That’s why millions of guy take dangerous steroids, and millions more buy products that claim to be able to boost testosterone naturally (but do very little, in reality).
So, are there healthy, scientifically proven ways to increase your testosterone production without taking drugs or wasting ungodly amounts of money on fancy supplements? Absolutely.
There are six easy, healthy ways, actually. If you incorporate all into your daily routine, you can notice quite a difference.
Research has shown that vegetables rich in a substance known as indole-3-carbinol, or “I3C,” can positively alter estrogen metabolism in men (in this study, 500 mg of I3C per day reduced “bad” estrogens by 50%). This, in turn, helps maintain optimal levels of testosterone.
I3C occurs naturally in cruciferous vegetables such as bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, rutabaga, and turnip.
If you can work 1–2 servings of these types of veggies into your daily meal plan, it can help your hormones.
One study had two groups of men, all comparable in health and build, follow a weightlifting program for twelve weeks. By the end of the program, all had progressed about equally in strength, but only the meat eaters enjoyed significant muscle growth and fat loss.
“Meat” doesn’t only mean red meat, by the way. Fish, chicken, turkey, pork, buffalo, and so on all qualify as “meat” in this sense.
I eat two servings of meat every day (lunch and dinner), and when I’m bulking, I eat at least four servings of red meat each week (95% lean, or lean cuts of meat like filet or NY strip). When I’m cutting, I do one to two servings of red meat per week.
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#3 Eat Enough Healthy Fats
Fats are the densest energy sources available to your body. Each gram of fat contains over twice the calories of a gram of carbohydrate or protein.
Healthy fats, such as those found in meat, dairy, olive oil, avocados, flax seed oil, many nuts, and other foods, are actually an important component to overall health. Fats help your body absorb the other nutrients that you give it, nourish the nervous system, help maintain cell structures, regulate hormone levels, and more. Research has shown that men whose diets are rich in healthy fats have significantly higher testosterone levels than those whose diets are lacking in this regard.
It’s commonly believed that eating saturated fat, like the fats mainly in animal products such as meat, dairy products, and egg yolks., harms your health. Research is proving this claim to be untrue, however. In fact, recent research indicates the opposite may be true–that saturated fat may actually reduce your risk of heart disease.
The type of fat you want to avoid at all costs, however, is trans fat.
Trans fat is a scientifically modified form of saturated fat that has been engineered to give foods longer shelf lives. Many cheap, packaged foods are full of trans fat (such as run-of-the-mill popcorn, yogurt, and peanut butter), as are many frozen foods (such as frozen pizza, packaged pastries, cakes, etc.). Fried foods are often cooked in trans fat.
So, try not to sweat the little annoyances so much, avoid overtraining, take some time for yourself every day to chill out, and avoid conflicts by trying to treat others the way you’d like to be treated, and you’ll not only be happier in life, but you’ll make better gains in the gym (which leads to even more happiness–cool!).
#5 Get Enough Sleep
Many people work long hours and cut down on their sleep to make extra time for themselves at night. While I totally understand this and have done it many times myself, it’s not a good habit to get into.
Research has shown that not sleeping enough reduces testosterone levels. In that study, young healthy men were restricted to 5 hours of sleep per night, and it decreased their daytime testosterone levels by 10% to 15%.
Oh and don’t worry about the whole “before or after midnight” thing. There is no scientific evidence that sleep hours after midnight are less beneficial than those before midnight, or that you should get to bed before midnight for proper sleep.
#6 Have More Sex
As one would expect, having sex increases testosterone levels, so now you can tell your girl that it’s her duty to help preserve your health by putting out (hah).
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These are six of the easiest, healthiest ways that you can increase your testosterone levels, and I recommend that you incorporate them all into your lifestyle. I did that a few years ago and have kept them in, and the differences in how I look and feel are night and day.
Do you already have some experience with any of these? Want to say anything else? Let me know in the comments below!
