Ways to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally

Although testosterone is an androgen, or male sex hormone, females also require it. Low testosterone has been linked to depression in both men and women. In men, low testosterone has been linked to reduced libido[1] and poor health outcomes, like the emergence of metabolic syndrome[2].

Males in their middle years[5] and older[6] experience a 0.4% to 1.6% annual decline in testosterone levels, and many of these men have lower-than-average levels even in their 30s[7]. Fortunately, good sleep, exercise, weight control, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin D can all support normal testosterone levels.

Lifestyle
Not only do you need the right amounts of vitamins and minerals to increase your testosterone levels, but you also need to get enough sleep, exercise, and maintain a healthy weight.

1. Sleep
Several health problems are brought on by lack of sleep. In particular, it reduces the production of testosterone[8][9][10][11][12] and promotes fat accumulation[13] (and we'll show that fat gain can actually reduce testosterone production). We will shortly post an essay about the importance of getting adequate good sleep.

2. Physical exercise
Most importantly, resistance training can increase testosterone production over the long term by enhancing body composition and lowering insulin resistance. Resistance training can increase testosterone levels for 15 to 30 minutes after exercise .[14]

Nevertheless, overtraining has the opposite effect. You can get the full rewards of physical activity by ensuring appropriate recuperation time. Extended endurance exercise in particular can lower your testosterone levels.

3. weight control
Particularly in middle-aged and older men, weight increase and the chronic diseases it is associated with—including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease—are closely connected to declines in testosterone.

Your ability to produce testosterone decreases when you put on weight (as fat). Fortunately, your testosterone production can increase again if you reduce weight.

As this graph illustrates, observational studies have consistently found that, in individuals who are overweight or obese, testosterone levels increase in proportion to weight loss .[18]

Clinical trials have confirmed these findings. In a meta-analysis of 24 RCTs, weight reduction brought on by diet or bariatric surgery was compared:[22] In diet trials, an average 9.8% weight loss was associated with a 2.9 nmol/L (84 ng/dL) increase in testosterone. The average weight loss of 32% after bariatric surgery was associated with a rise in testosterone of 8.7 nmol/L (251 ng/dL).

It's also not necessary to shed a lot of weight to see a rise in testosterone levels: a 5% weight loss can result in an increase in total testosterone of 2 nmol/L (58 ng/dL) .[23]

Healthy testosterone levels are supported by enough sleep, exercise, and weight management; these factors work in concert because inadequate sleep makes it more difficult to exercise and more likely that you will acquire weight. Exercise makes it simpler to sleep and maintain a healthy weight. You find it simpler to exercise and sleep if your weight is in a healthy range.

Check out our infographic and article here to learn more about the relationship between lifestyle and testosterone.

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Supplements
The production of testosterone has been demonstrated to be aided by a small number of supplements. Of them, magnesium is backed up by the most data, followed by zinc and vitamin D. However there are two things to keep in mind:

Only if you have a deficiency or insufficiency in a certain vitamin or mineral will taking a supplement make sense for you.

If your testosterone levels are low, treating a shortfall or insufficiency is more likely to increase them.

1. Nutrition D
In an ideal world, you would make all the vitamin D you need from exposure to sunlight, but if you have dark skin, live far from the equator, or just spend most of your time inside, you may need to augment your own production with the aid of foods or pills.

levels of 25(OH)D in the blood
image
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin D in Canada and the United States is between 400 and 800 IU (International Units).[26] These amounts, which some have criticized as being too low,[27][28] are only available from a select few food sources, which is why vitamin D has grown in popularity as a supplement.

Vitamin D (IU*) RDAs, recommended daily allowances

AGE MALE FEMALE PREGNANT LACTATING
Ages 0 to 12: 400** 400** — —
1-13 years 600 600 — —
14-18 years 600 600 600 600
19-50 years 600 600 600 600
51-70 years 600 600 — —
>70 years 800 800 — —
A sufficient consumption is 40 IU, or 1 mcg (AI)
Institute of Medicine as a source. Chapter 5 of Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D, published by The National Academies Press in 2011, is titled "Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy: Calcium and Vitamin D."

2. Zinc
testosterone production can be hampered by a zinc shortage. Like magnesium, zinc is lost through perspiration, therefore athletes and other people who perspire a lot are more likely to have deficiencies. Although though the majority of dietary zinc is found in animal sources, some cereals and nuts also contain zinc.

zinc's RDA (recommended daily allowance) (mg)

AGE MALE FEMALE PREGNANT LACTATING
0 to 6 months 2* 2* —
7 to 12 months 3 3 — —
1-3 years 3 3 — —
4-8 years 5 5 — —
9-13 years 8 8 — —
14-18 years 11 9 12 13
19+ years 11 8 11 12
* Institute of Medicine, Adequate Intake (AI). The National Academies Press, 2001. DOI:10.17226/10026, Chapter 12 of Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, and Zinc.

Overeating[32] can be dangerous if you eat a lot more than your RDA. High doses have the potential to produce nausea and vomiting in the near term[33] as well as a copper shortage in the long term[35][36].

3. Magnesium
An increase in magnesium consumption can result in an increase in testosterone production in males with low levels of both magnesium and testosterone, both directly and indirectly (because one of magnesium's jobs in the body is to aid in the conversion of vitamin D into its active form[38]).

Magnesium shortage is not uncommon in younger people, despite being more prevalent in the older population[39] (notably athletes,[40] since, link zinc, magnesium is lost through sweat[31][41][42]). Yet, consuming your RDA should be simple because there are many foods that are high in magnesium and that are suitable for a variety of diets.

magnesium's recommended dietary allowance (mg)

AGE MALE FEMALE PREGNANT LACTATING
0 to 6 months 30* 30* —
7 to 12 months 75* 75* —
1-3 years 80 80 — —
4-8 years 130 130 — —
9-13 years 240 240 — —
14-18 years 410 360 400 360
19-30 years 400 310 350 310
31-50 years 420 320 360 320
>51 years 420 320 — —
* Sufficient intake (AI)
Institute of Medicine as a source. Magnesium (chapter 6 in Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. The National Academies Press. 1997. [43]) (chapter 6 in Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. The National Academies Press. 1997. [43])

Remember that supplemental magnesium is more likely to have negative effects than dietary magnesium if you still feel the need to supplement. For this reason, the FDA set the Tolerable Upper Intake Limit for magnesium supplementation in adults at 350 mg. Aside from that, you might wish to stay away from magnesium oxide because it has a low bioavailability (rats absorbed just 15% of it in one study[44] and humans only 4% in another[45]) and might lead to diarrhea and uncomfortable digestive symptoms.