About 40 million men in the U.S. have low levels of testosterone. Testosterone is an important hormone when it comes to male health. Of course, testosterone is found in women, too, but men produce eight to 10 times more testosterone than women.
If you’re a male, testosterone is needed to help maintain muscle mass and strength, as well as bone mass and strength. Testosterone also helps you maintain a healthy libido, and good mental and physical energy levels.
It is normal for your testosterone levels to drop slightly as you age. But low levels can make it difficult to feel healthy. Chances are, if you do have low levels of the hormone, you probably don’t even know it. You might find yourself suffering from a low sex drive, or fighting with obesity, depression, fatigue, or insomnia.
Medical experts don’t know exactly why levels of testosterone start to fall at some point in a man’s life, but they do know what happens. It seems that a man’s total testosterone levels remain relatively stable over time, but his bio-available levels can drop as much as two percent per year after the age of 30. This means that by the time you are in your sixties, you may have lost as much as 40% of your testosterone.
A clinical trial, performed at the University of Western Australia in Perth, has proven that men with lower levels of testosterone have a higher occurrence of depression. A total of 3,987 men between the ages of 71 and 89 years were recruited for the study. The researchers measured testosterone levels and found that men with the lowest levels of testosterone were three times as likely as those with normal levels to suffer from depression.
There are a number of ways you can boost your testosterone levels. Testosterone and prohormone therapies are controversial because of their possible role in worsening undiagnosed prostate cancer. In their defense, prohormones are naturally present in your body and make a much safer option than taking steroids.
If you want to avoid using hormone therapies altogether, try following this “hormonally-balanced” diet.
- Eat a moderate amount of protein.
- Eat more leafy green and cruciferous vegetables. These
vegetables contain phytochemicals that will help you
metabolize estrogen. - Don’t eat a lot of refined, high-carbohydrate foods. These
carbs raise your blood sugar quickly, creating high levels of
insulin and cortisol. These two hormones can block the
action of testosterone and lower its production. - Eat healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids and saturated fats
are essential for normal testosterone production. Studies
have shown that low-fat diets lead to low testosterone levels. - Make sure you get enough zinc. Zinc is the most crucial
mineral for testosterone production