Men with low testosterone levels have no energy or vitality, can't...

Men with low testosterone levels have no energy or vitality, can't experience joy, have this undergoing anxiety for no apparent reason and their mental and physical performance are not that great.

So start with these if you are worried about your testosterone levels.

Thread🧵

Here’s a cool little axiom that you can use in order to objectively figure out how important something is:

Look at the life situation of the ones who do not have it.

In the case of androgens, men with issues such as low testosterone levels actually experience a true hell.

But unfortunately, since in this day and age men as young as 20 have testosterone levels of 300ng/dl they do not even realize that waking up tired, having no energy no matter what they try, being unable to have that God-given drive and so on, is not normal.

So even though testosterone is not the hot topic that it used to be (thank God), this does not mean that the low testosterone epidemic is over or that it won’t get worse (because it will).

Now of course, if you have gone from healthy testosterone levels to low, you know how much it sucks.

And unfortunately you can reach a point when you don't even recognize yourself anymore.
The workouts that used to feel like nothing, drain you, you have no excitement for life and you are a shell of your former self.

Obviously, testosterone is not a "bro" topic but one that everyone should pay attention to because it's crucial for things such as:

-Managing stress
-Muscle development
-Bone density
-Growth
-Blood pressure
-Red blood cell production
-Fertility

and hundreds of other processes which is why low testosterone levels increase the risk of:

-Cancer
-Cardiovascular disease
-Alzheimer's
-Diabetes
-Osteoporosis
-Depression
-Anxiety

and so on.

So before we get into some tips you can use in order to support your testosterone levels, i’d like you to go and test the following markers instead of self diagnosing yourself with low testosterone.

These markers are:
1) Total testosterone

This is the testosterone that is also bound to albumin and SHBG.

A good range for total testosterone is 600 - 1000 ng/dL depending on your age (but to be fair, most men under 35 will not feel great at 600).

2) Free testosterone.

This is the testosterone that is not bound to SHBG or albumin and is often referred to as bioactive testosterone (2-4% of the total testosterone levels is bioactive).

Ideally you want a range of 80-200 pg/mL of free testosterone.

3) Estradiol and prolacti.

Ideally when it comes to estradiol levels you want a range of 10–35 pg/mL and prolactin levels below 16 ng/ml.

4) SHBG
This is a protein that binds to testosterone (this is an oversimplification but this thread serves as a starting point).

Ideally when it comes to SHBG you want levels of 25 - 45 nmol/L.

5)LH and FSH

These stimulate sperm and testosterone production.
Ideally, you want a range of 3 - 10 mIU/L.

Now let's move on to a few basic things that you can do if your testosterone levels are low (or if it's something that you want to prevent from happening).

Note: Even though these “tips” are numbered, the order of their importance will be heavily affected by the things you already have implemented in your lifestyle and of course, all of them are important in the long run not only regarding testosterone but our overall health.

And of course, nothing in this thread should be used as a substitute for medical advice.

Step 1: Get organic foods.

This is so underrated regarding hormonal health in general.

Steroidogenesis is greatly affected by the mitochondrial protein StAR aka steroidogenic acute regulatory protein which is found in the gonads and adrenal glands and helps a certain amount of cholesterol move from the outer to the inner membrane and THIS is what makes it available for the steroidogenic enzymes.

But certain herbicides such as glyphosate can have a negative impact on it.

Example: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Of course pesticides and herbicides can indirectly affect testosterone levels as well through the negative effects that can have in the liver and gut asl well.

There are many foods you can use in order to support this.

Now regarding StAR in general, you can support it through:
-Chrysin rich food such as quality raw honey
-COX-2 inhibitors such as glycine, vitamin E and apigenin rich foods such as chamomile
-Things that can reduce DAX-1 such as chamomile once again
-All nutrients needed for proper thyroid function will help with StAR
-K2 rich foods
-Cordyceps

Step 2: Manage aromatase.

Managing CYP19A1-Aromatase is crucial when it comes to having healthy androgens in general.

