Nutrition Category
Healthy nutrition is the cornerstone of men's health and hormone optimization.
If you are not in the utmost genetic elite, you simply cannot have optimal testosterone levels without adhering to the core basics of nutrition for testosterone production.
Don't worry though, the way to eat for increased testosterone production, is not complicated. It all comes down to adjusting your caloric intake, setting up macronutrient goals that best suit your situation, and then choosing the right pro-testosterone foodstuffs over the kind that can prove to be harmful for endocrine health.
Very simplified version of this would be as follows:
- Consume foods that are rich in essential pro-testosterone nutrients.
- Avoid foods that have that suppress testosterone (estrogenic, goitrogenic, etc).
- Consume adequate calories. Starvation downregulates androgen production.
- Stay close to macronutrient ratios of 25% protein, 25% fat, 50% carbohydrate.
- Limit your intake of proven test suppressants; PUFA, trans-fats, and processed grain.
- Include proven androgenic foods in your diet; eggs, coconut oil, root-vegetables, fruits...
The articles below will give you a detailed view of the above subjects, and everything else you need to know about nutrition and how it affects hormonal health.
FEATURED ARTICLES
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a controversial hormone. Even though it’s the male hormone of the male hormones and a lot more androgenic than testosterone, some are still scared that high levels of it could lead to hair-loss and prostate enlargement.…
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD The pomegranate (Punica grantum) is an antioxidant-rich fruit with small red edible seeds. It originates from the Mediterranean region, but nowadays, the use of this delicious fruit has spread around the globe. Due to the many claims made about the possible health benefits, pomegranate is in high demand in the…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD For years, bodybuilders and health-conscious men have looked into ways to optimize natural testosterone production. One of the things that have gained quite some interest, has been some specific foods that boost testosterone levels. And it has been already…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Carbohydrates have been unfairly bashed in the media for the last few years. Nowadays, many people are dumb enough to believe that increased carb intake would make them gain weight and that the “most evil of them all” – sugar,…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Protein is easily the least demonized of the macronutrients, and when it comes to male health, people actually love it a bit too much. Especially the guys involved in any form of weightlifting, some of them consuming ridiculously high…
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Nutrition has a key role in our natural testosterone production. And one of the biggest factors in our diets is macronutrient ratios and the types of macronutrients we consume. When it comes to dietary fat, it has arguably the largest impact and room for manipulation. Increasing or decreasing the…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD If you’ve been reading my older posts here, you already know that I’ve been somewhat of an anti-coffee guy in the past. That’s because research has shown time after time that caffeine consumption leads to dose-dependent increases in cortisol…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Sugar – after saturated fat – is likely the most demonized foodstuff there is. Ask almost anyone and they will gladly tell you with high level of confidence that sugar is bad for us, that it’s unhealthy, and that…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD There’s this common notion related to plant-based diets that they would lower testosterone levels in men and make them less masculine. In fact, one recent study examined the popular view about men who are vegans and vegetarians, and came to…
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Fact is that estrogen – even though it’s called the female hormone – is also present in the male body. It has some functions, for joints and memory mainly, but in excess it leads to problems such as: man boobs, mood swings, feminizing body changes, and generally, lack of…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Mon 24 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD There are 8 different water-soluble vitamins that are commonly categorized as “B vitamins”. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) Vitamin B3 (niacin) Vitamin B5 (panthothenic acid) Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) Vitamin B7 (biotin) Vitamin B9 (folic acid) Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalomin) The…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD There are some impressive benefits that can be achieved with short-term (intermittent) fasting. Such as; improved insulin sensitivity, increased androgen sensitivity, better food control, and significantly increased 24-hour growth hormone levels. One of the less discussed benefits of IF…
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Insulin has been heavily demonized in the media as of late, when in reality, it increases testosterone production, promotes muscle protein synthesis, and prevents hyperglycemic neuronal toxicity. It is when your body isn’t sensitive towards insulin that you run into problems with weight gain, high blood sugar, and water retention,…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Probiotics occur naturally in fermented foods. They provide health benefits to the consumer through displacing the “bad gut bacteria” with more of the better ones. The vast list of scientifically proven probiotic benefits includes things like: increased testosterone levels,…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD While there’s lots of discussion about brain boosting supplements (nootropics, smart drugs, etc), many forget that some naturally occurring foods are awesome for improving cognitive functions. They hold within crucial micronutrients that nourish the complex functions of the…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Oh nuts. The tasty nutrient rich fat bombs. Are they good or bad for testosterone production though? That’s the flaming question we (for some reason) get asked a lot. The answer is yes, and then also no. Whether nuts…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Amidst the various health food crazes of the modern day, it seems that everything is low carb, fat-free, gluten-free, and/or vegan. While many self-proclaimed fitness gurus swear up-and-down by living a life of restriction when it comes to food,…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD For optimal functioning of the body and endocrine system, one should consume adequate amounts of protein (not too much though) and also make sure that the protein comes from balanced sources so that the amino acid profile is…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Everyone knows deep down inside that processed fast food isn’t a healthy choice. But still from time to time we can find ourselves at McDonalds drive thru window 4am wondering whether 2 Big Mac’s and a Double Quarter Pounder…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD This is a recipe I came up with after I stumbled upon some studies about glycine, fructose, and carnitine. According to a bunch of scientific literature, combining those three into something ridiculously delicious (read: jelly) should yield some impressive…
