Ways To Boost Your Testosterone Levels Naturally
Testosterone is the most important male sex hormone in the body. Low testosterone can reduce your sex drive, lead to fewer erections, and even infertility. While testosterone levels naturally decline as a person ages, there are many ways to naturally increase your testosterone levels.
1. Exercise and lift weights
A large study showed that people who exercised regularly had higher levels of testosterone. All forms of exercise may help, but resistance training shows more promise in boosting testosterone levels in the short-term and long-term.
2. Eat balanced amounts of carbs, fat, and protein
Proper energy and nutrition are essential for improving testosterone levels. Overeating and undereating can both disrupt hormone levels. To maintain your testosterone levels, eat a balanced diet that includes mostly whole foods. Every meal should have a proper balance of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
3. Minimize stress
Stress elevates cortisol levels, which can contribute to erratic changes in testosterone levels. Stress can also lead to decreased libido, decreased sperm production, and mood changes.
4. Get some Vitamin D
Taking Vitamin D supplements may correct a deficiency in testosterone and help increase your testosterone levels. In addition to getting at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight each day, eat foods high in vitamin D such as salmon, egg yolks, mushrooms, fortified milk, and cereal products.
5. Supplement with Zinc
6. Get plenty of high-quality sleep
May Cause Infertility In Men And Women
BPA may affect several aspects of male and female fertility.
As a phytoestrogen, or a plant-based compound that mimics estrogen, it may act on estrogen receptors in both males and females to promote inflammation or cause damage to the cells through a process called oxidative stress .
The damage may manifest in different ways. In one study, male mice who received BPA-treated drinking water had lower testosterone levels, diminished sperm quality, and greater infertility compared with mice who received regular drinking water .
In female mice, researchers have found that BPA exposure reduces fertility by decreasing the hormone estradiol, reducing the number of healthy eggs and negatively affecting the ability of a fertilized egg to implant on the uterus .
In a concept known as precocious maturation, BPA exposure appears to prematurely age the female reproductive system, causing hormone changes and diminished fertility (
What Are Some Other Ways To Increase Testosterone Levels
A popular question men want to know is how to increase testosterone levels with more than just diet changes. Weve searched high and low for some advice on what men can do in their daily life to adjust their T levels to their optimal levels.
These options include, but arent limited to:
· Injections.
· Topical gels.
· Skin patches.
Injections are often done by a doctor. These are options for men with an immensely lower levels of testosterone than normal. While most men will opt to take a testosterone support supplement instead of reaching out to their doctor, its important to know where your T levels are before starting most lifestyle, diet or supplement changes.
Topical gels are a less popular option to boost testosterone as they can be messy and annoying to deal with every day. We just wanted to include the in the list of other ways to increase testosterone levels so that you have options.
Lastly, skin patches are another way to get your T levels to optimal levels. But remember this type of treatment for testosterone can come with negative side effects that most wont experience with foods that increases testosterone by 52%.
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Risks And Side Effects
Healthy testosterone levels are important for both men and women. For people dealing with low testosterone, these natural remedies and foods that boost testosterone may be able to help normalize your levels.
Its important to consult your health care professional about what steps you are taking to maintain healthy testosterone. This is especially true if you are beginning any new supplement for increased testosterone.
Keep Your Weight In Check

A study in the journal Clinical Endocrinology found that some obese men between the ages of 14 and 20 have up to 50 percent less testosterone than those who are not overweight .
Fat cells have a high amount of aromatase, an enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen .
Abdominal fat in particular produces high amounts of aromatases. Extra estrogens can trigger your body to produce less testosterone . That can set up a vicious cycle, because the less testosterone your body produces, the more belly fat you accumulate.
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Can Exercise Increase Your Testosterone
Exercise can increase your testosterone levels, especially if you keep with it regularly. Whether that increase is enough to combat the symptoms of low T really depends on you and your levels. Your weight, fitness level, age, and when you work out also all play a role as to how much your testosterone levels rise during exercise.
Read on to learn a little more about the nuances of testosterone levels and exercise.
High Testosterone Levels In Women
Women with high testosterone
Testosterone is a male sex hormone, or androgen, produced in a womans ovaries in small amounts. Combined with estrogen, the female sex hormone, testosterone helps with the growth, maintenance, and repair of a womans reproductive tissues, bone mass, and human behaviors.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the normal range of testosterone levels for females is:
Age | Testosterone range |
1011 |
The range for males is higher, depending on age:
Age | Testosterone range |
1011 | |
19+ | 240950 |
An imbalance of testosterone in the female body can have damaging effects on a womans health and sex drive.
