3 妨げを取り除く

When it comes to optimizing your testosterone levels, 80% of your progress will come simply from AVOIDING. The sad reality is that so much of the modern day is griefing your hormonal health, meaning that trying to add a bunch of supplements or other expensive protocols before the foundations are in place will essentially do nothing. You must first remove all friction to testosterone and build a hormonal foundation. That is exactly what this section will explain... **1.1 Xenoestrogens and Phytoestrogens** These are potent endocrine disruptors that can be found all over the modern world, found most in plastics, cheap hygiene products, and certain foods and specifically include things like BPA, phthalates, atrazine, isoflavones and lignans. These compounds mimic the effects of estrogen in the body and literally compete with your testosterone for receptor sites. When these increased estrogens bind to receptors, the hypothalamus detects higher estrogen levels and thus reduces gnRH release, lowering LH and hence testosterone. **Practical Steps to Avoid** 1. **Eliminate ALL plastic products from your kitchen** (cutting boards, cups, cutlery, plates, etc). Plastic shouldn't even be coming in contact with your food or water. 2. **Get rid of toxic cleaning products from your house**. Whether its your laundry detergent, hand wash, dishwasher tablets or surface cleaner, it is likely lowering your testosterone. Look for completely natural alternatives that can be bought online or consider using natural substances like baking soda and apple cider vinegar for cleaning dishes. 3. **Get rid of your toxic hygiene products and fluoride toothpaste**. A simple rule of thumb - if it has ingredients that you can't pronounce that sound synthetic, its likely not doing your testosterone any favors. This also includes artificial fragrances, which are a large source of these xenoestrogens Opt for completely natural alternatives, like those in the Products List. 4. **Avoid soy products, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, and beer** these are abundant in those natural phytoestrogens... 5. **Eat organic -** most non-organic food is riddled with pesticides and other chemicals that are considered xenoestrogens. Is it more expensive to do this? Yes, but it is worth every penny of investment. Your testosterone is your lifeblood, remember? 6. **Invest in a RO water filter/drink glass bottle spring water -** this is the most expensive change of the list, but is probably the most important. Regular tap water should be illegal it is so contaminated. It's filled with these estrogenic compounds and even contains hormones from women's birth control. Do not fear or worry if you can't yet afford this step, your body is resilient. However, look to upgrade to a reverse osmosis filter or buy spring water as soon as possible. 7. **Don't touch receipts -** you've likely heard this online already, but this is crucial too. Receipts are heat coated with BPA which will diffuse straight through the skin and into your blood, causing the discussed negatives to your testosterone. 8. **Avoid polyester clothing** switch to natural fibers like linen, or 100% organic cotton. This applies especially for your underwear. **1.2 PUFA's and Seed Oils** Seed oils are another massive blockage to the optimal testosterone your chasing. These include oils such as canola, soybean, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, vegetable, cottonseed oil, and peanut oil. These fats are high in what is called omega-6 linoleic acid, which is detrimental to testosterone because it is highly unstable and thus prone to oxidation in the body. When these fats oxidize, they create substances called free radicals and reactive oxygen species, which damage the mitochondria in the Leydig cells (the cells that produce testosterone). Seed oils also increase inflammatory markers, meaning they cause chronic inflammation. This causes oxidative stress and thus damage to the HPG axis, being the feedback-loop/system that testosterone is produced through. **Practical Steps to Avoid:** 1. **Avoid all processed food** most processed food such as snacks, fast food and 'junk' food in general all contain these fats. 2. **Cook the majority of your meals yourself** 3. **Only use saturated and stable fats such as tallow, coconut oil or ghee** 4. **At restaurants, say you are 'allergic' to these substances** this is a good trick. It forces the restaurant to use other fats. Ask for things like butter or animal fats, and most can accommodate. **1.3 Control Your Cortisol** Cortisol is the body's main stress hormone and thus increases in response to stress. This rise in cortisol (when prolonged) reduces your testosterone because it competes for the same precursors as testosterone in steroidogenesis. Essentially, if your cortisol is chronically elevated, testosterone precursors like cholesterol and pregnenolone will be stolen and directed towards cortisol production instead (a process known as 'pregnenolone steal'). Chronically elevated cortisol also has various other pathways of reducing testosterone; however, this is the main one to know. **Practical Steps to Perfect Cortisol** *These steps are assuming you're already following the basics for healthy cortisol levels. If you arent, you must address the basics first. These basics include: Following the Diet Guide and following the Sleep Guide in Healthmaxxing section. These fundamentals **must** be in place first, especially sleep. This is crucial for managing cortisol and optimising testosterone in general.* 1. **Consume clean carbs post-workout** - prioritize clean sources like fruit, raw honey, and raw dairy after exercise to replenish glycogen and thus reduce cortisol. 