Have you ever wanted to read a book that systemically crushes – with scientific evidence – the biggest myths of the fitness & nutrition industry? That teaches you a sane easily doable way of constantly slashing the pounds without feeling “trapped” to stupid industry myths such as; “You have to eat six small meals a…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Huge part of boosting testosterone levels naturally comes down to nutrition. You want to eat a good amount of starchy carbs, good amount of the right type of fats, and low-medium amount of protein mainly from animal sources (both…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Milk and many other dairy products have been under some heavy demonization recently. What used to be the favorite go-to health drink of both, the alt-med people and normal people, is suddenly seen as something that barely fits human…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Dietary fiber is a generic term to refer to all plant-based dietary compounds that can’t be metabolized by the intestines. In short, it’s the ‘roughage’ that travels through your system intact. Looking pretty much the same as it enters…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD Over these few past years, the popularity of intermittent fasting or ‘IF’ has exploded. Though the patterns of short-term fasting are thousands of years of old, the idea of “skipping meals” or pushing them for later has only…
Have you ever wondered why men and women are eating the same foods? Why we consume similar diets, although the bodies and hormonal differences among men and women are vastly different? Since men thrive on testosterone and women thrive on estrogen – and these hormones can be modulated by our diets – why do we…
It seems to be in general knowledge that trans-fatty-acids are extremely unhealthy and should be avoided. With that being said, most people still don’t really understand what they are, and which bodily systems they affect. Hence, why in this article, you’ll learn about the following topics: What are trans fats? Why are trans fats unhealthy?…
For the past years, saturated fat has been getting a lot of negative press on the media. Since coconut fat is 92-96% saturated, it has gotten its (un)fair share of negative attention too. I’m still eating it, and below is my reasoning. If you look behind the scenes of the mass media fat demonization, you…
Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD Green tea is considered to be one of the healthiest drinks around due to its fairly high content of antioxidants. In the case of green tea or supplemental green tea extract, there are four antioxidants that are believed to be the principal cause to green tea health benefits.…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD When it comes to the subject of how much to eat for weight loss or to get more muscle mass, people can be divided into two camps: the ones who claim that calories don’t matter, and the ones who…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD There have been many times in my life when the budget for food has been extremely tight, especially during my time in the military (where the “pay” at times was less than 150$ a month). However, I have always…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD The paleo diet has been extremely popular in these past few years. The idea is relatively simple, just eat like a caveman More specifically, eat like a human of the paleolithic era, an era which started roughly 2,6…
Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD & Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Just like there are many foodstuffs which can increase testosterone levels, there are also many foods that lower testosterone in men. In this article, we’re looking at 7 possible foods and/or food groups that can have a negative effect on your androgen levels. Without further…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD After seeing a lot of research supporting the notion that cinnamon could be used to reduce high blood glucose and to improve insulin sensitivity in humans, I became more and more confident that it could – in most men –…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD & Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Few of the most often asked questions I get are: what do I eat to maintain high testosterone levels, and if I have a specific list of recommended foods that increase testosterone naturally. While there…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Stefano Pizzo, MD The global average on male testosterone levels is crashing down rapidly, year after year. In a 17 year study with 1,700 men as subjects, the researchers found out that since the late 80’s, the average US men’s testosterone…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Losing weight – or more specifically – losing body fat, is one of the best ways to increase natural testosterone levels. As several studies have shown, men who have lower levels of body fat, also have higher overall testosterone…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD I often get asked what was the big thing that boosted my testosterone levels the most during this 4-5 year journey of natural hormone optimization. And even though there has been a lot of factors in play, I still…
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018 Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Foods high in nitrates an essential part of a healthy diet that increase nitric oxide within your body. Nitric oxide (NO) is the undisputed molecule of men’s health. It’s one of the most important factors in every guy’s health,…
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD Here’s a detailed list of 18 different foods that are known for their ability to decrease estrogen levels through multiple different pathways. (Just like there are at least 30 foods that can stimulate testosterone production). One could say that these foods base the foundation of an anti-estrogenic diet, you know,…
