Fad diets that have extreme caloric deficits tend to lead to lowering testosterone (T) levels. Usually, the more severe the calorie deficit, the bigger the drop in T levels.

An example is natural bodybuilders that compete on stage. They aim to step on stage at around 5% body fat, and their T levels are next to levels experienced by castrated individuals.

Here is why their T levels are that low: when a man doesn’t have enough nutrients to support their body’s metabolic & hormonal system, the production of hormones are either shut down or slowed down due to lack of raw materials needed to create a balanced hormonal & metabolic system.

In this extreme state of deprivation, the body uses what it can receive for essential systems only and the reproductive systems (which testosterone falls under) isn’t considered necessary for short-term survival.

The direct connection between nutrition and testosterone is:

Malnutrition or an excessive unbalanced deficit of calories = Lower T

Nutrient dense intake or a balanced macronutrient maintenance calories = Higher T

This goes for the most part, an exception being specific medical conditions.

If a man is considered overweight practicing a slight calorie deficit, can increase their testosterone levels. The excess fat produces an enzyme called aromatase that converts testosterone to estrogen. The more fat lost, the lower aromatase production occurs, and hence less testosterone gets converted to estrogen.

Research consensus says, the closer the body fat percentage is to 8-10%, the stronger the correlation to higher testosterone is. Once body fat dips below 8%, T levels tend to decline.

Food & High Natural Testosterone

Step 1: Eat the Right Amount of Calories

If a man is over 12% fat, then using a slight calorie deficit (~300-500) to reach 8-12% is beneficial. Once 8-12 % is achieved, a man should practice eating maintenance calories or practice short cuts and lean bulking cycles in the 8-12% body fat range.

If a man is already between 8-12% range, then eating at maintenance calories or slightly above (~300-500) if they intend to build more lean muscle.

Lean bulking boosts testosterone levels in the short-term when a person is in the 8-12% lean range. Once a man passes this span and goes above 14-15%, T levels begin to decline due to testosterone being converted to estrogen via aromatization.

Look into Intermittent Fasting to make life a little easier when being in a slight calorie deficit is challenging.

Step 2: Get an Adequate Amount of Micronutrients

Once a man learns to stay in the lean range of 8-12% body fat, the next focus should be on any vitamin and mineral deficiencies they may have.

With the current obesity epidemic plaguing Canada & America, most would think that the average man’s vitamin and mineral reserves should not be a problem. Considering the amount of food consumed that created the epidemic, logic would dictate that men have enough vitamins & minerals. Sadly, most common food eaten by the populous is devoid of vitamins & minerals. Hence why a vast majority of Canadian & American men are deficient in their micronutrients spectrum.

2014 study: Percentage of people on the Standard American Diet that are micronutrient deficient

Vitamin A (35%) Vitamin C (31%) Vitamin E (67%)

Vitamin D (74%) Vitamin K (67%) Choline (92%)

Calcium (39%) Magnesium (46%) Potassium (100%)

For most men with their current state of micronutrient spectrum, men could double or triple their testosterone levels simply by elevating their micronutrient spectrum deficiencies. Correcting the micronutrient imbalance starts with increasing the number of whole foods and decreasing the number of processed foods. Foods like eggs, grass-fed lean cut meats, fruits like pomegranates, berries like blueberries, sweet potatoes & yams, healthy fats like avocados & walnuts, and so on. A proper ‘whole food-based diet’ alone covers the intake of many key micronutrients & helps you eat cleaner for your fat loss progression.

Despite what a lot of marketers say, research shows men can gain optimal vitamin & mineral levels through proper eating. You must consider eating a variety of veggies, fruits, complex starches, nuts & seeds, and animal products. There are so many combinations of proper eating that you could eat each day of the year differently. Considering our western restaurant dishes, food availability at the markets/gardens & degree to which most people know how to cook, people may eat a large variety of different meals for a month.

Most men reading this would wonder how can they do this. Most men barely have enough time to prep a healthy lunch before work. These men can’t imagine having to cook dinner after a long day at work. So what can these men do to have an “OK diet”? They can supplement with a good multivitamin.

You find a good multivitamin supplement at your local pharmacy. The multivitamin should not be under dosed with your micronutrient deficiency. Otherwise, compare the back of the containers and value ones with the highest advantages overall. Favour Selenium, Magnesium, and Zinc if you’re merely focusing on essential minerals for testosterone assistance, but again, whole foods are always better (Brazil nuts for all three of those minerals) and do not fall for T boosters or anything of that nature at your local supplement store.

The competitive bodybuilding industry has an obsession with protein since amino acids are the basic building blocks of muscle fibers. Their rational figures that: the higher the protein intake, the better the rate of muscle growth. That’s simply not true.

Eating protein doesn’t stimulate muscle growth alone, training does. Amino acids just need to be there to permit the growth to occur. Your body creates most of the amino acids to build your body, the essential amino acids (essential because your body can’t make them) are highly absorbed by your digestive system from all your meats, fruits, and veggies. Did you know elephants and gorillas are vegetarian, yet they have so much muscle and strength! You’re neither of those animals, but it goes to show you that your diet will be more than sufficient.

