Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. I’m not a health expert, fitness coach, or dietician. I am a regular guy who has overhauled his own health and fitness, in his 40’s, by applying everything I could find on natural ways to improve testosterone. These articles are ALL of my notes, translated to plain English, at zero cost. If you like this article series, you can follow me on Instagram for more related content — @mengredients.

PART 2: EATING & SUPPLEMENTS

With food, as mentioned in the other parts of this article series, much of what supports your body’s production of testosterone is almost the opposite of what’s encouraged and what has ultimately become accepted as truth through sheer volume of repetition over the last several decades. But if you step back, you may realize we’ve also seen an epic explosion of poor health over the last several decades. So, at least on the surface, it stands to reason that most of the common and widely believed dietary recommendations might be flawed, perhaps foundationally and even collectively so, but have become dogma nonetheless.

I should also point out that I did all of this without counting calories or “macros” (macronutrients: protein, carbs, and fat). This experience has challenged my sense of “calories in = calories out,” as your body will metabolize (process and put to use) 100 calories of apples much differently than it would 100 calories of cookies. It’s also changed my perception of macros, with a similar logic, as 100 grams of carbs from apples will be used by the body much differently than 100 grams of carbs from cookies. Most diets center on calories and macros, disregarding the food source, quality, and nutrient contents.

So, I don’t think about calories and macros as optimizing testosterone naturally is more about giving your body the raw materials it needs to function: micronutrients — vitamins, minerals, amino acids (amino acids are the “building blocks” of protein). Most men are very deficient in most micronutrients, like potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, most vitamins, etc. that are critical for hormonal health. When your body isn’t getting the raw materials it needs to function, it’ll show symptoms of dysfunction as processes break down. So, I started eating much more nutrient-dense foods, and a few supplements, and my constant cravings and hunger subsided quite a bit. It’s like if your body needs more Vitamin B12, you can eat 4 pounds of chicken or a half a pound of beef to get about the same amount of B12. Your body needs certain amounts of each raw material and will make you feel hungry or break down your own muscle and organ tissue to satisfy that nutrient need. So, nutrient-dense foods help to get more nutrition with less eating.

I was also eating so many supposedly “healthy” foods that actually contain “antinutrients” and compounds that negatively impact hormonal health. We’ll get into that later in the section below on which foods and beverages I avoid.

You could get a full blood test to know exactly what deficiencies and food sensitivities you have, but I just did a shotgun approach, with a fair amount of trial and error. I researched which foods are the best [bioavailable] sources of the critical micronutrients and saw how little of those foods I was eating, and how many of the foods I was eating were on the list of testosterone killers. So I just started eating much more of the good and much less or none of the bad.

So, as for what I eat, it’s like a trip back in time. I eat primarily high-quality, well-raised meat / eggs, dairy, and what Christopher Walker, author of “Master Your T” and “The Thermo Diet,” refers to as organic “fruits and roots,” meaning any fruits and root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, garlic, and so on. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll have some hoops to jump through to ensure you get enough “complete protein” (all the essential amino acids), and I’m not well-versed in how to do that without eating animal meat and organs or a lot of supplements. And you, particularly vegans, are likely ingesting a lot of highly processed things that are loaded with toxic chemicals that anyone looking to balance hormones should avoid.

I always hear, “But what about cholesterol!?” Check out Nina Teicholz’s book “The Big Fat Surprise,” which she spent something like ten years researching, comprehensively dismantling the diet-heart-health theory, and the subsequent demonization of saturated fat. Simply put, your body literally can’t even make testosterone without cholesterol! So, an anti-cholesterol diet is inherently an anti-testosterone diet. I have a family history of heart disease, with multiple heart attacks on my dad’s side, and this was my biggest concern going into this. But if you do some research, you’ll see how this diet-heart-health idea got started, became doctrine, and how we’ve come to embrace this innately anti-testosterone way of eating, in the name of “heart health,” while ultimately dismantling our best tool of actual men’s health and fitness — testosterone.