(Aromatase helps with the conversion of androgens such as testosterone (or androstenedione) to estrogens such as estradiol (or estrone)).

How you can make sure that you will keep this enzyme in check?

-Avoid 5-AR inhibitors (DHT is also probably the most powerful aromatase inhibitor that exists) from Accutane and finasteride all the way to soy products, flavonoids, DIM, sulforaphane, black pepper, p. ginseng, grains, reishi, saw palmetto, herbicides/pesticides and flax seed.

-Avoid endocrine disruptors (more about this in a bit)
researchgate.net/publication/34…

-Pay attention to your liver health (more about this in a bit)

-You can try adding aromatase inhibitors in your diet such as (some are high in oxalates so if you want to avoid them just lose fat and get vit E):
-Olives and organic olive leaf extract
-Naringin
-Maybe quercetin
-Maqui
-Garlic
-Black ginger
-Pine pollen
-Vitamin E

-Lose fat if you are overweight (over 15% bf for men usually).
Please do not underestimate the importance of this.
Fat is a part of our hormonal system and being overweight increases most of the pro inflammatory markers and also being fat will also greatly affect free testosterone.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17148559

You can support your free testosterone through managing SHBG, magnesium vitamin E, sunlight (vitamin D) and other valid means but these will not have nearly the same effect as having a healthy weight.

Now of you are unable to stick to a diet, first of all, make sure that you semi-like what you're eating, but besides that, here are six common things that lead to excessive hunger/cravings:

1. An unhealthy gut microbiome
2. Dysregulating your baseline dopamine levels
3. Stress
4. Nutrient deficiencies
5. Dysregulated CR
6. Leptin/insulin resistance

Besides this, leptin resistance will inhibit LH and FSH.

But please, do not be in a hurry when trying to lose fat.

You will lose the fat, but the cortisol increase and lowered thyroid hormones will have a negative impact on your testosterone levels.

Step 3: Go and test your vitamin D levels.

A lot of nutrients are important for testosterone, but vitamin D is so crucial for our overall health.

Now common reasons for vitamin D deficiency:
-High fiber diets (no fiber is not bad, "high fiber" was typed).
-Poor bile flow.
-Fat malabsorption.
-Low fat diets.
-Not spending enough time in the sun (obviously).
-Mindless supplementation of the other fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A.
-Not getting enough boron, magnesium and zinc.
-Insulin resistance.
-Gut issues.
-Kidney issues

Step 4: Avoid endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine disruptors are chemical compounds that interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system.

Endocrine disruptors are everywhere nowadays and you mainly want to avoid:
1) Bisphenol A (BPA)
2) Bisphenol S (BPS)
3) Phthalates
4) Parabens
5) PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers)
6) PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)
7) Dioxin
8) Perfluorinated compounds
9) Pesticides and herbicides
10) Heavy metals
11) Sodium fluoride
12) Chlorine

Found in things such as plastic, non stick cookware, laundry detergents, tap water, hygiene products and so on (there's a natural solution for all of them most of the time).

Step 5: No junk food.

Processed foods nowadays can account for even 70% of a person’s daily energy intake in some countries.

Most people's breakfast is either cereal, donuts or a "healthy" smoothie filled with toxic additives and even sunflower oil (no, i am not kidding).

Their lunch and dinner is usually something pre-packaged or takeout, snacks that they might eat are "healthy" protein bar with like 60 ingredients in them out of which only 3 of them can be considered as foods and in general, very few people eat whole foods these days.

As a side note, it might be a good idea to mention that when we are talking about processed foods, we are talking bout foods that have been chemically (and not mechanically) processed.

Things that have so many added chemicals in them and so little nutritional value that shouldn't even be called foods.

All processed foods are designed by big corporations whose entire goal is profit, they do not care about your health.

Most processed foods are a bunch of waste products with added chemicals that make them smell and taste like food.

So cut them out.

Step 6: Get deep sleep.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…


x.com/Helios_Movemen…

Step 7: Reconsider normie fasting (fasting with black coffee for 12 hours) as a lifestyle.

