Being low on certain vital hormones can not only be detrimental to your health, but it can also totally derail your fitness goals.
Do any of these things sound familiar?
- You feel like you can’t make much progress in the gym, no matter how hard you try.
- You seem to be holding on to too much body fat, despite your diet and training efforts.
- Your sex drive is lower than ever.
- You frequently seem down in the dumps.
- You are exhausted all the time and/or have trouble sleeping.
- You feel that you’re aging faster than you should be.
If so, there is a hormone that your body may be low on, and that is Testosterone.
Vince put together a short video above going over this in detail!
Testosterone is the most important male hormone, but females also have and need testosterone – just in lesser amounts.
It is normal for testosterone levels to decline as you age, but scientists have discovered even more significant reasons we experience drops in testosterone.
These reasons have nothing to do with aging.
In fact, most of them are totally out of your control, which is why low test levels are something you should be aware of, even in your 30’s.
The good news is that there are easy things that you can do from home to give your test a boost that don’t require going to the doctor.
In fact, they only require a trip to your local grocery store or a quick online checkout!
In this article, we are going to tell you about a couple of natural herbs that may be a little hard to get your hands on. Still, you need to be aware of them because they are super powerful.
There are also a few other natural test boosters that are easy to find. You probably even have them in your fridge or pantry right now.
Before we tell you about these five science-backed foods and herbs, we want to give you a brief explanation of why scientists believe testosterone is crucial for your overall well being and just how instrumental it is for reaching your fitness goals.
WHY HEALTHY LEVELS OF TESTOSTERONE ARE IMPORTANT
Testosterone’s effect on the human body, why it declines even at a young age, and ways we can go about increasing it is something that researchers have been studying for decades.
To date, there are more than one-hundred-thousand research studies on testosterone.
Many of them have been published in the last decade.
Researchers have found that having low test levels is associated with any of the following…
- Fatigue
- Poor sleep
- Negative disruptions in mood
- Increased signs of aging
- Poor libido
- A sluggish metabolism
- Excess body fat
- The inability to properly put on or retain lean muscle mass
So, if you are dieting and exercising, but not seeing results (especially if you are experiencing any of the other issues mentioned) – low testosterone could be to blame.
One area researchers have studied is how your diet can impact testosterone levels.
They found that increasing foods that contain testosterone mimicking nutrients and supplementing with certain natural herbs may help improve testosterone levels naturally.
5 TESTOSTERONE BOOSTING FOODS YOU SHOULD BE EATING
1: Foods high in Vitamin D & Zinc
Two nutrients that seem to be especially crucial to your diet when it comes to increasing testosterone are Vitamin D and Zinc.
According to researchers, Vitamin D can help boost testosterone levels by up to 90%.
In one study, 200 healthy participants were given either a daily dose of 3,332 IUs of Vitamin D or a placebo, for a full year. Compared to baseline values, there was a significant increase in total testosterone levels, bioactive testosterone, and free testosterone levels in the vitamin D supplemented group. But there was no significant change in any testosterone measure in the placebo group.
One way you can increase your VItamin D levels is to eat tuna!
Tuna is rich in Vitamin D, has lots of protein, and is typically low in calories. If you aren’t a fan of tuna, you can also get a Vitamin D boost from other fish like salmon or sardines.
Let’s move on to Zinc. Researchers have examined zinc’s impact on testosterone using several methods.
In one study, they actually restricted zinc in young, healthy men.They found that after 20 weeks of low zinc, test subjects saw a significant drop in serum testosterone levels.
Oysters are a good source of this test boosting mineral, plus they are also said to be an aphrodisiac (which is any food or drink that can increase sexual desire.)
If you don’t like Oysters, you can also get a good dose of zinc from crab.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Alaskan king crab provides 43 percent of your daily value of zinc in just one small 3-ounce serving.
If you don’t enjoy seafood at all or are worried about mercury levels, egg yolks contain a good dose of Vitamin D, and beef is really high in Zinc.
2: Honey
Honey with honeycomb and wooden spoonAnother food that can help improve serum levels of testosterone is one that most of you will be glad is on the list if you have a sweet tooth .. and that is HONEY!
Researchers have tested this sugary condiment in both human and rodent trials.
They found that honey did, in fact, increase serum test levels, likely because it helps increase the Luteinizing Hormone. This is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. It is one of the main hormones that control your reproductive system and leads to the production of other hormones, such as testosterone.
Another way honey seemed to be beneficial for testosterone production in men is that it promoted healthy testicular tissue.
Honey also contains several other bioactive compounds called phenolic acids. Scientists say these compounds may contribute to improved testosterone production.
Here is the only issue with honey. In these trials, the daily dose of honey they used was 20 grams per day.
So if you are going to use honey as a potential test booster, you will want to set aside some calories from carbs.
20g of honey will set you back about 15 carbs, or roughly 60 calories.
If that isn’t’ something you want to deduct from your daily carb allowance, there are some calorie free test boosting food options, which we are about to dive into next!
3: Garlic
garlic on a wooden board. selective focus
The connection garlic has with testosterone is one you will want to remember because it actually has to do with another hormone, your stress hormone .. cortisol.
What does cortisol have to do with testosterone? Well .. A lot!
Cortisol is produced in the adrenal gland, which is where testosterone is produced. Scientists have found that if your cortisol levels are too high, you could be blocking your body’s ability to produce testosterone.
Here are a few ways you could be causing your cortisol to get into an unhealthy range…
- Lack of sleep
- Mental stress
- Physical stress (such as over-training or extremely restrictive dieting)
There are a few signs your cortisol is high, but you may not always be able to tell without some extensive lab testing.
But if it is, it won’t matter how many oysters you eat, or how much honey you put in your tea, your test could still be negatively impacted.
