Diet taboos for high testosterone

There are no 100% foods that people with high testosterone cannot eat, but the key points are to avoid three types of diets that can easily aggravate hormone disorders - first, excessive intake of high-zinc, high-animal androgen foods/supplements that will clearly promote testosterone synthesis; second, long-term consumption of highly processed foods high in sugar and high trans fat; third, blind consumption of warming tonic and "energy-boosting" health products with unknown ingredients. Specific taboos must be adjusted based on the triggers of elevated testosterone. There is no universal "taboo list."

When I received consultations in the nutrition department before, I encountered the most typical pitfall case: a 23-year-old polycystic girl was found to have high testosterone. Her aunt came to see her once every two or three months with cystic acne on her face. She heard others say that she should avoid eating "fat foods" and stopped eating beef, mutton and seafood. As a result, every day Tian drank three or four cups of black coffee to refresh herself, and also followed fitness bloggers to eat oysters to supplement zinc and promote metabolism. Three months later, when she was tested again, her testosterone had risen by 2nmol/L, and her acne had become more serious. She fell into the first trap and ate the "testicle-boosting food supplement" spread online as a healthy meal.

The current list of testicle-stimulating foods circulated in fitness circles: oysters, animal offal, animal whip, zinc and magnesium supplements, high-purity whey protein, etc. People with high testosterone should be cautious. It is also necessary to clarify the different views of the academic community: some studies indeed believe that daily intake of zinc not exceeding the recommended amount (12.5 mg for adult men and 7.5 mg for women) can regulate endocrine and will not lead to an increase in testosterone. However, most people cannot calculate the intake at all. For example, the zinc content of eating three or four oysters is already more than twice the recommended daily amount. In addition, many multivitamins and fitness supplements on the market add extra zinc. It is easy to overdose if eaten on top of each other, which will really promote testosterone synthesis. I met a 20-year-old fitness boy before. He followed the trend and bought an Internet-famous testicle-stimulating supplement without doing a hormone test. After taking it for three months, his testosterone exceeded the normal upper limit by three times, and signs of androgenetic alopecia began to appear on the top of his head. He stopped taking the supplement and adjusted it for more than half a year before returning.

Don't think that just avoiding testicle-stimulating foods is enough. Many people never realize that the milk tea they drink and the cream cakes they eat every day are the "invisible killers" that prevent testosterone from lowering. Eating too much high-sugar and high-GI food can induce insulin resistance, further disrupting the secretion rhythm of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, and reducing the content of sex hormone-binding globulin, turning the originally inactive bound testosterone into active free testosterone, and the symptoms will naturally become more and more severe. Of course, some nutritionists believe that as long as the daily total sugar intake does not exceed 10% of the total calories, it is okay to eat sweets occasionally. This statement is indeed correct, but more than 80% of the patients with high testosterone who are accompanied by insulin resistance have strict sugar control and refined foods. After replacing rice noodles with whole grains, testosterone has dropped by 0.5-1.8 nmol/L in about 3 months, and the problems of aunt and acne have also improved a lot. So if your testosterone is high and accompanied by obesity and insulin resistance, you really need to avoid high-sugar foods.

There is another misunderstanding that many people go to extremes: when they hear that if you have high testosterone, you should eat less red meat and go completely vegetarian, even cutting out eggs and milk. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. What you really need to avoid are highly processed meat products, such as bacon, ham, fried skewers, processed meats in prepared dishes, as well as non-dairy cream, margarine, and shortening that contain trans fat. These will affect the synthesis of sex hormone binding globulin. High-quality proteins such as fresh lean beef, chicken breasts, fish, and shrimp are completely fine as long as you eat no more than one punch at a time. On the contrary, long-term vegetarianism can easily lead to unbalanced nutritional intake and disrupt hormone secretion. I once met a girl who took a vegetarian diet for half a year in order to reduce her testosterone. As a result, her testosterone did not decrease, but her progesterone also became low. Her aunt simply stopped coming, which was not worth the loss.

Finally, let me talk about a point that is easily overlooked: many people eat three-no products that claim to "replenish qi and blood", "grow hair" and "increase energy". Many of them secretly add androgens, as well as highly tonic ingredients such as velvet antler, purple river car, and red ginseng. They themselves have the effect of regulating the gonadal axis. If you have high testosterone, blind eating can easily aggravate the problem. There was a young man who took Internet celebrity hair growth tablets for half a year to treat hair loss. In the end, he was found to have excessive testosterone and abnormal liver function.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the dietary taboos for high testosterone are never one-size-fits-all. If you have high testosterone due to eating too many fitness supplements, just stop taking supplements and eat less foods high in zinc to promote testicles.； If polycystic disease is caused by insulin resistance, the core is to control sugar and trans fat. ； If testosterone is elevated due to adrenal disease, your diet should be adjusted based on your doctor's instructions. Don't search for a list of taboos on the Internet and just copy them. What works for others may not be suitable for you. It is much more effective to find out the triggers first and then adjust them than to blindly follow taboos.