How to Increase Testosterone: The Feel Good Hormone

Testosterone is a feel good hormone. It gives men and women a sense of motivation, self confidence, empowerment and wellbeing, Many men and women come to me because they don’t feel like themselves. They lack energy, endurance and have decreased muscle mass and waning strength. Some have low testosterone.Here are a few tips on how to increase testosterone.

How to Increase Testosterone Naturally

•  Resistance Training: The best way to increase testosterone is to lift weights. This works best in men. To get the best results, lift 85% of your 1 Rep Max which is 85% of the maximum weight that you can lift with 6 repetitions.
  Vitamin D is optimal when it is 60-80 in blood. Take a Vitamin D3 supplement with K2 for maximum benefit. You need 1,000 IU to raise Vitamin D by 10 points.
• Decrease alcohol consumption since this activates the enzyme aromatase that will turn testosterone into estrogen. I see many men who come to me with low total and free testosterone and when their doctor raises the dose of testosterone, it just turns into estrogen (which most do not measure) and makes them feel worse. Keeping estrogen levels down is how to increase testosterone.
• Zinc is important to keep testosterone from turning into estrogen as well as dihydrotestosterone, which is a strong testosterone that may cause aggressive behavior, hair loss, oily skin, acne and prostate growth. Get levels measured and look for the zinc and copper ratio to be 8-12:1.
• Lower cortisol through stress management. When cortisol is up, sex hormones go down because when you are in the fight or flight mode, you are not thinking about reproduction. That is how we are designed and how to increase testosterone is by using adaptogenic herbs such as ashwaganda, rhodeola, elutherococcus, etc., eating a nutritious diet, avoiding stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, simple carbohydrates and alcohol and managing stress (physical, mental, hormonal, metabolic, toxic or infectious).
  

How to Increase Testosterone with Medication

Young fertile men who want to maintain fertility should first try either clomiphene or HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin).

• Clomiphene stimulates the pituitary to make LH (luteinizing hormone), which stimulates the testes to make testosterone. This is the cheapest, safest and most natural approach.

• HCG is similar to luteinizing hormone and stimulates the testes to make testosterone. It is given by injection and is somewhat expensive.

• If the testes don’t respond to either clomiphene or HCG, this is most likely testicular failure. In those cases, treatment with testosterone is appropriate but it will eventually cause testicular shrinkage and infertility. If that is the case, be sure to bank sperm.

For instance, older men who have completed their families. However, don’t want to maintain fertility can go directly to bioidentical testosterone replacement therapy. You can read about the various forms as well as the pros and cons in my blog “Hormone Replacement Options for Men and Women.”

When it comes to increasing or balancing hormones you must look at the whole person. What you eat, drink, think, as well as how much you sleep, the stress and toxins you are exposed to all affect your hormones. Hormones can convert into unwanted hormones so if you are experiencing any difficulties, it is best to contact an anti aging, functional medicine doctor who has expertise in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

Dr. Lorraine Maita is a recognized and award-winning holistic, functional, and anti-aging physician and author. She transforms people’s lives by getting to the root cause of illness using the best of science and nature. Her approach is personalized, precision medicine where you are treated as the unique individual you are. If you’re ready to start your journey to a healthier, happier life, schedule your visit today!