Testosterone is the single most important thing when it comes to building muscle naturally. Without it, you can train, eat and sleep right, but you won’t see any results.
However:
If you eat the right foods from my Testosterone Boosting Diet, you can dramatically increase your testosterone levels quickly and achieve faster muscle growth…
… completely naturally.
In this article, you will learn:
- top 5 foods which skyrocket your T-levels and leave you feeling like Zeus
- the foods that you need to avoid at all costs (they absolutely kill your testosterone)
- the perfect testosterone-boosting diet plan.
Let’s dive in.
6 Benefits of Higher Testosterone Levels
1. Testosterone increases muscle mass
How much testosterone you have directly impacts how much muscle mass you can carry.
Testosterone helps in the muscle-building process by increasing muscle protein synthesis.
This isn’t anything new or surprising, but it pays to remember that increasing your testosterone levels should be the first thing you think about if you want to gain muscle mass fast.
2. Testosterone decreases body fat
Adipose tissue – body fat – produces estrogen both in women and men.
For women, that’s natural and healthy, but for a man, it’s a disaster.
The extra estrogen produced in the fat cells starts a vicious cycle where the fat converts testosterone into estrogen, which leads to even more fat…
Thankfully, there’s a way to break it: increase your testosterone.
3. Testosterone increases libido
Testosterone is not only the primary driver behind muscle growth, it’s also responsible for your sexual health.
Low testosterone levels lead to low libido and erectile dysfunction.
When on the subject…
Women love testosterone.
Women are more attracted to men who show signs of higher testosterone, and even to the smell of those men.
But don’t go buying pheromones – get yourself to the gym. Or how about mastering the art and techniques of testicle massages?
4. Testosterone improves your mood
With low testosterone comes depression, feelings of irritability, anger and even poor quality of life.
Common symptoms also include brain fog and a constant feeling of fatigue.
Men with higher testosterone levels are generally happier, more successful and take more risks.
5. Testosterone helps reduce face fat
Besides facial hair and oil, a lean, chiseled face is a sign of high testosterone.
This is not surprising, as one of the most attractive qualities to a woman (besides the V taper or the Adonis ratio) is a lean face.
6. Testosterone speeds up metabolism
There’s a direct link between high levels of testosterone and increased metabolic rate.
And as if that wasn’t enough, a high testosterone level also directly inhibits the growth of new fat cells.
This means that if you improve your T-levels even a little bit, it will become easier to improve them further.
Top 5 High Testosterone Foods You Must Be Eating
You don’t need to get testosterone replacement therapy to increase your T-levels. In fact, there are more than 19 ways to boost testosterone fast, one of those ways is by eating a variety of foods that have testosterone-increasing compounds.
There are loads of them, so instead of suggesting foods you’re not going to eat anyway (really, who’s going to eat 50 oysters every morning?), here are some food items you can buy everywhere to boost your testosterone:
1. Eggs
Eggs almost have the perfect amino acid balance for human needs.
They have almost all the important vitamins (sans vitamin C).
And most importantly, the egg yolks (which aren’t bad for you) are full of cholesterols, which is the substance testosterone is made from.
If you needed more reason to eat eggs daily, there you go.
2. Pomegranates
Pomegranates aren’t an item you’d expect to see in this list, but you’d be so wrong.
A study showed that salivary testosterone levels by 24%, while diastolic and systolic blood pressures dropped.
Another long-term study showed positive effects on reducing arterial plaque and on protecting HDL (the good one) cholesterol from damage.
3. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Apart from tasting really good, extra virgin olive oil is great for increasing testosterone.
It has high levels of healthy fats, plenty of antioxidants and also sports anti-inflammatory effects.
No wonder it increased testosterone by 17% in this study!
4. Honey
Honey contains the testosterone-boosting mineral boron, not to mention a host of other vitamins and minerals.
The best honey is the dark variety, but all are rich in nitric oxide, which promotes better blood flow through the body. I don’t have to tell you what that implies.
5. Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts have a decent amount of good fats, but that’s not what makes them so potent.
It’s in the ridiculously high selenium content. A bag of these contains more than 20 times the recommended daily dose.
Selenium is directly linked to increased testosterone production and that’s with just a handful of nuts per day!
4 Foods To Stay Away From That Kill Testosterone And Increase Estrogen
You could have a perfect diet for increasing testosterone, but if you don’t take the foods below out, it won’t matter.
