Little Known Ways to Boost Testosterone

Written by Christopher Kelly

April 6, 2015

So, your doctor found low testosterone on your lab results.

l could train this chimp to find low testosterone on your lab results.

Spit into a tube or draw some blood, send the sample off the lab, the result comes back, and testosterone is low. Congratulations, you've diagnosed low testosterone. Androderm, AndroGel, Testim. All great solutions, right? Well maybe, maybe not. I doubled my free testosterone in six months without using any prescription medicine or testosterone boosting supplements.

The trick was not addressing the low testosterone, but asking why it should come to be low in the first place.

Many doctors would consider low libido or erectile dysfunction a normal part of aging. But the fact that something is common doesn’t make it normal. It’s true that as men age they are more likely to experience symptoms associated with low testosterone: sexual dysfunction, loss of muscle mass, fatigue, or sometimes poor memory or concentration. We’ve all seen the romantic commercials of the good-looking silver-haired couple taking a walk on the beach, joyful because he’s got Viagra in his back pocket. It’s become common for doctors to treat symptoms of low testosterone with a prescription like this or with hormone replacement. And these solutions might work…for a while. But they don’t address the cause of the problem.

Isn’t it enough to treat the symptom? Well, here’s the thing--something is causing your testosterone to be low. It didn’t just happen as a factor of getting older. While low testosterone is associated with increasing age, it’s not caused by increasing age. So then, why does testosterone drop? And why should we care?

Here’s why you should care: Whatever is causing the low testosterone is also likely to be having other negative effects in the body. Plus, treating low testosterone with Viagra or hormone replacement may become less effective over time if you’re not treating the cause. It’s kind of like taking care of a leaky pipe by putting a bucket underneath it. Sure, it stops the water from destroying your house…for now. But wouldn’t it be better to just replace or repair the pipe?

So what causes low testosterone and how can you fix it?

Here’s the not-so-simple answer: lots of things can cause low testosterone. Let’s get a little technical and do some detective work. Where does testosterone even come from in the first place?

Stimulation--it’s all in your head

The situation: Part of the brain (the hypothalamus) is responsible for hormone production. The hypothalamus sends a signal via the pituitary to the testes to make testosterone. This stimulation of the testes can be interrupted, however, by several factors, the most common of which is stress. During periods of stress, the body essentially makes the decision to put long-term building projects on hold in favor of the fight or flight response. This process evolved to keep us alive. When a bear is chasing you it’s not the right time to be making babies--you need to run!

Our modern-day stressors are often financial, emotional, or work-related…they’re very rarely life-threatening. But your brain doesn’t know that. Your brain thinks that it’s time for fight or flight, so it’s time to shut down the hormones to conserve resources. This would be OK, except that stress today tends to be chronic. It doesn’t last just the few minutes it takes to outrun the bear. It goes on day after day, year after year. Our hormones really don’t stand a chance. (So yes, that guy snapping his gum in the next cubicle is ruining your testosterone level. You should tell him.)

How is it detected: Lifestyle analysis: What are your current stressors in the areas of training, work, family, finances, health? Do you know how to relax? Do you know how to have fun? Beyond testosterone, how well balanced are your other steroid hormones like cortisol, DHEA and melatonin? All of these can be measured on an adrenal stress profile saliva test.

The solution: Learning to relax, learning to play, to better manage stressful things (and people) in your environment, enforcing boundaries in relationships, meditation, using the Headspace app, finding solutions to address financial concerns.

Production--it’s all in your...pants.

The situation: Suppose your brain does a bang-up job asking for the testosterone. Next, specific nutrients are required for the Leydig cells that produce testosterone to function correctly. Deficiencies in the B vitamins, zinc, and many other nutrients can stop these cells from working as well as they should. If this is happening, you can bet the problem won’t be isolated, and other cells won’t be working well either.

Or let’s say the brain does a fine job with the signaling and the cells have sufficient nutrients to make testosterone. All is well? Not yet. In the cells, some of the testosterone is converted to a powerful and less desirable androgen hormone called DHT. An enzyme called aromatase converts testosterone into estrogen. Insulin increases aromatase activity. Therefore, high insulin can lead to high estrogen. Taking it a step further, high blood sugar leads to high insulin leads to high estrogen and lower testosterone. Want to know where those man-boobs came from? The answer could come from regularly checking your blood glucose using a home finger-stick test.

How it is detected: Salivary hormone, urinary organic acid and blood testing.

The solution: Supplementation can quickly correct specific deficiencies. Dietary changes are often a critical factor, including the addition of nutrient-rich foods to the diet and the reduction of foods that increase blood sugar and insulin. Fat cells secrete aromatase, so losing weight can increase testosterone.

Binding--transportation in the blood

The situation: Steroid hormones don’t mix with water, and so have a binding protein to transport them in the blood. For testosterone, it's sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). Have a look at your blood test and check for elevated SHBG. High estrogen can cause this, which again, leads to low testosterone.

How it is detected: Blood testing.

The solution: Improving liver function (specifically phase two conjugation pathways) can lower SHBG.

Receptors--message received?

The situation: Each hormone, including testosterone, has a receptor, which when bound tells the cell nucleus to start making proteins. Low SHBG, high free testosterone, sounds like all is well right? Maybe not, as the body is smarter than that. All cells have the ability to reduce the number of receptors in response to excessive levels of any hormone. This is better known as hormone resistance. Testosterone resistance may cause all of the symptoms of low testosterone whilst your test results appear normal.

How it is detected: There are no commercially available test that measure hormone resistance, but your symptoms and low SHBG will be a big clue.

The solution: Seek balance.

Clearance--the life of your liver

The situation: The liver is the organ responsible for converting waste into a form that can be excreted from your body. Many people are lacking the nutrients needed by the liver to function properly, including vitamins A, C, E, B and sulphur containing compounds. Without a well-functioning detoxification system, estrogen isn’t cleared properly from your body. (Remember why this is important? See the part about man boobs above.)

How it is detected: Urinary organic acids and blood testing.

The solution: Supplementation can temporarily support the liver and address nutrient deficiencies while diet modification solidifies the change. Avoiding exposure to environmental toxicity helps.

Chronic Inflammation--the root of all evil?

The situation: The testes are very vulnerable to inflammation and oxidative stress, which can in turn reduce testosterone production. What causes inflammation? Chronic stress, over training, poor sleep, excessive carbohydrate consumption. Or, maybe you have a pathogenic infection or bacterial overgrowth in your gut. You might also be eating foods to which you have a minor (or major) sensitivity (e.g., gluten, corn, soy, seeds, nuts, eggs, dairy). All of these things can lead to all over inflammation in the body. Inflammatory cytokines can travel from the gut to the brain causing decreased stimulation from the hypothalamus.

How it is detected: Stool and urinary organic acids testing.

The solution: Identify the appropriate diet, use supplements to correct pathogens in the intestines, and to address inflammation and oxidative stress.

Are you suffering from low testosterone? Is your doctor thinking about the underlying cause or just prescribing a Band-Aid solution? Is low T your only problem?

I’ve been there, and I’ve fixed this. Book a free consultation and I’ll help you fix your low testosterone problem too.

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