Thread by @Helios_Movement

Common dietary mistakes when it comes to battling low testosterone levels.

Thread🧵

*Standard disclaimer that nothing in this thread constitutes medical advice*

Mistake number 1: Neglecting a certain macronutrient for too long (months).

There are three macronutrients:
1)Carbohydrates
2)Protein
3)Fat
all of which are crucial for testosterone in the long run.

Let’s say for example that you want to do a high carb (50%+ of your daily caloric intake coming from carbs) and a low-ish protein and fat diet.

Then SHBG could very easily be increased and thus affect your testosterone levels in the long run.

Examples:

Now here’s how i approach each macronutrient.

First we have protein.

Protein, just like all other macronutrients, is crucial for our overall health.

Besides hormonal regulation which is the point of this thread, protein is also crucial for things such as:

-Bone health
-Building and repairing tissues
-Gut health
-Oxygenation
-Skin health
-Brain health

and a lot more.

Now, a high protein diet can create in fact create issues (something that most people who don’t consume nearly enough protein shouldn’t worry about but maybe you should since you’re already past that point most likely) such as hyperammonemia or even suppress fertility for example, BUT, this is the case when the protein sources have a very imbalanced amino acid profile.

Protein after all is composed of amino acids (organic compounds made of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen (or sulfur)) all of which work synergistically and we can’t consume 200 grams of tryptophan for example and only 2 grams of glycine without creating problems.

That would be like consuming 100 grams of zinc and 1 gram of copper.

Imbalances would inevitably be created but this does not mean that zinc is bad. It’s just that we neglected another important mineral.

So to sum up so far.

Number 1: Protein is important for testosterone and our overall health

Number 2: We need to balance the amino acid profile of our diet

The thing with amino acid is that a lot of them are considered “non essential” because we can synthese them.

That is true, BUT, most people’s diets do not provide enough of the building blocks in order for this to happen AND just because something is “non essential” it does not mean that’s not essential for an optimal state of health.

It’s just non essential for pure survival.

Things such as taurine and glycine have tremendous benefits for our overal health (and can by improve our hormonal profiles by themselves), so by prioritizing foods such as:
-Egg yolks
-Organs
-Raw dairy
-Quality seafood
-Bone in meats
-Grass fed gelatine

We can have a lot of the benefits that come from protein but not many of the side effects that can happen through the imbalances in the amino acid profile.

A practical example of this would be to have some let’s say eggs, raw cheese some fruit and gelatine for breakfast for example.

Raw milk as a snack.

A bone in steak or beef heart for example with some carbs and fats for lunch.

And some quality seafood with once again some carbs and fats for dinner.

Another common mistake that people who get into health tend to make due to trends which ends up tanking their testosterone is going too low in carbohydrates.

Now yes, you shouldn’t over consume carbohydrates especially during the winter and when we refer to carbohydrates in this discussion, we are not referring to things such as high fructose corn syrup but things such as seasonal fruit, potatoes, unheated honey and so on.

If we go low carb for extended periods of time, we will inevitable suffer from low testosterone unless: a) we don’t live stressful lives at all and b) our ancestors lived in places where fruit and vegetables could not be grown at all so ketosis suits us.

But since this is unlikely the case, we need carbs in order to not tank testosterone and for overall health in general.

Just make sure to consume the main nutrients that are needed in order for us to properly metabolize carbohydrates such as B vitamins, vitamin K, sunlight and magnesium and stay away from things that interfere with this such as bad fats (canola oil etc), sedentary lifestyle, alcohol and lack of sleep.

And the last mistake macronutrient-wise that people tend to make and end up lowering their testosterone levels is going too low on fat.

The key thing here is that we want the right types of fat.

If you for example increase the fat content of your diet through canola oil for example, the Leydig cell won’t function pretty well and the testosterone levels will drop in general.

Androstenedione and free testosterone levels will drop as well*



So what types of fats are good for testosterone?

Mainly saturated fats from sources such as quality animal fats or coconut oil and some monounsaturated from sources such as quality EVOO.

Moving on to other common dietary mistakes that can lead to low levels of testosterone include:

-Neglecting vitamin C
Vitamin C is rarely talked about when it comes to testosterone, but it protects the Leydig cells from oxidative stressors, up-regulates enzyme activity in them and can even regenerate damaged testosterone molecules.

Of course, make sure to get some whole food vitamin C (berries, camu camu etc) and not ascorbic acid (AA).

AA is the outer shell of the vitamin C complex and when you isolate it, you will REDUCE the valuable copper enzymes which are crucial for things such as melanin and ceruloplasmin.

You also won't have any of the elastin/collagen benefits from things such as the P factors.

-Neglecting calcium

Low calcium -> High aromatase

"Testicular aromatase cytochrome activity was significantly increased by 2.4-fold in the Ca-deficient diet group compared to that in the regular diet group, and the aromatase mRNA level was also significantly increased 1.45-fold".



Calcium is also crucial for our thyroid and without a healthy thyroid we can’t have optimal levels of testosterone.



-Raw or A2 dairy
-Eggshell powder
-Pearl powder

are all great calcium sources.

-Neglecting vitamin B3

Testosterone-wise, niacinamide has even been found as one of the most effective ways to treat age related steroid deficiency and of course a lot of steroidogenic enzymes such as CYP450scc use NAD+

Note: I do not necessarily suggest supplementing B3, even though it can have its place, especially during the winter.

But if you want to supplement with B3, make sure that you’re not struggling with a histamine or serotonin excess and that you get things like choline, B2 and even betaine (look up the one carbon metabolism / how niacinamide for example can lower methyl donors).

-Neglecting vitamin E

Vitamin E, is pretty hard to get even if you consume sprouted organic seeds such as pumpkin seeds.

But Vitamin E:
1. Is a progesterone-sparing agent
2. Reduces histamine
3. Is an estrogen antagonist
4. Is an aromatase inhibitor
5. It increases free testosterone
6. It protects vitamin A from oxidation
7. It increasing LH receptor sensitivity

So things such as red palm oil and EVOO could help boost the vitamin E content of someone’s diet.

-Neglecting iodine

Now due to exposure in things such as heavy metals, chlorine, sodium fluoride, bromine and so on, we all were or still are deficient in certain minerals.

Testosterone wise, iodine can promote the metabolism of estrone and estradiol into estriol, it increases CYP1A1/1B1 for example.

That being said, don’t start popping seaweed on a daily basis.

No, once a week is more than enough for most.

-Neglecting boron

Boron:
-Helps our bodies metabolize but also retain vitamins and minerals
-Has a key role in bone health and brain health.
-Lowers excessive estrogen and SHBG.
-Boosts free and total testosterone levels.
-Can extend the half life of vitamin D.
-Support the adrenals.

And in general, is crucial for our overall health.

Now my favorite source of boron is raisins (without seed oils) if your gut health is fine (If you struggle with certain issues such as SIBO, for example, is better to avoid raisins for now and stick to a low dose boron supplement (2 weeks on 2-3 off)).

-Neglecting magnesium

Magnesium lowers the levels of unbound SHBG in the body, by binding to it leading to more free testosterone in the body by levels up to 40% in some studies.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Now if you want one more tip about nutrition and testosterone, make sure to not neglect thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2) and choline all of which are crucial for the detoxification of estrogen.

That's pretty much it.

I hope that this was simple and helped you perhaps get in a better direction when it comes to improving your T levels through nutrition.

If it did, do me a favor and leave a like.

https://twitter.com/Helios_Movement/status/1721544904944292328