In my case, when I first starting experiencing low testosterone symptoms there wasn’t a whole lot I was doing right nutritionally. I was living on a diet of junk food and I wasn’t exercising regularly. I was in my early twenties and had a devil may care attitude about taking care of myself. I thought, that regardless of my diet and exercise that I should feel great the majority of the time. Basically, I was a victim of naivete.

Still my poor diet didn’t cause my low testosterone syndrome. That was caused both by genetics and by side effects of a heavy dose of anti-depressant medications that I had been prescribed. Eventually, I ended up seeing an oncologist who specialized in nutrition. This guy was a pro’s pro and he identified that I was suffering from low testosterone almost immediately. After some blood work had been performed that confirmed his suspicions I was started on a dose of supplements that would increase testosterone levels in my body naturally.

Additionally, I was given some information to peruse that talked about the importance of diet and exercise in maintaining healthy testosterone levels in men. He told me that poor diet and lack of exercise can exacerbate many of the problems that I was having. Having realized that nature of my problem, I was eager to implement the diet suggestions that he made and I started to do additional research as well. I read lots of articles and websites about foods that increase testosterone and I altered my diet, using myself as a guinea pig. Eventually, I learned that the foods that I eat really played a factor in how I felt.

Looking back, I don’t want to say that all of my problems were caused by low testosterone. However, I know that I feel a lot better than I did then. And I give most of that credit to the fact that my testosterone levels have been brought back to where they should be.

Anyway, back to the subject of foods that increase testosterone, here’s what I’ve learned on that topic. First, the good news is that many of the best testosterone boosting foods are foods that men tend to like to eat. Also, they are natural, non-processed foods so they tend to be healthier for your body and metabolism as well.

Most of the foods that increase testosterone levels in the body have a healthy dose of zinc in them. Basically, if you have low testosterone levels zinc is critical. At it’s most basic level, zinc regulates serum testosterone in the body. A lack of zinc will affect the pituitary gland by inhibiting it from releasing pro-luteinizing and pro-follicle hormones. These are essential to stimulate testosterone creation in the body.

In addition, zinc will inhibits an enzyme in the body (aromatase) that transforms testosterone in the body into extra estrogen which can have many detrimental side effects. Men need to maintain a ratio of testosterone to estrogen of more than 10:1 (with 50:1 being ideal) and excess estrogen will obviously disrupt the ideal balance causing an elevated risk of obesity and heart disease.

Zinc also is believed to promote good sexual functioning as well. Studies have shown that zinc supplements can enhance sexual performance while also causing a rise in sperm counts, which can be useful if you are trying produce offspring. Therefore, you can clearly see how we want to maximize our zinc intake (within reasonable levels).

Among foods high in zinc, meats and seafood tend to be especially high and therefore especially effective. Red meat due to the presence of zinc and other nutrients does a good job of stimulating testosterone production. But, one of the zinc-containing high-fliers are oysters. Oysters are great because they pack a lot of pro-testosterone goodness into a relatively small package. Unfortunately, oysters are also difficult to come by in certain parts of the country, or they can be quite expensive. And, some people, just can’t stomach oysters for whatever reason. I admit that they do have some very distinctive qualities. And, for some, they just aren’t appealing.

More convenient to purchase foods include roast beef, pork chops, lamb chops wild game and ribs. All are considered excellent foods for those who are seeking to increase their testosterone. Chicken meat, poultry, is another excellent food to promote testosterone production. Chicken, like red meat, is high in our favorite nutrient and, because of it’s leanness and low fat, is more ideal for a staple food than is red meat.

I have found, for myself, that lean hamburger meat and chicken breast and chicken wings are the foods that I find myself eating most often to boost testosterone. While, I recognize the value of oysters, they are awfully inconvenient for me. I do share them here because they can be an excellent source of zinc for those who have regular access to them.

Non-meat foods that increase testosterone include beans and nuts – I particularly enjoy pistachios. Dairy products also include a healthy amount of zinc and can help promote an increase in testosterone levels. Particularly effective are low fat milk, cottage cheese and yogurt.