Incidentally, I now eat ~8–10 times more saturated fat and cholesterol, and my “bad” cholesterol actually decreased almost 20 points from what it was prior. Also, among heart attack victims, the ones with high cholesterol have a substantially higher survival rate compared to those with lower cholesterol, and most heart attack victims actually have lower cholesterol in the first place. So, I no longer fear dietary fat, but there are some things I consider when it comes to the animal fat I eat, which I’ll get into. Sorry to digress, but I feel this context on cholesterol is critical and is perhaps our “original sin” so to speak — a root flaw from which so much wrong has stemmed.

As a golden rule, I buy the highest quality food I can get, and suggest you aim for whatever you can afford. It’s not cheap, but I’ve offset this cost by spending a lot less on restaurants, snacks/junk food, medical bills, etc.

MEAT

I eat mostly red meat (cow, bison, lamb, elk, venison, etc.) which are far more nutrient-dense than the chicken breast I’ve been told to eat all my life. I buy grass-fed and ideally grass-finished meat because factory-farmed animals are fed and treated with things that are unnatural for the animal (corn, soy, antibiotics, hormones, etc.), and a lot of that crap gets stored in its fat and passed on to you when you eat it.

• I subscribe to ButcherBox.com, but there are several sources for buying high quality meat from other sellers working directly with farmers. White Oak Pastures and Force of Nature are two other sources that come to mind.

• Since I buy high quality meat, I like the fattier cuts, like ribeyes, as the saturated fat is great for testosterone. If I buy regular meat at a grocery store or restaurant, though, I’ll go for leaner cuts since the toxic crap that comes with factory-farmed meat is mostly in the fat. This is where a lot of the bad rep on meat stems from, as most people eat factory-farmed meat from grocery and restaurant chains. We’re also encouraged to cook the holy shit out of it because of all the toxic crap that comes with processing factory-farmed meat. So, we cook out a lot of the valuable micronutrients — you get the poison and cook out the good stuff, of course this will be unhealthy. I cook red meat to a medium rare at most, even if I purchased it at a grocery store, as I’d rather ensure I get more of the vitamins and minerals and not cook them away.

• I also eat jerky but try to find soy-sauce-free jerky (more on soy sauce in the section below on what foods I avoid). I look for jerky of animals that are pasture-raised and / or grass-fed / finished. I like Epic brand’s bison bar.

• I try to get organ meats if I can, especially liver, which is one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth. It’s not easy to find high-quality organ meats, but I buy and freeze them when I do.

• I also take desiccated beef liver capsules daily. Some debate on that, but always go for the whole food when I can.

• I eat bone marrow, either baked or in bone broth, for collagen which helps joint health with age, as well as glycine which helps with sleep, plus so many other nutrients.

• I buy organic, pasture-raised eggs — Another extremely nutrient dense food, a great protein and fat and cholesterol source.

• I eat shellfish weekly — particularly oysters (fresh is best, canned is okay). Shellfish are a great source of cholesterol and zinc, incredibly nutrient dense.

• I also eat wild-caught sockeye salmon once in a while.

• I do eat pork, only humanely raised, etc. I do limit pork, though, as it’s higher in certain fats (Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, or “PUFA,” which I’ll cover in the section below on what I avoid eating) that are terrible for testosterone.

DAIRY

Ideally, I want raw milk dairy, but this can be a challenge and very expensive. I look for dairy made from grass-fed cows and / or cows that were pasture-raised, and no hormones or synthetic vitamin D3. Dairy is an excellent source of calcium — critical for bone health. Same principle mentioned in the meat section above, though: if you buy dairy from factory-farmed animals, all the toxic crap gets passed on to you in their milk as well as their fat.

• I look for grass-fed whole milk yogurt and milk with minimal ingredients and prefer Greek yogurt (more fermented).

• I buy Vital Farms butter, or KerryGold — again, grass-fed, ideally grass-finished.

• I try to mix it up with cheese but look for grass-fed and/or raw milk cheeses.

“FRUITS & ROOTS”

I eat organic fruit — bananas, pineapples, blueberries, apples, peaches, plums, melons, grapes, mangos, etc.

Dry organic fruit is great too — mango, pineapple, raisins, apricots, etc., but I make sure there are no other additional ingredients listed.

