The Attack on Testosterone and How to Counter it

Testosterone is the driving hormone that makes a man be a man. It helps with muscle growth and body hair. It is responsible for your ambition, why you like fast cars, and why you think about sex ten times per hour. It helps you feel optimistic, confident, assertive, and energetic.

The importance of testosterone for health is very clear if you look at what a low testosterone level is associated with:

The following symptoms can indicate a low level of testosterone. To truly know the amount of testosterone in your body, you will have to measure it. And if the amount of testosterone turns out to be healthy, then there is something else causing the symptom.

As you might already have guessed, it has a lot to do with our modern society and lifestyle. The following is a non-exclusive list of causes that cause lower fertility and or have a negative impact on testosterone.

Radiation

Cellphone and WiFi radiation are suspected of having an adverse effect on your health, especially your reproductive organs, and can cause lower sperm count and quality.

Clothing

Wearing tight underwear causes lower sperm count and quality and underwear or clothing made from synthetic materials such as polyester have the same effect. So wearing tight underwear made of polyester is a double bad idea.

Even clothing that is not synthetic is often treated with harsh chemicals to give it the colors. And these chemicals can leak through the skin.

In addition, the common laundry detergents use chemicals that are bad for the environment and, you guessed it, also bad for your fertility.

Body products

Almost every common body product contains ingredients that are not necessarily good for you. Products such as soap, shampoo, and deodorant contain chemicals such as parabens that negatively impact your hormones.

Food

Soy products and products with hops, such as beer, contain phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens act like estrogen in your body, which is predominantly the hormone for women. Men do have estrogen but in much lower quantities than women. So the effect of phytoestrogens from soy products and hops is assumed to have a considerable effect on the male hormone systems.

In extension to beer, excess use of alcohol in the long term also negatively affects your hormones as it increases cortisol and estrogen while it lowers testosterone.

Pesticides and herbicides disrupt the hormone systems of insects and plants so they can’t reproduce. Since the hormone systems of humans are similar, they harm the human hormone systems as well.

Plastics used for packaging food and beverages, especially soft plastics can leak chemicals such as BPA that are known to disrupt the hormones. It can be tricky to avoid plastics, but it is possible. So often on the inside of canned food is a layer of soft plastic. Never heat food in plastic packaging or more of these chemicals will be released into the food.

Lifestyle
Sleeping badly has a detrimental effect on your health, even one night with less than 7 hours has huge effects on your body. It should therefore be no surprise, that a bad night of sleep also causes lower testosterone. Now, you should also enjoy life and not stress out when you’re having a bad night or a bad period with bad nights, but know that if you don’t sleep properly that is something you might want to improve. The basis of a good day is a good night of sleep.

Another good reason not to stress over a bad night of sleep is the stress itself. Stress and fatigue have both been found to have a bad effect on testosterone.

Another big lifestyle effect is being overweight. That's because fat cells contain aromatase. Aromatase is a substance that converts testosterone into estradiol, which is a variant of estrogen. So, the more fat you have, the more aromatase is busy converting testosterone into estrogen. As a result, on the one hand, your testosterone level decreases, while on the other hand, your estrogen level increases.

First, we will go over what you can do about what just discussed attacking your testosterone and fertility.

Radiation

Instead of WiFi use, ethernet cables in your house. If you must use WiFi, turn it off at night so your cells can recover.

Don’t sit with your laptop on your lap (this also applies to women) and don’t put your cell phone in your pants (and for women, don’t put it in your pants or bra but in your purse)

Clothing
Buy clothing made from natural fabrics (such as cotton, linen, bamboo) and preferably buy organic clothing. Even organic clothing can be treated with harsh chemicals, so if possible, check for OEKO-TEX certification, but not every ‘clean’ brand uses this certification. And if you can get organic and natural materials, you are already on the right track. You can buy from local artisans if possible and you can immediately ask about the production of the clothing.

For underwear, wear loose-fitting underwear like boxer shorts or don’t wear underwear at all ;)

Body products
In essence, only buy products with natural ingredients. A rule of thumb you can use is to use body products that you could eat such as coconut oil, jojoba oil, cacao butter, etc.

Food

Stay away from soy, hops, and processed foods, and eat as much as possible organic and whole foods. If you eat beef, go for grass-fed. One tip is to see if you can find a farmers’ market in the neighborhood or a farm to buy food directly from.

Eat enough calories (a calorie deficit tanks your testosterone)

Eat enough healthy fats (cholesterol is necessary for your testosterone)

Eat enough protein (helps get more testosterone in the free active form)

Choose unprocessed cardboard, paper, and glass as packaging materials for your food if possible

Take supplements such as magnesium and zinc.

Lifestyle