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Testosterone is an androgen, a male sex hormone, though females need it too. In males, low testosterone has been associated with low libido and poor health outcomes, such as the development of metabolic syndrome. In males and females, low testosterone has been associated with depression. So what follow are the five aspects that can help sustain your healthy testosterone levels.
1.Life style
To optimize your testosterone levels, you don’t only need the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals; you also need to sleep well, exercise, and keep a healthy weight.
2.Sleep
Lack of sleep causes numerous health issues. Notably, it decreases testosterone production and facilitates fat gain (and we’ll see that fat gain itself can impair testosterone production). Getting enough quality sleep is so important that we will be publishing an article on that soon.
3.Physical activity
Resistance training can raise testosterone levels for 15–30 minutes post-exercise. More importantly, it can benefit testosterone production in the long run by improving body composition and reducing insulin resistance.
Over-training, however, is counterproductive. Prolonged endurance exercise especially can cause your testosterone to drop. Ensuring adequate recovery time will help you receive the full benefits of physical activity.
4.Weight management
Weight gain and the associated chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, are strongly linked to decreases in testosterone, particularly in middle-aged and older men.
If you gain weight (as fat), your testosterone production drops. Fortunately, if you lose weight, your testosterone production can climb back up.
(Quality sleep, physical activity, and weight management support healthy testosterone levels, and they’re synergistic: If you lack sleep, you find it harder to exercise and easier to gain fat. If you exercise, you find it easier to sleep and to keep a healthy weight. If your weight is healthy, you find it easier to exercise and easier to sleep.)
5.Supplements
Only a few supplements have been shown to benefit testosterone production. Among those, the evidence mostly supports vitamin D and zinc, followed by magnesium. Two caveats should be kept in mind, however:
a)Supplementing with a vitamin or mineral is likely to help you only if you suffer from a deficiency or an insufficiency in this vitamin or mineral.
b)Correcting a deficiency or an insufficiency is more likely to raise your testosterone levels if they are low.
5.1 Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps regulate testosterone levels. Ideally, you would produce all the vitamin D you need through sunlight exposure, but if you live far from the equator, have dark skin, or simply spend most of your time inside, you may need to complement your own production with the help of foods or supplements
5.2 Zinc
Zinc deficiency can hinder testosterone production. Like magnesium, zinc is lost through sweat, so athletes and other people who sweat a lot are more likely to be deficient. Although dietary zinc is mostly found in animal products, zinc-rich foods include some grains and nuts.
5.3 Magnesium
In males with low magnesium levels and low testosterone levels, an increase in magnesium intake can translate into an increase in testosterone production, both directly and (since one of magnesium’s functions in your body is to help convert vitamin D into its active form) indirectly.
While more common in the older population, magnesium deficiency isn’t unknown in younger people (notably athletes, since, link zinc, magnesium is lost through sweat). But fortunately, magnesium-rich foods are numerous and can fit all kinds of diets.
At last, the question, what’s your opinion about the zinc and magnesium of athletes and other people who sweat a lot are easier to be deficient. And what’s your way to avoid this.[/FONT]
1.Life style
To optimize your testosterone levels, you don’t only need the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals; you also need to sleep well, exercise, and keep a healthy weight.
2.Sleep
Lack of sleep causes numerous health issues. Notably, it decreases testosterone production and facilitates fat gain (and we’ll see that fat gain itself can impair testosterone production). Getting enough quality sleep is so important that we will be publishing an article on that soon.
3.Physical activity
Resistance training can raise testosterone levels for 15–30 minutes post-exercise. More importantly, it can benefit testosterone production in the long run by improving body composition and reducing insulin resistance.
Over-training, however, is counterproductive. Prolonged endurance exercise especially can cause your testosterone to drop. Ensuring adequate recovery time will help you receive the full benefits of physical activity.
4.Weight management
Weight gain and the associated chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, are strongly linked to decreases in testosterone, particularly in middle-aged and older men.
If you gain weight (as fat), your testosterone production drops. Fortunately, if you lose weight, your testosterone production can climb back up.
(Quality sleep, physical activity, and weight management support healthy testosterone levels, and they’re synergistic: If you lack sleep, you find it harder to exercise and easier to gain fat. If you exercise, you find it easier to sleep and to keep a healthy weight. If your weight is healthy, you find it easier to exercise and easier to sleep.)
5.Supplements
Only a few supplements have been shown to benefit testosterone production. Among those, the evidence mostly supports vitamin D and zinc, followed by magnesium. Two caveats should be kept in mind, however:
a)Supplementing with a vitamin or mineral is likely to help you only if you suffer from a deficiency or an insufficiency in this vitamin or mineral.
b)Correcting a deficiency or an insufficiency is more likely to raise your testosterone levels if they are low.
5.1 Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps regulate testosterone levels. Ideally, you would produce all the vitamin D you need through sunlight exposure, but if you live far from the equator, have dark skin, or simply spend most of your time inside, you may need to complement your own production with the help of foods or supplements
5.2 Zinc
Zinc deficiency can hinder testosterone production. Like magnesium, zinc is lost through sweat, so athletes and other people who sweat a lot are more likely to be deficient. Although dietary zinc is mostly found in animal products, zinc-rich foods include some grains and nuts.
5.3 Magnesium
In males with low magnesium levels and low testosterone levels, an increase in magnesium intake can translate into an increase in testosterone production, both directly and (since one of magnesium’s functions in your body is to help convert vitamin D into its active form) indirectly.
While more common in the older population, magnesium deficiency isn’t unknown in younger people (notably athletes, since, link zinc, magnesium is lost through sweat). But fortunately, magnesium-rich foods are numerous and can fit all kinds of diets.
At last, the question, what’s your opinion about the zinc and magnesium of athletes and other people who sweat a lot are easier to be deficient. And what’s your way to avoid this.[/FONT]