I help many women cope with sex hormone imbalance, but when it comes to our male mates, the diet recommendations for low testosterone do not stray that much.
With many rising epidemics, infertility, PCOS and low testosterone seem to be joining the affair. Symptoms for low testosterone include excessive fatigued, weakness, depression, loss of sex drive and more. However, many of these symptoms can be found in other conditions such as diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease, so if you aren’t sure what your labs are, do not self diagnosis. Go see an endocrinologist or your family doctor.
Regarding treatment, many doctors will suggest testosterone injections or implantable testosterone pellets. However with these medications there can serve some risks including increased red blood cells, accelerate prostate growth, enlarged breasts,
But going back to nutrition – what can we do naturally to improve low testosterone. Here are a few ideas:
1. Assess insulin resistance. If blood sugars are borderline, a lower carb diet around (100grams/day) is appropriate. If you are already eating around 100 grams, strive for 50-75 grams.
2. Consider natural supplements i.e. tribulus, d-aspartic acid, reservertrol, DIM
3. Make your workouts short and sweet. Workouts should include heavy lifting including large muscle groups. Data shows doing squats, bench presses or back rows increases testosterone more than doing biceps curls or triceps pushdowns, even though the effort may seem the same.
4. Have a lovely lady in your bed? Morning sex is good for you. German scientists found that simply having an erection causes your circulating testosterone to rise significantly — and having one in the morning can goose your natural post-dawn testosterone surge. It’s a sure bet you’ll burn a little fat, too. (reword – copied verbatim)
5. Cut down on booze
6. Don’t avoid fat. Eat at least 30% of your calories coming from fat.
7. Get your rest.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22496507
