When cortisol is jacked up all the time from work, doomscrolling, or a schedule crammed too full, testosterone suffers. If your diet is solid, you’ll probably have no reason to supplement. Just eat a balanced and varied diet. When men are exposed to too much of this estrogen-imitating chemical, T levels can drop. Xenoestrogen is a chemical that imitates estrogen in the human body. Pesticides and industrial chemicals can dampen testosterone (and can cause cancer), so definitely limit your exposure to that stuff. It may be worth supplementing with vitamin D3. Strategic carbohydrate timing around workouts helps maintain performance and hormone production while preserving most ketogenic benefits. However, very low-carbohydrate intake may suppress testosterone in some individuals, making careful monitoring essential. The high fat content provides abundant raw materials for steroid hormone synthesis, while the metabolic shift toward ketosis can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. Well-formulated ketogenic diets can serve as powerful short-term tools for testosterone optimization, particularly in overweight men or those with insulin resistance. The Mediterranean pattern’s flexibility allows for social eating while maintaining hormonal health, making it particularly sustainable for long-term adherence. This approach emphasizes monounsaturated fats from olive oil, omega-3 rich seafood, antioxidant-dense vegetables, and moderate amounts of whole grains and legumes. Chronic heavy drinking reduces testosterone through multiple mechanisms, including direct testicular toxicity, increased aromatase activity, and disrupted sleep patterns. But testosterone levels vary significantly between men — so knowing how to tell if your testosterone is high or low is not always straightforward. Are declining testosterone levels not just a normal part of ageing? Get a moderate amount of fat for hormone health. Carrying around too much body fat isn’t good for T because body fat converts testosterone into estrogen; the less fat we store, the more T we have. Exercise helps to boost testosterone by increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat. When researchers at the University of Chicago restricted young men to five hours of sleep a night for one week, their testosterone levels fell 10-15%. A large portion of daily testosterone production happens during sleep. Diet can also help with fat loss, which will help reduce estrogen and increase T. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to get the micronutrients your body needs for hormones. All those little "movement snacks" can keep your body running like a finely tuned machine, including the parts that manage hormones. You’ll find a lot of information out there on the interwebs about how to increase your testosterone naturally. I’ve been writing about testosterone on this site for over a decade because testosterone is an important part of a man’s overall health and wellness. "There are no established optimal testosterone levels for women, so most clinicians use a lab reference range to diagnose a woman with high testosterone," Dr. Dorr says. It’s important to note that for people assigned female at birth (AFAB), there’s no exact number for determining high testosterone levels, also known as hyperandrogenism. Below is a chart representing the normal range for female testosterone levels by age and ng/dL. Like other hormone types, there’s a chance that someone can have abnormal testosterone levels. Several studies showed that a high-protein diet actually decreased testosterone levels. The best types of exercise to increase your testosterone levels are weightlifting and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
