Testosterone is not simply a “male hormone.” Men produce much more of it, but testosterone also plays important physiological roles in women. Across the sexes, androgens interact with sexual function, muscle and bone physiology, body composition and other systems. The biology becomes increasingly relevant with age because hormonal status changes while sleep, body composition, medications, chronic illness and physical activity can change at the same time.
That has produced an enormous industry selling “testosterone boosters.” Unfortunately, many of the claims are far ahead of the science.
The more useful question is not “What supplement boosts testosterone?” It is:
What conditions allow the body to maintain healthy androgen physiology—and what common features of modern life interfere with it?
The answer starts with some decidedly unglamorous things: body composition, sleep, metabolic health, exercise and adequate nutrition. Only after those foundations are addressed does it make sense to discuss zinc, vitamin D, ginger, ashwagandha, green tea, cold exposure, sauna or other popular “hacks.”
This guide ranks the strategies approximately in order of importance and strength of evidence, while distinguishing interventions that can meaningfully correct a problem from interesting ideas that remain experimental.
1. Lose Excess Visceral Fat
For an overweight middle-aged man with low testosterone, this belongs near the top of the list.
Obesity and testosterone have a complicated, bidirectional relationship. Excess adiposity—particularly visceral adiposity—is associated with lower testosterone, while low testosterone can make maintaining favorable body composition more difficult.
Most importantly, this isn’t merely an association. Research examining men with obesity-associated hypogonadism has found that weight loss can substantially reverse suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, with larger weight losses generally associated with larger testosterone increases.
This makes waist circumference potentially more informative than obsessing over individual “testosterone foods.”
For someone carrying substantial abdominal fat, losing 20 pounds may be vastly more consequential than adding a teaspoon of some exotic herb to breakfast.
Practical strategy
Reduce excess body fat gradually while preserving muscle through resistance training, adequate protein and a sustainable calorie deficit.
Avoid turning this into starvation. As discussed below, chronic severe energy restriction can itself interfere with reproductive hormones.
2. Treat Sleep as Hormonal Medicine
One of the most underrated testosterone interventions is simply:
Sleep enough.
Testosterone secretion is closely connected with sleep. A frequently cited controlled experiment restricted healthy young men’s sleep to about five hours per night for one week and found lower daytime testosterone compared with the well-rested condition.
The study was small and involved young men, so it shouldn’t be interpreted as a precise prediction of what happens to every middle-aged person. Nevertheless, the physiology is compelling.
Aim for roughly 7–9 hours of quality sleep rather than treating five or six hours as normal.
And consistency matters. Going to sleep at wildly different times every night can interfere with circadian organization even when total weekly sleep looks respectable.
3. Take Snoring Seriously
Here’s an unusual testosterone tip that could be considerably more important than green tea:
Ask your partner whether you stop breathing at night.
Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with disrupted sleep and lower testosterone. The JAMA researchers specifically noted the relationship between sleep fragmentation, obstructive sleep apnea and reduced testosterone.
Loud snoring, choking or gasping during sleep, morning headaches, daytime sleepiness, resistant hypertension and repeatedly waking during the night are reasons to discuss sleep apnea with a clinician.
Don’t buy six testosterone supplements while ignoring the possibility that you’re repeatedly becoming hypoxic during sleep.
4. Lift Weights—Even If It Doesn’t Permanently “Spike” Testosterone
Strength training deserves an important clarification.
You’ll often read that squats or deadlifts “boost testosterone.” Exercise can cause temporary hormonal responses, but that doesn’t mean every workout permanently raises resting testosterone.
A systematic review and meta-analysis covering exercise interventions in insufficiently active men found essentially no average effect on resting total testosterone.
Does that make weight training useless for hormonal health?
Absolutely not.
Resistance training helps maintain muscle, physical function, insulin sensitivity, favorable body composition and strength as we age. It also makes fat loss more likely to preserve lean mass.
