When testosteronelevels are low, you can experience fatigue, a loss of muscle mass,low libido(sex drive), weight gain, bone loss, depression, and other symptoms.Many healthcare providers will recommend strategies to naturally and safely boost testosterone before turning to medications for moderate testosterone impairment.
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A Note on Gender and TerminologyVerywell Health acknowledges thatsex and genderare related concepts, but they are not the same. To accurately reflect our sources, this article uses terms like “male,” “female,” “men,” and “women” as the sources use them.
A Note on Gender and Terminology
Verywell Health acknowledges thatsex and genderare related concepts, but they are not the same. To accurately reflect our sources, this article uses terms like “male,” “female,” “men,” and “women” as the sources use them.
1. Weight Loss
One of the main causes is being overweight (defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of over 25). As adipose tissues (also known as body fat) increase, aromatase levels can also rise, sometimes precipitously.
About BMIBMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such asbody composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.
About BMI
BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such asbody composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.
2. Exercise
A combination ofaerobic exerciseandresistance (weight) traininghas been shown in multiple studies to increase testosterone production. Although the mechanism for this effect is not entirely clear, several factors appear to have a positive effect:
Apersonal trainercan help reach these fitness goals,
3. Diet Changes
Many nutrients, includingprotein,vitamin D,magnesium, andzinc, are essential to maintaining optimal T levels.A healthy, balanced diet can meet the recommended daily intake (RDI) of these nutrients.
In addition to following recommended dietary guidelines, some health experts suggest thatcertain food typescan help support your testosterone health, including:
On the other hand, you should limit your intake of red meat, refined sugar, processed foods, and excessive dairy, which can increase adiposity and the production of aromatase.
4. Stress Management
However, a persistently high cortisol level blocks the production ofluteinizing hormone (LH), which triggers the release of testosterone from thetesticlesorovaries. Cortisol can also “compete” with testosterone, attaching to the same cellular receptors that testosterone usually binds to, making testosterone less effective.
To better manage stress and reduce cortisol levels:
5. Supplements
The evidence supporting the use of dietary or herbalsupplements to boost T levelsis generally weak. Even so,T boostersremain popular with consumers who seek a more “natural” solution to raising testosterone. This is especially true with older men whose T levels are generally 35% lower than their younger counterparts.
That’s not to say that some supplements may not help. According to a 2020 review of studies published in theWorld Journal of Men’s Health, the following supplements showed some promise based on the available research:
On the other hand, supplements widely promoted for their T-boosting properties—likeAshwagandha,ginseng, maca root, vitamin D, and zinc—either showed mixed results or no results when taken in supplement form.
With minerals like zinc and magnesium, overdosing at this level can lead to potentially serious side effects like anemia (a low number of healthy red blood cells), neutropenia (a low number of infection-fighting white blood cells), and hypotension (low blood pressure), particularly if the user takes more than the manufacturer-recommended dose.
Testing Your Levels
You can take at-home saliva and finger-prick tests at home to check your testosterone. You will mail these samples to a lab, and the results will be returned via a secure web portal. While convenient, self-tests are far less accurate and may not provide an accurate picture of your condition and whether or not you need testosterone.
Healthcare providers measure testosterone levels with a blood test called atotal testosterone (TT) test. This test measures active (or “free”) and inactive (or “bioavailable”) testosterone in the blood.
Diagnosing hypogonadism is complex. It typically requires a series of testosterone tests and the exclusion of all other causes of your symptoms before a healthcare provider can provide an accurate diagnosis.
Medication Approaches to Increase Testosterone
A healthcare provider may recommend hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or other medication adjustments if you’ve tried natural approaches to increase testosterone and still experience low T symptoms or testing reveals that your levels remain low.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
HRT is the primary form of treatment for hypogonadism, although it can take very different forms for men and women.
HRT is generally recommended for people with clinical signs of hypogonadism—likeinfertility,osteoporosis,erectile dysfunctionin males, orirregular periodsin females—along with consistently low hormone levels.
Changing Other Medications
This included opioids like:
The effect of these drugs on testosterone is almost immediate. When used for longer than 30 days, they could lead to the clinical signs of hypogonadism in both men and women.
Though some healthcare providers will prescribe testosterone replacement therapy to compensate for the imbalance, others recommend the gradual discontinuation and substitution of the opioid.
Summary
If your testosterone levels are low, there are ways to boost them. These may include lifestyle changes like losing weight, improving your nutrition, exercising, managing your stress, and getting more sleep. Testosterone boosters and supplements, while popular with consumers, have little strong evidence to support their use.
Males diagnosed with clinical hypogonadism may be prescribed testosterone replacement therapy TRT is rarely, if ever, used in females withlow testosterone, who may benefit more from estrogen replacement therapy (ERT).
17 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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