Citrus fruits are a great source of Vitamin C and lemons and limes in particular help keep your testosterone from converting to estrogen, via a process called “aromatization.” A lot of testosterone optimization is about making use of the testosterone you create and minimizing its aromatization / conversion to estrogen.

Remember, a lot of plant foods that are commonly referred to as “vegetables” are actually fruits, like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, avocado, and are very nutrient-dense.

I eat a lot of root vegetables / tubers — potatoes, carrots, parsnips, ginger, radishes, onions, garlic, etc.

Single ingredient fruit and root powders are fine in smoothies — beet root powder, maca, etc.

I mostly avoid leaves and stems, except for parsley which has a particular compound in it that helps your body convert cholesterol into “free testosterone” (the testosterone that matters the most). I know, we’re constantly told to “eat leafy greens,” but I’ll get into this more in the foods to avoid section below.

I also sparingly eat and cook with leaves of other herbs, like thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, etc.

OTHER FOODS FOR TESTOSTERONE

Sea Salt — I put sea salt on everything and even add a pinch to my water bottle I take to work. Unless you have hypertension, you’ll likely benefit greatly from significantly upping your salt intake. I know, “what?!” Check out James DiNicolantonio’s book “The Salt Fix.” Your body needs electrolytes, they’re critical for so many bodily functions as your brain and nervous system work through electrochemical signals to and from all parts of your body.

Coconut oil — A great source of a stable fat that doesn’t break down when heated in a pan or in your body. I aim to get most of my fat from foods that are solid at room temperature — butter / ghee, coconut oil, tallow, etc. These have a stable fat molecule. Fats that are liquid at room temperature (nut / seed oils, vegetable oil, etc.) are Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (“PUFA”) and will tend to be rancid upon purchase and / or become rancid with exposure to light or heat and break down into “free radicals” in your body, which cause inflammation and oxidative stress. Yes, another form of stress. I’ll elaborate more in the section below about foods I avoid. I sometimes eat olive oil and avocado oil, usually just added to already-cooked food or I make a mayo with either one for use in cold dishes like a potato or egg salad.

Sauerkraut (cold) / fermented foods in general — Gut health is absolutely critical for testosterone production because the gut is where nutrients get absorbed for use in the body. Eating fermented foods (with live bacteria cultures, bought in the refrigerated section of your grocery store) supports the microorganisms in the gut that help with digestion and nutrient absorption. I aim for at least one serving of fermented food daily. Buying non-refrigerated fermented foods will usually mean that the probiotics in them are dead and of no use to your gut “microbiome.” Many of the inches on my waist were due to gut inflammation. Gut lining is like a tight-mesh fabric that, if stretched from bloating and inflammation, becomes increasingly permeable, letting nutrients slip out, and toxins slip in. This is known as “leaky gut” or “gut permeability” and it kills your testosterone and overall health.

Apple Cider Vinegar — Several health benefits, many studies, etc. Great for regulating blood sugar, controls pathogens, and aids digestive health, particularly for older guys as we have trouble breaking down and absorbing protein as we age. I put a tablespoon of it in my water bottle as a gut primer (prebiotic) before I begin eating for the day and will tend to also do this after meals higher in sugar / carbohydrates.

Mushrooms, particularly white button mushrooms — They help keep your testosterone from converting into estrogen (they are “anti-aromatizing”), and are also a great source of vitamin D.

White rice — Easily digestible carbs to help fuel activity. Yes, you’ve been bombarded by the idea that brown rice is a healthy alternative when in fact the bran on brown rice blocks the conversion of your testosterone to its much more powerful version called DHT (dihydrotestosterone). You want more of your testosterone to convert to DHT!

Bone broth — Grass-fed/finished, etc. Great source of collagen for joint health, as well as glycine, which is anti-inflammatory, and helps with sleep, plus a lot of other nutrients and health benefits.

Brazil nuts — I eat 2–3 daily as a rich source of selenium, which is a critical nutrient for thyroid function. Tim Ferris, podcaster and author of “The 4-Hour Body,” popularized this as a sort of “biohack” for boosting testosterone.

