Do you have low testosterone? Or maybe you noticed an unusual drop in your “T” level due to recent times. You’re not alone. Check out this list of culprits and take action immediately!
Things That Lower Your Testosterone
It should be noted that the average testosterone in men has been declining by about 1.2-1.3% every year since the 80s[i][ii]. Men nowadays have about 20-30% less testosterone than their fathers and grandfathers. That’s pretty alarming as it seems to show the negative side-effects of our modern environment and lifestyle.
Testosterone is a powerful anabolic hormone that helps to build muscle and burn fat. It’s found in both men and women. The benefits of testosterone include increased lean muscle mass, better body composition, more energy, improved mood, sleep, libido, bone density, and a higher quality of life.
Low testosterone can promote obesity, depression, osteoporosis, and increased risk of mortality in older men[iii]. Symptoms include lethargy, weakness, erectile dysfunction, excess body fat, and reduced sex drive[iv]. Too high levels of T may cause liver damage, heart disease, mood swings, low sperm count, prostate cancer, and high blood pressure[v].
Unfortunately, most men experience a decline in testosterone after the age of 30, which puts them at greater risk of different diseases. Normal testosterone range is between 425-1000 ng/dl and low T is diagnosed when it falls below 425[vi].
Sidenote: If you want to know your testosterone levels, then you need to get it tested. Check out the company, Everlywell. They offer convenient at-home sample collections. Their Male Hormone Test measures levels of free testosterone in your body so you can see if you are producing the right amount of testosterone for your age. First you collect the sample (a small amount of saliva) then send it back to the lab. Results are ready in 8 days or less Check out the Everlywell Testosterone test here.
Now for the list:
#1 Being Overweight
Low testosterone is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome[vii]. They also contribute to sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular disease risk. What’s more, low testosterone predicts the development of these conditions, including type-2 diabetes and fat gain.
Even moderate obesity and carrying just a bit of unnecessary weight can lower testosterone because of insulin resistance[viii]. Visceral fat around your organs excretes pro-inflammatory cytokines that reduce endothelial function and promote erectile dysfunction. You can even be at a seemingly normal bodyweight but still have visceral fat that accumulates around your organs. This kind of fat deposition results primarily from insulin resistance and overeating[ix].
Insulin resistance is linked to low testosterone beyond its link to visceral fat[x]. Reducing processed food consumption, eating less sugar, avoiding vegetable oils, and not combining fats together with carbs are the most important things for fixing insulin resistance[xi].
To lose weight, you have to either eat fewer calories or increase energy expenditure. However, increasing physical activity has been shown to have a greater impact on testosterone compared to reducing calorie intake[xii]. Men who are more physically active have higher testosterone than those with low activity.
Click here to check out how fasting can help with weight loss
#2 Sleep Deprivation
A 2011 JAMA study found that sleeping only 5 hours a night over the course of 8 days lowered daytime testosterone by 10-15% in 10 volunteers[xiii]. They also reported a progressively lower score of vigor from 28 after the first night to 19 after the seventh night.
Most of your daily testosterone is released during sleep[xiv]. Sleep apnea and fragmentation have been shown to reduce testosterone levels[xv]. Sleeping disorders are linked to lower testosterone and low testosterone can cause sleeping problems[xvi]. In older men, total sleep time predicts morning testosterone levels[xvii].
A lot of the times, losing weight helps with sleep-related disorders but you also have to pay attention to blue light exposure, circadian rhythm alignment, and caffeine intake. Generally, the recommended amount of sleep for adults is 7-9 hours but if you’ve been deprived of it over a long period of time, you might need to catch up on it by sleeping at least 10 hours for a few nights.
This is one of my favorite products for better sleep at night: Calm Magnesium Powder
#3 Plastics and Estrogenics
Household chemicals, plastics, and environmental toxins can all lower testosterone by disrupting the endocrine system. The most common ones include bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, and other estrogenics. They mimic estrogen in the body and cause hormonal imbalances.
