One of the most common questions asked by my students is how can you increase testosterone levels without using steroids? This is a valid question because we all know that testosterone is the primary hormone responsible for muscle growth, sex drive, and oftentimes overall well being in men. So no wonder guys want more of it. Of course, there are also quite a few women who prefer to have higher testosterone levels. So the question then is other safe strategies we can use to naturally increase our testosterone levels? And the answer is yes, definitely.

What you have to understand though, is that these strategies have limits. Many people who ask these kind of questions are beginners looking for a fast and easy way to build more muscle. Even though the strategies I'm going to talk about are proven to work, they will not make you look like a bodybuilder or double the amount of muscle you can build within a month. Much of your body's ability to produce testosterone is limited by your genetics. So what we can try to do is to take advantage of your full potential, which will have a positive impact on your muscle gains and overall mood. But don't think of this as some sort of diet hack that will make you become the Incredible Hulk without ever setting foot into a gym.

Also, what I want to make clear from the beginning is that I'm not going to talk about some sort of testosterone boosting supplement. Why? Because the vast majority of the supplements marketed as testosterone boosters simply don't work. None of the legal testosterone supplements will have a significant impact on your testosterone levels and or your ability to build muscle. That's the hard truth. So even though most sales pitches will tell you otherwise, they're mostly a waste of your time and money.

With that being said, here's some legit ways to increase your testosterone. Number one is a higher fat intake. Like I said before, dietary fat is important for the production of hormones, including testosterone Studies have linked lower fat diets to lower testosterone levels and higher fat diets to higher testosterone levels, thus making a sufficient fat intake an important aspect of your diet. So how much fat Should we eat per day to make sure you're getting enough, the minimum number of 20% of your calories I gave in the last month fat intake will usually be enough for most people. But if you want to test things out, you can go a little higher until maybe 30%. To see if you notice any differences.

Of course, that fat should still come from a good mix of saturated monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Number two is vitamin D. Vitamin D has become one of the most recommended supplements over the last few years due to its proven positive effects on immune function, bone health mood, reducing the risks of variety of diseases and more. Unfortunately, many Europeans and North Americans have vitamin D deficiencies especially during the winter. So bringing your vitamin D levels back Up to normal can help with testosterone production. But how can you find out for sure if you're deficient, go to your doctor and get your blood tested. That's the only way to know for sure.

If you have a legit deficiency, your doctor will probably prescribe a fairly high dose of vitamin D to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, then followed by some smaller maintenance dose to continue taking from that point on. Number three on the list is zinc. Research also shows a link between zinc deficiencies and lower testosterone levels. And just like with vitamin D, when zinc supplementation bring things up from deficient to optimal levels to start with increases right along with it. Also, just like with vitamin D, if you're already getting a sufficient amount of zinc, additional supplementation beyond that point will not have any positive effects on your testosterone levels. Due to the additional benefit of zinc for your immune system.

I supplement with a fairly standard dose of 10 milligrams per day. Alternatively, you could also include Is your consumption of food high in zinc, such as shellfish, beef, lamb, and certain nuts and seeds, but I'm personally not a big fan of micromanaging my diet. Next is alcohol. As you can probably imagine, a large and excessive amounts of alcohol can potentially harm your testosterone levels. So my advice here is pretty straightforward. Try to limit your alcohol intake.

You don't have to stop entirely drinking it, but when you're going to drink it, stay within the realm of moderate alcohol consumption, and you will probably be just fine. But the more you exceed this moderate level, the more negative effects you will notice, of course, not just on your testosterone levels, but on your general health. Another important factor is sleep. Studies show an association between insufficient amount of sleep and lower testosterone levels. studies where participants had to sleep less than five hours per night showed an immediate 10 to 15% reduction in testosterone levels. Now of course, very few people will sleep less than five hours.

But I know quite a few people who only sleep six. And this is usually not sufficient. anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep per night will be ideal for most people and going below this will negatively impact your testosterone level and your overall health. And the last thing I should mention is stress. The more stress we experience in our lives, be it mental or physical stress, the more our cortisol levels increase, and the higher cortisol levels increase and the longer they remain elevated, the more problems you will have in terms of overall health well being and of course, testosterone. Stress comes in a variety of forms.

Most people will be thinking of the typical stuff, issues with your job, school, work, family, friends, partner, etc. This kind of stress is often mental and reducing it will likely be something you want to talk about with your therapist and not your diet coach. But there's also physical stress For example, not enough sleep, like I mentioned before, or overtraining or the wrong kind of training, excessive calorie deficits and digestive issues also count as physical stress. And these are the things you can change in the short term. This nutrition program alone should help you avoid excessive calorie deficits and digestive issues. For the right workouts, either check out my other courses or talk to a personal trainer you trust.

Simply keep in mind that whatever you can do in your life to reduce stress, and let's keep your cortisol levels where you want them to be will benefit your testosterone level and your overall well being