Macadamia nuts — I eat 2–3 (whole) macadamia nuts daily as a rare source of omega 7, which helps with inflammation, and signals to your body to stop storing fat.

Coconut cream — Good source of fat. I just make sure the only ingredients are coconut and water — no guar gums, etc. I usually mix in smoothies or Thai-based meals.

Honey — I buy raw and local. Great source of natural sugar / carbs, but also helps with various issues like seasonal allergies since it comes from bees pollinating regional plant life.

Maple syrup — I only buy organic, real maple syrup with no other ingredients. It’s a great way to sweeten things like smoothies and various sauces, etc.

Chia seeds — As a general rule, I avoid all nuts (except 2–3 Brazil nuts and macadamia nuts daily, mentioned above) and seeds for various reasons including high PUFA content but organic Chia seeds, in small doses, have been shown to boost testosterone.

Nori / Seaweed — Great prebiotic fiber (feeds the good bacteria of the gut) and source of iodine, which is another critical nutrient for thyroid function. Just try to make sure it’s not baked with seed oils.

Dark chocolate / cacao nibs — Look for 72% or higher cacao, and make sure there are no emulsifiers, like soy lecithin. Great source of magnesium and various other health benefits.

Ceylon Cinnamon — Pricey, but helps to manage blood sugar and shown in animal studies to boost testosterone.

BEVERAGES

Water — I’m careful not to over hydrate. A lot of vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes are water soluble, meaning they dissolve in water, and drinking a ton of water can cause you to piss it all away. Again, this runs counter to what we’re told to “hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!” I just sip water when I’m thirsty — and typically add a pinch of sea salt or buy mineral water which helps to stay hydrated (salt helps retain water). Eating more fruit helps as well.

• I also have a whole house filter to rid our water of chemicals and various known “endocrine disruptors,” like chlorine, micro plastics like BPA, etc. that undermine hormonal processes.

• I always drink water from a stainless-steel or glass bottle, or a glass. A lot of guys drink water in plastic bottles or aluminum cans, but the chemicals in the plastic bottle and plastic linings of the cans can leach into your system and mimic estrogen in your blood. More on this in the lifestyle section.

• Carbonated mineral water is fine, in glass bottles, I usually buy plain with no flavoring. The “natural flavors” on the flavored varieties is a catchall to not have to list all the toxic chemicals that are used to derive the flavors you taste from the natural sources.

Black coffee — Usually with a pinch of sea salt, because coffee is a diuretic that will cause you to flush water and electrolytes from your system and salt helps you retain water. I sometimes add a raw milk heavy cream if I want some fat, but I usually have coffee early in the day when I’m “fasting” or before I start ingesting anything that will “break” my fast (cause digestion processes to start, increase blood sugar, etc.). Black coffee will not break a fast and is a great stimulant I often drink as a pre-workout. I just watch my coffee intake when dealing with abnormally high stress as it can exacerbate the stress response and elevate cortisol.

• I drink out of a ceramic mug, or stainless-steel travel mug, and avoid to-go cups, when possible, again due to the estrogen-mimicking chemicals they’re lined with that leach into your blood, especially when heated with hot liquid. I’ll usually opt for iced coffee at coffee shops to mitigate this.

Orange juice — Ideally fresh squeezed from organic oranges, or I buy organic OJ. I just make sure orange juice is the only ingredient. A good rule of thumb is to avoid food or beverage products with more than 1 ingredient. OJ is a great source of fructose. I sometimes have it after a workout to replenish muscles with the glycogen (stored form of sugar) that gets depleted during workouts. It’s also a good source of vitamin C, which is a potent antioxidant for battling oxidative stress. Citrus fruit in general helps mitigate the conversion of testosterone to estrogen (anti-aromatase). However, I avoid grapefruit, which seems to have the opposite effect on aromatization.

Organic red wine — Occasionally I’ll have a glass of red wine. Great antioxidants (battle oxidative stress) and is anti-inflammatory. We’re groomed to associate beer with masculinity, but beer tanks testosterone. More on this in the section below on what to avoid. There are some liquors that don’t hurt testosterone as much, but I’ve never enjoyed liquor, so I haven’t cared to read up on that. Either way, alcohol consumption in general is not great for so many health aspects.

