Natural Testosterone is one tricky bastard. You produce a lot of it but lose a big part in the process. It does things, but not the ones you probably want it to do. You have three types of it, and just one of them matters. It’s natural but gets attacked by your own body.
Still, in our weird and stressful times, more and more people want to know how to increase Testosterone in men (and rarely – in women) naturally. Unfortunately, there is no magic pill for it. But there are plenty of ways to get it!
Here’s all you need to know about boosting Testosterone, with a scientific basis and simplified AF.
What is Natural Testosterone
Basics first. If you want to know how to increase Testosterone naturally, you need to know what on earth Testosterone does and where it’s «born», right?
We’ll keep it simple: natural Testosterone is «born» in your balls, and it does everything so you look and feel like a man.
No kidding. Natural Testosterone is produced in Leydig cells (aka gonads) that are located right in your testicles. That’s why your balls can shrink on low natural Testosterone levels. You also produce it in your adrenal glands (tiny things on top of your kidneys), but so do women, and the quantities are insignificant.
Here’s a scheme that looks like an awkward Mickey Mouse:
The list of benefits natural Testosterone can give you is enormous. It’s responsible for nearly every single feature that gives you the «male» look and feel:
- Facial bones structure (like more pronounced chin);
- Muscle mass;
- Fat storage (ever seen a guy with fat hips, a belly, tiny shoulders, and a pair of bitch tits? Yup, he’s low on T);
- Deeper voice;
- Face and body hair (including hair on your butt, your back, and your beard, of course);
- Skeletal muscles density;
- Strength (measured not just in the weights on your bar, but in your grip strength, and so on);
- Sex drive;
- Mental health (yes, your depression can be caused by low Testosterone, not just by the constant need to deal with idiots).
It can go on and on and on, but we promised to keep it simple. Now – to the next part: why do we even care to specify that it’s NATURAL Testosterone all the time?
What is Synthetic Testosterone
In short, it means steroids. Yeah, the ones this website is pretty much dedicated to. Here’s an ultimate guide to anabolic steroids for all your bodybuilding purposes.
The long answer is, it’s artificially created sex hormones that mimic your body’s natural Testosterone to give you the same features – with a mind-blowing boost.
Naturally, your body produces just 50-70mg of Testosterone per week. Most popular anabolic steroids protocols add 300-500, and even up to 1000mg per week.
It’s a whole different subject, but this time – we’re talking about NATURAL Testosterone. This time, the answer to «how to get more testosterone» will NOT be injections.
Why Do You Need to Care About Boosting Testosterone
Because we live in some severely fucked up times. For many other average guys from big cities worldwide and me, life is pretty damn far from being comfortable, and most importantly – suitable for high Testosterone production.
You want some sleep? Fuck you, neighbors are throwing a party at 3 AM. You want some fresh air? Ha-ha, smell this traffic jam. You want to chill? It’s a shame you have 10 things to do ASAP. You want a steak and some vegetables? No, you only have time for a sandwich and coffee. Exercising, huh? What a pity 200 cross-fit snowflakes from a new fancy apartment block flocked your gym, and you’re fourth in line to the bench press.
I might be exaggerating (a flocked gym is just some nightmare fuel), but I bet you recognize at least some of these things. Yup, this stuff keeps your natural Testosterone below your full potential. And that’s why so many YOUNG guys (not talking about 40+ TRT maniacs) turn to anabolic steroids. It’s a simple (but risky) shortcut!
So, how to increase Testosterone naturally in these conditions without injecting synthetic stuff in your butt?
- Step 1 – stop whining;
- Step 2 – admit that you NEED TO WORK on boosting Testosterone.
Step number 2 is really important – nothing happens for no reason, and your natural Testosterone won’t shoot up to the sky because you’ll start thinking about it.
You need a plan, and luckily – you’re about to get one.
Natural Testosterone Boosters: Food
Yeah. 90% of success comes from the kitchen, and your natural Testosterone is not an exception.
Here’s the thing: to produce more Testosterone, your balls need antioxidants. You can get them in pills, but since we’re talking about how to raise Testosterone naturally, you’ve got a limited number of options:
Ginger
Just because ginger helps you raise the LH (Luteinizing hormone), which raises natural testosterone production rates, here’s a study on ginger and Testosterone from 2012.
Pomegranates
Nature’s perfect antioxidant ALONE can give you 24% MORE natural Testosterone. It’s not a made-up number – it’s been clinically proven in this study on pomegranate’s effects. Even though they didn’t eat literal pomegranates but were drinking juice (and 60 men is not a large scale, to say the least), the effect is still there.
Spinach
It’s a champion in phytosteroids and Magnesium, and both are good for your natural Testosterone. Here’s a study that specifically looked into spinach and its effects on male sex hormones and performance.
If you want more details about these awesome Testosterone boosting foods – check out the foods that increase Testosterone guide.
Extra Foods for Boosting Testosterone Naturally
Those 3 are the MOST effective options, but they don’t make the whole list. If you – for some reason – can’t get them but still want to boost Testosterone – try these guys:
- Tuna and any other fish, rich in Omega-3;
- Eggs, oysters, anything with iodine;
- Beef – specifically red meat, the one that would drive vegans insane;
- Bananas! Especially for vegans that want to increase Testosterone.
