The testosterone it is a hormone responsible for various physiological processes, from sexual desire to muscle growth, through bone health and hair growth. This brief information is enough to understand how fundamental its presence in our body is. And in fact, a lack of testosterone is also responsible for serious diseases such as depression.
Yeah, but how can you be sure you always maintain adequate testosterone levels?
Well, there is a way, and it's much simpler than you think: it's even possible to take care of your blood testosterone level from the comfort of your own home. That's exactly what we want to talk about in this article, giving you five simple tips to increase your testosterone level. Ready? Grab a notebook for notes, and enjoy reading!
1) Take care of your diet
We always talk about cholesterol in negative terms, but in reality it is from cholesterol that testosterone is synthesized. So, the first thing you need to do is fill your diet with fat! But... no, if your mouth is already watering thinking about the Big Mac, know that it's not like that: it's the unsaturated fatty acids, the ones you need. Any suggestions? Extra virgin olive oil, walnuts and almonds, salmon and avocado.
But that's not all: another important element in the production of testosterone is zinc, which plays a key role in numerous metabolic processes. A balanced diet usually contains enough zinc, but if you are concerned about not getting enough, you can find it in nuts, beans, fish and seafood, cheese and meat. Finally, eggs, avocados, salmon and herring - in addition to the sun - will provide you with an adequate supply of vitamin D, while garlic is a precious source of allicin, an amino acid that reduces cortisol, the stress hormone. Because it is important? Because cortisol is the natural antagonist of testosterone, which blocks the production.
2) But also… don't eat. Intermittent fasting and interval training
Now that you know what you need to eat, we want to add a little tip: even the fast increases the level of testosterone in the blood. If that doesn't feel like it for you, simply plan to eat nothing after dinner and until lunch the next day: et voilà, you've made your fast!
From intermittent to intervals: training is important, but even more important is doing it well, alternating high-intensity training with rest phases. An excellent example is crossfit, in which you train for a certain number of minutes at high intensity and then stop or do "active discharge" (e.g. a light jog on the spot). In addition to high-intensity training, weight lifting has also always had good effects on increasing testosterone.
3) The right rest
It is during the night that the body produces the highest level of hormones, so sleep is itself responsible for the increase in testosterone in the blood. The human body needs an average of 8 hours, which are also used to maintain a good level of general health. Try not to go below six hours, however. If you want to listen to some relaxing music for falling asleep we have find out how to do it from here.
4) Supplements that can help
If you think – or rather: your doctor told you so – that you need help, there are several supplements that can help you. We are talking about the same elements that we have already mentioned, therefore zinc, vitamin D, but also vitamin K and branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). Among the most popular vegetable supplements: ginseng and maca, nettle roots and pine pollen, pine nut and olive leaf extract, called phytoandroids.
5) Avoid testosterone antagonists
We have already talked about cortisol as an element that blocks the production of testosterone by reducing its presence in the blood. But what does cortisol depend on? In addition to stress, which is the main culprit, also overweight, lack of sleep and excessive consumption of alcohol and nicotine. So pay attention to having a healthy lifestyle.
Some final advice
As you have seen, increasing the level of testosterone in the blood is not at all difficult. All you need to do is adopt all those little tricks that ultimately form part of what we usually call a healthy lifestyle. Start eating better, using more natural proteins and more unsaturated fatty acids of "good" origin. Get the right sleep, exercise and stay away from bad habits.
Finally, a piece of advice: if you begin to experience symptoms such as a drop in libido and concentration, hair loss and muscle tone, contact your doctor. There are specific blood tests that allow you to check the level of testosterone and that will let you know if you need to take countermeasures. Especially useful when you go on with age, because aging inevitably implies, both in men and women, a drop in testosterone.
