Low testosterone in men and women accelerates the aging process, causing you to feel old. Women and men with low testosterone often experience:
- Lower energy and stamina
- Weight gain
- Accumulation of belly fat
- Loss of libido
- Loss of lean muscle mass
- Moodiness and depression
- Greater risk of heart disease
- Reduced bone density--risking osteoporosis
- Increased cancer risk
- Waning memory and concentration, and increased Alzheimer's risk
- Decline in physical strength
- Insomnia and other sleep problems
- Increased risk of diabetes
And that's just for starters!
- Eat a diet consisting of around 40% calories from fat. A study was done that put men on a high-fat diet (about 50% of calories from fat) for two weeks then had them switch to a low-fat diet (about 10% fat) for two weeks. The patients saw a reduction in free testosterone (the part that's available for cell repair) dropped 21% on the low-fat diet. This shows that low-fat diets lower total testosterone and/or free testosterone levels while a moderate to high-fat diet raises testosterone levels. Despite the anti-fat message we're bombarded with, it turns out that diets too low in dietary fat are actually harmful to healthy testosterone levels. Restricting total fat intake and replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat (exactly what the experts are telling you to do) would appear to be the perfect prescription for lowering your testosterone levels, thus causing premature aging.
- Consume a diet that consists of 30-35% carbohydrates. The majority of your carbohydrates should consist of fruit and vegetables. Avoiding carbohydrates that come out of a bag should be one of your top priorities. Often people are stuck on an excessively high-protein diet, and forget the benefits derived from fruit and vegetables, especially carnivorous vegetables. The majority of your carbohydrates must come from vegetables. The nutrients in broccoli, spinach and others are essential to healthy testosterone levels. Make sure you do not consume too many vegetables, and stick to the above range because it is important to note that an excessive amount of fiber should also be avoided. In fact, the very high fiber intake of vegetarians could be another reason they have such low testosterone levels.
- Make sure your diet has a moderate amount of protein, meaning 25-30% of calories. Don't over consume protein; only eat enough for muscle repair and metabolic function. For the majority of us, a moderate-protein diet would mean consuming a minimum of one gram per pound of body weight, but no more than 1.5 grams per pound of body weight. Too much protein leads to decreased testosterone, and elevated cortisol, both negative effects. But, diets moderate in protein lead to decreases in Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) levels and increased testosterone bioactivity. The increase in bioavailable testosterone results in increases in sexual function, muscle, red cell mass, contributions to the higher bone density and an increased quality of life.
- Make sure you are completing three high intensity resistance strength-training workouts a week. Research has shown that compound exercises, like the squat, increase the bioavailability of testosterone by over 25% compared to other methods. This increased testosterone is needed to boost muscular and metabolic performance which helps build the lean, sexy muscles we envy in the fitness and muscle magazines. Forget the long, slow, boring cardio sessions, and pick up some weights. Not only will resistance strength training increase testosterone and growth hormones, it provides a myriad of other health benefits. Resistance training fights osteoporosis, hearth disease, Alzheimer's and other diseases of aging.
- Include interval training several times a week. Research shows that interval training helps people lose more body fat when compared to slow, steady aerobic cardio training in a fat loss study. Those who use interval training lose more body fat than the ones stuck on the cardio machines for hours at a time, even though almost every fat loss program in the world today suggests that long cardio workouts are the best fat burning exercise to lose weight. But, science has shown that this is simply incorrect.
- Make sure you get 30 minutes a day of some sort of activity that keeps you moving.You must get off your rear for a minimum of 30 minutes every day! This could be a recreational sport like tennis, golf or basketball. It could even be taking a walk with your wife, playing with your kids or even grocery shopping. Studies show that those who live more active lives have a 16% higher amount of bioactive testosterone, helping them have higher energy levels, more lean muscle, less fat and a higher quality of life. Any activity counts, just keep moving.
