The market is full of magic powders that promise you a 300% male sex hormones boost in a day. Leave them for the fools and save your money. Here’s a different set for you.
These «compounds» won’t look good on your shelf, but they will send your Testosterone to the moon and back.
Benefits of Natural Testosterone Boosters
Here are a few reasons to go Testosterone shopping in your local food mall and not to a shady Internet shop with SCREAMING jars of herbal bullshit:
- Zero side effects;
- Dirt-cheap;
- Available literally everywhere;
- Completely legal;
- It won’t make you look like a victim of aggressive advertising.
And the best part?
They’re all basically low-calorie food.
Best Natural Testosterone Boosters List
Here they are, one by one – with all the necessary scientific proofs you may need to take them seriously.
Ginger – 17% Testosterone Boost
Love it or hate it, ginger is one extremely healthy thing. It might have questionable taste, but it’s an excellent natural Testosterone booster. It can shoot your T levels up to 17% higher. The number comes from a 2012 study on 75 men.
We have a whole bunch of traditional rat studies involving ginger, and all of them show a dramatic increase in Testosterone. However, direct human studies are more important.
The effect occurs through a double cascade reaction. Basically, ginger creates comfortable conditions for your testicles, and they start to produce more and more LH (aka leuthenizing hormone).
At the same time, being a powerful antioxidant, ginger reduces the stress that your testicles experience. It empowers SOD, CAT, and EDx enzymes, so your Leydig cells (the ones that produce Testosterone) get more protection.
Besides the Testosterone effects, Zingiber officinale (the fancy pseudo-Latin name of ginger) has several other benefits:
- Digestion improvement;
- Relieving nausea;
- Easing cold or flu;
- It’s a natural painkiller;
- Reducing inflammation;
- Heart health support;
- Lowering cancer risk.
If you want more, here is a whole collection of studies on positive ginger effects.
Even if it looks like the best food in the world, you can abuse ginger too! If you get an “overdose,” – get ready to deal with diarrhea and heartburn.
I know I’m not alone in that, so some good news for those who hate the taste: you don’t need to eat the raw ginger root itself. The said study involved a ginger supplement, not the natural thing. It tastes way better and keeps the effects.
By the way: if you were looking for those weird Natural Testo Boost 3000 Max Power supplements – here we have a complete review of them. This market thrives on naive wannabe-athletes, but the worst part is that mindless feasting on herbal powders can seriously damage your health.
Pomegranate – 24% Testosterone Boost
Now – a truly delicious thing with extreme benefits. Munching on pomegranates can significantly increase Testosterone, and you don’t even need to deal with the annoying tiny seeds.
A study involving 60 men and women shows that daily pomegranate juice intake can elevate one’s Testosterone levels by an insane 24%.
I know that in our material on normal testosterone levels in males, I’ve recommended avoiding saliva tests, but ELISA (the one they mention in the study) is not one of THOSE tests. It’s an expensive and precise thing that you won’t find in any clinic.
Pomegranate a day gives you 24%, not points. If you have a below-average Testosterone level of about 270 ng/dL, a God damn glass of pomegranate juice for two weeks can get you back to the healthy range with 330+ ng/dL.
These fruits were associated with male fertility and libido for a long time now, but we’re not here to talk about myths and legends. The effect comes – again – from anti-oxidation. Predominantly, from just one antioxidant: punicalagin enzyme. Pomegranates are the best natural source of this little fellow.
If someone ever tells you that pomegranates have phytoestrogens and elevate female hormonal levels, you can pretty confidently tell them to shut the fuck up and not insult the King of fruits.
While pomegranates definitely have some phytoestrogens, their amount is insignificant (way less than in soy, for example). At the same time, the fruit contains so many anti-estrogens that any adverse effects are eliminated.
Spinach – The Natural Steroid
Popeye knows his gains, and he won’t lie. Spinach is one of the most potent Testosterone boosters out there. It acts in two ways:
1. Spinach contains a ton of Magnesium. This element is essential for Testosterone production. You can get it from supplements, from pumpkin seeds, but spinach is one of the best options. There’s about 150mg of Magnesium in a single serving.