Too much testosterone can cause symptoms that effect a womans physical appearance including:
- excess body hair, specifically facial hair
- changes in mood
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Improve Your Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene is the name for the healthy habits you can do each day to improve your sleep.
Improving your sleep hygiene can help boost your testosterone in a few ways:
- It can help you fall asleep faster each night, so you get more sleep overall
- It can ensure bad habits like late-night alcohol donât wake you up during the second half of the night, sabotaging your REM sleep
- It can make sure your sleep is healthy, natural, and you cycle through all sleep stages optimally
- It can help keep you in sync with your circadian rhythm
You can learn more about sleep hygiene here, but here are a few key habits to start incorporating into your day:
Sound like a lot to remember? RISE can guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits each day and tell you the right time to do them to make them even more effective.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their 20+ in-app habit notifications.
Better Verbal Memory Spatial Abilities Or Mathematical Reasoning
Research shows that men with higher ratios of total testosterone have a reduced incidence of Alzheimers disease. Theres also evidence for a strong correlation between testosterone and thinking abilities such as verbal memory and faster processing speed. Testosterone treatment for men 34 to 70 years old has shown an improvement in spatial memory.
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Supplements To Boost Testosterone
Changes in diet and lifestyle have proven effective in raising testosterone in many men, but there also may be some holistic supplements that can aid this process and support healthy hormone production.
- Tribulus terrestris This herb has been used for centuries in traditional medicine, and some evidence suggests that it may enhance sexual function and libido in both men and women .
- Zinc This mineral is necessary for healthy sperm production, as well as testosterone function . However, its important to note that supplementation with zinc wont help if you already have adequate levels of this mineral.
- Ginger root In one study, 75 men with infertility took a daily ginger supplement. After 3 months, they experienced a 17% increase in testosterone levels . Ginger root also supports digestion and can modulate inflammation.
- Berberine This alkaloid has been shown to improve metabolic syndrome, which can lower testosterone levels in men and women.
- DHEA A precursor for sex hormone production, DHEA levels decrease with age, stress, and other lifestyle factors. If your DHEA is low, your body doesnt have the necessary building blocks for hormones, including testosterone, and your levels will drop.
Consume Foods High In Cholesterol
Although too much cholesterol is bad for your heart health, consuming too little of it can cause a drop in your testosterone levels. This is because cholesterol is a foundation building block of testosterone, and higher testosterone levels are associated with consuming more cholesterol .
Of course, not all cholesterol is created equal, which is why you want to consume foods high in healthy HDL cholesterol such as eggs, which also contain healthy fats and protein.
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The Direct Effects Of Exercise
Your testosterone levels rise after exercise, especially intense, heavy strength training. This increase in level may last just 15 minutes or up to an hour. Men often experience a greater and longer rise in testosterone when they strength train in the evening, as opposed to the morning. New exercisers get a bigger boost, too, but over time their hormone levels adapt.
Research has yet to show the absolute effects of this increase, but its likely not enough to make a change in the way you feel if you suffer from low T. If you have borderline low levels, however, a regular exercise habit may be enough to push you back into the normal range.
Of course, exercise has numerous other benefits, including improved heart health, enhanced muscle mass, weight management, and protection from chronic disease.
How To Increase Testosterone Naturally: 12 Methods To Try

Testosterone is a hugely important hormone â not just for menâs health and not just for your sex life. Itâs responsible for everything from body fat distribution to muscle mass to bone strength, and having low levels can impact your mood, libido, and sleep.
And while testosterone supplements and replacement therapy do exist, theyâre not always successful, more research needs to be done into the risks, and they can come with side effects â including messing up your sleep.
There are natural ways to boost your bodyâs production of the hormone, however, and many of them are simple lifestyle changes that can improve your sleep and overall health, too.
Below, weâll explain how you can increase your testosterone naturally and how the RISE app can help.
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Address Underlying Medical Conditions
Certain conditions that are bad for your overall health also spell trouble for your testosterone levels.
Men with diabetes are twice as likely to have low T . Similarly, men with heart disease are twice as likely to have low testosterone than men without heart disease .
The lesson: If youve been diagnosed with a health issue, follow your physicians recommendations.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
EEVO is filled with antioxidants that can combat inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which are linked to lower T levels. EEVO is mostly composed of monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs, which can reduce LDL cholesterol and elevate HDL cholesterol, which is needed to convert to testosterone. One study found that EEVO and other dietary oils can boost both testosterone and LH levels .
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Supplement With Testosterone Boosters
With the rise in testosterone decline over the past decades, the market for natural testosterone production has dramatically shot up. In fact, the market is now with billions of dollars. Unfortunately, this leads to many sub-par products, promising false results.