2. **Maintain adequate sodium intake** - ensure proper hydration and adrenal health by consuming enough sodium, especially during exercise. Do so through high-quality Celtic sea salt. 3. **Increase magnesium intake** - Incorporate magnesium-rich foods like raw goat cheese, wild-caught fish (sometimes), raw organic cacao, and dates. Supplement with magnesium glycinate, or use topical magnesium spray (on the scrotum for best absorption) 4. **Get 1g of Calcium per day** 5. **Practice breathwork & meditation**: Use techniques like box breathing, buteyko breathing and mindfulness meditation to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and lower cortisol. Full guides can be found on youtube. 6. **Practice qi gong** - Start practicing Qi Gong to harmonize your body's energy fields, reduce stress, and thus lower cortisol levels. *This is a sacred tip. Guides coming in the future... For now, watch guides on YouTube to get started.* 7. **Take cortisol-controlling supplements** - Consider Rhodiola Rosea, Holy Basil, L-Theanine, Lemon Balm, Chamomile tea and Phosphotidylserine. 8. **Avoid overtraining** - Avoid training weights more than 4x per week and sprinting 3x per week. 9. **Ground daily**: Make bare-skin contact with the Earth to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, thus cortisol. 10. **Optimize your light environment** - get morning sunlight to regulate cortisol and avoid blue light exposure in the evening to prevent cortisol spikes. Try to get as much natural light throughout the day as possible generally. 11. **Increase glycine consumption -** either through bone broth or supplementation, consuming glycine in the evenings is great for controlling cortisol. **1.4 Get Leaner - LEANMAXXING GUIDE** Being lean is crucial for optimal testosterone production because adipose tissue (fat cells) contains the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen, leading to higher estrogen levels and thus lower testosterone. The more fat you have, the more estrogenic your hormonal balance will become. Additionally, too much fat leads chronic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which you now know damage the Leydig cells in the testes, reducing testosterone production. Finally, higher body fat levels also likely means insulin resistance, and poor insulin sensitivity has a direct link to lower testosterone levels. (for various reasons) **Practical Guide to Get Lean** 1. **SSF METHOD + eating at maintenance the other days:** The principle to getting leaner is reducing your calorie intake. Many do this by decreasing their daily intake, however we advocate for reducing it weekly, simply by not eating for one day. This approach is more in line with your biology, health and hormonal function. Whilst being lean is crucial for testosterone, getting lean is not (as you are calorically deprived). As a result, it is important that it is done in the best way for our bodies, being this method. 2. **Walk 12-15k steps per day:** Low-intensity walking, taps into the aerobic system and burns fat without taxing the body. This approach optimises fat loss by keeping the body in a fat-burning state without inducing chronic fatigue or stress such as chronic zone-2 cardio. 3. **Do 20 minutes of HIIT 3-4x per week:** High-intensity activity like sprinting engage the anaerobic energy system, spiking the release of fat-burning hormones, and causes you to continue burning calories long after the workout is over. Cardio is important, and with HIIT, you get the benefits of cardio, and more, without the drawbacks of chronically elevated cortisol. 4. **Increase Your BMR:** There are multiple ways to do this: - Firstly, you must optimize your mitochondria. The basics to do this include: Supplementing with co-enzyme Q10, urolithin A, alpha-lipoic acid and methylene blue | Getting morning sunlight and as much natural light exposure as possible throughout the day. - The health of your gut is also crucial for increasing your BMR. The gut microbiota influence how efficiently the body extracts energy from food. Certain beneficial bacteria, like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by a healthy gut, such as butyrate also reduce inflammation and promote fat oxidation. To optimise gut health, you follow our full gut health guide in the healthmaxxing section or in short: consume raw colostrum, consume other raw probiotics and gut healing foods (raw yogurt, raw kefir, bone broth, organs), avoid the following; seed oils, plant antinutrients, A1 dairy and artificial sweeteners and gums. Manage your cortisol and sleep, chew food fully, and supplement with peptides such as BPC-157, and supplements such as l-glutamine. - Improve thyroid function, see full guide. **1.5 Eat Enough Cholesterol: The Foundation of Your Testosterone.** Cholesterol is the primary precursor for the synthesis of testosterone, as we learned near the start of this guide. In the hormone cascade, cholesterol is converted into pregnenolone, which then serves as a building block for the production of all steroid hormones, including testosterone. A diet low in cholesterol can limit the availability of this crucial substrate, impairing the hormone production process. Similarly, cholesterol is necessary for maintaining the structural integrity of cell membranes, particularly in Leydig cells of the testes, where testosterone is produced. **1.5.1 How to Increase Cholesterol Intake** This point takes us nicely to the next section of this guide. To increase cholesterol intake, you must follow our diet protocol. See the next pages on eating for testosterone, and how to boost your levels even further.