From producing secondary sex characteristics to building muscle, testosterone is a powerful hormone that is responsible for many benefits to men's bodies. Besides exercising and supplementation, testosterone can also be increased by consuming the right kind of foods.
Garlic
Research shows that garlic has positive effects on testosterone. In a study published in the "Journal of Nutrition," subjects consuming 40 and 25 percent casein diets with garlic powder had significantly higher testosterone levels compared to those following the same diets without garlic powder. Furthermore, scientists studied the effects of diallyldisulfide (sulfur compound in garlic) on testosterone. The results cited that subjects ingesting diallyldisulfide increased their levels of luteinizing hormone, which stimulates the testes to produce testosterone.
Oysters
According to "Nutrition", the mineral zinc plays a vital role in testosterone production. Researchers investigated the effects of zinc supplementation on testosterone levels in 40 normal men between the ages of 20 and 80. The younger men restricted zinc intake while the older men increased their zinc intake via zinc gluconate. The results reported that testosterone levels decreased in younger men restricting zinc whereas older men increased their testosterone levels with zinc supplementation. Consume zinc-rich oysters a few times a week to boost testosterone.
Red Meat
In a study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," researchers analyzed the relationship between dietary nutrients and testosterone. Subjects were placed into three groups: Seventh Adventist Church vegetarian, Seventh Adventist Church non-vegetarian, and non-vegetarian. Subjects provided researchers with information regarding three days of food intake. The non-vegetarian groups had higher fat and lower fiber intake than the vegetarian group. Subjects' testosterone levels were then sampled. Scientists found that the non-vegetarian group had higher levels of testosterone than the vegetarian group. They suggested that the high fiber and low fat of the vegetarian group might have disrupted testosterone production. Eat red meat a couple of times of week to obtain the fat necessary for testosterone production.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are packed with beta carotene, a precursor to the testosterone boosting vitamin A. In a study published in "Clinical Endocrinology," six months of high vitamin A supplementation with iron significantly boosted testosterone levels in delayed pubertal maturation boys. Scientists found the effect of vitamin A on testosterone levels was equivalent to receiving testosterone therapy.
References
- Journal of Nutrition: Garlic Supplementation Increases Testicular Testosterone and Decreases Plasma Corticosterone in Rats Fed a High Protein Diet
- Nutrition: Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Dietary and hormonal interrelationships among vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists and nonvegetarian men
- Clinical Endocrinology: Vitamin A and iron supplementation is as efficient as hormonal therapy in constitutionally delayed children