Fasting is a tool and just like most tools, it will have negative effects if it’s used out of context and for a prolonged period of time.

For example, IF will not have a negative effect in your testosterone levels in the first month (in fact, it can have some benefits) but it will negatively affect T3 and testosterone past that point.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Step 8: Support your adrenals

Yes, they are not responsible for a lot of the production, but they still are and fried adrenals will further affect low testosterone levels and lead to a compounding negative effect.

So:
0. Get deep sleep daily
1. Provide enough vitamin C
2. Avoid chronic stress
3. Provide minerals (quality sea food, glyphosate free bee pollen, nettle root, spring water, coconut water etc)
4. Limit alcohol consumption
5. Avoid using stimulants on a daily basis
6. Get sunlight
7. Do not go keto/carnivore for years on end
8. Avoid artificial blue light within reason
9. Eat breakfast

Step 9: Try to lower stress

You can approach this from multiple angles.
You can approach it through the pregnenolone steal, the aromatase increase and more.

But the thing with stress is that, its source is different for everyone.

So what i will say is that you should avoid adding gasoline in an existent fire if you are experiencing stress.

Prolonged fasting, refusing to outsource tasks, spending all day on social media and not getting movement in are common regarding this.

Things such as Epsom salt baths, lemon balm and so on could be helpful Band-Aids.

Step 10: Do not forget about insulin.

A great first step would be to:
-Not eating bad fats such as canola oil
-Resistance training
-Getting sunlight
-When it comes to carbs, stick to seasonal organic carbs primarily
-Get sleep and respect your CR
-Focus on gut health (more about this in a bit)
-Get B vitamins, magnesium, CoQ10 and vitamin K
-Balanced amino acid profile in the diet

Step 11: Heal your gut.

x.com/Helios_Movemen…

Step 12: Do not neglect prolactin.
-Don't tank DHT (start with avoiding inhibitors)
-Don't watch demons (pron)
-Get enough sleep
-Get sunlight
-Get calcium
-Get zinc
-Get B1, B2, B3 and B6
-Get vitamin E
-Do not tank dopamine (get enough choline and taurine for example while preventing a serotonin excess)
-Get saturated fats
-Use ginkgo biloba if you want something extra
-Avoid xenoestrogens

Step 13: Do not oxidative stress max.
This short thread will help you in the beginning but here's something crucial (next tweet).


x.com/Helios_Movemen…

YOU NEED to MANAGE IRON.

When iron is present in its free form, it becomes extremely damaging for our health since it is a catalyst for the formation of hydroxyl radicals from reduced forms of O2.

It is also one of the reasons for elevated SHBG.

Now, red meat will be mentioned later since it is high in important nutrients but it is also high in iron.

Three easy things that you can do about this is to pair it with quercetin rich foods (that are low in vitamin C), calcium and get enough folate.

Now regarding iron in general, you of course neef to get enough sunlight (vitamin D), retinol, B vitamins (especially B2) and magnesium.

Step 14: Get enough of the following nutrients.

1. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is rarely talked about when it comes to testosterone, but it protects the Leydig cells from oxidative stressors, up-regulates enzyme activity in them and can even regenerate damaged testosterone molecules.

Of course, make sure to get some whole food vitamin C (berries, camu camu etc) and not ascorbic acid (AA). AA is the outer shell of the vitamin C complex and when you isolate it, you will REDUCE the valuable copper enzymes which are crucial for things such as melanin and ceruloplasmin.

You also won't have any of the elastin/collagen benefits from things such as the P factors.

2. Calcium
Low calcium -> High aromatase

"Testicular aromatase cytochrome activity was significantly increased by 2.4-fold in the Ca-deficient diet group compared to that in the regular diet group, and the aromatase mRNA level was also significantly increased 1.45-fold".

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12370839/

Calcium is also crucial for our thyroid and without a healthy thyroid we can’t have optimal levels of testosterone.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12893516/

3. Vitamin E

Vitamin E, is pretty hard to get even if you consume sprouted organic seeds such as pumpkin seeds.
But Vitamin E:
1. Is a progesterone-sparing agent
2. Reduces histamine
3. Is an estrogen antagonist
4. Is an aromatase inhibitor
5. It increases free testosterone
6. It protects vitamin A from oxidation
7. It increasing LH receptor sensitivity

So things such as red palm oil and EVOO could help boost the vitamin E content of someone’s diet.

