You Are What You Eat: How Foods That Raise Testosterone Levels Work

Did you know that your testosterone levels decrease by up to 2 percent every year after the age of 30?

So if you feel weak, fatigued, depressed, or lack your usual sex drive, your testosterone levels could be low.

The testosterone hormone is responsible for your sex drive, sperm production, hair growth, as well as the health of your bones and muscles. Its levels can drop as a result of aging, chronic illness, or poor nutrition.

Of all the potential factors, poor nutrition is the most rampant cause of low T-levels. The good news is, you can reverse this by eating foods that raise testosterone levels. And since some foods have an adverse effect on your T-levels, you’ll also want to identify and avoid them.

The problem, however, is knowing what to eat and what to avoid.

To help you out, we’ll take a deeper look at foods high in testosterone as well as expose testosterone-inhibiting consumables.

Foods that Raise Testosterone Levels

Here are the top five options for food good for your testosterone:

1. Grapes

Eating red grapes on a daily basis can improve your Testosterone levels and sperm production. Grape skins pack resveratrol. Apart from increasing T-levels, this compound helps fight heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, and aging.

500mg of the resveratrol is all you need to increase your testosterone levels and improve your sperm’s ability to swim. To get this amount into your system, you need to consume 5 to 10grams of grape skins every day.

2. Tuna

A diet to increase testosterone levels should contain Vitamin D and/or zinc, as both nutrients are precursors for testosterone production.

Tuna has plenty of vitamin D, a nutrient that can increase your lifespan as well as your T-levels.

For optimal testosterone production, consume two to three servings of canned or fresh tuna per week. Don’t exceed three servings per week because most seafood contains mercury, which can be dangerous to your help.

If you don’t like tuna, you can go for other types of fish such as salmon or sardines. These fish contain just as much Vitamin D.

3. Green Leafy Vegetables

Green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, and kale are rich in indole-3-ethanol. While it may not be a precursor for the production of testosterone, indole-3-ethanol helps the human body break down estrogen.

For your testosterone to be active, there needs to be a healthy balance between the hormone and estrogen in your body. Sometimes, poor estrogen metabolism offsets this balance. When this happens, your body starts showing signs of low T-levels.

Consuming green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and kale increases estrogen metabolism, and this improves the effectiveness of the T-hormone.

No wonder broccoli testosterone supplements are so popular. But why buy a pill when you can eat the real thing?

4. Egg Yolk

Egg yolks are rich in Vitamin D, which helps keep T-levels high. Additionally, egg yolk contains “good” HDL cholesterol, a necessity in testosterone synthesis.

That said, excessive egg consumption can raise LDL cholesterol, also “bad cholesterol.” As such, it’s advisable that you don’t consume more than one egg a day.

5. Garlic

Garlic contains a T-level booster known as allicin, a compound that lowers cortisol levels.

Cortisol is a stress hormone that occupies the same spaces within muscle cells as testosterone. When it increases, it displaces testosterone from muscle cells, causing a drop in T-levels.

Consuming garlic increases allicin levels, which decreases the amount of cortisol in your muscle cells. This frees up space for more testosterone and increases its effectiveness in the body.

For a more potent serving, consume your garlic uncooked.

Foods That Decrease Testosterone Levels

Switching to foods that increase T-levels isn’t enough. You also need to avoid foods that suppress the production of testosterone to make the most of your dietary changes.

Testosterone foods to avoid include:

1. Processed Carbohydrates

Processed carbohydrates cause chronic insulin secretion. And since elevated insulin secretion happens long before you become diabetic, it may be hard to notice. Elevated insulin tampers with central hormone pathways in your body, which in turn suppresses the production of testosterone.

To restore your insulin production back to normal, you’ll need to ration your carbohydrate intake strictly for a whole year.

2. Mint

Mint is popular for its stomach-soothing properties. However, it’s associated with a decrease in testosterone levels. Peppermint and spearmint, in particular, have a negative impact on testosterone production.

The impact of mint on testosterone levels is more apparent in females compared to males. Primarily, this is because studies investigating the impact of mint on T-levels have been focusing on females and animals.

That said, men should also avoid it to be on the safe side.

3. Licorice Root

Licorice root is commonly used as a sweetener for beverages and candies. It’s also used in holistic medicine to treat persistent coughs, chronic pain, and much more.

Unfortunately, licorice’s healing properties don’t extend to testosterone production. In fact, licorice consumption lowers testosterone levels in both men and women.

Keep in mind that this applies specifically to licorice root, and not licorice candy. In fact, licorice candy doesn’t contain licorice root.

4. Some Vegetable Oils

Vegetable oils with high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty-acid have a negative effect on T-levels, particularly if they’re rich in Omega-6 fatty acids. Thus always be on the lookout when doing your vegetable oil shopping.

5. Trans-Fats

Trans-fats exist in foods made using synthetic hydrogenated oils. These include cakes, donuts, cookies, frozen pizza, and a majority of fast foods.

Trans-fats-rich foods increase inflammation in your body, which lowers your T-levels. They also decrease the amount of “good cholesterol” in your body, which is needed in the synthesis of testosterone.

Keeping T-levels High Goes Beyond Dietary Changes

Switching to foods that enhance testosterone production tackles the most crucial part of keeping your T-levels high — cleaning up your diet. But, eating foods that raise testosterone levels and avoiding those that lower the hormone isn’t enough.

You need to make several changes outside the scope of your diet to make a lasting impact. Things like regular exercise, reducing stress, and getting adequate sleep can boost your testosterone levels and improve your general health.

In the end, there’s no quick fix for raising your testosterone levels without supplements. It’ll take a combination of dietary, mindset and lifestyle changes to keep the manly hormone flowing in the long run.

For more tips on how to improve your T-levels, explore our Boost It Up category.