Whether you are fanatically obsessed with natural testosterone maximization (that’s a mouthful) or just an average Joe, there are things that lower testosterone levels and you better keep an eye out for them!
After all the extensive research I did on this topic, It seems that the top 5 worst things for your testosterone are:
- Alcohol
- Obesity
- Poor diet
- Disrupted sleep patterns
- Testicle injuries
Note that all of these are backed by science.
So we’re going to take a closer look at each and every one of these testosterone lowering factors in the following paragraphs.
The Top 5 Things That Will Destroy Your Testosterone!
I’m sure that many different aspects are taking a chunk from your T levels such as your latest road rage accident or maybe the last time you visited your grandma.
Perhaps even working with a lot of women is feminizing you…
But without wasting our vital life force on the trillions of tiny pieces that may affect your masculinity.
One way or another, we’re going to tackle these BIG antagonists as real MEN! Straight in your face, here it comes:
1. Alcohol
Booze is known to have an almost exclusively negative impact on human physiology, psychology and whatnot.
No shocker then if I tell you in a calm tone that liquor is far from the best thing for your manhood.
This has been shown in academic research, showing the direct effect that alcohol has on your balls, leading to a decrease in serum T levels (1).
Evidence for the relationship between impaired testosterone production and alcohol has been studied for some time now and there’s no doubt that there is a connection indeed.
Hey, even Indian researchers did some studies involving chronic alcoholics and oh my can you guess what they found (2)?
Hypogonadism (impaired testosterone production) is best friends with booze or in other words, alcohol-related intoxication will give you low T!
Does that mean that you should avoid alcohol like the plague?
Not really, drink wisely. If you’re one of these people that simply CANNOT resist a night out every weekend.
Please stay safe and replace the whiskey (whiskey d!ck is a real b!tch) with juice or in a perfect world – pure water!
2. Obesity
Overweight guys – I’m sorry but the harsh truth is that being overweight is far from optimal for your masculinity.
Everyone is trying to get lean these days, yet many fail and remain in the higher spectrum of body fat percentages.
Why would that be a problem in terms of our primary male hormone levels you might ask?
Maybe because adipose tissue in greater amounts means that you’ll have more estrogen in you (3).
As simple as that!
The enzyme called aromatase (nothing aroma about it) becomes more active, the more lard you have on your frame.
More of that enzyme translates to less testosterone because it DOES convert it to estrogen.
Even some supplements are including ingredients that are labeled is “aromatase inhibitors” in order to help bigger folks with their androgen profile.
But I’d say the better option would always be to simply lose fat and get leaner, period!
Not only that, but more academic research highlights the fact that the more visceral (internal fat, the one surrounding your organs) you have, the LESS testosterone your body will be producing (4).
And that actually makes a lot of sense, because obese people are obese everywhere – both inside and outside!
3. Bad Nutrition
It’s not like you DID NOT possibly expect this to be a part of this list, right?
Food either makes or breaks you – don’t you all agree?
I know I do!
And when it comes to elements that downplay our manhood, what enters our mouths (ladies are a different story) is VITAL!
Certain foods will screw up your natural T production and you’ll start wearing pink clothes, going to One Direction concerts and Lord knows what else!
Here are 3 of them that you better avoid:
-
Soy – It’s been scientifically validated that soy products are related to lowering testosterone levels and potentially erectile dysfunction (5) (5.1).
-
Flaxseed – Forget about flaxseeds, unless you want to lower your primary male hormone levels by 20% (6)!
-
Licorice – Researchers claim that consuming licorice will lower your total testosterone levels, so I’m personally staying away from candies (7).
Keep in mind that I did spend quite some time on creating this article so make sure to check it out!
Still, who doesn’t like eating.
Especially when we are bombarded with affordable, artificially-enhanced food that tastes amazing.
But the consequences to our mojo will be noticeable! Better think twice before you hit the drive-through next time mate.
There’s still hope though since certain foods like pomegranates, olive oil, coconut oil etc. are actually super-friendly to our testosterone production and DO boost it!
I even have dedicated an entire post to these T-friendly foods, so feel free to check it out if you’d like to learn more about them.
So not all is lost as you can see.
- You can also read more about the 5 foods that kill your testosterone.
You’d be wise to incorporate most if not ALL of these into your diet so that you start to feel like a real MAN!
Not only that but some of these are mega tasty as well – take olive oil for example.
You can do all KINDS of magic in the kitchen with it.
Whether you add it to salads or seafood (fish etc.) it’ll always be an amazing addition and of course with the superb bonus of upping your manliness!
4. Disrupted Sleep Patterns
How I cherish sleep, oh how I adore that feeling when my head hits the pillow and I go lights out!