Thankfully there are a few testosterone boosters that are effective and safe. One of the best is Testofuel, which contains everything your body needs to push natural testosterone production to the max. There are no fillers, synthetic additives, or other harmful chemicals to worry about either.
Avoid Xenoestrogens And Other T
Many endocrinologists are sounding the alarm about the damaging effects that come with exposure to common household chemicals. Called endocrine disruptors, these chemicals interfere with our bodys hormone system and cause problems like weight gain and learning disabilities. One type of endocrine disruptor is particularly bad news for our testosterone levels.
Xenoestrogen is a chemical that imitates estrogen in the human body. When men are exposed to too much of this estrogen-imitating chemical, T levels drop significantly. The problem is xenoestrogen is freaking everywhere plastics, shampoos, gasoline, cows, toothpaste. You name it and chances are there are xenoestrogen in it. The ubiquitous nature of this chemical in our modern world is one reason some endocrinologists believe that testosterone levels are lower in men today than in decades past. Its Note to expecting parents: make sure mom stays away from xenoestrogens during the pregnancy.
Despite the stacked deck, I did my best to avoid products that contained xenoestrogens during my 90-day experiment. Heres what I did:
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Getting More Vitamin D
In an observational study on over 2,000 men, high vitamin D levels were associated with increased testosterone. Supplementation with this vitamin increased testosterone by 25% in a trial on 165 young to middle-aged overweight, deficient men .
You can increase your dietary intake of this vitamin, take supplements, or get moderate sun exposure.
The Case Of Soy And Testosterone
While there is a common belief that eating soy will give you higher estrogen, this is not necessarily the case.
Soy contains plant estrogens or phytoestrogens, which mimic the effects of this female hormone. However, this form of estrogen may not have a negative impact on your health.
On the other hand, soy protein concentrate has been shown to decrease testosterone levels in some studies for this reason, it has been proposed as a possible treatment for prostate cancer. In another study, neither whey nor soy protein caused an alteration in hormone levels .
When it comes to soy, use common sense and moderation, and you should be fine.
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Do: Eat A Testosterone
What you eat can have a significant impact on your testosterone levelswhich means getting in the right amount protein. Notice we say “the right amount” and not “the maximum.” Many people might think that foods high in protein are the most important for testosterone levels. But more is not always better your protein intake should depend on how much exercise you get. Research shows that not getting enough protein when exercising may decrease testosterone, but also getting too much protein with too little exercise can a negative impact on your testosterone.
It’s not just protein that you have to watch out for if you’re worried about testosterone levels: diets low in healthy fats can decrease testosterone levels, too. Fatty fruits like avocados, on the other hand, are rich in healthy fats in addition to a multitude of healthy nutrients.
Foods high in both fats and protein such as salmon make great options. As an added benefit, salmon is also high in vitamin D3, zinc, and omega 3s, which may also help boost testosterone production. Eggs are another great option as they are packed with healthy fat, protein, and selenium increasing data suggests that selenium is important for the biosynthesis of testosterone.
What Does High Testosterone Do To A Man

Author: Brian Hildebrandt, Last Updated: Dec. 12, 2019
The qualities of confidence, ambition, and strength are closely associated with high testosterone levels.
Its no accident these characteristics are predominantly male. The more testosterone you have, the greater ability for these qualities to be expressed.
Increasing your testosterone has powerful cognitive and physiological effects.
It can enhance your tolerance for stress, helps alleviate fatigue, has mood brightening effects, and improves body composition .
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Stress Management For Increasing Testosterone
Chronic stress can lead to lower testosterone levels and other mechanisms that accelerate aging in the body. On the other hand, very high testosterone can cause reactions to acute stress and possibly even lead to the onset of mood disorders and substance abuse .
Stress management interventions have the potential to give you more testosterone, so handling your anxiety is not only good for your mind but also your hormonal balance .
The resultant effect on your hormones does depend on other factors, such as your normal response to stress.
Testosterone And Zinc: The Connection
Zinc is an essential dietary mineral. Zinc is necessary for the immune system to function in a proper manner and also for cell division. When you consume proper amounts of zinc, it aids the bodys digestive process while helping to build proteins.
When someone has a zinc deficiency, it is often accompanied by low levels of testosterone. It is not fully understood why this is the case, but the correlation is strong enough to make this something worth exploring. There arent a very high number of cases involving zinc deficiency, but it is possible.
As with any supplementation, the incorporation of zinc into your diet should be carefully considered with the guidance of a professional. You can never be too careful when making changes to your intake. Because zinc can be stimulatory for the thyroid, those who have adrenal or thyroid weakness needs to be especially careful.
That being said, zinc supplementation may be a good way to improve testosterone naturally and avoid using synthetic hormone therapy replacements.
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