Testosterone levels have been declining in men by one percent per annum since the 1980s which means that a 25-year-old man today has the same levels of testosterone (T levels) as a 50-year-old man had in the 1990s. There are numerous reasons for this, which is the topic of another blog. The subject of how to naturally boost these levels is the topic of this blog.
1) Sleep Patterns
You want to follow your circadian rhythms. During the day, light exposure causes the master clock to send signals that generate alertness and help keep us awake and active. As night falls, the master clock initiates the production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep, and then keeps transmitting signals that help us stay asleep through the night. Exposing yourself to the first and last sun of the day is a great way to get in sync with your circadian rhythm. The worst thing to do is expose yourself to too much light after nightfall. The blue light emitted by your cell phone screen restrains the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your circadian rhythm. This makes it even more difficult to fall asleep and wake up the next day. Ideally, you want to halt the use of your phone a couple of hours before your bedtime or you can turn on the blue light filter on your phone as soon as the sun goes down. Men who sleep 5 hours per night have significantly smaller testicles than men who sleep 7-8 hours. Men who sleep 5 hours per night have the same testosterone levels as men 10 years their senior.
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, when asked who/what his biggest competitor was, replied "sleep". This is what happens when you choose to watch another episode of Breaking Bad instead of hitting the sack.
1) It Makes You Stupid
A bunch of medical geeks ran an experiment. They created two groups – one that got a solid 8 hours of Zs, and another that was deprived of sleep. Everyone was then placed in an MRI scan while a list of new facts was communicated to see how the brains reacted. Both groups were then tested on their ability to retain these new facts. The deprived group performed 40% worse than the rested group.
Million Men are masters of education and knowledge. To be a high-value man, you need to be continually learning – finding new ways to make money, solving complex problems, understanding client needs, interacting with a dynamic and vibrant world, and being exposed to new and potentially life-changing experiences. If your brain is not firing on all cylinders, you are missing opportunities and living below your potential.
If that doesn’t scare the living shit out of you, consider sleep spindles. These are big powerful brainwaves that occur during the deepest phases of sleep. What the fuck does this mean? It is simple, it is your brain backing up your short-term memories/experiences and moving them into a more permanent file that can be called on in the medium to longer term. This file transfer does not take place as effectively if you are sleep-deprived because you are not benefitting from those deep phases of sleep.
As you get older, you start to sleep less. This explains memory loss and dementia. If that doesn’t get you lunging for the remote control to turn off Netflix and into bed, then you are an idiot.
2) It Weakens Your Body
What happens twice a year and confuses the living shit out of hundreds of millions of people? Daylight savings. It is the practice of setting clocks forward by one hour in the spring ("spring forward") and setting clocks back by one hour in autumn ("fall back"). In short, and I had to think about this, you get 1 hour less sleep in “spring forward” and 1 hour more in “fall back”. Here is the fact that will make your testicles shrink to the size of raisins: in the US, hospitals reported a 24% INCREASE in heart attacks the day after spring forward and 21% DECREASE in heart attacks the day after fall back! Coincidence? Not bloody likely. If a one-off 1-hour adjustment can have such a huge impact, imagine the impact of sustained multi-hour deviations.
We all have immune systems. These systems have immune cells – cold-blooded snipers that are highly trained in the discipline of eliminating foreign attacks on the body. You want these fuckers to have a deadly aim and be ruthless killers 24/7. Studies have shown that sleeping only four hours per night, for one night, reduces the accuracy of these snipers by 70%. Your snipers become distracted - it is like taking them to a strip club and throwing 18 Jägermeisters down their throats.
In June 2019, a working group convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC] concluded that “night shift work” is probably carcinogenic to humans. Fuck! This is a fatal body blow to a phrase we often use “I will sleep when I am dead”. It is now becoming apparent that death will come sooner if you don’t sleep.
So what does this have to do with becoming a high-value man? High-value men are masters instead of minions. What is a minion? A minion is a follower, a slave, a yes-man, a lackey, or a parasite. He has no backbone – he is controlled by others. Everyone walks over a minion. He is a passive victim – life happens to him, and he does not make life happen. A master is in control. He makes things happen. He takes charge and takes responsibility for his successes, and his failures. He takes control of his mind, his body, and his money. Good quality sleep allows masters to optimize their minds and bodies. Good quality sleep is the quick and easiest life hack to mastery in your life and become a high-value man.