Raw whole milk — Again, can be difficult to find and super expensive, but is loaded with good protein, fat, and calcium. I’ll sometimes go for just grass-fed milk as well.

MY FULL DAY OF EATING

6–6:30am — Wake up and have a glass of mineral water, or water with a pinch of sea salt and take morning supplements (see supplement section below for detail). This is to start rehydrating after 10 or so hours of no water.

6:30–7am — Drink 1 small cup of black coffee from my all-stainless-steel French press, while getting ready for the day, and pour the rest in a stainless-steel travel mug to bring to work with a pinch of sea salt, along with a 25oz stainless-steel bottle full of water with pinch of salt and tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I drink the coffee and water throughout the morning (more on the stainless-steel stuff in the lifestyle section).

• If I’m not fasting, I’ll add some grass-fed beef collagen powder and potentially raw heavy cream or butter to my coffee and mix with a hand frother. Coffee helps shuttle whatever you take with it into your cells faster. I can’t recall exactly why or how, but I learned about it on Ben Greenfield’s podcast a while back. He’s a great resource for the latest, emerging-science-based ways to optimize health and fitness.

• I usually fast throughout the week (Sun-Fri), and use Sat as my day to eat a good breakfast — typically: 3–4 eggs cooked in butter with runny yolk (preserves nutrients), 2–3 pieces of bacon, an avocado or banana, and a small glass of OJ. If I’m hungrier than usual, or have a particularly physical day planned, I’ll make some potatoes in butter, or organic sourdough toast, or more fruit. I avoid bread, but occasionally have organic sourdough, as it’s fermented / easier on the gut, and has more minerals like potassium, magnesium, zinc, etc.

12–1pm on Tue/Thurs/Sun is usually my workout window — I work out fasted (more on this in the workout section), but again, I limit my fasting if dealing with more stress than usual. On Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat (“rest” days) I usually have lunch around noon, on workout days I eat shortly after working out, around 1:15, but my first meal in either case is typically:

• Smoothie — Hitting the empty gut with a lot of micronutrients is another principle I learned from Christopher Walker. I usually blend: 1 frozen banana, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 2–3 frozen Brazil nuts, ½ cup Greek yogurt, ¼ cup coconut cream, ¼ cup raw whole milk, 1 tablespoon raw local honey, 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs, 1 teaspoon of chia seeds, and 20–30 grams of beef collagen powder. I try to mix it thick and add some more cacao nibs on top to force me to slow down and chew, which helps with digestion. I also try to add the yogurt in at the end, on the low setting, to mitigate killing a lot of the healthy probiotics.

• Or, I can’t really do a smoothie at work, so I pack a lunch that usually has something like: 1 medium carrot, 1 apple, a banana, leftover meat or jerky, or a can of smoked oysters, some dried fruit, 5g of Creatine Monohydrate in water or OJ (more on this in the supplements section below).

• If working out at lunchtime, I pack a larger lunch and eat some post workout, then have the rest a few hours later to hold me over until dinner. I pack more fruit or dried fruit, OJ with creatine instead of water. I try to keep some dried fruit and dark chocolate on hand in my office as well.

3:30/4pm on workout days, as mentioned, I eat the rest of my lunch as a snack, usually some of the fruit and jerky.

5:30/6pm I have dinner — Usually consisting of:

• ½ to ¾ lb of Red Meat or Shellfish — Cooked in butter, coconut oil, or tallow

  • I often top leaner cuts with more butter or avocado for more fat.

  • Usually cook some onions, mushrooms and / or peppers in butter with sea salt and pepper.

  • Sometimes make a salsa or chutney out of various fruits, onions, peppers.

• Root vegetables — Once or twice a week I roast a big tray of mixed roots: potatoes (purple, yellow, red, etc.) with some carrots or parsnips, red onions, garlic cloves. This is great for reheating in butter as leftovers, chopped up as a hash, and so on. I usually start them in a large pan with butter, sea salt, fresh black pepper, thyme, and parsley, then finish them in the oven and add some extra virgin olive oil and more parsley on top.