That is why it is important that in addition to eating foods that could potentially boost testosterone… you should also eat foods or take supplements that reduce cortisol.
Garlic has been linked to being able to do that because it contains a compound
called allicin, which scientists believe can be useful for lowering your cortisol levels.
So, while eating garlic won’t directly boost testosterone production, it may lower the amount of cortisol in your body, which could, by association, help boost testosterone levels.
To recap ..
Seafood like oysters or tuna, as well as honey and garlic, are the first 3 foods on our list that are really easy to find and show some promise at naturally boosting your test levels, if you eat enough of them.
But we have two more foods to tell you about today.
Actually, they are herbs.
They are a little bit harder to find but are MUCH MORE POWERFUL.
If you can get your hands on these next two, we highly recommend doing so.
4: Ginseng Root
Fresh Ginseng texture
Ginseng has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
Ancient medicine men often refer to it as “the king of all herbs” because of it’s long list of possible benefits for overall well-being, with sex drive being a big one.
In one double-blind, placebo-controlled study, researchers recruited 45 men with varying sexual issues. They found that sexual satisfaction improved after they were given red ginseng three times a day.
Scientists have also looked at what Ginseng can do for women.
Healthy female volunteers were asked to keep a food diary for 7 days. They also had to take saliva samples four times a day both before and after taking 75 mg of red ginseng.
Researchers found that after taking Ginseng their testosterone levels increased all four times!
Ginseng has not only been studied for its potential when it comes to improved sex hormones and sexual performance. Researchers have also shown that it can be helpful for your cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems.
They also found it has the potential to help fight fatigue, enhance concentration, support a healthy immune response, and enhance blood circulation.
How do you go about including Ginseng Root in your diet?
You can pick it up at some specialty grocery stores and eat it raw or stew it into your
tea; however, most people do not enjoy the taste of it because it’s pretty bitter.
Supplementing with this super herb is probably going to be your best bet. Not only for your taste buds but to ensure you get enough of it.
We will help guide you to a safe and effective way to go about that at the end of this article.
But first, we have one more test boosting herb to tell you about.
5: Ashwagandha
We have saved the best test boosting food/herb for last. This is one you probably won’t find at your local grocery store, but we are going to tell you where you can easily get your hands on some here in just a second,
The adaptogen herb Ashwagandha is another one of those herbs that ancient medicine men have been using for thousands of years.
Researchers have been examining Ashwagandha’s potential benefits for a while now. They have looked at everything from general overall well-being, to lowering excess inflammation, increasing muscle strength/size, decreasing stress, and probably it’s most sought after potential benefit .. its potential ability to boost testosterone.
Researchers are really intrigued by Ashwagandha. They have found that it can increase testosterone not only directly, but also indirectly because of the connection to cortisol we mentioned earlier.
In one 2015 study, scientists found testosterone levels of active men who took the root extract of Ashwagandha were over five times higher than those who didn’t.
They also found the test subjects that supplemented with Ashwagandha saw significant increases in muscle mass and strength, a greater reduction of exercise-induced muscle damage, and even a significantly greater decrease in body fat percentage compared to the placebo group.
That is only one study. There are many more. One of the most recently published studies was done in 2019.
It was a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that examined the hormonal and vitality effects of Ashwagandha in aging, overweight men. The study demonstrated that ashwagandha supplementation over 8-weeks resulted in 15% higher levels of testosterone.
Indirectly, researchers have also found Ashwagandha may be able to help you maintain balanced test levels because of its potential to be a cortisol reducing agent.
One study found Ashwagandha lowered subjects’ cortisol levels by as much as 25-percent!
Remember, his is important because too much cortisol can block your ability to produce testosterone.
Ashwagandha is well-known for its ability to help you manage stress levels, and high stress is one way your cortisol can get out of control.
This isn’t a common herb that’s just sitting in a regular grocery store, therefore supplementing is going to be the way to go.
The thing to look out for when taking ashwagandha is quality and potency.
Many Ashwagandha supplements on the market are “whole herb” – which isn’t nearly as potent as an extract.
This can be hard to determine simply by looking at a label unless the label clearly states the Ashwagandha comes from a branded extract.
Branded extracts are always better than a generic one. For a branded ingredient to be issued a patent, their brand must have some sort of unique benefit.
This could be anything from the delivery method, to it being more bioavailable, or more potent. Whatever makes their brand special, they have to be able to back up this claim, or they won’t be issued a patent.
When supplementing with Ashwagandha we would look for the patented brand called KSM-66. This is the highest potency ashwagandha extract on the market and is drawn only from the root.
These are only a couple of test boosting herbs that have scientists intrigued.
There are actually a lot of other powerful herbs that scientists have been researching that show promise in boosting test levels.
If you want to know more about the foods and herbs we just went over, as well as several more that could help naturally give your testosterone the boost it may need .. check out the video at the top of this article.
DO YOU NEED A TEST BOOST?!?!
It’s not always easy to tell if your testosterone levels are in a healthy range.
But if you find yourself …
- Struggling to have enough energy to get through the day – let alone go to the gym.
- Exhausted, but still can’t seem to sleep through the night.
- On edge, sad, or more uptight than usual.
- Struggling with a decrease in sexual desire/pleasure.
- Having issues losing weight.
- Having a tough time putting on muscle (or even losing muscle) despite killing it in the gym.
It could be Low Testosterone!!!
Yes, even if you are otherwise healthy and thriving in your 30’s!
If you are looking for a natural and safe way to boost your testosterone, check out this short video presentation.
It will give you a better idea if you need a test boost, give you several additional herbs not mentioned in this article, and tell you about a safe, easy, and effective way to get them ALL.