Did you know sperm counts have been cut in HALF in the last 50 years?
That means you have half the sperm your grandfather did at the same age. […yikes…]
Now, there are a lot of reasons for this. One of the nastiest comes from the over 90,000 man made chemical compounds that screw with our hormones.
Certain chemicals can actually gum up your hormone receptors and block things like testosterone from doing their job. And sperm count isn’t the only thing that’s taking a beating.
Low testosterone or an inability for your body to use it’s testosterone can make you feel fat, unhappy, weak, and overwhelmed by life.
You can’t avoid environmental chemicals completely. But you can take a few precautions to help reduce your exposure:
- Use natural and organic soaps, shampoos and other toiletries
- Avoid foods and beverages stored in plastic
- Radically reduce processed foods
- When possible, choose pastured & organic meat over conventionally raised animals
That’s a great start to solving the T-problem. But there are also proactive steps you can take to raise your testosterone. And one of the easiest is the addition of four key supplements.
If modern life didn’t bombard us with toxic chemicals, extraordinary work stress and generally poor food quality, perhaps we’d never need to supplement. But studies and practical experience has shown that increasing our consumption of these 4 supplements does indeed have a positive effect on testosterone.
The 4 Supplements Active Guys Should Take
Zinc
The relationship between zinc levels and testosterone is pretty clear. Studies have shown that depriving males with normal T-levels of zinc can make their testosterone drop by HALF in 5 months. And there has also been a study in which older men with low T doubled their testosterone levels through zinc supplementation.
If you engage in intense exercise, your chances of being low on zinc are higher, making supplementation necessary. But make sure you get your levels tested first, since overdoing it on zinc can be toxic and hinder the absorption of other minerals.
If you are low, you can start by aiming to eat more zinc rich foods like organic meat and certain seafoods (especially oysters). And you can also consider taking a high-quality zinc supplement. But keep it to no more than 40 mg per day.
Omega-3
Supplementing with Omega-3 from fish oils is a great idea for pretty much everyone. The exception may be anyone what has problems with thinning blood.
So although the evidence for a direct increase in testosterone with Omega-3 supplementation has only been shown in animal studies, I’m including it anyway.
The other role Omega-3 may play in the testosterone equation is its ability to lower cortisol. You can think of cortisol as testosterone’s arch enemy. In fact, your T levels are often expressed in a ratio of T:C. So by bringing cortisol down, you allow testosterone to more easily do it’s various jobs in your body.
The most readily absorbable food sources of Omega-3 are from cold water fish, some seafoods and grass-fed meats. But it’s hard to get enough through diet alone, without being exposed to high levels of the environmental pollutants that come with eating fish.
If you choose to use a fish oil supplement, I find the best option is a high quality liquid fish oil. A teaspoon full will give you about 5 grams of oil, which is what I’d suggest for most people. But if you can’t stand the thought of taking the oil straight, capsules are also a great option.
Vitamin D
Not only is vitamin D thought to contribute to the actual production of testosterone in the glands that produce and release it, it’s also thought to inhibit the conversion of testosterone into estrogen.
Men with higher levels of vitamin D — 30 ng/ml or more — have been shown to have higher levels of free (usable) testosterone, leaner body composition and better overall health.
Also, Austrian researchers found that supplementing with Vitamin D resulted in significant increases in both testosterone and free (usable) testosterone levels.
The best way to raise D is through 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure per day. But you have to expose as much of your skin as possible to get full benefit.
[…while respecting the norms of decency in your neighbourhood, of course… 🙂 …]
If you can’t get regular sun exposure, then you may need to supplement. The latest recommendations from avant-garde doctors and researchers suggest anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 IU of Vitamin D per day.
But make sure you get your vitamin D levels tested. There’s no point supplementing if you already have adequate levels.
Magnesium
Men with lower magnesium levels also risk lower testosterone and free testosterone. Magnesium is also required for forceful muscle contraction, so active men are likely to develop a deficiency if they aren’t careful to take in enough of this essential mineral.
Magnesium rich foods include quinoa, nuts, spinach & other leafy greens. Organic versions of these tend to have more magnesium content. You can also take up to 400 mg a day of magnesium from a high quality supplement.
–And here’s a bonus for you… Although it’s not a supplement, I think it’s important to mention here that you should make sure you include enough saturated fats in your diet. Butter, coconut oil and eggs are all good choices.
Men who include saturated fats in their diets tend to have higher free testosterone levels. And ultra low fat diets have been linked to an increase in Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin levels, which binds your testosterone so that it’s not available for your body.
And here are some real world foods that increase your testosterone levels.
Our friend Alex, from Anabolic Health also put together a list with 50 foods that boost testosterone, complete with a free downloadable grocery list that you can take with you when you go shopping!
We’re at war guys!
It’s time to retake the battlefield and renew our manly hormones. We’ve all got an Alpha male within waiting to be unleashed. Let’s do everything in our power to awaken it…
Want more? Check out the only “diet” plan inspired by Bruce Lee. Now, that was a guy with serous testosterone.