Five Ways to Naturally Raise Your Testosterone Levels

Testosterone, the principal male hormone, can decline for many reasons.  One of the most common is age.  Levels tend to peak in early adulthood, then slowly decline after age 40, until ultimately hitting a range of 350-700 ng/dl.  However, there are many lifestyle habits that men engage in that lessen them more than their body's natural decline.  Referencing some of the most common lifestyle deficiencies, changing them can boost your overall health, as well as your testosterone levels.

   Embarking on a weightlifting program is one of the most effective ways to raise your testosterone levels.
 Author: embhoo, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Eat More Protein and Fat, and Less Carbohydrates

The current Standard American Diet (SAD), along with many diets in the western world, are very high in carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.  When the bulk of your calories are simple carbohydrates:  refined sugars, flour, or foods easily converted into sugars when absorbed, it results in a spike in insulin.  Higher insulin has been shown to reduce testosterone levels.  Many people eat  cereals, potatoes, bread, pasta and rice as staples of their diet.  Eating this at every meal, virtually every day, will result in almost constant testosterone suppression.  Not to mention the added problem of insulin resistance.

Find an Adequate Outlet For Your Stress

Prolonged emotional stress, untreated, can also place stress on the body.  When a person is filled with anguish, the hormone cortisol is produced in excess.  This, like insulin, has the ability to inhibit the production of testosterone.  If you are working excessively, take a reduction if at all possible.  Make sure you do at least one favorite leisure activity every day.  Another effective stress reducer is to learn meditation techniques.

Vitamin D

Over three quarters of the population is deficient in Vitamin D.  Due to fears of melanoma, many attempt to completely shield themselves from the sun when they go out.  However, while excess exposure to the sun may be harmful, no exposure can be even more harmful.  Vitamin D is one of the most critical to your overall health, and the ideal way to get it is through sun exposure.  Fifteen to thirty minutes of as much skin exposure as possible in the sun is ideal.  If you live in a season climate, this is not always an option.  Make sure you take adequate supplements of Vitamin D, as not enough is found in the diet.  Adequate Vitamin D levels can boost your testosterone by as much as twenty percent.

Lift Weights

A heavy weight training program, comprised mainly of basic, compound exercises is ideal.  Men should train in sets of between 6-8 repetitions for optimal results.  An exception to this rule is if you have joint problems.  In that case, lift with lighter weights and higher reps, in the 10-15 range.  This rep range is also ideal for women who do not want to build excess muscle.  Lifting weights only a few times per week can boost your testosterone by up to twenty percent.

Zinc

In addition to Vitamin D deficiency, another common cause of low testosterone is that you are not getting adequate zinc in your diet.  The medical community has yet to understand why, but there is a strong correlation between low zinc levels in the blood and suppressed testosterone.  Zinc must be taken every day, due to the fact that your body is not capable of storing it.  Any unused zinc is excreted.  You can opt for zinc supplements, or start to include different foods in your diet.  Foods high in zinc are seafood, especially oysters, beef, spinach, squash seeds, nuts, especially cashews, and mushrooms.