Naturally Boosting Testosterone

Testosterone is a hormone found in both males and females. As we age, testosterone production slows down and the body has a decrease in the amount of free testosterone that is available in the bloodstream. This can cause us to lose muscle mass, gain weight, have a lowered sex drive, clinical depression, and a host of other issues. However, do note that there are several ways to increase your testosterone levels naturally, which in turn can help you look and feel better as we you age. Below you can find 5 ways to naturally increase your testosterone levels.

1) Lift Heavy & Basic
Incorporate basic movements that involve several muscle groups in your training routine. Great compound movements are barbell squats, dead lifts, and military presses. These basic core exercises have been shown to play an important role in testosterone levels. Make sure to train with high intensity for short periods of time. Your overall weight training workout should not last longer than 60 minutes. Train hard and get out of the gym to let your muscles recuperate and grow!

2) Sleep Well
If you are not getting enough sleep the body is not recuperating well, which causes less testosterone and more corticosteroids to be released. FYI corticosteroids like cortisol are in fact catabolic hormones meaning they use up muscle tissue to provide the brain and the heart with energy. Sleep has a tremendous impact on testosterone levels. Your testosterone levels can plummet 40% down by having poor sleep quality. Focus on getting 8-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal rest and recuperation.

3) Watch The Alcohol
I know it is easier said than done. But did you know that alcohol has the property to inhibit your ability to remove estrogen from the blood stream by acting as a central nervous system depressant and also by decreasing zinc levels. Alcohol should be avoided when trying to increase testosterone levels. FYI healthy normal men, consuming reasonable amounts of alcoholic drink, experience a 20% drop in their serum levels of testosterone, in women its worse, since they already have higher levels of estrogen.

4) Eat More Fat
Fats are used by the body create cholesterol, which is one of the ingredients used to make hormones such as testosterone. Be sure to consume the right amount of polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 fish oil), saturated fats found in organic meats such as beef, chicken, turkey, and monounsaturated fats found in avocados, nuts seeds, olives and other plant sources.

5) Don't Over Train
Always allow your body to recuperate adequately between your workout sessions. If you don't, your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 PERCENT as was discovered by studies performed at the University of North Carolina. The symptoms of over training are easy to diagnose: irritability, insomnia, muscle shrinkage and an overall feeling of fatigue. To avoid over training, make sure you rest at least 48 hours between muscle groups and sleep a full 8-9 hours per night.

Stay fit and well family.

Organic, Antibiotic- and Hormone-Free Meat: Expensive, But You Better Buy It

Ever wonder why its important to eat organic, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat, even though it so much more expensive? For starters, antibiotics kill both bad and good bacteria, and a large number of good bacteria in your intestinal tract aid in food digestion. However, antibiotics are also helpful to humans as a useful treatment for illnesses such as Lymes disease and Staph infections. The key to correcting the bacterial imbalance after antibiotic treatment is to eat foods rich in probiotic cultures or take a probiotic supplement , in order to repopulate your intestinal tract with good bacteria.

So how do antibiotics compromise the quality of the meat we buy and our health? According to the Organic Consumers Association, approximately 70% of all antibiotics produced in the US are fed to healthy chickens, pigs, and cows for nontherapeutic purposes, like growth promotion. Essentially, antibiotics promote efficiency of feed use, better yet, growth is stimulated with less feed. Ultimately, this results in reduced costs for say cattle producers, which translates into lower prices for consumers.

Unfortunately, the rampant use of antibiotics in livestock production has been linked to the development of drug-resistant strains of bacteria, such as e coli and salmonella, which can be passed on to people who consume undercooked beef and poultry. In addition, there is some concern that the use of antibiotics in livestock production maybe contributing to the development of Methicillin Resistant Staph (MRSA). MRSA is a type of staph infection that is drug-resistant, and transmitted not by eating, but by handling tainted meat from animals that were given antibiotics.

How do hormones play into all this? Scientists believe about two-thirds of American cattle raised for slaughter today are injected with hormones to make them grow faster. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this is a safe practice. But hey, when are notoriously underfunded government agencies such as the USDA and FDA ever wrong?

Ironically, according to the European Union’s (EU) Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health, the use of six natural and artificial growth hormones in beef production poses a potential risk to human health. These six hormones include three that are naturally occurring—Oestradiol, Progesterone and Testosterone—and three that are synthetic—Zeranol, Trenbolone, and Melengestrol.

The EU’s Committee also questioned whether hormone residues in the meat of "growth-enhanced" animals can disrupt human hormone balance, which could cause developmental problems by interfering with the reproductive system, and even lead to the development of breast, prostate or colon cancers.

Children, pregnant women and the unborn are thought to be most susceptible to these negative health effects. For example, hormone residues in beef have been implicated in the early onset of puberty in girls, which could put them at greater risk of developing breast and other forms of cancer.

So, in a nutshell, by eating mass-produced meat, we are potentially exposing ourselves to hormonal imbalances and strains of harmful drug-resistant bacteria. The EU has long been alarmed by the health threats posed by US meat. It has banned the import of hormone and antibiotic treated beef from the the US since the late eighties.

So when your pocket screams at the cost of buying organic, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat, don't be dismayed. It will cost you more in the long run.