8 Easy Ways to Boost Testosterone Naturally

Testosterone is a big deal.

When it’s low, testosterone can impact the quality of your life dramatically. Men with low testosterone can experience low libido, fatigue, loss of energy, depression, mood changes, erectile dysfunction, infertility, difficulty with weight loss, decrease in muscle mass, lack of motivation, decrease in mental clarity and sleep disturbances, and poor bone and cardiovascular health. Nothing that you want to be dealing with as you age.

The problem is, as men age, testosterone slowly declines by 1% each year beginning at the age of 40. However, testosterone may be low at ages younger than 40, as well. Additionally, testosterone may drop quickly due to medical illnesses such as stroke, trauma, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, obesity, heart attacks or medications.

How is Testosterone Produced?

Testosterone production is a fairly complex process involving a myriad of factors. Some of these include the ability of the testes to produce a sufficient amount of testosterone, correct brain signalizing and a proper amount of estrogen. Testosterone testing can help determine the potential causes of low testosterone prior to treatment. Regardless, low testosterone is treatable and there are multiple methods to do so. While most men assume they need to immediately receive testosterone therapy, oftentimes lifestyle modifications can do the trick.

If lifestyle adjustments don’t work, only then do we suggest incorporating a medication. Typical testosterone medication works by stimulating the testicles into making more testosterone, blocking estrogen levels if too high, or replacing the body’s mechanism of making testosterone altogether.

Testosterone medication is widely used and even more widely studied. However, if you can help it, the organic way is always better. To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of all the things you can do to bump those levels back up.

Lifestyle Changes to Boost Testosterone

Lifestyle modifications can boost testosterone production and help keep the relationship between testosterone and other hormones that influence it happy. While a sedentary lifestyle, consisting of being overweight and indulging in unhealthy habits like excessive drinking and smoking are guaranteed testosterone killers. Even though everyone knows to avoid these habits and pursue healthy ones, they often seem the most difficult to accomplish.

1. Exercise and Lift Weights

Weight lifting and resistance training along with cardiovascular exercise is one of the best combos to boost testosterone levels.

2. Lose Weight

Among the other health concerns that obesity can cause, low testosterone levels is one of them. Fat cells metabolize testosterone to estrogen, lowering testosterone levels.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Quality sleep plays an important role in testosterone production. Generally, 7 to 10 hours of sleep a night are needed for good health and to help boost testosterone levels.

4.Decrease Stress

The stress hormone, cortisol, is often elevated when chronically stressed. Elevation in cortisol can lower testosterone as cortisol and testosterone work in opposition to each other — as one goes up, the other comes down.

5. Eat Healthy

Eating proportioned whole foods daily, with a healthy balance of fat, protein and carbs will help boost testosterone levels. Avoid sugar, processed foods, fast food and fried foods. Restricting calories in dieting or overeating can disrupt hormone levels, including testosterone.

6. Kick the Habit

Alcohol, smoking, narcotics, and opioids lower testosterone. There is some suspicion that chemicals also play a role in declining testosterone levels. BPA (bisphenol A) commonly found in plastic food and drink containers may have a link to lowering testosterone.

7. Take Your Vitamins

Taking a daily multivitamin helps support the deficiencies in our diet that may help boost testosterone. But double-check your multivitamin to ensure it has a few key components that may help naturally produce testosterone. Zinc, Vitamin D and Vitamin B are linked to testosterone production.

8. Reduce Estrogen Levels

Estrogen and testosterone are related. Both men and women have estrogen and testosterone and in both, it’s a delicate balance as both are needed at certain levels.

In men, if estrogen is too high, it plummets testosterone. A few simple lifestyle modifications such as healthy eating that does not promote foods high in soy (soy has estrogen), like the Mediterranean Diet, is great. Also, maintaining a normal weight or losing weight and engaging in regular exercise can help beat back unneeded estrogen. Additionally, vitamins, such as Vitamin C and Zinc have been mildly linked to reducing estrogen levels.

Medications can be prescribed that can help block estrogen as well. Testosterone medications are used when lifestyle modifications fail or the body abnormally makes too much estrogen.

Types of Testosterone Medication

Clomid is a different approach to boost testosterone in men. It’s used (off label) to help increase a man’s testosterone levels more “naturally.” Originally it was used to increase ovulation and improve fertility in women.

In men, Clomid works by stimulating the body’s own production of testosterone, affectively helping signal the testes to produce testosterone and thereby increase testosterone levels (assuming the cause of the initial problem is not in the testes’ ability to make testosterone).

For most men, Clomid is a good treatment option for low testosterone. However, Clomid must be prescribed and monitored by a doctor. Find out more about it here.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy

When all else fails, most men are eligible candidates for testosterone replacement therapy. It’s likely the most familiar treatment method as it is well advertised on television as gels, pellets, patches, and injections.
These treatments produce great results. Each method delivers testosterone as a medication to the body, basically “turning off” the body’s memo to make testosterone as it is artificially provided by the medication.

If you are interested in evaluating your testosterone levels and discussing treatment options specifically tailored to you, contact Austin Urology Institute and schedule a consultation with a provider. Or, give us a call at 512-535-2174.