So the reason to lift is much bigger than chasing a temporary testosterone spike.
A good middle-aged program could include three or four sessions per week built around:
- Squats or leg presses
- Deadlift/hinge variations
- Rows
- Pull-ups or pulldowns
- Bench or dumbbell presses
- Overhead presses
- Loaded carries
- Appropriate isolation work
Progressive overload matters more than trying to find a magical “testosterone exercise.”
5. Walk—A Lot
Walking won’t create dramatic testosterone spikes.
That’s exactly why it is underrated.
Regular walking increases energy expenditure without imposing the recovery burden of another hard workout. It can support weight management and metabolic health and is easy enough to perform consistently.
Try walking 10–20 minutes after meals.
For someone sedentary, progressing toward 7,000–10,000 steps per day can represent a dramatic lifestyle change without requiring another hour in a gym.
6. Use Short Bursts of Intense Exercise
Sprints, cycling intervals, rowing and hill work can complement resistance training.
Think:
short + hard + adequately recovered
rather than:
maximum intensity every day.
Exercise is a physiological stress. The appropriate amount makes the body more capable; excessive training without adequate food or recovery can produce the opposite outcome.
Two short interval sessions each week may be plenty for many middle-aged adults.
7. Don’t Overtrain
More exercise is not always better.
A middle-aged person who lifts six days per week, performs daily high-intensity cardio, sleeps five hours and chronically restricts calories hasn’t created an optimized hormonal environment.
They’ve created a recovery problem.
Schedule recovery.
The goal is not to win a competition for who can tolerate the most punishment.
8. Don’t Crash Diet
There is an important apparent contradiction surrounding weight loss and testosterone.
If you’re obese, losing excess fat can improve testosterone.
But:
If you’re already relatively lean and chronically starving yourself, further severe calorie restriction may suppress reproductive physiology.
A systematic review of randomized trials found that the relationship between calorie restriction and testosterone depends significantly on the population and starting body composition.
This is why “eat less” isn’t a universal hormone prescription.
The objective is metabolic health and appropriate body composition, not perpetual dieting.
9. Eat Enough Protein
Protein won’t magically turn into testosterone.
But preserving and building muscle requires adequate dietary protein, particularly as we age.
Useful foods include:
- Eggs
- Greek yogurt
- Cottage cheese
- Fish
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Lean beef
- Whey or other quality protein
- Beans and legumes
For someone resistance training, protein intake distributed across the day is generally more useful than eating almost none until dinner.
10. Don’t Be Afraid of Dietary Fat—but Don’t Fall for the “Eat Butter for Testosterone” Meme
Cholesterol is involved in steroid-hormone synthesis, which has encouraged some influencers to claim enormous quantities of saturated fat increase testosterone.
That’s an oversimplification.
A 2021 meta-analysis reported lower testosterone with low-fat versus higher-fat diets, although it involved only six eligible intervention studies and 206 participants.
More importantly, a larger 2025 meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials involving 888 participants found no significant difference in testosterone between low- and higher-fat diets, and rated the evidence as limited.
So the sensible takeaway isn’t “eat unlimited fat.”
It’s:
Don’t unnecessarily eliminate healthy dietary fat in pursuit of an extreme diet.
Favor foods such as olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, eggs and fatty fish.
11. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
This brings us to our first more unusual food.
Extra-virgin olive oil is frequently promoted as a testosterone booster. Human evidence for a large direct testosterone effect isn’t strong enough to justify that description.
But olive oil is an excellent component of a Mediterranean-style diet and a practical replacement for less desirable fats.
Use it because it’s a healthy food.
If it provides some additional androgen benefit, consider that a bonus rather than the reason for consuming it.
12. Eggs—Including the Yolks
Eggs provide protein, fat, cholesterol and micronutrients.
There is no need for most healthy people to throw away every yolk because they’re worried about dietary cholesterol, nor should anyone start eating a dozen eggs daily because cholesterol is a testosterone precursor.
