There’s a lot of rubbish online as I’m sure you know. It’s no different when it comes to talking about testosterone killing foods.
You’ll see list of foods which its claimed can kill testosterone levels, but they are rarely backed up with evidence.
So what I’ve done for you is to weed through the nonsense so you don’t have too.
Right here in next five minutes you can discover the dirty top four foods. The worst foods for killing testosterone and the evidence why.
I’ll also kill a couple of Internet myths that are doing the rounds around bananas and low testosterone meaning you will die early.
Can Low Testosterone Kill You?
I want to head off the biggest myth at the top here, because a lot of guys really fret about it.
Can low testosterone Kill you? The answer is no.
However, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t potentially have an effect on your overall lifespan.
So although having low testosterone isn’t going to kill you in the next few years, it could slightly shorten your life overall.
Studies have found that the men who tend to live longest of those with average levels of testosterone.
That was followed by men with high testosterone levels.
In third place were men with low testosterone levels. Overall, they died slightly younger.
However, there is a caveat to that. Men with low testosterone levels often have them because of poor lifestyles. Poor diet, little exercise, too much alcohol.
So although the studies might take all that into account, the headlines people will read is that men with low testosterone levels die earlier. But that isn’t necessarily the whole story.
The Biggest Myth Of Them All: Do Bananas Kill Testosterone?
Amazingly, despite the fact they are stuffed full of goodness, fiber, and potassium which is brilliant for sperm count and energy, a lot of bodybuilders and fitness freaks don’t eat bananas.
They believe the myth that bananas can lower testosterone levels.
Multiple studies have actually found zero evidence that bananas Kill testosterone. Quite the opposite, the goodness in them, as part of an overall good regime and diet, can even elevate testosterone.
Danger Food #1: Soy Products
Top of the hit list of danger foods for testosterone are soy-based products.
New and fashionable, due to vegetarianism and concerns over meat production in relation to global warming, the number of men out there who are consuming large amounts of soy-based products has skyrocketed.
Soy protein foods contain phytoestrogens. Structurally similar to estrogen, when in the body they provoke similar responses.
One study found that high consumption of these compounds provoked responses in the body in line with elevated levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone. However, after completion of the study, it was found that testosterone levels hadn’t actually changed, and neither had the estrogen levels.
What was happening was the consumption of phytoestrogens was telling the body it had higher levels of estrogen, and it was responding as if that was the case, when it actually wasn’t.
So it could just be that which is going on. However, other studies have noted small drops in testosterone and rising estrogen when eating high amounts of soy-based products.
Which means the jury is out on this one, but to be safe, I would just minimize your intake of soy products.
Danger Food #2: Licorice Root
Licorice root is obviously found in licorice products. However, because it’s a natural sweetener, it’s also found in various foods, drinks, and even tobacco products.
So you could be consuming a lot more licorice root then you actually realize.
Studies have definitely found that licorice root can affect testosterone levels in rats. A couple of studies have also noted drops in testosterone levels in men. In one study, 26% in a week.
However, when I read that study, I wasn’t convinced that the methodology was particularly good. But it does point to the fact that very high levels of licorice root consumption can lead to a drop in testosterone.
On the plus side, in the real world you are unlikely to ever be consuming as much licorice root as used in studies. This is certainly the case if you don’t really like licorice itself. If you do, just minimize how often you have it.
Danger Food #3: Bread & Pastry Products
When it comes to understanding which foods kill testosterone, bread and pastry products are often cited.
However, there’s almost zero evidence that anything specifically in them can affect testosterone levels.
My take is that these are just generally unhealthy foods. They also tend to contain refined sugars, fats, and oils. All of those in large quantities have been linked to low levels of testosterone.
Overall, I think this is more linked to having an unhealthy lifestyle. If you consume a lot of bread and pastry products, along with things like pizza, fast food, all that stuff, then you’re generally going to be less healthy.
You’ll also be more likely to have a sedentary lifestyle, which can also affect testosterone levels.
Cut down on the bread and pastry products, and get yourself down the gym is my advice. There’s nothing better for raising your self-esteem and testosterone levels.
Danger Food #4: Nuts Can Affect Your Nuts!
Last on my list of the top four danger foods for your testosterone levels are nuts. Nuts can affect your nuts.
Your testicles have a big part to play in the levels of testosterone in your body and its transportation. Some nuts have been found to potentially lower levels of testosterone.
It’s been theorized, although not completely proven, that some types of nut can affect something called hormone binding globulin. It’s a carrier for several hormones around the body, including testosterone.
Some types of nut, specifically almonds and walnuts, contain a compound which can affect levels of this chemical.
However, as always, that’s not the whole story and there is contradictory evidence. It’s actually quite amazing how little we know about testosterone production, and how it’s affected, even in this modern scientific age.
More recent studies, although the one I saw in detail was on women, found that those nuts actually increased levels of hormone binding globulin. This study was done in 2011 on a sample of women with polycystic ovary syndrome. If found that almonds actually increased hormone binding globulin levels by up to 16%.
So again, this is all advisory, as the evidence around nuts is rudimentary. I think the takeaway message here is to just be sensible.
Let’s Finish With Some Good News: The Foods Which Raise Testosterone Levels
As you can see, unless you are excessive within your diet, then everything in moderation is fine. There’s really not much evidence that you can dramatically cut your testosterone levels through what you eat.
Obviously though, if your overall diet and lifestyle is atrocious, and you are eating these foods and others that have links to reducing testosterone, or increasing estrogen, then you could affect your testosterone levels in some way.
So eat healthily, be aware, and minimize the foods which could impact testosterone levels, and you never have a problem.
On the plus side, some foods have been linked definitively to higher levels of testosterone in males:
- Oysters
- Pomegranates
- Leafy green vegetables
- Any food high in zinc
- Fatty fish and fish oil
- Olive oil
- Onions
Those are all pretty damn common foods, and as long as you are consuming those as part of a balanced diet, then overall, your estrogen and testosterone balances should not be affected by what you consume at all.
My final takeaway here is that a bad overall diet will have a far greater negative impact on your testosterone levels and eating a bit too much of any certain food.
If you stack up a bad diet with no exercise, then you’re a ticking timebomb, who will definitely have a decreased level of testosterone compared to if you are living at peak performance.
Now you know the main foods which can affect testosterone levels theoretically, just minimize how often you eat them.
I’m telling you, the biggest thing you can do to keep your testosterone levels high, apart from supplements, is to live a healthy lifestyle.
Walk rapidly every day. Run up stairs, hit the gym, live actively.
Make sure your diet is low in fat, low in sugars, low in refined carbohydrates, and also that it’s high in natural whole foods (fruit, vegetables, grains).
Combine all that on a regular basis, and small amounts of everything we have talked about will certainly make no difference your testosterone levels at all.
I’ll also just end here by saying that good supplementation can help. As a bodybuilder that’s crucial to me.
There are definitely high quality testosterone boosting supplements out there. They only cost about $60 a month, and they can raise your testosterone levels by up to 20% with no effort at all other than taking pills every day and leading a healthy lifestyle.
So overall, live well, exercise, be aware of the foods minimize intake, and if you’re really worried take a supplement as well, and you’ll never have any problems with your testosterone levels being abnormally low for your time of life.