• Sometimes I boil potatoes and mash them with butter, roasted garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

• Baked potatoes are another great, easy option, loaded with butter and salt.

• If not eating root vegetables on a given night, white rice is a good source of carbohydrates as well, but it’s not as nutrient dense as root vegetables. I like to make it with bone broth instead of water.

• Eggs — I usually quickly cook an egg or two, sunny side up, in butter to go with all this as well.

Overall, going for high-quality meat and eggs cooked in high-quality fats with organic roots and fruits. I eat until I’m about full (not stuffed), usually more food on workout days than on non-workout days.

After dinner I usually go for a 10–20-minute walk and if I’m still hungry later, I have some Greek yogurt with honey, frozen blueberries, banana, raisins, 2–3 chopped Brazil nuts and some cacao nibs as a dessert, but try not to eat within a couple hours of bed as digestion will disrupt sleep.

Again, if dealing with higher-than-usual stress, I break my eating up into 5 or 6 smaller meals, eating the first one within about 30–45 minutes after waking up, and the last one about 2 hrs before bed. Under normal circumstances, though, I just have the lunch meal, then a dinner meal and that’s it, putting my intermittent fasting “feeding window” from noon or 1pm until about 7pm (fasting for ~17 hrs and eating during a ~7hr window).

Note, there’s a strong distaste for fasting in the metabolic health / optimization world, as fasting can exacerbate stress. But, under normal conditions, I like the benefits I get from fasting like sharper focus, limited snacking and overeating, more time in my day not spent on preparing and eating food and cleaning up, with a general sense of having to earn my food. It reduces blood pressure and blood sugar, decreases inflammation, and helps the immune system. Intermittent fasting was a game changer for me. So, I’m still a fan and just take the dogmatic drama in the metabolic health community with a grain of salt.

WHAT I AVOID EATING

Equally, if not more important than what to eat is what to NOT eat. I alluded to some of these in the section above, but below is everything I have made a habit of avoiding. That said, I will occasionally eat or drink some of these, as I’m not neurotic about this because the stress of trying to maintain strict adherence, especially in unrealistic settings, is still stress. So, I’ll bend in certain situations and move on, rather than stress on it. However, as mentioned, I didn’t have as far of a hole to dig myself out of as other guys may have. If I was worse off, I’d be stricter about avoiding shit food for a longer period and restrict indulgences to nearly none as they’re a slippery slope for someone with a longer history of much poorer health.

I should add, if you’re focused on ingesting almost exclusively high-quality meat, eggs, raw milk dairy, organic “fruits and roots” and the handful of additional food and beverages mentioned in the previous section, then you shouldn’t need to worry about what to avoid. It’s easiest to remember what to eat and drink, and just avoid whatever is not on that list. I know there’s a whole market around trying to recreate certain foods or favorite dishes in a “healthier” way. Look, I love pizza and occasionally indulge in the real thing — no processed cauliflower crust crap, etc. But day-to-day, a rule of thumb is — when in doubt, I leave it out. If you have to ask, it’s probably not something you should eat or drink. Another rule of thumb is, if it’s not something our early ancestors would have eaten, then I avoid it.

But there are certain foods that specifically negatively impact testosterone. Some health experts bemoan a lack of science on some of this, but A.) science often lags, as science is only just now validating the health benefits of ancient health practices like breathwork, sauna, cold exposure, meditation, etc., and B.) we have skyrocketing disease over the last several decades, despite so much more and better science than ever. Again, this is simply what I’ve applied and have found to work well, albeit anecdotally. So, here’s everything I do my best to avoid ingesting, in what I feel to be priority order:

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA), mainly in nut, seed and vegetable oils — It’s funny, almost all health experts agree that processed foods are terrible, but seem to draw the line at seed oils, which are highly processed. A lot of debate on this, but again, oils that are liquid at room temperature are unstable at the molecular level, and these molecules break down into free radicals in your body causing inflammation and oxidative stress. Nut and / or seed oils are in nearly all processed foods. Look at any boxed / canned / bottled food ingredients and you’re likely to see things like vegetable / canola oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, etc.

