3 Ways to Slow, and Even REVERSE the Aging Process (Men Only)
Written by Chad Howse, as seen in Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Bodybuilding.com, EliteFTS.com, and The Art of Manliness, and Author of The Man Diet.
But First, a Brief Intro on the Fountain of Youth...
Getting older is a part of life, but there are certain aspects of aging that we could do without. Take testosterone, for example. When we, as men, hit the age of 30 our testosterone levels begin to decline by about 1% annually from thereon out.
Now why should you care about testosterone?
It’s a steroid isn’t it? A drug that guys take to build muscle? Well, testosterone has a lot of myth surrounding it. It’s actually the most important hormone in our body for your health and body composition and sex drive.
High, natural testosterone levels have been shown to:
- Reduce the risk of cancer.
- Reduced chance of heart disease.
- Dramatically increase your body’s ability to burn fat and build muscle.
- Exponentially increase sex drive and libido.
- Even lower the likelihood of depression.
You see, testosterone isn’t merely a hormone that helps you build muscle, it helps you burn fat and become a healthier man, and not only physically, but mentally as well. It truly is a wondrous hormone that men need in optimal levels if we’re going to be at our best in each of the above areas.
So what of this 1% decline in testosterone for you guys who are over 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 or whatever… Is there anything you can do to stop this decline and actually be younger than your age would dictate?
Yes!
There’s a lot you can do, but it starts with shattering some myths.
NOTE: Testosterone is involved in tissue repair, as in your muscle and skin and organs, so by naturally increasing your testosterone levels you’re going to literally look and be younger, healthier, and more vibrant. If you’re looking for the fountain of youth you’ve just found it, and it’s in your own body, now we just have to maximize it.
3 Ways to Create Optimal Testosterone Levels & Reverse The Aging Process
1. Take the Right Vitamins
Notice that I said vitamins and not supplements. There are 2 very powerful vitamins that men need and we’re not getting enough of that help us naturally produce more testosterone.
Those vitamins: Vitamin D3 and Zinc.
Vitamin D3: There are two forms of testosterone. There’s the “bound” form, that’s bound to a protein - this is the state of most of the testosterone in your body. There’s also the “free” form of testosterone. Most doctors and scientists believe it’s this “free T” that matters most as it’s the only form of the hormone that’s free to move about your body and repair tissue.
So how do we “free up” more of our bound testosterone? Vitamin D3. It’s been shown to free up your testosterone so it can do what it’s supposed to do. The problem: almost NO ONE is getting enough D3. You should be consuming AT LEAST 3,000-6,000 IU’s of D3 every day. And the best part is you can get a bottle that’ll last you a few months for $10.
Zinc: So in our battle to increase our testosterone levels we have two primary enemies: cortisol (a stress hormone), and estrogen (the lady hormone). We need to quell both of these enemies, and zinc does a wonderful job of inhibiting our estrogen levels by blocking its precursor, aromatase.
Now, zinc is also toxic, so if you over-do it with zinc it’s not a good thing (but that’s very rare). Head to your doctor, get your levels checked, and supplement accordingly. Even as a young and healthy guy I was zinc deficient as we just don’t get it from our diets these days. So add some zinc to your morning supplement routine.
2. Get active and get better sleep.
I touched on it briefly in the previous section, but cortisol is one of the biggest enemies of testosterone there is. Where most guys experience low T is because of high cortisol levels that are brought on by stress and fatigue and a lack of sleep. So what I’m going to recommend next may sound odd, but it’ll do wonders for your testosterone levels and your desire to look, be, and feel younger.
Take a monthly vacation.
Simple. Unplug your phone, get rid of the email, get out of the rat race and get out into nature. Put things into perspective. Stress is largely a mental thing, and as a mental thing it’s a choice. We choose to worry about our work and our family, and by getting out of town - even for two days a month - we’re removing ourselves from our stresses and worries and it can have an incredible effect on our cortisol levels and our testosterone levels.
Sleep is another important factor. We need at least 7 hours a night to keep our hormones in check. 8 is awesome, but that can also be unrealistic.
A lack of sleep is a leading cause for low T because of the fact that one of the ways we measure T is in relation to our cortisol levels. If your cortisol levels are high, your T levels can’t be. So take some time, get out of town, and make sure you’re getting 7 hours a night of quality sleep.
3. Stop Eating like a Woman.
This is the most important one on the list.
If you’re a guy, you’ve likely been eating like a woman your entire life, and my industry is largely at fault. You see, women buy the vast majority of diets, thus, most diets are positioned to women and completely neglect men and our needs, like our hormones. Thus, most “diets” focus on calorie restriction, which is something that raises cortisol levels and decreases testosterone levels.
Most diets also contain NONE of the building blocks of testosterone: dietary fats.
Testosterone is made in the testes when our bodies convert cholesterol into the powerful hormone, testosterone.
If we’re not giving our bodies any cholesterol, that we get from dietary fats, we’re not feeding our hormones. So all these “cut calories” and “cut fat” diets that we go on to get ripped are actually destroying our hormones and our ability to lose fat.
Angry? Feel Led Astray?
Understandable. I was too when I first discovered this stuff. But there is a solution, I didn't just write this to piss you off. Continue on to the next page to find out how men should really eat, and discover 3 other strange tips to naturally increase your testosterone levels.
You'll learn some helpful stuff that'll show you how to turn everything around.