Increased phthalate exposure, which can be found in PVC plastics and personal care products, has been found to be associated with lower testosterone[xviii]. Higher levels of phthalates reduced T by 11-24% in adults between the ages of 40-60 and by 24-34% in children.
Exposure to plastics and other environmental estrogenics has been increased substantially over the last few decades. They’re found in most of conventional personal care products, cosmetics, receits, food packaging, and drinking bottles. That’s why I highly recommend deliberately reducing your use of these things as much as possible. You can use BPA free plastics and opt for more natural hygiene products.
I recommend checking out Siimland’s podcast with Dr Anthony Jay about these estrogenics where they talked about his book Estrogeneration.
#4 Chronic Cortisol
Testosterone is an anabolic hormone of growth and repair. Building muscle, burning fat, and having sex aren’t a priority if your body is stressed out. It has to focus on escaping danger.
Cortisol the main stress hormone affects the endocrine system by lowering testosterone and stimulating the adrenals. Human research has shown that injecting cortisol into circulation at rest reduces testosterone levels in the blood[xix]. However, cortisol from exercise doesn’t have the same effect possibly because the adrenal cortex contributes to free T.
Being stressed out whether because of working too much, fear, anxiety, environmental estrogenics, sleep deprivation, insulin resistance or anything else will lower testosterone. Even over-training will reduce T because there’s not enough time to recover.
Consuming certain adaptogens like maca, ginseng, ashwagandha, ginger, and turmeric can lower cortisol as well as increase your body’s resiliency against it in the future. They also mitigate the negative side-effects of sleep deprivation.
Read up on “Why you need more Magnesium when stressed out”
#5 Low Thyroid Functioning
The thyroid gland regulates all hormones and energy processes inside your body. It affects metabolic rate, body temperature, and even mood regulation.
There’s an interrelationship between thyroid dysfunction and hypogonadism in men[xx]. Free T levels are reduced in subjects with hypothyroidism and thyroid hormone treatment normalizes that.
Low thyroid can result from similar factors as discussed here. Primarily, it’s caused by chronic stress, malnourishment, under-eating, and energy restriction. Low carb diets have also been shown to lower testosterone when done all the time[xxi]. Neurons of gonadotropin-releasing hormone are also regulated by glucose availability, which affects fertility[xxii].
Carbohydrates are the main fuel source for T3 and leptin that both raise metabolic rate[xxiii]. Raising leptin by eating carbs and spiking insulin can improve insulin sensitivity and weight loss[xxiv]. Restoring leptin has been shown to normalize blood sugar and insulin resistance[xxv].
Cyclical ketosis is great for managing blood sugar, losing body weight, and improving hormonal health. However, if you have low testosterone, then increasing your metabolic rate and thyroid functioning by getting out of ketosis is an effective strategy.
#6 Low Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that helps to produce testosterone. People with low vitamin D have lower testosterone and supplementing with vitamin D raises testosterone[xxvi].
Normal range for vitamin D in the blood is 20-50 ng/mL with deficiency categorized as below 20. Too high vitamin D above 70-100 can also cause health problems and calcification.
The most effective and bioavailable way to increase vitamin D is to get more sunlight. Androgen and vitamin D levels show seasonal variation and fluctuation with them being lower during the dark months and higher at summer[xxvii]. During the winter I’m also using red light therapy and infrared saunas that have been shown to raise testosterone[xxviii]. This is the one I use 3-4 times per week.
#7 Substance Abuse
There are many addictive substances like alcohol, drugs, porn, and weed that affect your endocrine system. They can all inhibit testosterone as well as increase cortisol.
One study found that: cannabinoid administration acutely alters multiple hormonal systems, including the suppression of the gonadal steroids, growth hormone, prolactin, and thyroid hormone and the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.[xxx]” However, it doesn’t cause significant changes in these hormones[xxxi]. Cannabis has also shown to lower sperm quality by 29% in men between the ages of 18-28[xxxii]. Those who used marijuana or other recreational drugs more than once a week saw a 55% drop in total sperm count. Read that again.