I’ve found that since I made some subtle dietary changes, that I have felt better and been higher functioning. However, I consider the supplements that I take to increase testosterone to be even more important than my diet in this regard. From my experience, diet plays a role and you want to load up on foods that increase testosterone production, however you are likely going to want to supplement your diet with some nutrients as well.

For a long time, I just thought I was getting older. I didn’t think I was suffering from low testosterone symptoms. But, the funny thing was I was only thirty. Yet I was having a multitude of symptoms. I went from doctor to doctor and had expensive lab work ordered and I still wasn’t getting any better. Finally, after an exhaustive physical at a heart science institute I was ready to give up and just accept that things would never be the same for me.

However, I my last ditch attempt to get to the bottom of my symptoms took me to a nutritional oncologist who suggested that what I was suffering from were symptoms of low testosterone levels. He ordered some lab work, which I did without having much hope that this would help. The lab came back showing that my testosterone levels were extremely low, which was hypothesized to be caused by the anti-depressant medication that I had been taking for years.

The nutritionist started me on an intense supplement regimen and I actually had some hope that we had solved the problem. Eventually, I started this blog Increase Testosterone Levels to share the therapies that have made a huge difference in my life. But, I think I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s get back to the symptoms one might experience if they have low testosterone levels.

The following is a list of the most common low testosterone symptoms:

• daytime fatigue and exhaustion
• difficulty achieving (but especially) maintaining erections
• weight gain (specifically in the mid-section)
• diminished capacity for sustained focus
• diminished libido or interest in sex
• slower reaction times in physical activity (such as sports)
• irritability and disturbed mood
• loss of lean muscle mass

Obviously that is not anyone’s Christmas list. Dealing with low testosterone can cause near misery in a man (or woman). I know, because I was there. Because testosterone is regulates a number of physical processes in the body it’s depletion can lead to a variety of these unwanted conditions. Obviously, and this is especially true for men, the sexual effects of low testosterone levels can be particularly distressing.

The mistake that people often make is assuming, like I did, that aging was to blame for these symptoms. Certainly as we age our bodies become less efficient and we will experience a certain lag in the performance we were accustomed to. As a result many people simply accept this consequences of these changes without considering ways that they can counteract them. For instance, in men the production of natural testosterone will decrease each year after a man reaches age 30 by about 1-2%. While steps can be taken to increase testosterone levels, doing nothing will almost certainly result in some of these low testosterone symptoms.

And while these symptoms occur most often in men over forty, a man of any age can experience them as a result of waning testosterone levels. In my case, I was only 30 (and had already been experiencing symptoms of low testosterone for years) before it was ever suggested that I get my hormone levels checked. And, I have found, that this is actually somewhat common.

Particularly common is the misdiagnosis of chronic depression in patients with these symptoms. This is exactly what happened to me. In my younger days, I was mildly angsty and got placed on an antidepressant regimen by an overeager psychiatrist. Almost immediately the anti-depressants started causing side effects. I complained to my doctor about these side effects which he misconstrued to mean that I was actually becoming more depressed which led him to increase the dosage of the anti-depressants that were, in fact, the root cause of my exhaustion and sexual dysfunction.

It took me several years to self-diagnosis this fact and begin to take measures to combat it. When the nutritional oncologist suggested that the anti-depressants could, in fact, be the cause rather than the solution to the problem I got a little frustrated. I was never really that depressed in the first place, and now I had lost years of peak functioning due to being overmedicated with testosterone-killing drugs. Argh!

If you are in a similar spot I invite you to read everything on this site, as I think that you are likely to get a great deal of benefit from it. Finally, I’d like to point out, that with a testosterone replacement protocol, you can reverse many of these effects with very few side effects. And that is why I started this site. I plan to share the methods that I use to increase my testosterone levels naturally with supplements. I will probably provide purchase links to buy the supplements that I use (for which I will get a tiny commission) but basically the information on this site will be free.

I hope that you can derive some benefit from it.