A protein shake is totally fine since it’s just pre-digested and easily absorbed amino acids. Be sure not to over indulge in shakes if you like them. If you do overindulge without considering the number of calories, you may gain fat if the calories are way above where you should be.

Step 3: Optimizing Macronutrient Ratios

Total caloric intake plays a significant role in raising or lowering your testosterone, as we discussed. Something most men don’t know is that the macronutrient profile of the food they consume plays a pivotal role in determining their hormonal balance.

Protein is the least important macronutrient for T production. Research proves that fats and carbs are more important for the endocrine system. Unnecessarily high protein diets are indirectly detrimental for T production. If the calories are fixed, an increase in protein consumption means a decrease in fat and carbohydrate intake. That takes away from your T production.

To support the endocrine system, it’s best to eat enough protein to maximize muscle growth but not more than that.

Studies found the ideal protein range to be 0.8-1.3 grams per pound of body weight or 1.8-2.9 grams per kilogram.

For most men that start exercising, these men should steer for the lower end of that range, implying 0.8 to 0.9g per pound or 1.8 to 2 grams per kilogram. In this manner, they leave more room for the healthy fats and carbs. For competitive athletes due to the higher caloric intake, they would use the greater end of that range at 1.0-1.3 g/lb or 2.1 -2.9 g/kg.

The high fat, low carb diet is often marketed in fitness circles to be ideal for T optimization but what works best is eating a balance of fats and carbs.

There are two important factors to consider focusing on for dietary fat intake:

1. The amount of dietary fat consumed.
2. The ratio of different forms of fatty acids.

Many studies have depicted that when comparing diets low in total fat intake versus diets higher in fat intake. The raised intake group always have higher levels of testosterone and less sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in their blood.

In a separate study, two world class ice-hockey teams that were on different diets for high-carb: months. One team had a diet containing 40% fat and 45% carbs, a contrast to the other team who had a diet with 30% fat and 55% carbs. Protein intake for both groups, and this the same. Both during & after the study, the results showed that the higher fat intake team had a higher free T level coupled with lower SHBG levels than, the lower fat intake team.

The type of fat a man eats is vital. In a study, diets high in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) & monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), had significantly increased testosterone levels. The diets high in protein or the foods high in polyunsaturated fats, both reduced testosterone levels (dose dependent plays a factor, but equal g/lb were maintained).

Meaning, eating 35-40% of your daily calories from mostly SFAs and MUFAs would be the recommendation for optimal testosterone production. Staying within 35-40% is optimal, if one were to increase that percentage, they would have little room for carbohydrates and protein. This compromise is not considered optimal for testosterone production.

Carbohydrates don't prevent a man from losing weight. Carbs are crucial for testosterone production & hormonal harmony.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) starts the cascade of events that lead to testosterone synthesis. GnRH regulates its release rate according to the blood glucose levels. When high amounts of glucose are present with micronutrients, the hypothalamus releases more GnRH; therefore your body synthesizes more testosterone.

Glucose primarily comes from carbohydrates, low-carb diets tend lower blood sugar, and that translates to lower muscle & brain glucose quantity. The ‘glucose scarcity’ from low-carb diets lead to a slower release of GnRH and thus lower T levels. Research has shown this pattern over and over again with low-carb diets.

In a study, researchers had two groups. One group had a high-carb:low-protein diet and the other group had a low-carb:high-protein diet. Fat intake and calories were identical. Ten days in, the results determined that the high-carb crowd had measurably higher free testosterone levels (+36%), lower cortisol levels, and lower SHBG levels compared to the high-protein low-carb group.

Men should be eating plenty of healthy carbs, but not all carbohydrate sources are equal when it comes to improving testosterone levels.

Carbohydrate classes to compare:

Group 1: Veggies & Complex Starches: potatoes, yam, pumpkins, beets, carrots, turnips, squash, etc.

Group 2: Grains: wheat, rice, cereals, pasta, corn, bread, etc.

If the goal is boost testosterone, then most of the carbs consumed would be from Group 1 and less from Group 2.

Grains and grain based products contain a lot of gluten and gluten is known for its prolactin-increasing effects (needless to say this came from a study). Prolactin is known for reducing testosterone levels, and this isn’t the typical anti-gluten craze. Men should avoid excess prolactin to optimize testosterone.

Refined grains are well known to cause systemic inflammation of the body as well. Inflammation is the underlining cause that cascades into many well-known medical conditions plaguing our society today. Inflammation promotes cortisol to be released, and cortisol reduces testosterone.

Take home message to optimize T through food:

1. Aim for 8-12% body fat, or even 8-14%.
2. Focus on your micronutrients.
3. 35-45% carbs, 35-45% fats, 20-30% protein.

Thank you for your support, next post discusses foods to avoid that lower testosterone.