Excess alcohol and other drugs like beta-blockers or statins can lower testosterone[xxxiii][xxxiv]. The metabolism of ethanol reduces NAD, which is a major co-enzyme involved with all physiological processes[xxxv]. Alcohol, especially beer and cocktails, boost aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen[xxxvi]. Beer is quite high in phytoestrogens that raise estrogen (ever notice “man-boobs” in avid beer drinkers?). Moderate consumption seems to be fine as even low doses of alcohol have been shown to increase T[xxxvii].
#8 Porn and Masturbation
Lastly, porn addiction and frequent masturbation can lower testosterone. Exposure to sexually implicit material in men is correlated with depression[xxxviii], lack of motivation, erectile dysfunction[xxxix], and problems concentrating[xl].
More often than not, watching porn is accompanied by masturbation AND ejaculation. Ejaculation itself doesn’t acutely change testosterone levels[xli]. However, multiple ejaculations have been shown to reduce androgen receptors and increase estrogen receptors[xlii]. Sperm contains a lot of zinc and other minerals that are needed for testosterone. If you’re ejaculating very often, you’ll deplete your zinc.
Pumpkin seeds anyone? (they’re high in zinc)
Studies have shown that abstaining from ejaculation increases testosterone after 3 weeks[xliii] with a significant spike of 145% at the 7th day[xliv] (go to google and type in: “no fap”). However, refraining from ejaculation for 3 months can decrease it[xlv].
Fun Fact: Having sex with a REAL person raises testosterone. In a study of 44 men visiting a sex club, those who actually had sex with a woman saw on average a 72% increase in testosterone while those who just watched did so by only 11%[xlvi].
Do You Have Low Testosterone?
Although testosterone is called the masculine hormone, as you can see, it can be easily disrupted and reduced by many different things. It’s especially unfortunate that the modern environment is bombarding our endocrine system with different disruptors and thus experience low T.
To keep your testosterone and sex hormones optimal you have to stick to the fundamentals like sleep, sunlight, exercise, relationships, good food, and losing weight & maintaining a healthy, lean figure.
Once again, if you want to know where you’re at in terms of testosterone levels at your specific age, then you need to get it tested. Check out the company, Everlywell. They offer convenient at-home sample collections. Their Male Hormone Test measures levels of free testosterone in your body so you can see if you are producing the right amount of testosterone for your age. First you collect the sample (a small amount of saliva) then send it back to the lab. Results are ready in 8 days or less Check out the Everlywell Testosterone test here.
Craving more mind pump? Check out these articles:
17 Science-Based Tips to Naturally Boost Testosterone Levels
Are You Ruining Your Gains? Here are 3 Things That Can Be Holding You Back
Homemade Electrolyte Drink For Extended Fasting (recipe)
10 Intermittent Fasting Tips You Should NOT Follow
Article Info Source and Research/References credit: Siim Land
I’ve been a big fan on Siim for just over 4 years now. Add Siim’s books to your biohacking toolbox. If you’re interested in depth (science-backed) fasting hacks, check out his book Metabolic Autophagy. My fave is his Stronger by Stress book via Audible. It’s the perfect mind-pump while you’re driving, doing household chores, going for a walk, taking a bath, sipping your morning coffee….you get the point. I’ve listened to this audiobook at least 4 full times and I promise you…once you experience the contents, it WILL be in heavy rotation. I give a huge amount of credit to Siim’s teachings as I they equip me with the science-backed knowledge to improve myself and optimize my daily habits, thus embracing biohacking as a lifestyle. HECK YES!
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Article References
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[xlvi] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239621/Researchers-test-mens-testosterone-levels-rise-arousal–visiting-sex-club.html
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