PART I. NUTRITION
INTRO - Simply put Nutrition is the most important factor in hormonal optimization. If this area is not optimized, nothing else will be.
MICRONUTRIENTS/MACRONUTRIENTS & Caloric Intake (sources/ratios)
Chances are something isn’t working in your current diet, and you’re looking for a better solution. Perhaps you’re struggling to get lean, you’ve tried all the crash diets, but they’ve only left you feeling frustrated and exhausted.
You inevitably gained back the extra 15 lbs. you lost and you likely feel like giving up. Will I ever have the energy I used to? Can I get it all back at my age? Will I ever be fit again? Yes you can.
Enter a better alternative to dieting that is sustainable and suitable for everyone, no matter your current issue.
The first piece of the puzzle is addressing and fixing your micronutrient deficiencies. Micronutrient deficiencies , especially iron, vitamin A, zinc, iodine, and folate, are prevalent in the developing world, affecting an estimated 2 billion people worldwide. This means that you are likely deficient in at least one key vitamin or mineral that is throwing your body out of whack. Our bodies need all the essential micronutrients in order to function optimally.
This is especially crucial when addressing the production of testosterone. Men with low testosterone will experience their T levels rise back into the normal ranges when they know exactly what their deficient is and take the necessary steps to correct their deficiencies.
The simplest way to do this is to base your meals around consuming whole foods and eliminating processed junk. Whole food sources such as fruits, vegetables, berries, starches, and high quality animal products like grass fed beef are rich in micronutrients. I suggest consuming a variety of these foods regularly.
For example making a daily smoothie packed with fruits and berries is an easy way to up or intake of micronutrients. It’s also important to note here that quality matters. When possible opt for organic produce, and wash thoroughly to ensure that you minimize your consumption of harmful chemicals, pesticides and herbicides.
While we can expect optimal micronutrient absorption from consuming high quality foods, a high quality multivitamin daily can also aid in correcting these deficiencies. One that I often recommend is “Thorne basic nutrients.” The second piece of the puzzle in regards to Nutrition is having the optimal macronutrient sources and ratios.
In terms of ratios we want our carb intake to be around 50% of our total calories, our fats to be 30% and our protein to be 20% of our total calories. This can be slightly manipulated, for instance a weightlifter may choose to slightly up their protein to 25% and drop their fat to 25% however we must ensure that our carbohydrates are kept the same, due to the fact that they are the most essential macronutrient for testosterone production.
Next are optimal macronutrient sources, I briefly touched on this in the micronutrient section but I’d like to break it down by Carb, Fat and Protein sources. For carb sources, starches such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, white
rice yams, yucca, and sweet and savory fruits such as melons, citrus, bananas, apples, berries, avocados, tomatoes etc are optimal.
One can also include vegetables which are classified as “stems” things like spinach, lettuce and other greens. Next Ideal Fat sources are natural sources of Saturated and Monounsaturated Fats. We can get these from Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Grass fed butter & Ghee, and Olive oil.
For cooking I suggest using an oil with a high smoke point like Avocado & Coconut due to their ability to withstand heat without going rancid. Rancid oils are attributed to a variety of health risks. For dressing oils I suggest using extra virgin olive oil. Lastly for protein quality again reigns supreme.
Most low quality protein sources are filled with artificial fillers, preservatives and other chemicals that can truly cause harm to your body over time.
Instead opt for high quality sources like Grass fed & Organic meats, Pastured Eggs, Wild caught fish, and protein supplements like collagen, bone broth and gelatin.
FOODS & CHEMICALS TO AVOID -1
In terms of what to avoid dietarily, we must first eliminate PUFAs (Polyunsaturated fatty acids) from our diets completely. They are notorious for causing inflammation in the body and lowering testosterone levels drastically. They are found in Canola, Sunflower Oil, Vegetable Oil, Safflower Oil, Soybean oil, Corn Oil, Peanut Oil, Margarine, Crisco and more. This is often overlooked by certain fad diets.
Most highly processed oils contain a high ratio of PUFAs. The next group of foods we should eliminate are highly processed foods, such as processed breads, these foods are often void of nutritional content and cause inflammation in the body.
The next one may come as a surprise because they are often touted as healthy but beans, oatmeal, and seeds are highly estrogenic and goitrogenic (antithyroid) which makes them very problematic dietarily. Among these a notable mention to eliminate immediately is flax seeds, flax seeds are the richest dietary source of lignans, a type of phytoestrogen.
Phytoestrogens exhibit estrogen mimicking effects in the body such as weight gain, and decreases in testosterone levels. Nuts should also be eliminated due to their high PUFA content. Many over the counter drugs such NSAIDs for pain relief and cough syrups put stress on the liver and thyroid.
Lastly, most men will be disappointed to know that beer is not the “manly drink” it is often touted as being. Beer is made with hops, which is a flower used in the fermentation process. It is proven to be highly estrogenic, in fact studies have shown that women who pick these flowers sometimes experience menstrual irregularities, due to how potent of an estrogen it is.