The sensible middle ground is far less exciting:
Whole eggs are a nutrient-dense food that fits comfortably into many healthy diets.
13. Fatty Fish
Salmon, sardines, trout and similar fish provide high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
They’re better thought of as part of a cardiometabolic and anti-inflammatory dietary pattern than as testosterone supplements.
Hormonal health does not exist separately from cardiovascular and metabolic health.
14. Oysters and Zinc-Rich Foods
This traditional aphrodisiac has at least one biologically plausible connection to testosterone:
zinc.
A systematic review concluded that zinc deficiency is associated with reduced testosterone and that supplementation can improve testosterone status, with effects depending substantially on baseline zinc status and dose.
Good food sources include oysters, shellfish, meat, pumpkin seeds and some dairy products.
But there is an important distinction:
Correcting zinc deficiency is not the same thing as megadosing zinc when you’re already sufficient.
More isn’t always better.
15. Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds provide zinc, magnesium, healthy fats and other nutrients.
They’re an excellent snack.
Calling them a powerful testosterone booster would go beyond the evidence, but they fit nicely into a diet designed to avoid micronutrient deficiencies.
16. Brazil Nuts
Brazil nuts are famous for selenium.
Selenium plays important roles in reproductive biology, but Brazil nuts can contain extraordinarily high and variable amounts.
This is therefore a case where:
a little may be plenty.
Don’t assume that because a micronutrient is essential, consuming ten times more must be ten times better.
17. Correct Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D status and testosterone have been associated in observational research, generating considerable interest in vitamin D supplementation.
But supplementation trials haven’t consistently shown that giving vitamin D to everybody substantially increases testosterone. A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials found that the evidence did not establish vitamin D as a reliable general-purpose testosterone booster.
The sensible strategy is:
test if appropriate, correct deficiency, don’t megadose simply to chase testosterone.
18. Get Outside in the Morning
Morning outdoor light isn’t a direct testosterone drug.
Its more compelling role is circadian.
Bright light shortly after waking helps anchor the body’s internal clock. A well-regulated circadian rhythm can make falling asleep at the appropriate time easier.
So the chain may be:
Morning light → stronger circadian signal → better sleep timing → better hormonal environment.
That’s far more plausible than claiming sunlight directly produces enormous testosterone gains.
19. Get Magnesium From Food—and Correct Deficiency
Magnesium is essential for numerous biological processes.
Foods rich in magnesium include:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Beans
- Leafy vegetables
- Dark chocolate
Again, the useful principle is nutritional sufficiency, not the belief that swallowing more magnesium indefinitely creates more testosterone.
20. Green Tea
Now to the one that started this discussion.
Green tea contains catechins such as EGCG and has been investigated for numerous metabolic effects.
But despite countless online claims, there isn’t strong clinical evidence that drinking green tea meaningfully raises testosterone in middle-aged humans.
Drink it because you enjoy it and because unsweetened tea can be part of a healthy dietary pattern.
There’s another practical advantage:
Replacing a 300-calorie sugary drink with unsweetened green tea every afternoon could indirectly improve body composition.
That indirect effect may ultimately matter more than any hypothetical direct hormonal action.
21. Ginger
Ginger is more interesting.
A scientific review found a body of research suggesting ginger may influence testosterone-related pathways, including oxidative stress, LH signaling and testicular antioxidant systems. However, much of the literature underlying these mechanisms comes from animal or specialized populations rather than large trials of ordinary middle-aged men.
So:
Interesting? Yes.
Established testosterone therapy? No.
Fortunately, ginger is also an ordinary culinary ingredient.
22. Pomegranate
Pomegranate frequently appears on testosterone-food lists.
There are plausible antioxidant and vascular mechanisms and small studies around various cardiovascular and hormonal outcomes, but it should not be presented as a proven treatment for hypogonadism.