2) Loose Weight
If you are overweight and you have plans of someday fathering children, you need to be aware of the uphill challenge you will face unless you get started to lose weight. Obesity is known to be associated with impaired testicular function, potentially resulting in androgen deficiency and sub-fertility. Now it is clear that fast food meals consumed by obese or overweight men have an immediate negative impact on testicular performance and testosterone production.
While many facts are involved in the underlying cause of obesity-related male hypogonadism, Flinders University, and UniSA researchers have found that a high fat intake from ‘fast food’ meals has a decisively negative effect on a man’s serum testosterone levels.
Their investigation into the impact of dietary fat on testicular endocrine function showed some alarming results. They found that the ingestion of a high-fat Fast Food mixed meal, which is a common practice for obese men, produced a 25% fall in serum testosterone within an hour of eating, with levels remaining suppressed below the fasting baseline for up to 4 hours.
These results – which only investigated the impact on overweight and obese men, and therefore may not apply to lean men – suggest that the passage of fat through the intestinal tract elicits a response that indirectly elicits a post-prandial fall in testosterone.
One way to lose weight is to transform your diet. All food in its raw and natural state is filled with goodness. Over the decades man has processed all the goodness out of food. So the rule is simple - the more a food has been processed, the lower the quality of the fuel. So how do you know if food has been processed? It is simple, when you look at it, you haven't got a fucking clue where it came from. If the food comes in a box, it is probably processed.
Take a big fat juicy doughnut. Do you think some farmers planted doughnut seeds and then harvested a crop of doughnuts? Of course not - doughnuts are full of processed shit - sugar, flour, fructose, glucose, colorants, preservatives, etc. Add to this list food like bread, cookies, chips, fruit loops, and other sugary cereals, sweets, etc.
Let's now move across to high-quality foods. When you walk into a supermarket, what foods do you ordinarily find close to the walls? Fruit, vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, milk, cheese. When you look at these products, you have a pretty good idea of how they existed in their pre supermarket state. These foods have not been processed. This is high-quality fuel.
This is a simplistic look at diet and serves as the first filter. The next step is to work out what foods work for you and what foods make you feel shit.
Food is more than fuel. It also affects the way you feel. Your stomach is a second brain. What does that mean?
Firstly, have you ever noticed how you can be eating and then all of a sudden you feel full. Your stomach brain is a little retarded. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach brain to tell your cerebral brain you are full. That is problematic. If you are eating dinner and you are stuffing your face, at 6 pm you are full, but you don't feel full so you keep shoveling calories into your face. By 6.19 pm you have offloaded another 500 calories into a full stomach. At 6.20 pm the signal arrives and you feel stuffed. You feel lethargic and you want to take a nap. You may also feel a little guilty as you move to the couch, loosen your belt, and collapse onto the soft cushioning like a big lump of lard.
So this is what you want to do.
1) Eat slowly - you want to limit your calories per minute consumption. If you pack 500 calories in 20 minutes, that is 25 calories per minute. If you can cut that to 10 per minute, in the 20-minute delay between stomach and brain, you will only overload by 200 calories.
2) Pay attention to what foods affect your stomach. Lactose has become public enemy number one. I love dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream all make me excited, but lately, they have been upsetting my stomach and putting me into a shit mood. I feel less energetic and powerful so I try and stay away from them.
3) Beware of Certain Chemicals
Every man has some estrogen and estrogen plays an essential role in male well-being. For optimal wellness men should have no less than 4 parts testosterone to 1 part estrogen. When the estrogen-to-testosterone ratio is balanced a man experiences well-being, mentally, sexually, and physically.
In our modern world unfortunately men are being subjected to estrogen-mimicking substances called xenoestrogens which lower their testosterone. These chemicals are unfortunately becoming more and more common in our foods and environment. This has led to an epidemic of younger and younger men with low testosterone.
Thanks to the chemical industry, you’re putting untold numbers of endocrine-disrupting chemicals called xenoestrogens into your blood every day that mimic the female hormone estrogen. Here are some of the worst offenders . . .