BPA - Bisphenol A is also the most tested chemical in the world, and through that testing, some rather alarming evidence has been found.
Pesticides & Herbicides - Commonly used in the production and distribution of conventional produce, are potentially carcinogenic and can lead to endocrine disrupting issues.
Phthalates which are commonly used to make plastics more flexible, but they are also used as stabilizers and emulsifying agents in many personal care items, recently they’ve been found in high amounts from people who eat a lot of junk-foods. Increased urinary phthalate traces have been strongly correlated with decreased testosterone in men, women, and children.
Parabens (methyl-, butyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, heptyl-, etc) which are preservatives used in nearly all kinds of cosmetics, such as; sun lotions, moisturizers, personal-lubricants, shampoos, shaving gels, toothpaste, and even as food additives. They’re classified as xenoestrogens, and can have a weak affinity to estrogen receptors in the body.
GUT HEALTH, TESTING & TRACKING-1
Our gut health is crucial, more and more research has linked gut health to cognitive function, wellbeing, immunity and our gut is largely regarded as another brain center. Our gut is made up of over 100 trillion living microorganisms, and these organisms have been proven to respond differently to the types of foods we consume.
For instance processed grains contain high amounts of phytic acid (which blocks absorption of certain nutrients), gluten, and lectin both cause inflammatory responses in the body. Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids are shown to correlate with oxidative stress in the gut lining which over time leads to unbalanced gut flora and a variety of health problems.
As we touched on before toxins found in household/self care products and our food sources are very harmful to our health, one place in particular that is susceptible to damage is our gut. Many of the chemical compounds we mentioned such as BPA and phthalates have negative effects on gut flora and its protective lining.
Chronic stress is also a factor in “leaky gut” which is an increased permeability of the gut lining, thus we also must keep our cortisol levels low for optimal gut health. To optimize our gut biome we should be consuming high quality sources of probiotics.
These include foods like grass fed yogurt/kefir, Kombucha, Sauerkraut & Kimchi. Also consume foods such as carrots. Raw carrots have a unique fiber that helps remove excess estrogen and non beneficial bacteria. Thus promoting the balance of good bacteria and stopping the overpopulation of bad bacteria in the gut.
BODY COMPOSITION & INTERMITTENT FASTING
Ideal Weight & Caloric Intake - In order to get to our ideal weight we can apply a simple formula. Ideal body weight multiplied by eleven will give us our daily calories, to stay on track for getting to our ideal weight - without the use of crash dieting or starving yourself.
I have personally found intermittent fasting to be the most useful tool in staying lean year round, feeling clear and focused and optimizing my hormonal health. It has the ability to do this for a few reasons. To start, once the body hits twelve hours in a fasted state, it switches from burning sugar for fuel, to burning its fat stores. I recommended that people follow a dietary protocol in which they can make the most of this fat burning window.
A sixteen-hour fast followed by an eight hour feeding window tends to work best for most.
How does fasting relate to optimal T levels? Well it does so in a variety of ways. First off getting and staying lean is one of the most important things we can do as men to have optimal T levels. Fasting allows us to burn fat and make staying lean doable. In addition fasting rids the body of toxins and estrogenic chemicals through a process known as autophagy, which basically translates to cellular repair.
Fasting has also been shown to massively GH or (growth hormone) which is another anabolic hormone. Testosterone and GH rise with one another, thus when GH is high so is T. Fasting increases cognitive function through increasing Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is linked to improved learning and memory capacity. Lastly fasting decreases a hormone known as leptin, and low leptin stimulates.. You guessed it, Testosterone Production. All of these factors make Intermittent fasting an incredible tool.
Supplements & Superfoods
Supplements and Superfoods are the last piece of the puzzle in hormonal optimization. Many people wrongly focus just on supplementation and neglect the larger areas like Diet and Exercise, however when treated as “the icing on the cake” supplementation can be an awesome way to further our progress and increase our results.
2. Ashwagandha
3. Forskolin
5. Creatine
6. Bone Broth
7. Collagen
https://theempoweredsouls.com/home/truthaboutketo/
Mind-Body Connection & Exercise Intro
How our mindset impacts our bodies -
Our minds are extremely powerful tools. They are capable of completely changing not only our views of ourselves, but also our view of others and the world around us.
Thus it is crucial that we understand what kind of mindsets lead to success and fulfillment and which leads to a victim mentality towards life. For example we can choose to view life as something happening to us” or “for us”. When life is happening for us, it is a dynamic game that allows us to breakthrough what isn’t serving us and grow stronger in mind and spirit.
However when life is happening to us” everything becomes difficult.
We feel as if the world is against us and we can no longer see the potential for growth. In addition our mindset directly impacts how we feel in our bodies, when we view the world as being hard and unforgiving we feel a lot more tension, and constriction in our bodies, than when we view the world as being supportive.
Lastly our mindset in the gym is one of the largest pieces of the puzzle in achieving the body of our dreams. When we foster a mindset towards continued growth and challenge, we push ourselves to make strength