Whole pomegranate or unsweetened juice can be part of a healthy diet.
That’s enough reason to eat it.
23. Garlic and Onions
Animal studies have produced intriguing androgen findings involving garlic and onions.
Human evidence is much thinner.
Fortunately, both foods are inexpensive, flavorful and fit beautifully into Mediterranean-style eating.
Use them liberally in cooking.
Just don’t tell readers that an onion is equivalent to hormone therapy.
24. Dark Chocolate and Cocoa
Cocoa provides polyphenols and minerals, including magnesium.
Choose dark chocolate with relatively high cocoa content rather than turning “dark chocolate supports testosterone” into permission to eat an entire bag of candy every night.
The dose still contains calories.
25. Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and related vegetables frequently appear in hormone discussions because of compounds involved in estrogen metabolism.
Claims that broccoli dramatically increases testosterone are exaggerated.
Nevertheless, cruciferous vegetables provide fiber, micronutrients and phytochemicals and should be eaten because vegetables are good for you—not because broccoli is secretly TRT.
26. Fermented Foods and Gut Health
The microbiome has become one of the most interesting areas in physiology.
There are emerging relationships among gut microbes, metabolism, inflammation and endocrine function.
But we’re not yet at the point where eating a particular yogurt can be prescribed to raise testosterone by a predictable amount.
Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi can nevertheless be reasonable additions to a diverse diet.
27. Ashwagandha
Now we’re entering supplement territory.
Among herbal ingredients marketed for testosterone, ashwagandha has more interesting human evidence than most.
A systematic review of randomized trials concluded that ashwagandha and fenugreek were the two herbal ingredients with the most consistent positive evidence for testosterone concentrations, while emphasizing that the overall evidence base was limited and often involved younger, nonclinical populations.
Ashwagandha may be particularly interesting where stress is part of the problem.
But herbal products can interact with medications, affect thyroid function, cause adverse effects, and vary substantially in quality.
Natural does not mean pharmacologically inert.
28. Fenugreek
Fenugreek also has legitimate research behind it.
A meta-analysis of clinical trials reported an increase in total testosterone with fenugreek extract.
A later systematic review and meta-analysis found a small effect on total testosterone, with less convincing effects on free testosterone, body composition and strength.
That’s a much more reasonable description than:
“Fenugreek sends testosterone through the roof.”
It doesn’t.
There may be a modest effect in some populations.
29. Tongkat Ali
Tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia) has become extremely popular.
There are promising studies, particularly involving stressed men and men with lower testosterone, but study quality, standardization and supplement purity remain concerns.
This is one of the cases where buying a random product online because an influencer recommended it isn’t particularly sensible.
If using botanicals, product quality and third-party testing matter.
30. Creatine
Creatine is one of the best-supported sports supplements available.
But here’s the important distinction:
Creatine is excellent even if it doesn’t meaningfully increase testosterone.
It can improve high-intensity exercise capacity and support gains from resistance training.
That’s enough.
You don’t need to invent a testosterone mechanism to justify something that already has strong reasons for use.
31. Reduce Heavy Alcohol Consumption
Chronic heavy alcohol consumption can adversely affect the reproductive axis, testicular function, sleep, liver health and body composition.
Occasional moderate consumption and chronic alcohol abuse aren’t equivalent exposures, so avoid sensational claims that one glass of wine “destroys testosterone.”
But if someone drinks heavily every night, cutting alcohol can simultaneously improve:
sleep, calorie intake, liver health, weight control, training recovery and sexual function.
That’s an unusually good return on one lifestyle change.
32. Review Opioid Use With Your Physician
This one is frequently overlooked.
Long-term opioid exposure can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and cause opioid-induced androgen deficiency.
If someone taking chronic opioids develops low libido, fatigue, erectile problems or documented low testosterone, this deserves a medical discussion.
Never abruptly stop prescribed opioids on your own.
