Oestrogen is the driving force behind the female mojo. Moods, sex drive, even how much hair we have is down to that one hormone. Its male counterpart is testosterone, the ‘umph’ behind the sex, the ‘phwoar’ behind the muscle bulge, the ‘aaaaargh’ behind the smile.
In simple terms, lots of testosterone makes for one horny man.
Sounds easy right? Pump it up and away you go. Not so fast. Testosterone can be affected by a whole load of factors. Depression, diet, energy levels can all play a huge role in making your T-levels nose dive.
So How do you Boost Testosterone?
Google ‘How to boost testosterone’ and you’ll be met with images of various pills you can buy. You might then find a post on how to maintain muscle mass. Scroll down and a host of vitamin names will come your way. Confused? Yep us too.
Fret not. Luud Health is here to walk you through some natural and, in some cases delicious ways to boost your testosterone and rocket fuel you through the month. A little word of warning, we might throw in the odd curveball too for you to consider. What you consider a ‘curveball’ is entirely down to your preference and kicks!
What is Testosterone and Why Is It Important?
Produced mainly in the testicles, it is the main male hormone. Without it, you’d look like a teen avoiding puberty. Testosterone is responsible for the progression through puberty as well as pushing the body into increasing protein synthesis. This process increases the ability for muscles to grow.
Testosterone production starts to drop off around the age of 30 resulting in possible hair loss, less bone mass, less of a sex drive and more body fat.
Do Supplements Play an Important Part in the Production of Testosterone?
Yes and no. If you fuel your body with an artificial hit of testosterone it will slow down your body’s natural rate of production. Keep up the artificial hit and you’ll eventually reach a point where the slowdown of natural testosterone is permanent and irreversible. So if you’re reaching for the supplements, do your research and don’t over do it.
How do you Boost Testosterone Naturally?
Food
A seemingly easy one to start you off. You cannot shy away from the fact that testosterone is the foundation to the male existence. It builds muscle, impacts your sex drive, bone density, heart health and last but by no means least, the size of your penis. So it would work in your favour to stroke it’s ego a little bit and show it some love.
Your diet contains lots of micronutrients which can naturally aid in increasing testosterone.
Grapes
Want to have rocket-fuelled sperm? Eat a bunch of red grapes everyday. The skin of grapes contain resveratrol making harder sperm. 5-10g of grape skins is enough to raise testosterone levels and the ability for your little lads to swim.
Tuna
A can of tuna contains 100% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin D. 100%! Why is that relevant? Vitamin D boosts your T-levels by up to 90%. I am not a mathematician but I’m hearing some pretty high returns on eating a can of tuna.
Pomegranate
Should we really be reaching for the forbidden fruit of biblical terms (many refer to the pomegranate being the fruit Adam reached for, not the apple)? According to the International Journal of Impotence Research, 47% of impotent men who drank a glass of pomegranate juice daily found that their condition improved. Get chugging.
Here’s a few more: venison for muscle growth; garlic for muscle maintenance; honey for improved blood flow; eggs for a hormone boost; spinach for a magnesium hit.
Let’s step away from diet. You may not be a foodie.
How Can the Gym Boost Testosterone?
Any physical activity will get the endorphins pumping through you and who doesn’t feel more ‘alive’ and ‘on fire’ post a good workout? Same applies to sex, that’s a great workout right there. Excessive weight can have a real knock-on effect to T-levels so if you’re not already exercising then now is the time to step up.
Let’s face it, a man with a belly is more likely to hit the deck with a heart attack at some point. But that gut you’re seeing also indicates a possible lack of drive under the sheets. Testosterone gets broken down more quickly in belly fat so big bellies are literally sucking a man dry of that testosterone.
Sounds sexy doesn’t it? If you've just wretched a little bit in your mouth looking at your slightly overhanging belly then get outside and do some exercise. No more excuses.
Combine weights and cardio for maximum impact. Throw in some big compound movements like squats and deadlifts to get those T-levels firing up. Cardio is great for burning calories whilst building muscle through weights will help fire up your metabolism so that you’re burning calories even after you stop exercising.
Stop Smoking. Stop Drinking.
Do you really need to be smoking and drinking? I mean really? If you stop and think about it, do you really need it in your life? Guys, it’s a real buzz killer for your T-levels.
Smoking constricts blood vessels. That penis of yours is all about the blood vessels. So you’re denying your dude down there some vital red blood pumping into your veins. That deep throb? That massive erection you want to spring on your partner? Forget about it.
What about drinking? Down those couple of pints and you may find yourself as limp as a limp limpet. Those drinks you just had are a central-nervous-system depressant. What does that do? Again, it limits blood flow to the penis. So again, the little (or big) chap will be left feeling somewhat deflated as you starve it of oxygen.
Address Your Sleep Schedule.
Anxiety and interrupted sleep or a lack of sleep will lead to an increase in the stress hormone cortisol. Call us a tale as old as time if you like but sleep matters. Never mind cock-blocking, that’s a testosterone blocker right there.
A large part of testosterone release happens whilst you’re sleeping. So good sleep has a direct impact on your production of it. Less than 8 hours of sleep can lead to as much as a 15% reduction in T-levels the next day. So if you’re ‘getting by’ on 4-5 hours of sleep make some changes.
So there it is in a T-level nutshell. More men than ever are taking a trip to the Doctor with concerns about low libidos. Yes there are absolutely genuine medical reasons in some instances and these need addressing. In others it may be the case that lifestyle plays a part. And this is where you can help yourself.
Testosterone is key to sexual desire. It can’t hurt to try and ensure you maintain good healthy levels of it. Exercise, good food, sleep, these aren’t painful habits to adopt, they are habits that if you adopt a positive mindset and approach towards them will do wonders for your overall health.
You may be reaching for the supplements but just stop for a second and question whether that’s sustainable. Or healthy. Or whether you’re just taking short cuts. Set yourself a testosterone target and go natural for 6 weeks. You can’t measure anything statistically but we can sure as heck guarantee you’ll feel healthier, more alive, increased energy and just pumping in self-satisfaction if you go au naturel.
Try it. We dare you.