• These are SO hard to avoid as they’re in almost everything at the grocery store. Even a jar of tomato sauce will tend to have crap like soybean oil in it. And most restaurants use vegetable and seed oils to fry food, lubricate pots, pans and other cooking surfaces. They’re also often used in marinades, dressings, and condiments. When I eat out, I aim for grilled meats and or baked, roasted or steamed root vegetables, or fruit.

• One fairly easy way I avoid a lot of PUFA is by avoiding all fried food, which are mostly fried in vegetable oil in some form, and I avoid processed treats like cakes and cookies. I occasionally indulge, but 1 cookie instead of 7.

• Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant to help offset the damage and inflammation caused by PUFA. I try to supplement with Vitamin E when I know my PUFA intake has been high (i.e. — around the holidays, vacations, etc.). Also glycine and spirulina are thought to have similar protective effects against oxidative stress.

Tofu and anything made with, from, or entirely of SOY. Soy contains things called “phytoestrogens,” which mimic estrogen in your blood. Men do make and need some estrogen. It’s critical for joint health, libido and more. But in excess it undermines testosterone as we become “estrogen dominant,” which literally makes us fat, lazy and miserable. Symptoms of estrogen dominance in men include: belly fat accumulation, “man boobs” (gynecomastia), irritability, depression, brain fog, anxiety, lethargy, and more. There are a lot of foods, chemicals, and things in our everyday lives that mimic estrogen in the bloodstream, and this will be the main reason for avoiding them.

Other processed foods — Cakes, cookies, crackers, cereals, etc. Also, I avoid things like sodas, syrups (organic maple syrup is fine, I just make sure the only ingredient is organic real maple syrup). Sauces, dressings, gravies, and condiments are usually loaded with toxic crap either directly from the inclusion of toxic ingredients, or indirectly from using ingredients that are derived from toxic chemical-ridden processing. Milk alternatives like almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, etc. which are loaded with artificial ingredients, sweeteners, thickening agents, etc.

Emulsifiers / thickening agents, etc. — I avoid things like lecithin, carrageenan, guar gum, xanthan gum, etc. These not only have zero nutritional value, but they sit in your gut and feed various gut bacteria causing inflammation. The gut is where all your critical vitamins and minerals get absorbed and inflammation of the gut will impede this.

Artificial sweeteners — My sweet tooth decreased significantly upon eating more micronutrients and unprocessed, real sugar sweetness from things like fruit, maple syrup, honey, etc. But artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, xylitol, saccharin, etc. screw with your healthy gut bacteria. These things interfere with glucose (sugar) receptors in your gut and cause glucose intolerance, which leads to diabetes, heart disease and many short term ailments too. If you must add sweetener to things, go with honey, real maple syrup or stevia.

Beer — Sorry guys. Beer comes from hops, which contain phytoestrogens (again, these mimic estrogen in your blood). Beer is also loaded with “mycotoxins” that come from fungus and cause all kinds of health issues and gut inflammation (beer belly). I never loved the taste of beer, so I’ve had no problem giving it up. I can see how this may be difficult for a lot of dudes as it’s a big part of social bonding. But, alcohol messes with so many aspects of health and metabolism and is linked to leaky gut, cancer, infertility, skin issues, and so on.

Nuts and seeds — Again, I’ll have 2–3 Brazil nuts per day for their selenium, which supports the thyroid, and 2–3 macadamia nuts for their Omega 7’s, but no more than that because all nuts and seeds have a high amount of PUFA.

Beans and legumes — Loaded with phytoestrogens that disrupt your endocrine system, and are high in phytic acid, which contributes to mineral deficiencies by binding to key minerals in your blood, essentially rendering them useless.

“Vegetables” / “leafy greens” — I eat a lot of “fruits and roots” including many fruits that are mistakenly thought to be vegetables (tomatoes, avocados, peppers, etc.), but I avoid stems and “leafy greens.” Blasphemy, I know! But the leaves and stems of plants have various “anti-nutrients” designed to protect the nutrient-rich root below the soil. These anti-nutrients cause health problems for the animals eating the stems and leaves as a predator deterrent and survival mechanism of the plant species. The leaves and stems are also most susceptible to soaking up pesticides that destroy your body. While many vegetables boast high nutrient content, they’re often either not absorbable or the benefit is far offset by the damage caused by anti-nutrients and compounds.