4. Magnesium
Magnesium lowers the levels of unbound SHBG in the body, by binding to it leading to more free testosterone in the body by levels up to 40% in some studies.

5. K2

When it comes to vitamin K2, in a rat study, it was concluded that the MK-4 form of Vitamin K2 affected the testes ability to produce testosterone by up to 70% and an almost 90% increase in the testosterone levels in their testes.

It is not uncommon that when people start adding vitamin K2 rich foods in their diets their libido skyrockets and their sperm count increases (the same implied for every other of the mentioned nutrients).

Raw animal fats and cheeses are the best sources for vitamin K2.

6. Retinol
Vitamin A has been found in many studies to help suppress estrogen production in the male testes and rats with a greater concentration of Vitamin A in the testes were found to have increased base testosterone secretion.

Not only that but when rats were given diets deficient in Vitamin A, their testosterone levels not only decreased but their testicles began to atrophy and the inner layer of the testicles was lost.

7. Zinc
Zinc helps the pituitary gland to produce LH among other things, it is required in hundreds of enzymatic reactions in the body that help it break down food and other nutrients and is critical for the production of antioxidants.

A study found that when zinc-deficient men supplemented zinc, their testosterone levels almost doubled over 6 months.

A zinc deficiency can lead to a 30% drop in testosterone in just 16 weeks.

Zinc can also reduce estrogen and SHBG levels.
Oysters and red meat have plenty of zinc.

8. Iodine

Due to exposure in things such as heavy metals, chlorine, sodium fluoride, bromine and so on, we all were or still are deficient in certain minerals.

Testosterone wise, iodine can promote the metabolism of estrone and estradiol into estriol, it increases CYP1A1/1B1 for example.

That being said, don’t start popping seaweed on a daily basis.

No, once a week is more than enough for most.

9. Boron

Boron:
-Helps our bodies metabolize but also retain vitamins and minerals
-Has a key role in bone health and brain health.
-Lowers excessive estrogen and SHBG.
-Boosts free and total testosterone levels.
-Can extend the half life of vitamin D.
-Support the adrenals.

And in general, IN SMALL DOSES, is crucial for our overall health.

Now my favorite source of boron is raisins (without seed oils) if your gut health is fine (If you struggle with certain issues such as SIBO, for example, is better to avoid raisins for now and stick to a low dose boron supplement (2 weeks on 2-3 off)).

And then we have choline and B vitamins all of which are crucial for the detoxification of estrogen.

Step 15: Cut out alcohol if you drink more than once every 2 weeks.

Alcohol will negatively influence your thyroid, metabolic health, it increases oxidative stress, depletes you of B vitamins and minerals, damages the gut lining, increases serotonin, estrogen, SHBG and prolactin, and decreases LH, FSH and testosterone.

Step 16: Pay attention to thyroid
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16879621/

And especially if you are relatively young, struggling with low testosterone and have tried addressing it through the means already mentioned for 6 months.

So go and test:
1)TSH
2)Total T4
3)Total T3
4)Reverse T3
5)Free T4
6)Free T3
7)Thyroid antibodies

Step 17: Lift but don’t overdo it and do not forget to get your cardio in.

As a rule of thumb, if your training negatively affects your sleep, immune system and also is not leading to increased strength or muscle mass, you are overdoing it.

When stating this, i will of course take for granted that you pay some attention to your recovery.

"Scientifically" speaking, the best splits to follow that can help you with your hormonal profile in general are:
-Full body splits
-Upper/Lower splits

Regarding cardio, do HIIT 1-2/week and walking 10K steps daily.

That's pretty much it regarding your starting point.

Now if you want to know more about this topic and also get meal plans that could help you out with your libido and so on, you can go here:
fitandball.gumroad.com/l/thesystem23