1. Flaxseed
Flaxseed is quite popular in the healthy eating community due to its high content of omega-3 fatty acids.
However, flaxseed also contains something called lignans.
Lignans are a highly estrogenic compound that reduces total and free testosterone levels so much that researchers used flaxseed to help a woman who was growing facial hair – successfully.
While the results on men aren’t that dramatic, they still come down to a 10% decrease, which isn’t something I’d like at all (and that was achieved by just two tablespoons a day).
2. Vegetable oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids
There are three types of fats:
- saturated
- monounsaturated
- and polyunsaturated
The first two help increase your testosterone and are definitely good, but the third one is a problem.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids found in most vegetable oils (except coconut oil, palm oil, avocado oil and olive oil) mostly contain omega-6 fatty acids. Yep, the bad ones.
An ideal ratio between omega 3 and omega 6 would be 1:1, but is closer to 1:16 for the average American.
In short: stay away from them.
3. Alcohol (in larger doses)
Alcohol is the very epitome of the saying “The dose makes the poison”.
Heavy alcohol consumption is strongly correlated to low testosterone levels and high levels of estrogen (which causes the classic beer belly).
However, drinking sensibly isn’t as bad as one thinks – it might even be beneficial!
A small dose of 0,5 g/kg of alcohol has actually been shown to increase testosterone, and there’s always that Finnish study that showed that the equivalent of half a glass of vodka after a workout increases testosterone by 100% (note: I do not endorse doing this in any way).
4. Soy products
Soy has been known as the bane of testosterone for a while now, but are we doing it justice?
There are plenty of studies that show soy’s negative effects on testosterone levels… but also studies that show no such effects.
The science seems split half way. But really, is there any point in eating soy? There are much better alternatives you can use to get your protein, especially if you are not vegan, so soy shouldn’t be a part of your diet anyway. Why risk it? Unless you’re a vegan bodybuilder of course. If that’s the case then check out this video to make sure you make gains.
What A Testosterone Boosting Diet Plan Looks Like
After incorporating the above food choices into your diet, it’s time to look at the bigger picture: your macros.
How much carbs, protein and fat should you be eating for the biggest testosterone boost?
Here are the macros:
Protein: 0.82g/lb (1.8g/kg) (from a review of studies on protein intake)
Fat: 30%
Carbs: fill the rest
Fats are essential for testosterone production due to the fact that testosterone is produced from cholesterol, so going low on fat makes no sense if you want to improve your levels.
And carbs are the fuel that is much needed for all the daily activity we do: from training to thinking. In some cases (where fat intake way 40%), dropping fat intake in favour of more carbs can even increase testosterone.
1. Testosterone-boosting breakfast
Here’s something you can eat every morning for a testosterone boost:
You’ll need:
- 3-4 eggs
- Oats
- ½ avocado
- Vegetables of your choice
- Coconut oil
- A handful of nuts
- A pomegranate
Mix the oats with the eggs and fry them in coconut oil.
Chop up the vegetables and the avocado, and serve raw as a side dish.
Top it off with the nuts and a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice (or eat the seeds for the extra fibre).
2. Testosterone-boosting lunch
There’s nothing better than a good lunch, especially if it’s tasty and testosterone boosting.
You’ll need:
- Grass-fed beef
- Potatoes
- Vegetables of your choice
- Olive oil
- Seasoning
Season the beef and cook it in olive oil until done to your taste.
Boil the potatoes. Make sure you rotate through a variety of them: sweet, white, red,…
Steam the vegetables. The key is to rotate through all the colors of the rainbow each week to get all the micronutrients your body needs.
3. Testosterone-boosting dinner
To end the day, here’s a testosterone-friendly salad dinner.
You’ll need:
- Salmon
- Spinach
- Celery
- Quinoa
Cook the quinoa and let it cool.
Add the salmon and the other ingredients and you’re ready to go!
Why these? Salmon has healthy fats and vitamin D, spinach has magnesium, celery for vitamin K and quinoa for ecdysteroids, a natural steroid.
Adjust portions as needed for your daily caloric intake.
For snacks you could have eggs, some nuts, or a protein shake – just make sure you pick the right whey protein for you.
Summary
When you adopt a testosterone-boosting diet, your results will come, slowly but surely.
By combining the ideal foods for increasing testosterone and eliminating those that promote estrogen, you’ll be well on your way to building muscle fast.
Add a great training program and you’ll be all set.
It’s a good idea to get your levels checked out at the start and after three months to see how far you’ve come.