2. The thing called Ecdysterone. It’s a powerful phytosteroid that boosts the protein synthesis in your muscle tissue. The more protein you have – the bigger your muscles can get. Back in the 1980s, there were rumors that the whole Soviet Olympic team was “on” Ecdysterone. Now it’s a WADA-banned substance.
There’s a study on spinach testosterone boosting capabilities that give you a look at dramatic results. Here’s what the participants got:
- Over 6 Lbs of body weight;
- Gained 5 lbs of lean muscle mass;
- Got 44 Lbs of extra weight in one rep max squat.
Sounds insane, especially if you remember that we’re talking about a thing that comes from God damn spinach.
However, there are some notable details:
1. The study was ten weeks long, with daily controlled administration. It would take you some extreme self-discipline to eat a fuckton of spinach for 2,5 months non-stop;
2. The study didn’t involve real spinach – they gave the participants some supplements with Ecdysterone. In real spinach equivalent, 100mg pill can be between 0,25 and 4 kg of spinach daily.
To say precisely how much Ecdysterone your spinach has, you need to know the harvest date, the light conditions, the species of your spinach, and numerous other details. It’s practically impossible, and the amount of it in a single portion is unstable.
With real spinach – eat a handful a day and pray for the best. If you want predictable results, look for a natural Ecdysterone-only supplement.
If you’re confident in your testosterone levels – you might be looking for pure gains. Here’s our list of best compounds to get gear-like effects without actually injecting anabolic steroids.
Honorable Mentions
Not all food is so dramatically effective, but all the somewhat-beneficial things deserve mention. Here’s a little less detailed, less potent, but still good for you natural T foods:
Oysters
Yup, we’ve made it to the luxury zone. Oysters are a great source of Zinc, and Zinc is directly related to your Testosterone level. What else do I need to say?
You can get regular peasant Zinc supplements or take them the gourmet way. It works the same way with most of other fancy seafood.
Sprinkle them with some lemon juice – lemons are another significant Testosterone source, even though you need a seed extract, not the actual fruit, to get the effect.
Bananas and Pineapples
If you like your fruits sweet – this one will be your favorite. Both bananas and pineapples are extremely rich in bromelain, a natural enzyme. It can give you SOME (not as much as spinach or ginger) extra Testosterone, but most importantly – and they’ve tried it on cyclists in this study – it can improve your endurance.
Honey
No, it’s not me being sweet here. It’s real honey. The thing that bees make. Here’s a great review of multiple studies that show how beneficial honey is for your Leydig cells. It’s not a thing that you want to eat in ungodly amounts, though – honey is still an extremely high-calorie thing.
You can get yourself a full extra kilometer of intensive running with just a single tablespoon of honey (it contains about 65 calories).
If you crave some sweetness from time to time – it’s still a better option than sugar, though.
Testosterone Boost Diet
So, to sum it up, this is what you can add to your diet to get a synergetic effect, a notable testosterone boost, and a ton of other benefits:
- A glass (or at least 50ml) of pomegranate juice every day;
- A cup of ginger tea, just make sure that you don’t drink it before sleep;
- A bowl of spinach – at least from time to time, we’re not perverts here;
- A banana or some pineapple slices daily – just not those sugar-coated ones, they’re useless;
- Some oysters and seafood on your vacation – or just more oysters if you live by the sea;
- A teaspoon of honey sometimes, if you really can’t live a bitter live with no sweetness at all.
What can it give you in total: About 30% (no 17% and 24% don’t just stack) higher natural Testosterone levels and overall better health, with all the anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory effects. Not bad for a few dietary changes, huh?
The effect is in no way guaranteed with any of the mentioned foods. You can tolerate them poorly, your Testosterone might be affected by a whole spectrum of other factors, and so on. It’s all individual, duh.
However, even if you’re not the luckiest guy in town and won’t get even a half of the possible benefits… a few changes – as multiple studies pretty much prove it – still can benefit your health.