Phthalates
Used to soften plastic. Found in vinyl flooring, detergents, automotive plastics, soaps and shampoos, deodorants, perfumes, hair sprays, plastic bags, and food packaging
Bisphenol A (BPA)
Common in plastic products such as reusable water bottles, food cans, and dental sealants. According to the Environmental Working Group, which publishes its “Dirty Dozen of Endocrine Disruptors,” BPA is #1.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
Used in water- and grease-resistant food coatings and non-stick cookware. Bovine growth hormones are estrogen-mimicking and growth-promoting chemicals added to commercial dairy products.
Metalloestrogens
Metalloestrogens are a new class of estrogen-mimicking compounds. They include a number of metals, such as aluminum, copper, lead, mercury, barium, cadmium, tin cobalt, and others which are added to thousands of consumer products, including vaccines.
When these estrogen mimickers get into your blood, they adhere to estrogen receptors in your cells. Since the receptors take in information for the cells, this allows the chemical estrogens to instruct your body to look and feel more like a woman. This triggers a series of physiological events. For one, a man’s testosterone levels drop and estrogen levels rise. When that happens, fat starts to accumulate in his breasts and belly. His muscles shrink, and he becomes soft. He also feels tired or moody and lacks sexual desire. It’s a vicious circle. When estrogen gets the upper hand, it’s downhill from there.
Where Are These Chemicals Coming From?
Unfortunately, xenoestrogens seem to be everywhere – in our foods, skincare, personal care, and household cleaning products. Their effect on our body and overall well-being can be quite alarming, yet there are things you can do to avoid or minimize their effect.
Here are some key areas where these man-made “feminizing” chemicals can be found…
Food
They’re found in most non-organic fruits and vegetables treated with pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. They’re also found in additives and preservatives in beverages and packaged processed foods of all kinds, including cookies, sodas, bread, muffins, cereal, chocolate, ice cream, and frozen foods.
Receipts
Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to make thermal paper for grocery store receipts, bus tickets, airplane tickets, and most everything that’s “instantly printed” after your purchase.
Toilet Paper
According to one study, toilet paper contains BPA. That’s because toilet paper is mostly recycled BPA-laden thermal paper mentioned above.
Plastics
Plastic products may be the #1 reason why male testosterone levels are plummeting globally. They’re filled with estrogen mimics and other testosterone-lowering chemicals such as BPA and phthalates. Think all BPA-free products are safe? Nope! According to one research report, many manufacturers simply replaced BPA with another less-known chemical called Bisphenol S (BPS). This is equally as toxic, but research suggests in some ways worse than BPA. And even if they don’t have BPS, they’re likely to contain other estrogen mimics. The list of plastic products is almost endless and is a part of our everyday life. They include such things as plastic bottles, Tupperware containers, plastic bags, plastic toys, inflatable toys, garden hoses, vinyl flooring, vinyl shower curtains, and much more.
Canned Foods and Non-stick Cookware
The epoxy lining in nearly all aluminum cans is made with BPA. Especially with acidic contents, like tomatoes or soda, then it breaks down the lining and you’re drinking BPA.
Stainless steel cans are a safer alternative since they don’t use BPA linings as the case with aluminum cans. Non-stick cookware such as Teflon releases endocrine-disrupting perfluoroalkyl compounds when overheated.
Cleaning & Personal Care Products
Most major brands of cleaning & beauty products are loaded with chemical estrogen ingredients, such as laundry detergents, dryer sheets, artificial air fresheners, fabric softeners, shampoos, moisturizers, deodorants, hair sprays, perfumes & colognes, spray tanning solutions, makeup, toothpaste, and personal hygiene products.
Old Water Pipes
Not all, but some old water pipes were coated with BPA to extend their life.
Numerous studies have found traces of BPA, phthalates, and other endocrine disruptors in the U.S. water supply. Highly recommended: Use a water filter!
Pesticides, Herbicides & Fertilizers
One of the worst offenders is glyphosate, a herbicide developed by GMO giant Monsanto. It goes by the name of Roundup and is used on “Roundup Ready” crops. This means Roundup can be used on those crops genetically modified to resist the herbicide.
So What can we do? We can be empowered with the knowledge of how to limit our intake of these substances. Sadly however in our modern world, it can be nearly impossible to be unaffected by these everyday chemicals. Checking testosterone levels biannually with blood tests and being aware of the symptoms of low testosterone. Working with a well-informed healthcare professional who can help you correct hormone imbalances can help you be your best self for your family, for your self and for the world.
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