Testosterone & Diet: How Do They Relate? | Q+A

Question:

I just turned 65, no health issues at all. I read and hear a lot about ways to produce testosterone. What is truly the best way for a man my age to eat or drink the right stuff to produce testosterone so I can once again regain my physique?

– Butch

Answer:

You’re on the right track when you suggest that diet can affect declining testosterone levels as men age, but other factors have more effect. These factors include weight, activity, sleep, stress, and medications. If your doctor finds you to have low testosterone levels, he/she may prescribe drugs or prohormones (like DHEA).

For diet, the components to focus on are:

Limit added sugar from your diet. (High insulin levels are linked to low testosterone.) Eliminate obvious sources (desserts, syrup, sodas) and replace refined sugars with whole fruit for sweetening, such as raisins on oatmeal instead of brown sugar.

Eat healthy fats. Include olives and olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut and coconut oil, palm oil, salmon and grass-fed beef in your diet.

Supplement with Vitamin D if you are deficient.* Good food sources include tuna, salmon, Vitamin D-fortified milk, whole eggs, beef liver, and beans.

Supplement with Zinc if you are deficient.* Good food sources include oysters, crab, lobster, lean beef, beans, and yogurt or kefir made from raw milk.

* Your physician can test your Vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) and zinc levels.

– Debbie J., MS, RD