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We are in the middle of a manhood crisis.
Testosterone levels have been dropping since the 1970s — a trend that is not showing any signs of slowing down.
Forget everything you’ve heard about testosterone
Unfortunately, the word testosterone is starting to have a negative connotation. When someone mentions testosterone we are now conditioned to think of juiced-to-the-gills bodybuilders, horny teenagers or angry guys who pick a fight with everyone they run into.
That’s all wrong.
Testosterone is the most important hormone men produce. It’s what makes us men. And since testosterone levels are on the decline, it means we are getting less manly with each passing decade.
As men, we are more than our hormones. Once we make it through our teens, we define ourselves by our accomplishments, our jobs, our friends, and the women we bring into our lives. The kicker is that testosterone impacts our desire to improve and achieve in all those areas.
Why this matters
Testosterone is a vital hormone when it comes to men’s health and wellness. It’s not only important for having sex and building muscle. It’s the hormone driving our desire to strive, to procreate and to take out our aggression.
Testosterone has an inverse relationship with estrogen. When one goes up, the other goes down in response. As our testosterone levels dip, our estrogen levels go up.
In men this can lead to:
Excess fat gain
Heart disease
Erectile dysfunction
Decreased libido
Depression
Lethargy
Lack of body hair
Shrunken testicles
Decreased immune system
Having optimal testosterone levels is vital to your health, wellness and performance. If your testosterone levels are not where they should be you’re at a serious disadvantage in the gym, with women and in your career.
Testosterone is a surprisingly controversial topic and there’s new research being done constantly to figure out what causes testosterone levels to decline — and how we can get them back to normal.
Here are three causes of declining testosterone levels and what you can do to reverse their effect.
You’re eating too much junk.
In our modern world, delicious foods are readily available at every turn. We never find ourselves on the brink of starvation like our ancestors once did. Which makes it easy to chronically overeat — and primarily eat too much junk food.
This is bad for a couple of reason.
1) Junk foods typically contain terrible ingredients, and science seems to think these ingredients are impacting our hormone production. We just don’t know how drastic that impact is yet.
2) Junk foods are an easily digestible source of calories. Those calories aren’t filling, and we end up consuming more calories than we need.
Eating more calories leads to more fat gain over time, which can majorly impact your ability to produce testosterone. In fact, excess fat storage means that your body will typically begin to ramp up cortisol and estrogen production — and decrease testosterone production in response.
The fix:
Stop eating refined carbohydrates for a while.
Cut back on your alcohol intake (alcohol inhibits hormone production, and we also tend to eat lower quality food after drinking)
Eat plenty of fibrous vegetables
Eat red meats (the saturated fat will aid testosterone production)
You’re not lifting weights.
This is one of the most basic tenets of producing more testosterone. You need to be lifting heavy things. Lifting weights directly causes your body to respond by increasing its testosterone output. This has been known for years — and it’s part of the reason we associate testosterone with bros in the gym.
When you’re lifting weights, you’re forcing the muscles to adapt and recover by growing bigger and stronger. We obviously have to eat protein and quality carbohydrates to fuel recovery but, on a hormonal level, testosterone plays a huge role in recovery and muscle building processes.
On a more primal level, lifting weights offers a healthy outlet to take out your aggression. Anger is an emotion that’s partially fueled by testosterone, and when you tap into it relatively often (in a controlled setting like the gym) two things will happen:
You’ll feel angry less often because you will now have an outlet for your feelings of aggression.
Your body is going to respond by ramping up its testosterone production — because anger is a stimulus in itself.
The fix:
Get into a gym immediately and start lifting. You don’t have to join a hardcore powerlifting gym or anything like that. Hell, Planet Fitness will get the job done. The important thing is that you start exercising your right to exercise.
If you’re new to working out, most places offer initial consultations with personal trainers who can show you around. If you’re looking for a program to follow, consider hiring a personal training or finding resources online.
You’re relying on testosterone replacement therapy.
Testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT, has become the de facto choice for most guys who find out they’re suffering from low T levels. In theory, it’s a perfect solution: Rub a little cream, take a pill or get a shot and your testosterone levels are back to normal.
Life is rarely that simple. Many of the men who go through TRT experience minimal testosterone production to begin with. When they get on TRT, they rarely change their lifestyle. And because their body is receiving testosterone from an outside source, natural testosterone production decreases even more.
In the beginning stages of TRT, many men report feeling more “manly”, aggressive and sexually aroused and have a bigger desire to work out. Some even follow through on these desires. But those who don’t further perpetuate the problem — until they need to up the dosage of T.
The fix:
Consult with your Doctor and figure out a way to steadily decrease the amount of testosterone you’re receiving while actively work to increase your testosterone levels naturally. Some Doctor’s will take you off completely right from the start if you don’t have too far to go.
Once you’ve consulted with your Doctor, the suggestions listed above are the best ways to start increasing your testosterone.
Testosterone isn’t a hormone that should be demonized. It’s an integral part of men, and without it we as men suffer. Because of that, those around us suffer. Start taking action and get your testosterone levels in check. Not only will you be better because of it, those around you will.