33. Review Your Entire Medication List
Other medications and medical conditions can affect sexual function or endocrine physiology.
Don’t simply conclude:
“I’m 52. My testosterone must be low.”
The symptom may involve sleep, depression, thyroid function, medication effects, diabetes, obesity, vascular disease, relationship factors—or some combination.
Good medicine investigates rather than guessing.
34. Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Metabolic dysfunction and androgen dysfunction frequently travel together.
Ways to improve insulin sensitivity include many of the strategies already discussed:
resistance training, walking, losing excess visceral fat, adequate sleep, reducing excessive calories, eating minimally processed foods and controlling diabetes when present.
Notice the recurring pattern.
The most powerful “testosterone hacks” tend to improve the entire organism.
35. Have Sex
Sexual activity and testosterone have a bidirectional relationship, and acute hormonal fluctuations can occur around sexual activity.
But sex shouldn’t be prescribed as a treatment for pathological hypogonadism.
A better reason to include it is that sexual function is itself part of healthy aging.
A sudden decline in libido or disappearance of morning erections can also be useful information to discuss with a physician.
36. Compete
Competition can cause transient testosterone changes in some circumstances.
Sports, games and physically challenging pursuits can also improve motivation, social connection and activity.
The testosterone response isn’t sufficiently predictable to call competition a hormone treatment.
But a 55-year-old man playing tennis twice a week is probably doing more for his overall health than someone sitting on the couch reading about testosterone optimization.
37. Maintain Purpose and Challenge
There is no laboratory-quality evidence that finding your “life purpose” cures hypogonadism.
But chronic stress, inactivity, isolation, poor sleep and depression can profoundly affect perceived vitality and sexual function.
Maintain projects.
Learn.
Compete.
Build something.
Travel.
Train.
Stay socially engaged.
Healthy aging is bigger than one laboratory number.
38. Reduce Chronic Stress
Stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and influences sleep, appetite, sexual function and training recovery.
Useful interventions can include:
- Walking
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Breathing practices
- Time outdoors
- Social interaction
- Reducing unnecessary digital stimulation
- Therapy when appropriate
Don’t become stressed about reducing stress.
The objective is recovery, not another optimization contest.
39. Spend Time in Nature
There isn’t convincing evidence that standing barefoot in a forest dramatically increases testosterone.
There is a good argument that outdoor activity can combine movement, daylight exposure, stress reduction and reduced screen exposure.
Sometimes an intervention is worthwhile because several small benefits accumulate.
40. Sauna
Sauna use is fascinating for cardiovascular physiology and heat adaptation.
But claims that sauna reliably raises baseline testosterone are much stronger than the evidence.
Use sauna because you enjoy it and because there is interesting research around other health outcomes—not because you’re expecting it to replace treatment for clinically significant hypogonadism.
41. Cold Showers and Cold Plunges
Cold exposure is even more overmarketed.
A cold shower can make you feel extremely awake.
That does not mean your testosterone has skyrocketed.
Cold exposure affects catecholamines and thermoregulatory physiology, but evidence that routine cold plunging creates a clinically meaningful sustained testosterone increase is weak.
Use cold exposure if you enjoy it.
Don’t confuse feeling stimulated with having higher testosterone.
42. Don’t Cook Everything in Plastic
This is an interesting precaution rather than a testosterone treatment.
Some environmental chemicals, including certain phthalates and bisphenols, have endocrine activity.
It’s reasonable to reduce unnecessary exposure by using glass, stainless steel or ceramic for hot foods and avoiding repeatedly heating food in degraded plastic containers.
But don’t become terrified of touching plastic.
Exposure, dose and compound matter.
43. Don’t Overheat the Testes—But Understand What You’re Protecting
Excessive testicular heat is more clearly relevant to sperm production and fertility than to boosting testosterone.
Men concerned about fertility may reasonably avoid prolonged, repeated extreme heat exposure to the testes.
