Medically Reviewed

8 Natural Ways to Boost Testosterone

Making a handful of smart lifestyle choices can help promote healthy testosterone levels in men.

Just how important is testosterone, if you’re a guy? Metabolism, muscle growth, mood regulation, and sex drive are all controlled by this hormone, even if most men lose about 1% of their testosterone per year after age 30, says Roy Guinto, D.O., clinical assistant professor of medicine at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania, who calls the change a "natural” part of aging. Still, by avoiding risk factors that can reduce testosterone prematurely and adopting lifestyle habits to promote healthy hormone levels, you can help keep your T levels in a healthy range for longer. Here’s how.


Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Men who are obese, and particularly those with a lot of abdominal fat, tend to have lower testosterone levels, says Adrian Sandra Dobs, M.D., an endocrinologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network in Baltimore, MD. “With obesity, there can be excess estrogen activity—testosterone converts to estrogen because of excess fat cells,” she says. “That might explain why low testosterone occurs.” The fix? Try and maintain a healthy body weight through healthy eating and exercise, Dr. Dobs advises. Building up muscle can make a difference, too. “Muscle mass doesn’t [lower] testosterone [like] fat cells,” she adds.


Hit the Weights and Get Walking

Lifting weights is a good way to maintain muscle mass and build more muscle mass, Dr. Dobs notes, which can help counteract the effects that extra body fat can have on testosterone. But exercising in general can also promote healthy testosterone levels, in and of itself. One study found that physically active men have healthier hormone levels (including testosterone) than sedentary men. And another study on men with obesity found that upping physical activity—specifically, adding in cardio exercise four or more times per week—increased testosterone levels more than restricting calories did.


Eat a Balanced Diet

Don’t fall for the hype! There are no foods that are going to magically boost your testosterone, Dr. Dobs says. The best approach is to focus on a balanced diet of nutrient-rich foods. “A good rule of thumb is to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables because they are lower in calories and higher in fiber, so they’re more filling,” she says. Sufficient fat and protein can help, too. “It’s generally accepted that healthy fats are probably good for testosterone levels, and of course protein is important [to build muscle],” Dr. Guinto says.


Sleep Eight Hours Each Night

Sleep is so important to all different aspects of our health, including energy, focus, and memory,” Dr. Guinto says. “Anything that decreases quantity and quality of sleep can dysregulate certain hormones, including cortisol, growth hormone, and testosterone.” For your best shot at healthy testosterone levels, make sure you clock seven to eight hours of sleep each night, and see a doctor if you’re still feeling zonked despite spending plenty of time in bed. You may have an untreated sleep disorder, like sleep apnea, that interrupts your sleep and decreases testosterone levels without you even realizing it, Dr. Guinto says.


Check Your Nutrients

Studies have linked certain nutrients to higher testosterone levels. For example, one study found that supplementing with vitamin D increased testosterone levels in men who were deficient. Another small study found that restricting zinc intake decreased testosterone levels, while supplementing with zinc in those who were marginally deficient results in an increase in testosterone. While supplementing seems to move the needle when a person is deficient, it’s hard to say if these supplements in general will boost testosterone in anyone. If you’re concerned about a nutrient deficiency, ask your doctor about getting tested.


Don’t Crash-Diet

While maintaining a healthy weight is good for testosterone levels, crash-dieting to get there can have the opposite effect. “If your body perceives you’re under stress or threat, it will shift your energy and focus away from things like sexual function and hormone production to survival,” Dr. Guinto says. Severely limiting your calorie intake can stress your body so much that it thinks it’s being starved, and will therefore negatively impact your normal testosterone production. It’s bad for your health (not to mention your mood) in general anyway, so it's always best to not approach weight loss in this way, he adds.


Manage Stress Levels

Similarly to crash diets or lack of sleep, stress can also make the body feel like it is under siege, causing testosterone levels to drop, Dr. Guinto says. In theory, this happens because having high levels of stress increases cortisol, the stress hormone; in turn, this negatively impacts other hormones like testosterone, Dr. Dobs says. But there isn’t evidence that this makes a meaningful difference in the hormone in people who are experiencing regular day-to-day stress—say, right before a big work presentation or cross-country move, Dr. Dobs adds. Chronic stress, or physical stress inflicted by a medical condition, is more likely to actually move the needle.


Avoid Alcohol and Unnecessary Drugs

According to Dr. Guinto, alcohol and drugs can mess with your testosterone. “Things like marijuana and anything that affects the liver severely can lower testosterone levels,” he says. A 2022 report in the journal Fertility and Sterility found that primates taking edible THC at doses used recreationally and medicinally resulted in significant testicular shrinkage and decreased testosterone levels. We don’t have a comparable study yet in humans, but the authors say this doesn’t bode well for men. Other drugs, like steroids and opiates, can also reduce testosterone production, Dr. Guinto notes.


What Else Can Cause Low T?

Beyond aging and obesity, numerous health conditions can cause abnormal drops in T levels. “Injuries or trauma to the testes, infection of the testes, cancer, [and] radiation or chemotherapy, can all reduce testicular function,” Dr. Guinto says. An illness or tumor that impacts the pituitary gland in the brain or the adrenal glands in the kidneys can throw your hormonal balance out of whack and potentially impact testosterone levels, too. This includes conditions that cause an increase in cortisol, like Cushing syndrome, which can be caused by steroid use or an adrenal gland tumor, Dr. Dobs says. Thyroid problems can also impact testosterone.


When to See a Doctor

Change in sexual function is the most common sign that testosterone levels are low, Dr. Dobs says. Other symptoms may include problems sleeping, a decrease in muscle size and strength, increase in body fat, depression, and trouble concentrating. “The usual recommendation is then to get a testosterone measurement, which should be done first thing in the morning,” Dr. Dobs adds. From there, your doctor can look into what’s causing low levels of testosterone and rule out any medical conditions that need to be treated to bring your levels back to a healthy place.


This article was originally published November 14, 2012 and most recently updated May 26, 2022.