposure to natural light or considering vitamin D3 supplements according to the recommendation of your healthcare provider.

Minimize the Alcohol Intake

Research about the relationship between alcohol and testosterone is still incomplete and does not give exact and authentic results. A group of researchers agree to the point that excessive alcohol consumption plays a vital role in decreasing testosterone levels while at the same time, another group of researchers come up with their research results that support the idea that alcohol does not influence the production of testosterone. Thus more research is needed. 

Moreover, recent studies have shown the results that testosterone levels in young men and adolescent boys can be used to predict their dependence or onset of alcohol use. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to disturbed testicular function and testicular atrophy.

Avoid Estrogen Containing Substances

Balanced testosterone levels are indicators of a healthy sexual life. However, exposure to estrogen-containing substances to a great extent may affect your testosterone levels. So make sure to minimize the daily exposure to BPA, chemicals found in plastic and parabens. This practice may help maintain hormonal balance along with boosting testosterone levels.

Conclusion 

A decline in testosterone levels over time is a natural phenomenon but in early young or adult age, its lower levels are a matter of worry for males. The peak time of testosterone production is around age 18 to 38. After this, the testosterone levels decrease with growing age and after forty this may be stabilized. Obesity, underlying health issues, and unhealthy lifestyles are some causes of lower testosterone. 

Following a healthy lifestyle with a nutritious diet plan may help you boosting testosterone levels naturally. You may also adopt tips outlined in this article to boost testosterone levels.