But boxer shorts are not a treatment for hypogonadism.
This is another example of two related reproductive-health concepts getting incorrectly merged online.
44. Stop Smoking
Smoking research and testosterone can produce confusing associations, but cigarettes are not a testosterone strategy.
Smoking damages vascular function, which is particularly relevant because erectile function depends heavily on cardiovascular health.
An erection problem can sometimes be an early vascular warning rather than simply a testosterone problem.
45. Protect Cardiovascular Health
This deserves its own point.
Sexual health, vascular health and metabolic health are interconnected.
Control:
- Blood pressure
- Blood glucose
- Lipids
- Weight
- Smoking
- Physical inactivity
Don’t become so obsessed with maximizing testosterone that you ignore the cardiovascular system responsible for keeping you alive.
What About Women?
This is where testosterone discussions often become surprisingly inaccurate.
Women Need Testosterone Too
Women produce testosterone and other androgens, and androgen receptors exist throughout female tissues.
Testosterone concentrations generally change across the reproductive lifespan. But the relationship between a woman’s circulating testosterone concentration and symptoms—especially sexual function—is far less straightforward than popular hormone clinics sometimes imply.
This creates a major diagnostic difference between men and women.
For men, consistently low morning testosterone plus compatible symptoms can support a diagnosis of hypogonadism.
For women, there is no established testosterone blood-level cutoff that distinguishes women with sexual dysfunction from those without it.
That distinction is extremely important.
46. Women Should Strength Train Too
Resistance training may be even more important for women approaching and passing menopause because preserving muscle and bone becomes increasingly important.
Women should not avoid lifting because they’re worried about becoming “too muscular.”
Progressive resistance training supports:
- Muscle
- Strength
- Bone loading
- Functional capacity
- Glucose control
- Body composition
Those benefits matter whether or not resting testosterone changes.
47. Women Should Protect Sleep Too
Sleep is not a male hormone intervention.
Women dealing with perimenopause may simultaneously experience:
- Night sweats
- Hot flashes
- insomnia
- mood changes
- changing sexual function
Treating sleep disruption can improve quality of life even if testosterone isn’t the primary issue.
A cool, dark bedroom, regular sleep schedule, morning light exposure and evaluation for sleep disorders remain sensible foundations.
48. Don’t Assume Low Female Libido Means “Low Testosterone”
This deserves bold type.
Low libido in a woman does not automatically mean low testosterone.
Female sexual desire is influenced by:
- Menopause
- Estrogen status
- Vaginal discomfort
- Relationship factors
- Stress
- Depression and anxiety
- Medications
- Sleep
- Chronic illness
- Body image
- Sexual pain
- Androgen physiology
International consensus recommendations emphasize a biopsychosocial assessment rather than diagnosing sexual dysfunction from a testosterone number alone.
49. Understand HSDD
There is one area where testosterone therapy has meaningful evidence in women:
hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).
A major international consensus statement endorsed by numerous endocrine, menopause and sexual-medicine organizations concluded that the only evidence-based indication for testosterone therapy in women is HSDD in appropriately assessed postmenopausal women.
ISSWSH subsequently published clinical guidance supporting systemic transdermal testosterone for appropriately selected women with HSDD, with careful assessment and monitoring.
That’s very different from prescribing testosterone to every middle-aged woman who feels tired.
50. A Woman’s Testosterone Number Isn’t a Diagnosis
This is one of the most important facts in this article.
The international consensus statement specifically concludes that no circulating androgen cutoff differentiates women with and without sexual dysfunction.
ISSWSH similarly states that total testosterone should not be used to diagnose HSDD. Instead, it can be useful as a baseline and for monitoring if therapy is used.
That means a laboratory result marked “low” isn’t automatically an illness requiring testosterone.
Symptoms and context matter.
51. Be Very Careful With Female Testosterone Pellets
Hormone pellets are heavily marketed.
