Boosting Testosterone

[skrimpy]

I will add to this info as I research more, but I thought this would be good to have since there are so many threads on reducing testosterone for you TTC girly girl gals Some of us want more blue !

This is very amateur effort but hopefully helpful to some of you. It's the jumping-off point for me starting my own research so I thought I would share! Hopefully it's okay

Raising Testosterone for You and Your Man:

Most of this info comes from a great article here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-t...one-naturally/ Check it out for more detail and links

Indications of high testosterone

• In men, erection strength/frequency are good indicators
  
• Emotional reactions to "losing" in men and women are stronger if testosterone is higher. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18505319) i.e. losing a game, something not going your way, etc.

Increasing Testosterone via Diet and Lifestyle:

• Resistance Training (lifting heavy things). Timing between sets can increase testosterone levels (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20555276)
  
• Doing sprints (https://www.thieme-connect.com/DOI/D...s-0030-1248243)
  
• Get plenty of sleep (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18519168)
  
• Do Not Overtrain (http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/testos...tosterone.html) - this is esp important for us ladies. If you start a training regime and find your periods stop/delay scale back!
  
• Avoid stress - this lowers testosterone. I know that some places I've read says stress can sway for blue so I'm not sure?
  
• Vitamin D is associated with good testosterone levels (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20050857)
  
• Try and eat pastured (grass-fed) meats and especially fats (animal fat and dairy) - conventionally raised animals (and their fats) have dioxins which have been shown to reduce testosterone (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17107848)
  
• Saturated, Monounsaturated Fats, and Cholesterol are associated with higher testosterone (http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/82/1/49) Conversely, a low-fat, high-fiber diet *lowers* testosterone (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract) Polyunsaturated fats don't seem to have much effect either way.
  
• Rapid blood glucose (sugar) spikes drastically drop testosterone (http://www.azcentral.com/health/news...vels-down.html) in diabetic AND non-diabetic individuals. Avoid foods that spike blood sugar (sugars, cereal, bread, corn, pasta etc.) The effect is quick so I think it would be esp. important to avoid these just before and around TTC boy attempts.
  
• Get adequate (RDA) levels of zinc (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8875519) Deficiency lowers testosterone but mega-doses don't make a huge difference. Normal levels are good.
  
• There are some notes on beer lowering testosterone and red wine may help raise it - but I can't find references so I'll have to look into it more.
  
• Soy is very estrogenic so I would avoid it and definitely have DH avoid it!
  
• Green tea may also lower estrogen (allowing for more testosterone) but I need to find studies on this, too.
  
• Maca may help - need to research this more.

Additional Thoughts

Taking the Trivers-Willard hypothesis into account, I think if you're TTC boy it would be best to start this well before actual TTC since a lot of it (sprinting, resistance training, even if you're doing it at home/chasing kids) can cause weight loss initially as your body functions better. By working on it in advance you'd have several months for your body to regulate and even build some muscle mass/raise testosterone levels and not be in danger of it thinking this is a "lean" time in your life.

[Viene]

Great research! Green tea should be avoided because it is a phytoestrogen and may raise estrogen levels as well as SHBG levels. If there is more SHBG then the testosterone will bind to that and not be effective.

[atomic sagebrush]

Thank you SO MUCH! I had that on my To-Do list and hadn't gotten to it yet! Very much appreciated, and I will repost it in the "Best Practices" section!!!

[skrimpy]

I am happy to help out! It is really helping my GD to research and plan right now so I'm doing a lot of reading. I hope it works for our attempt here in a couple of years

I just finished reading another study so I'll put a few notes in the Best Practices thread!