EVERY single time I intentionally (or not) cannibalize some of my sleep, even if it’s only for a day or two, I end up being 100% miserable.
Relevant studies show that sleep and testosterone are related and most importantly sleep duration is connected to androgen concentrations (i.e. testosterone) (8).
So make sure that you DO sleep more if you want to boost your androgen concentrations!
Sleep duration is directly related to our optimal male hormone environment, so it’s in our best interest to make the most of our time spent in the bedroom (yeah I know what you’re thinking about!).
You know the saying that goes like this: “less is more”, yeah? In the case of sleep, we can rearrange it into something along the lines of “MORE is MORE”!
The uber cliche of 8 hours of sleep is the golden standard and what EACH and EVERYONE of us should go for, as a minimum of course!
5. Testicular Injuries
Don’t tell me you’ve never been hit in the ballsack in your ENTIRE life!
If you haven’t, then you’re blessed because honestly, this is undoubtedly the worst pain a man can endure.
I still remember playing soccer as a kid and getting whacked in my testicles with the ball – ouch, the pain is completely embedded in my memory!
Perhaps I’ll bore you to death if I suggest that damage to your gonads could impair their ability to produce our beautiful hormone – testosterone.
Nevertheless, this is a conclusion that any human being with LOGIC can come up with!
Voila.
Obviously, the severity of a given impact on your nuts will determine how bad the injury is and the possible outcome, but as a general rule of thumb testicular injuries DO affect the T production.
Your gonads won’t operate so well when they’ve received a blow and this might very well lead to hypogonadism.
And research shows that damage to your nuts could lead to hypogonadism (9).
Hypogonadism is when your testicles don’t produce enough of our manly hormone or big T.
In the case of an injury to the balls, we’re talking about PRIMARY hypogonadism, as this one originates from a problem with the testes, a.k.a. primary testicular failure.
So please, protect your valuables AT ALL COSTS!
How Do You Figure Out How Much Testosterone You Have Though?
By doing a test, obviously.
There are three ways to get your primary male hormone values tested:
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Blood
-
Saliva
-
Urine
Blood tests are hands down the most accurate ones out there, so if you really want to see exactly how much T is in your body, then just get your blood drawn at your local lab.
Saliva and urine tests are certainly less effective, so be cautious if you opt for any of these, because the results might be off, and you don’t want that!
I’ve dedicated an entire article on what the normal testosterone levels for men are and this is the perfect time to head over to that article and read it!
And after you get your T levels tested, don’t forget that doctors are doctors and they always prefer prescription drugs above everything else, so hold on before jumping to conclusions.
Conclusion
After bombarding you with antagonists that minimize our masculinity, it’s time to make sure you’ve learned your lesson well!
Keep in mind that some (or all) of these DO contribute to conditions such as low testosterone.
But if you’re particularly interested in what causes low T, then you’d be happy to find out that I’ve written a post about what causes low testosterone in us guys that took me hours to write, so do give it a read!
So, once again – watch out for these testosterone draining monsters:
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Alcohol
-
Obesity
-
Bad food
-
Screwed up sleep
-
Damage to your testes
Would it be reasonable to push yourself and try to adjust each of these?
Absolutely!
Even though you might not be able to instantly reverse your damaged nut sack or how fat you are – don’t get discouraged.
ood things take time to happen!
Roll up your sleeves and get to work with the help of this website.
Your manhood as at your own hands (sometimes literally…)!
If you set realistic goals and try to become the man you were originally designed to be, then you’ll get there eventually!
But hey, enough wisdom-sharing and high-end philosophy for you guys.
Get busy now and off you go to your awesome new macho-style, testosterone-optimized self!
Got anything else on your mind?
Is something troubling you?
Do you want to share your testimony about how well you deal with these aspects that decrease your testosterone?
I’m awaiting your questions in the comment section!
I've been fascinated by natural male hormone optimization since 2016. And ever since I've been going through boatloads of different meta-analyses and scientific data associated with increasing testosterone levels naturally. I hold a PhD degree in public health and have 10+ scientific publications on Google Scholar. Thus, in my collective work here you'll find helpful tricks, natural remedies, detailed product reviews (including stuff I've personally tried)... and more!
The study you link for soy is based off 1 diabetic boy, hardly enough data to come to any conclusions. I’m honestly surprised that the journal accepted that article as science.
Hey Tyler!
Apart from the aforementioned study involving the diabetic young fellow, there’s also another study that focuses on the biological effects of soy protein powder in young and healthy men (study).
Long story short, researchers found that after consuming soy protein for 4 weeks, these guys had a 19% decrease in their respected testosterone levels, which then recovered once they stopped consuming soy.
Cheers and God bless,
— Simon