Do These Things To Boost Your Testosterone Without Drugs
Before you consider testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), stimulate your body to produce more sex hormones without drugs
Normalizing Testosterone Replacement Therapy
There has been an enormous change in the social acceptability of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), as safety has increased and persistent misconceptions about adverse side effects have been corrected. What was vilified in the 1990’s as steroids (i.e., synthetic testosterone variants) has become a rebranded quality-of-life-saving treatment for many men and women who are increasing suffering from depressed total testosterone levels.
Part of the normalization of TRT is due to improved dosing formulations and delivery pathways, better mitigation of adverse effects (such as low sperm production), and popularization via social media. However, resistance among some physicians has been overcome by data. Persistent misconceptions that testosterone will increase prostate cancer risk are being overturned, and concerns about high testosterone and increased risk of cardiovascular disease have now been revealed as unfounded. In fact, healthy levels of testosterone protects against both prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease (Morgentaler & Traish 2020).
Despite the benefits, many men and women want to avoid being dependent on pharmaceuticals just to feel good. Moreover, low testosterone can be indicative of other serious underlying health concerns that TRT does not address. Therefore, before you experiment with TRT you might be motivated to raise you total testosterone levels naturally.
Ice Baths Boosted my Total Testosterone
I’ve written several articles on testosterone for Morozko Forge, and a book about it with hundreds of scientific citations that you can buy on Amazon. There, I described how I boosted my own testosterone from mid-700’s ng/dL to 1180 ng/dL at the age of 52. What I hadn’t written, until now, are specific instructions for men and women to boost there own testosterone levels without drugs.
Three Things to Increase Testosterone
Because testosterone synthesis originates in the mitochondria, to boost your own testosterone you’ll have to choose therapies that target mitochondrial health. These fall into three categories: 1) cold plunge, 2) nutrition, and 3) sunshine/phototherapies.
Cold plunge therapy is essential, because it is the best way to stimulate mitobiogenesis, both for testosterone and for maintaining an erection. For men, it is imperative to do cold plunge before exercise, rather than after. By precooling their workouts, men can raise both luteinizing hormone and testosterone, whereas following a workout with cold plunge will reduce levels of both.
Nutritional support for mitochondria is essential. In particular, supplement with zinc and magnesium, because these minerals perform critical functions in sex hormone synthesis.
Sunshine, and the red/infrared portion of the spectrum in particular, stimulates activity in the mitochondria. When the testicles are exposed to non-heating red/IR light, energy transferred to the Leydig cells causes them to increase testosterone output. Other portions of the solar spectrum can also support sex health, but men seeking to conceive must be careful not to heat their testicles, as sperm production slows at higher temperature.
Testosterone in Women: Physiology and Potential
Though healthy women have roughly one-tenth the testosterone of men, they still possess 2-3 times more testosterone than estrogen. That is, testosterone is the dominant sex hormone in women as well as in men. About 25% of total testosterone in women is produced in the ovaries. The rest comes from adrenal glands, fat cells, and skin cells. Although there are no FDA-approved testosterone therapies for women, an ice bath is an excellent way to stimulate activity in the adrenals, fat, and skin cells. That’s why women don’t need to exercise after cold plunge therapy to achieve sex hormone gains. They experience a boost right away, even without rewarming.
Archey et al. (2019) conducted the only experimental study on cold stimulation and testosterone among women. Using a cold pressor test (hand immersion in ice water), they discovered significant testosterone elevations post-exposure, even without exercise. Women exhibited nearly double the testosterone boost as men, and those who verbalized pain had a greater increase.
The Protocols that Work for Boosting Sex Hormones
Most people don’t believe that testosterone can be increased naturally—at least not without undergoing an exhaustive weight-loss and exercise program. That may be because some medical doctors have told them so. However, those doctors are incorrect.
One of the most dramatic examples that proves them wrong is Fire Captain Sean Smiley, who injured a testicle in a training accident. His testosterone levels plummeted as a result of his damaged testicle. Refusing testosterone replacement therapy, Smiley added more than 300 ng/dL by adopting cold plunge, nutritional, and sunshine protocols.
To read the science behind how those protocols work, and to learn the specific steps and supplements that might support your own testosterone-boosting journey, read my full article at https://www.morozkoforge.com/post/cold-water-therapy-to-boost-testosterone
References
Archey M, Goldey K, Crockett E, Boyette-Davis J. An investigation of the effects of testosterone and behavioral expressions of pain on sex/gender differences in pain perception. Psychological Reports. 2019 Jun;122(3):826-40.
Morgentaler A, Traish A. The history of testosterone and the evolution of its therapeutic potential. Sexual medicine reviews. 2020 Apr;8(2):286-96.
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