Introducing these foods to your diet and eating some of them daily would increase your natural Testosterone dramatically. Is it all you need to do, though? Of course, it’s not.
Natural Testosterone Boosting Lifestyle
Your whole lifestyle needs to change. You need to get that natural Testosterone you lose back, and to increase Testosterone, you need to eliminate the factors that lower it. Yes, all of them.
Sounds scary and hard, right? No worries – we’ll do it step by step.
Good Sleep
Do whatever you want, but NEVER underestimate the importance of sleep. All that «live for the night» lifestyle with clubbing, booze, and coke marathons may be good for your social life and Instagram, but it’s a killer for your natural Testosterone.
To increase natural Testosterone, you need proper rest and regular deep sleep. The one you can get in the night only.
The reason is that your body produces the majority of your natural Testosterone at night. Here’s a full-scale study on sleep and Testosterone from 2015. It proves that sleep deprivation and bad sleeping habits lower your sex hormones drastically, to the point that all other factors that increase Testosterone turns into a waste of time.
Eliminate Stress
Sounds easy, right? Of course, it’s not. But the thing is – it’s 100% worth it. Psychological stress is one of the worst things you put on your body. In case you are exposed to it long enough, it will mess up your health completely. And yes – it will decrease your natural testosterone levels.
Here’s a PDF version of the study on Testosterone and stress that shows the importance of stress management. The «full text» button is safe to click, it will just download the PDF.
Practice breathing exercises, change your job, move to the countryside, do yoga (yes, eliminating stress is THAT important), meditate, hire a guru from Tibet – it’s all justified because stress is a bad bitch that’s literally killing you.
Move More
Face it, your lifestyle is at least 50% sedentary. You sit in your car, in front of your PC, with your laptop, on the couch, or wherever else. Unfortunately, in 2021 we’re a civilization of professional sitters. We may not know a lot of stuff, but FFS – we know how to sit.
I won’t throw a rant on how bad it is for your spine because sitting is even worse for your natural Testosterone. In this study on physical activity and sex hormones, you can find all the evidence. It’s not the only study on the subject, though, and if you need more – I bet you can easily find them.
Do some push-ups every 30 minutes, go for a walk around the office, run on the stairs, walk more on your holidays, explore some hiking trails in your neighborhood. Do anything to move more – it can do miracles to your natural Testosterone levels.
Exercising
It’s the best vicious circle a man can get:
You start exercising to give you more natural Testosterone. Exercising gives you more muscles AND Testosterone to grow muscles more effectively, making exercising easier, so you can exercise more.
On and on and on, with each circle, you get nothing but benefits. At some point, you’ll reach a plateau, and it won’t be effective anymore, but if you’re looking into ways how to boost Testosterone – you’re far from it.
Workouts are clinically proven to raise your natural Testosterone – in multiple studies, in DOZENS of them, like this study on exercises and sex hormones.
These three points also make it undeniably the best method to raise your natural Testosterone:
- Exercising burns fat tissue, and fat tissue is the one that is partly responsible for the production of estrogen – the female sex hormone;
- Exercising is beneficial for every single organ in your body, from the heart to intestines, since it improves your blood flow (and for multiple other obvious reasons that I bet you are aware of);
- Any kind of exercising counts – go for running, weightlifting, polishing your looks with small weights in high-intensity HIIT daily workouts, do cross-fit (please don’t). Whatever it is that makes your bodywork and puts pressure on your muscles will work as a natural testosterone booster.
There’s not a single reason to NOT exercise. It’s a vicious circle that can give your natural Testosterone a boost you need.
Things to Avoid to Boost Natural Testosterone
You know the drill. Nothing n the list will surprise you, but we’ll still put it here:
- Don’t smoke (like, at all. It’s terrible for you);
- Don’t take too many drugs (there’s a difference in s joint or two a week to cure depression and meth marathons that will fuck up your heart);
- Don’t drink alcohol (at least daily and at least in large quantities);
- Don’t eat too much shit (McDonald’s, trans-fats-induced hot dogs, deep-fried stuff, pastry, and your favorite chocolate cake count as shit, yes, there are cheat meals for it);
- Don’t live like a vegetable (lying on your couch all day, every day).
Directly or not, bad habits affect your natural testosterone levels, and that’s the effect you probably want to avoid.
Personal Opinion on Boosting Natural Testosterone
This article could be cut to just one phrase: don’t do bad things, do good things only. I know that it sounds dumb. You know it too. But there’s a reason to make a full-scale guide on it:
People know what they should do and what they shouldn’t to get healthier. It’s common knowledge. The trick is – to find the right target to apply this knowledge.
Just abstract «life improvement» rarely works. You need a strong motivation for it. However, something you can aim at more precisely, something that you can measure – boosting natural Testosterone – is a much easier target. You’ll need to do all the same things (ok, with some necessary adjustments and details), but this time – you know precisely WHY you are doing this.
You’ll get that «life improvement» anyway. It’s just too big to be your target. Aim at raising natural Testosterone – and you’ll get there faster than you can imagine. Luckily, you have a plan now.
