How to Boost testesteron

  Diet and Testosterone

For any of this to make sense, you need to understand a few basics about how testosterone is produced in the body. Testosterone levels are affected by a whole range of things, diet being one of them. While eating testosterone-friendly food is necessary for optimizing testosterone levels, it isn’t sufficient. You also need to throw in some heavy weightlifting along with some lifestyle changes like reducing stress and sleeping better. (Click here for my complete list of ways to naturally boost your testosterone.) So if you were hoping to put some hair on your chest by eating summer sausage alone, I’m sorry to say that strategy won’t cut it.

When it comes to diet, there are a couple nutrients that play a vital role in testosterone production:

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is the building block of testosterone. Through a complex process, Leydig cells in your testicles convert cholesterol to testosterone. Sure, your Leydig cells can use the cholesterol that your body produces naturally, but if you want to truly optimize T levels you need to increase the amount of dietary cholesterol you’re consuming. Eggs, meats, and cheeses are all incredible sources of cholesterol. And contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to freak out about consuming too much cholesterol. For an in-depth treatment on the myths of cholesterol intake and heart disease I recommend the following articles:

• The Definitive Guide to Cholesterol
• The Straight Dope on Cholesterol Part 1
• The Straight Dope on Cholesterol Part 2

For anecdotal, n+1 evidence that consuming high amounts of cholesterol won’t put you on the path to a heart attack, you can take a look at my cholesterol levels after consuming pretty much nothing but eggs, bacon, and steak for six months, as I shared those numbers after my experiment with boosting my testosterone was complete. I’ve continued that diet (and have actually upped the daily egg consumption) and recent blood work has shown my cholesterol levels and blood pressure are optimal, and even better than they were back then.

Fat

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) regulates the amount of free testosterone floating in our blood. The downside to SHBG-bound T is that it’s biologically inactive, meaning our bodies can’t use this type of testosterone to help build muscles or boost our mood. SHBG isn’t bad in and of itself, but too much of it is. Excess SHBG is why it’s possible to have high total testosterone levels, but still suffer symptoms of testosterone deficiency — the SHBG binds itself to too much testosterone and doesn’t leave enough of the pure stuff.

So if you want to get the benefits of testosterone, you need to reduce the amount of SHBG in your blood. Research has shown that one of the best things you can do to reduce the amount of SHBG floating in your blood is to increase the amount of fat in your diet — that means polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, and yes, even that “bad” saturated fat.

Nuts (Particularly Brazil Nuts)

While nuts don’t contain cholesterol, they are packed with SHBG-reducing fats, so don’t feel bad snacking on them throughout the holidays. While all nuts are great for boosting your T-levels, one nut in particular might be particularly beneficial: the Brazil nut. Besides being loaded with fat (one serving has 19g or 29% of the daily recommended amount of fat), they’re also packed with the micronutrient selenium. Research suggests that increased selenium levels can help boost testosterone levels.

Well there you go, some delicious holiday snacks, that can also help increase your testosterone levels. Festivity and virility. Put that in your pipe and smoke it like a right jolly old elf.