Although normally associated with men, especially aggressive and athletic men, testosterone is important to health for men and women. Testosterone helps with bone and muscle strength, boosts sex drive and affects energy levels. If you have abnormally low testosterone production, you can boost how much testosterone your body creates by taking the vitamins most responsible for making testosterone. While you're at it, you should watch other behaviors that can boost or inhibit your body's production of this vital hormone.
Step 1
Increase your intake of A vitamins, a nutrient that plays a role in the basic building blocks for testosterone. Some A-vitamin rich foods are liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, dark green vegetables like spinach or kale, butternut squash and dried apricots.
Step 2
Eat foods containing vitamin B-6, a substance that enhances your body's ability to absorb nutrients associated with testosterone production. Examples include banana, baked potato, chickpeas, chicken breasts, pork and beef. Fortified cereals often have high levels of B vitamins added.
Step 3
Take in vitamin C. Vitamin C not only improves your body's production of testosterone, but assists in the growth and healing processes testosterone drives. Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, as are papayas, broccoli, strawberries, kiwi fruit, cauliflower and kale.
Step 4
Improve your intake of vitamin E. Vitamin E helps your body produce the hormone LH, which improves the potency of your testosterone. Foods that contain a lot of vitamin E include spinach, sunflower seeds, almonds, olives, blueberries and greens such as chard, turnip greens, mustard greens and collard greens.
Step 5
Make lifestyle decisions that improve your body's abilities to use your vitamins to increase testosterone production. This includes getting at least eight hours of sleep, eating your full USDA recommended allowance of unsaturated fats, minimizing stress and getting enough exercise.
Tips and Warnings
- You can also ensure your daily intake of testosterone by using multivitamins and other dietary supplements.
- Abnormally high levels of testosterone can be as harmful as low levels. If you feel the need to manipulate your testosterone level, do it with the help and supervision of a doctor.
References
- Kallmans: Why is Testosterone Important?
- Vitamins to Improve Sex Life
- "The Four Hour Body"; Timothy Ferriss; 2010
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett, et. al; 2004
