Can Intermittent Fasting Increase Testosterone Naturally?

Can Intermittent Fasting Increase Testosterone Naturally

Can Intermittent Fasting Increase Testosterone Naturally? The increasing level of testosterone is the desire of every man. Most of the men try to find out methods to increase testosterone levels. This desire to have an optimum level of testosterone may be due to the reason that there could be an age factor as age passes; men lose the adequate level of testosterone, or maybe they want to increase their current level.

Many methods are there, which can be used to get better results in increasing testosterone naturally. Intermittent fasting is one of them. Research undertaken by different scientists and physicians in recent years has proven that intermittent fasting can increase the number of testosterone hormones naturally. So, do not consider intermittent fasting just to reduce your weight, but it has many other benefits for you as well. It is suggested that intermittent fasting can not only increase the level of testosterone in the body but also can synergize the process of production of this hormone.

Understanding Testosterone and Its Importance

The hormone of testosterone is present in men and women. Testosterone hormone also called a human development hormone. It can also be found in animals. The production of this hormone is done by testicles in men, while in women, the production of testosterone hormones is done by ovaries. In men, a large amount of testosterone hormones is produced as compared with women. The production of this hormone starts at the adult age, and it is rapid in this period. When a man reaches the age of 30 years, it starts declining naturally.

In man, this hormone is responsible for not only sex drive, but also it is crucial for other factors of life like building strong bones, production of sperms, for muscle building. Also, it is responsible for storing fats in the body of men. It also plays a vital role in the production of red blood cells. So, it is evident that testosterone has its importance in men body and its optimal level, which ranges from 270-1070 ng/dL should be sustained; otherwise following can happen:

• Hair loss
• Low energy level to perform day to day activities.
• Depression
• Having declined self-esteem
• Weak bones
• Gaining weight
• Sex drive decrease
• Mood swings

Now let us understand what intermittent fasting is and how it can help to increase the level of testosterone in the body.

Intermittent Fasting

As we all know that everyone from childhood has been told to have three meals a day. Not only that, but with almost forceful instruction of having breakfast at any cost. In some cases, you might have been told not to skip breakfast as it will bring bad to your health and almost the same stories about dinner and, in some cases, about lunch too. So, by keeping all instructions in mind and not skipping any meal of the day from the mentioned three meals, you may end up having lots of weight.

Intermittent fasting method of eating has gained popularity due to its many benefits. It suggests having a break between one meal to another. This method of fasting induces a break of at least 16 hours, or you can do fast for alternative days.

Link Between Intermittent Fasting and Testosterone

We have explained about intermittent fasting and testosterone so that you can understand the link between them and how intermittent fasting will help in increasing the level of testosterone in the body.

Normally intermittent fasting is considered to have a link with weight reduction, but recent research claimed that intermittent fasting is not only for weight loss, but it can also be used to increase the level of testosterone in the body. One research was conducted to verify the fasting results and effects on testosterone hormones, and the outcomes of this research were astonishing. Fasting results in the production of two hormones FSH and LH; these hormones are pioneers of creating testosterone. This research was done on rats, and it was found that male rats have an increased level of testosterone compared to those who did not have intermittent fasting. The science behind this function of intermittent fasting is the secretion of a hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH), which is responsible for the production of testosterone in the body. This reach was done in two steps which are:

• Step 1: Rats were set to have a fasting period of 48 hours, and it was noted that the production of LH and FSH was increased, and hence this increase resulted from the increase of testosterone in them.
• Step 2: Researchers kept on extending the time of fasting and noticed that secretion of LH and FSH started decreasing in male rats only.

These observations suggested that the rate of production of testosterone is dependent on the length of time of fasting. If you fast for a more extended period of time, the level of testosterone will start decreasing. So, for better results of intermittent fasting, you should have a small length of starvation, and this will help increase the level of testosterone in the body.

Factors Involved In Increasing Testosterone During Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting creates some changes in the body, resulting in different effects, and an increase in the production of testosterone is one of them. It means the changes of various hormones and production of certain chemical combines and gives you results of achieving a high level of testosterone. These scientific factors are:

The body starts burning Fat at a higher rate

If you want to increase testosterone then you have to burn your body fat. This can easily be done by intermittent fasting. Body fat will burn at a higher pace when you have intermittent fasting, and losing fat means you are gaining testosterone. Actually, this has a linkage with the insulin opposition and level of fat you have in the body. Burning fat gives your body a cutting edge to have a process of ketosis; in this way, your body will use fat to perform different activities.

Connection of Testosterone and Growth Hormones

The connection between testosterone and growth hormones is inevitable. This connection is due to their common function of absorbing glycogen and enhances the body to break down protein so that muscle can be built. Both these hormones are anabolic, and due to this, they perform the stated function and increase the strength of the body. The production of these hormones is due to the intermittent fasting of small intervals. Because research has shown that maximum fasting of 24 hours will boost the level of growth hormones to about 2000%. As it is already stated how both hormones are interlinked so you can imagine if growth hormones are growing at this pace, then testosterone hormones will also go up with the same pace.

Luteinizing Hormone

This hormone has already been discussed in the article, but its importance forces us to talk a little more about it. Because intermittent fasting does not produce testosterone at first, but it will produce luteinizing hormone, and this hormone will start producing testosterone. Intermittent fasting with short intervals gives pace to the production of LH to 65% to 70%, and this percentage doubles the production percentage of testosterone in the body. It should be kept in mind that this increase of testosterone would be for a shorter period of time, and after some time, it will decrease. So, the basic thing to consider is to set intervals of fasting as short as to produce more LH hormone, and as result, testosterone will be produced at a higher level.

Production of adiponectin

As said earlier that intermittent fasting will not produce testosterone at first instance, but it will produce some other chemicals which will produce testosterone. With the help of intermittent fasting, the level of glucose is broken down in fatty acids, and this will produce adiponectin. As the level of adiponectin reverts the level of insulin in the body, which will help to increase the level of testosterone in the body.

Factor of Insulin

At the start of this article, we discussed that it is considered bad to skip breakfast. But modern research has shown that it is good to skip breakfast because it will create a natural cortisol increase in the body; this will create the best level of insulin in the body, and hence it will increase the level of testosterone.

Some other ways to increase testosterone

Apart from intermittent fasting, some of the following approaches help to increase testosterone levels.

• Workouts and exercises are very effective in escalating the levels of testosterone hormones in the body.
• A healthy and balanced diet that contains the right amount of proteins, carbs, and fats should be taken on a daily basis.
• Mental health also plays its part to fight against any disease or maintain a healthy body. Thus, a stress-free mind helps to nurture testosterone hormones in the body.
• Those who have a low level of testosterone are guided to take supplements, including vitamin D3 and zinc, that are said to be the boosters of testosterone.
• Proper sleep is also effective in sustaining the balanced testosterone levels in the body.
• Following a healthy routine and excluding intoxicants such as alcohol, can boost the testosterone hormones.

References

• https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-testosterone#low-t-levels
• https://testogen.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-testosterone/
• https://dofasting.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-testosterone/
• https://blog.kinobody.com/diet-and-nutrition/intermittent-fasting-testosterone/
• https://www.vitalityhrt.com/intermittent-fasting-testosterone/
• https://life-longlearner.com/double-your-testosterone/