It is true that testosterone is a male sex hormone, but it is true as well that its affects go far beyond just keeping your sex drive strong. Your body needs this hormone to keep your muscles and bones strong, maintain healthy sperm production, and grow new hair. Your testosterone levels may not stay the same as you age – it may come down due to certain chronic illnesses. Low T, low testosterone, or hypogonadism need to be treated to prevent serious health problems. The good thing is that you can stick to a healthy diet and add specific food items to your daily routine to boost your testosterone level. Here's more about testosterone food that will help keep this male hormone to a healthy level.
List of Best Testosterone Foods
General Rule
A good testosterone diet will consist of green leafy veggies and fruits. Your diet should also contain healthy fats, cholesterol, and protein as well. Avoid going for low-fat food when your aim is to boost testosterone. Your body needs minerals such as magnesium and zinc to start producing testosterone, whereas a healthy cholesterol level ensures your Leydig cells keep making this male hormone.
Here are some testosterone food items that will help boost your testosterone levels.
Nuts and Seeds
Add almonds, Brazil nuts, peanuts, cashews, and other nuts high in monosaturated fats to your diet to improve your testosterone levels. Similarly, seeds such as sesame or sunflower seeds contain monounsaturated fats as well as zinc, vitamin E, and protein, the combination of which helps your body maintain a healthy level of testosterone.
Oysters and Other Zinc-rich Food
Your body needs zinc to produce testosterone, and you can get all the nutrients from oysters. You can also stick to protein-rich fish and meat, seafoods like lobster and crabs, as well as raw dairy products such as cheese and milk to increase zinc intake that will boost your testosterone levels.
Spinach
Spinach contains loads of magnesium, which is extremely important for muscle development and make reproductive system. The research shows that using a supplement to provide your body with 22mg of magnesium per pound of body weight for four weeks raises testosterone levels considerably. Include other leafy greens in your diet to load your body with magnesium that's directly related to your testosterone levels.
Garlic
A compound found in garlic releases luteinizing hormone in your body that regulates testosterone levels in your body. Including garlic in a high-protein diet will have a direct impact on your testosterone levels. You can also add onions to your diet with garlic because they both have diallyl disulfide, a chemical that plays a role in boost testosterone production. Be sure to go for fresh onion and garlic instead of using powdered stuff.
Coconut
Adding coconut to your diet is a great way to promote lean body mass, boost muscle growth, and balance testosterone levels in your body. Coconut has healthy saturated fats and plays a part in improving body's ability to make cholesterol. Saturated fats obtained from plant-based sources are always better than fats from animal-based foods.
Avocado
It contains high levels of vitamin B 6 and loads of healthy fats. The combination of vitamin and fats makes it a libido-boosting food because it reduces cortisol and increase testosterone in your body. With reduced cortisol in your body, you will feel healthier overall with better mood functioning. The fats found in avocadoes are also useful in limiting unhealthy cholesterol levels (LDL) in your body, which in turn helps with testosterone production.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Estrogen is a female sex hormone, and it inhibits the release of testosterone in body. It is therefore a good idea to add cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli) in your diet to keep your testosterone levels high with no effect from estrogen.
Eggs
There's a reason why eggs are there in bodybuilders' diet plans. They contain amino acids, protein, and B-vitamins. It also improves cholesterol level in your body, which in turn have an impact on your testosterone levels. You can definitely take eggs one of the best testosterone food items.
More Foods to Increase Testosterone
You can also find a number of other foods that increase testosterone levels. The list includes asparagus, chia seeds, pineapple, raw chocolate, citrus fruits, celery, cod liver oil, grass-fed beef, oats, beetroots, button mushrooms, bacon, cayenne pepper, kefir, kelp, and more.
Notes
Be sure to keep your sugar intake low. Sugar leads to obesity, and overweight men are 2.4 times more likely to have insufficient testosterone in their body. You should start exercising to shed extra pounds and maintain a healthy body weight. This will have a direct impact on your testosterone levels.
Limit your carbohydrate intake by ruling out pizza, bread, cookies, pasta, and cake.
- Be sure to avoid supplements that have no scientific evidence about their effectiveness. Instead of using T-boosting supplements, you can definitely get better results by opting for testosterone foods.
- Be sure to sleep well at night. Your testosterone levels will diminish if you're not getting enough sleep at night. That's mainly because your body produces testosterone at night. Therefore, sleep deprivation will ultimately translate into testosterone deprivation as well.
- Don't use opioid painkillers because they have several side effects. They may disrupt normal hormone function and reduce your testosterone levels as well.
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