But the major international consensus recommends against testosterone formulations that produce supraphysiologic concentrations, including pellets and injections.
ACOG similarly recommends alternatives to testosterone pellets because of insufficient safety data and the fact that a pellet can’t simply be removed once administered.
That’s worth knowing before agreeing to an expensive “optimization” program.
52. Testosterone Is Not an Established Female Anti-Aging Drug
Testosterone is sometimes marketed to women for:
energy, cognition, mood, muscle, anti-aging, weight loss and general wellbeing.
The evidence doesn’t justify many of those claims.
The international consensus found insufficient evidence for using testosterone to improve cognition or prevent cognitive decline and did not find a demonstrated improvement in general wellbeing in postmenopausal women.
The established indication is much narrower.
53. Women Need Appropriate Doses—Not Men’s Testosterone Levels
When testosterone is clinically appropriate for a woman, the objective is not to raise her testosterone into the male range.
Guidelines recommend maintaining concentrations within the physiological range seen in premenopausal women.
Excess androgen exposure can cause:
- Acne
- Increased facial/body hair
- Scalp hair changes
- Voice changes
- Other virilizing effects
Some changes may not be readily reversible.
54. Female Testosterone Therapy Requires Monitoring
Consensus recommendations call for baseline testosterone measurement before treatment, repeat measurement after initiation, clinical monitoring and ongoing surveillance to prevent excessive exposure.
This is medicine—not a wellness supplement.
55. Don’t Forget Estrogen
Women going through perimenopause or menopause can experience symptoms related primarily to changing estrogen, rather than testosterone.
A testosterone-focused clinic can therefore start with the wrong question.
A woman with hot flashes, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, sleep disruption and libido changes deserves a comprehensive menopause evaluation rather than automatically being told she needs more testosterone.
56. Check Thyroid and Other Medical Explanations
Fatigue, weight changes, mood changes, hair changes and sexual dysfunction aren’t specific to testosterone.
Thyroid disorders, anemia, nutrient deficiencies, depression, diabetes, medication effects and other conditions can produce overlapping symptoms.
Hormonal medicine works best when it asks:
“What is causing this?”
rather than:
“Which hormone can we sell?”
57. Women Should Avoid Chronic Undereating Too
Women who combine intense exercise with inadequate energy intake can disrupt reproductive physiology.
This is particularly important for athletes and highly active women.
Eating enough to support training isn’t abandoning discipline.
Recovery is part of training.
58. Muscle Is Longevity Infrastructure for Both Sexes
Perhaps the most useful way to think about this entire subject is to stop viewing testosterone as the ultimate target.
Muscle mass and strength are extraordinarily valuable as we age.
Build muscle.
Maintain it.
Train balance.
Carry things.
Walk.
Climb stairs.
Stay capable.
If testosterone is healthy while you do those things, excellent.
But don’t sacrifice actual health in pursuit of a laboratory number.
59. Don’t Chase the Highest Testosterone Number
This applies especially to middle-aged men entering “optimization” clinics.
The objective should not be:
Maximum testosterone.
The objective should be:
Normal physiology, good sexual function, strength, energy, favorable body composition, metabolic health and long-term wellbeing.
More hormone isn’t automatically better hormone.
60. Measure Before You Guess
For men experiencing symptoms such as reduced libido, fewer spontaneous erections, unexplained loss of muscle, infertility or persistent fatigue, laboratory testing is much more informative than trying 14 supplements simultaneously.
Testosterone varies with time of day, illness, food intake and other factors. Diagnosis of male hypogonadism generally requires compatible symptoms and consistently low testosterone, rather than one random afternoon blood draw.
A clinician may consider measurements such as:
Total testosterone
and, depending on the situation:
SHBG, calculated/free testosterone, LH, FSH and prolactin, along with testing directed at other possible causes.
The objective isn’t merely to discover that testosterone is low.