Mike Matthews is the founder of Legion as well as the author of several award-winning fitness books, including Bigger Leaner Stronger, Muscle for Life, and The Shredded Chef.
His simple and science-based approach to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy has sold over a million books and helped thousands of people build their best bodies ever, and his work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire, Men’s Health, Elle, Women’s Health, Muscle & Strength, and more, as well as on FOX and ABC.
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Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the United States, your order ships free regardless of order size, if you live in the UK or Canada, your order ships free when it’s over $99, and if you live elsewhere, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK or Canada, your order ships free when it’s over $99.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Clinically Effective Ingredients & Doses
Many ingredients in supplements don’t have any scientifically validated benefits, and many ingredients that do are often underdosed to the point of irrelevance.
That’s why we only use the choice ingredients and precise doses shown to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
Clinically Effective Doses
You need more than great ingredients to make great products—you also need proper doses. That’s why we use the precise doses of ingredients shown to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
Natural Ingredients
“Natural” doesn’t always mean “better,” but in many cases, natural ingredients are superior to artificial ones for various reasons, including purity, safety, and efficacy.
That’s why all of our ingredients in all of our products come from plant and animal sources, including sweeteners, colors, and flavors.
Made in USA with Globally Sourced Ingredients
If you want to ensure the supplements you’re swallowing every day are safe and effective, you want products produced in the USA.
That’s why all of our supplements are made in America in NSF-certified and FDA-inspected facilities that operate in accordance with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations.
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Did you know that supplements can contain dangerously high levels of toxins like lead, arsenic, and cadmium?
That’s why we test every ingredient of every supplement we produce for heavy metals, microbes, allergens, and other contaminants and ensure they meet the strict purity standards set by the FDA.
Naturally Sweetened & Flavored
While artificial sweeteners may not be as dangerous as some people claim, studies suggest that regular consumption of these chemicals may indeed be harmful to our health.
That’s why all of our supplements are naturally sweetened and flavored and contain no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk.
Science-Backed Ingredients
Many ingredients in supplements don’t have any scientifically validated benefits. That’s why we only use choice ingredients shown to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
No Chemical Junk
“Natural” doesn’t always mean “better,” but in many cases, natural ingredients are superior to artificial ones for various reasons, including purity, safety, and efficacy.
That’s why all of our ingredients in all of our products come from plant and animal sources, including sweeteners, colors, and flavors.
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In consideration of the services and/or products offered by Legion Athletics, Inc. (“Legion”) including, but not limited to, nutrition plans, exercise routines and coaching, and in addition to the payment of any fee or charge:
I knowingly and voluntarily enter into this waiver and release of liability and hereby waive any and all rights, claims or causes of action of any kind whatsoever arising out of my use of Legion’s services and/or products, and I hereby release and hold harmless Legion and its consultants, officers, contractors, agents, owners and employees from any and all responsibility, liability, cost and expenses, including for injuries, damages or disorders (physical, metabolic, or otherwise), resulting from my use of Legion’s services and/or products.
I understand that fitness activities including, but not limited to, strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular exercise, with or without the use of equipment, are potentially hazardous activities that involve a risk of injury and even death, and I am voluntarily participating in these activities and using equipment and machinery with knowledge of the risks involved. I hereby agree to assume and accept any and all risks of injury or death related to said fitness activities.
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Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab by Labdoor™, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
This product doesn’t just “contain natural ingredients”—every ingredient is naturally sourced from plants and animals. This product contains no artificial or synthetic sweeteners or flavors of any kind.
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Thanks to their connections, credentials, and academic experience, this team of MDs, PhDs, and other professionals has access to a wealth of research published in the largest and most prestigious journals in the world.
This allows them to not only review individual studies but also analyze the overall weight of the evidence on any and all topics related to diet, exercise, supplementation, and more.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, or anything less than factual, please let us know in the comments section of the article in question.
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