Tuesday, March 05, 2013 5:58 AM
The hormone testosterone is associated with body fat and muscle mass in men: Low testosterone means you’ll have more body fat, less muscle, and put yourself at risk of disease. It is also an important hormone for women, however, the key is to keep everything in balance for both sexes.
To do this, you have to make sure you aren’t lacking key nutrients, or engaging in habits that compromise your testosterone levels such as being sleep deprived, drinking alcohol, or exposing yourself to hormone disruptors like BPA and phthalates. This tip will cover the basics for increasing testosterone (T) for optimal body composition and health.
First, you must solve the following nutrient deficiencies: Vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc. Vitamin D is all the rage in the medical world for preventing disease and improving health, and rightly so. Low vitamin D puts you at risk of having more body fat, less strength, more risk of bone fracture, and a host of other problems including low T. It appears that vitamin D inhibits aromatization in which T is turned into estrogen. Take vitamin D daily to raise your levels above 50 ng/ml to prevent low T—one study had men take 3,332 IUs for a year and found blood levels and T were significantly improved at the end of the trial.
Magnesium is another extremely common deficiency that is linked to low T due to this mineral’s role in enhancing vitamin D activity, improving sleep, and aiding insulin health. Taking 500 mg of magnesium a day is a no-brainer for health and body composition, especially if you are working out since magnesium must be present to enable forceful muscle contractions.
Zinc deficiency predicts low testosterone in men, by avoiding aromatization of T to estrogen. Zinc is involved in hormone conversion and it’s a potent antioxidant, protecting the organs for optimal function. Solve low zinc by doing a zinc taste test, or better yet, get a red blood cell zinc test the next time you get a physical because the regular serum blood readings don’t reflect trace mineral levels in the body. If you have low zinc take a high quality zinc supplement that is not cut with calcium because this will impair absorption.
After solving nutrient deficiencies, you need to focus on decreasing stress because it will lead to high levels of cortisol, testosterone’s primary nemesis. Assuming you have a basic handle on stress in your life, make sure you aren’t sleep deprived (this is repeatedly linked to low T, high cortisol, and poor insulin health), and focus on clearing cortisol after intense exercise. Vitamin C will do this and if you take regularly, it has been shown to raise T. Try 2 to 10 grams after your workout.
Your final tool to improve T levels is a high-protein, “clean” diet with regularly spaced meals. Anytime your blood sugar is elevated, T will be temporarily reduced, which means that if you experience repeated elevations in blood sugar throughout the day, your T levels will become depressed. For example, one study found that men who had normal insulin health had a 25 percent decrease in T after ingesting a drink containing sugar. T remained low for 2 hours, and nearly 80 percent of the men had their T drop to levels that would be considered clinical testosterone deficiency.
Obviously you MUST manage blood sugar and the best way to do that is by eliminating all carbs other than vegetables and fruit and eating high-protein, healthy fat diet. The other benefit of this that you need fat from both saturated and unsaturated sources to provide the building blocks for T in the body.
Lastly, eat regularly spaced meals every 2 to 3 hours to support T. Avoid missing meals or long periods of fasting because emerging evidence suggests this will compromise T: A new study on male rats showed that 12 weeks of intermittent fasting with calorie restriction led to a significant reduction in T and luteinizing hormone (involved in T production) compared to rats that were allowed to eat at will.
Take away the understanding that supporting T is not hard, but simple errors have a devastating effect. Focus on the key nutrient deficiencies, a clean diet, sleep, avoiding endocrine disruptors, and blood sugar regulation and you will experience rapid progress in terms of health and body composition.
Reference
Kumar, S., Kaur, G. Intermittent Fasting Dietary Restriction Regimen Negative Influences Reproduction in Young Rats: A Study of Hypothalamo-Hypophysial-Gonadal Axis. PLOS One. 2013. 8(1), e52416.
Caronia, L., Dwyer, A., et al. Abrupt Decrease in Serum Testosterone After an Oral Glucose Load in Men. Clinical Endocrinology. July 2012. Published Ahead of Print.
Maggio, M., Ceda, G., Lauretani, F., Cattabiani, C., Avantaggiato, E., Morganti, S., et al. Magnesium and Anabolic Hormones in Older Men. International Journal of Andrology. 15 June 2011. Published Ahead of Print.
Prasad, A., Mantzoros, C., et al. Zinc Status and Serum Testosterone Levels of Healthy Adults. Nutrition. 1996. 12(5), 344-348.
Menéndez, E., Valdés, S., Botas, P., Delgado, E., Abello, N. Glucose Tolerance and Plasma Testosterone Concentrations in Men. Endocrinology and Nutrition. 2011. 58(1), 3-8.
Lee, D, Tajar, A., et al. Association of Hypogonadism with Vitamin D Status: The European Male Ageing Study. European Journal of Endocrinology. January 2012. 166, 75-85.
Testosterone – the steroid hormone is credited – or blamed, depending on your point of view – for the male secondary characteristics including bone and muscle mass as well as sperm production and sex drive, even mood.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is also produced mainly in the male testes, it can also be produced in the ovaries of women and in the adrenal cortex albeit in significantly smaller quantities.
But as any older man will attest to, testosterone levels drop as they age since it is a natural sign of aging. The drop starts beginning at 30 years old by approximately 1 percent per year – truly, a negligible figure but when these add up, the drop can be significant and its effect can be devastating for not a few men. this prosolution review here