It’s to discover why.
The Practical 80/20 Testosterone Protocol
If someone wanted to ignore almost every exotic tip in this article and concentrate on the highest-value fundamentals, I would make the plan remarkably simple.
For middle-aged men:
Get excess abdominal fat down. Sleep 7–9 hours. Investigate sleep apnea if indicated. Lift weights approximately three or four times weekly. Walk every day. Include some cardiovascular training. Eat enough protein and a nutritionally complete diet. Don’t chronically starve yourself. Don’t eliminate healthy dietary fats. Correct genuine vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Reduce heavy alcohol consumption. Don’t smoke. Review medications and chronic illnesses with a clinician. Measure testosterone properly if symptoms warrant investigation.
Then—and only then—consider whether modestly supported extras such as ashwagandha or fenugreek are worth experimenting with.
Green tea, ginger, pomegranate, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, morning sunlight, fermented foods, cold showers and sauna can all have places in a healthy lifestyle, but none should distract from the foundations.
For middle-aged women:
Prioritize resistance training, muscle preservation, healthy body composition, sufficient nutrition, sleep, cardiovascular health and management of menopause-related symptoms. Don’t diagnose “low testosterone” from fatigue or libido alone. If sexual desire has declined substantially and is causing distress, obtain a proper biopsychosocial assessment. For appropriately diagnosed postmenopausal HSDD, testosterone is a legitimate topic to discuss with a knowledgeable clinician—but it should be physiologically dosed and monitored rather than treated as an anti-aging free-for-all.
The Bottom Line
The surprising lesson about naturally supporting testosterone is that the boring interventions usually beat the exotic ones.
Sleep beats the latest supplement stack.
Losing excess visceral fat beats a “testosterone tea.”
Progressive resistance training beats a bottle covered in pictures of mountains and alpha males.
Correcting zinc deficiency makes more biological sense than megadosing zinc when you’re already sufficient.
Treating sleep apnea is more important than taking a cold shower.
And understanding why testosterone is abnormal is more important than blindly trying to push the number upward.
There are nevertheless interesting possibilities around foods, herbs, circadian biology and environmental exposures. Ashwagandha and fenugreek have some human evidence; zinc matters when deficiency exists; ginger is scientifically interesting but under-studied; vitamin D should generally be thought of in terms of correcting deficiency rather than indiscriminately boosting testosterone; and green tea, sauna and cold exposure should not currently be advertised as proven testosterone treatments.
The broader lesson applies equally to men and women:
Don’t optimize testosterone in isolation. Optimize the human being.
When sleep, muscle, body composition, nutrition, metabolic health, cardiovascular health, sexual health and recovery improve together, you’ve accomplished something far more valuable than simply moving one number on a laboratory report.
References
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- Potter NJ, et al. Effects of Exercise Training on Resting Testosterone Concentrations in Insufficiently Active Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
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- Soltani S, et al. The Effect of Low-Fat Diets Versus High-Fat Diet on Sex Hormones: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. 2025.
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- Smith SJ, et al. Examining the Effects of Herbs on Testosterone Concentrations in Men: A Systematic Review.
- Mansoori A, et al. Effect of fenugreek extract supplement on testosterone levels in male: A meta-analysis of clinical trials. 2020.
- Balasubramanian A, et al. The Anabolic Effect of Fenugreek: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.
- Banihani SA. Ginger and Testosterone. Biomolecules. 2018.
- Marnani EH, et al. The effect of vitamin D supplementation on the androgenic profile in men: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Andrologia. 2019.
- Davis SR, et al. Global Consensus Position Statement on the Use of Testosterone Therapy for Women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2019;104(10):4660–4666.
- Parish SJ, et al. International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health Clinical Practice Guideline for the Use of Systemic Testosterone for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in Women. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2021;18(5):849–867.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Compounded Bioidentical Menopausal Hormone Therapy. Clinical Consensus, 2023.
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