Oatmeal — I know, “but heart health!” Oatmeal is loaded with phytic acid which, as mentioned, binds to important minerals like zinc, calcium, iron and others, rendering them unabsorbable, and phytic acid also causes cell damage. Oatmeal also has compounds in it that mimic estrogen in the blood, so I steer clear.

Grapefruit — Most citrus fruit is great for testosterone for its anti-aromatising effects which prevent your testosterone from converting into estrogen. However, it seems grapefruit has the opposite effect on men’s production of aromatase (the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen). So grapefruits convert more of your testosterone to estrogen.

Mint — I honestly can’t recall exactly why on this one and a quick search just leads to some studies in rats that show a significant impact on testosterone levels. No human studies yet, but rodent studies are often an early sign. Again, I don’t obsess about this stuff — I lose all will power if you throw a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream at me, and I do use mint toothpaste. I just avoid mint as much as possible.

Tuna and other large ocean fish — Generally loaded with heavy metal toxins like mercury.

SUPPLEMENTS I TAKE, AND WHEN

Even though I eat the most “bioavailable” (easiest to absorb) vitamins and minerals in my diet, I use some supplements to further ensure my levels are topped off as today’s fruits and roots, even organic, are not as rich in vitamins and minerals as the same fruits and roots grown decades ago because our soil today is so over farmed and depleted of nutrients. A good family flick to get an understanding of soil health and its importance in plant nutrition is the 2018 documentary “The Biggest Little Farm.”

I also supplement with some compounds not easily found in food sources that have been shown to boost testosterone and will take certain supplements in the morning, either due to a stimulant effect that I don’t want before bed and / or for known synergies with such supplements. But generally, I aim to get most supplements later in the day to be put to use during sleep.

MORNING:

• Vitamin D3–5,000 IU — daily (+50% more in winter months). Bone and muscle support, anti-inflammatory. A lot of debate on this as it’s actually a hormone. It’s so critical, ideally you get from being in the sun, but when it’s not sunny, or when the days are shorter in winter, it’s tough to keep D levels up.

• Vitamin K2 MK-7–300 mcg — daily. Works well with D3 to shuttle calcium to bones and away from arteries, which helps with circulation and staves off heart disease. Also supports signaling of testosterone receptor sites.

• Boron — 5mg — daily. A trace mineral, helps to increase free testosterone (free T matters most) by mitigating something called SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), which binds to testosterone and renders it useless.

• I’ve also tried, and have seen some success with, ~30-day cycles of combining Tongkat Ali — 400mg & Fadogia Agrestis — 500mg — daily. I learned about this combo from Dr. Andrew Huberman. I did this for a couple of months and noticed some incremental improvements in strength gains, energy and general desire to get after it with my workouts.

MID-DAY:

• Creatine Monohydrate — 5g — daily. Typically, in my smoothie, or mixed with orange juice, or water, at lunchtime. So many health benefits: increased strength and muscle mass, reduced fatigue, brain function, mitigates oxidative stress. I love all these benefits, but mainly increasing lean muscle helps to increase metabolic rate, which helps to drop fat — more on this in the exercise section.

EVENING:

• Boron — 5mg — daily. Yes, again. Helps to increase free T

• Magnesium L-Threonate — 48 to 96mg. Most men are severely deficient in Magnesium, but it’s a critical component of hundreds of metabolic functions. It also helps with deep sleep.

• Zinc — 50mg — daily. I get a lot of Zinc from shellfish, but it’s critical for the immune system, metabolism and sleep.

• KSM-66 Ashwaghanda — 600mg — daily. This helps mitigate stress by blunting circulating cortisol.

• If I’m doing the above mentioned Tongkat Ali/Fadogia Agrestis stack, I’ll do another 500mg of just the Fadogia Agrestis in the evening (Tongkat Ali has a stimulant effect).

• Vitamin E — 400mg — Only when I have been eating a lot of PUFA.