[[Habits & Longevity (Anti-Ageing) Playbook]] # What - Major sex hormone - As men age, testosterone levels drop very gradually, about 1% to 2% each year - [Testosterone Optimization: What Every Man Over 30 Needs to Know - mylifeforce.com](https://www.mylifeforce.com/journal/testosterone-optimization) - Optimal levels highly controversial - Checking testosterone levels is as easy as having a blood test. The difficult part is interpreting the result. Levels vary over the course of the day. A single low level may be meaningless in the absence of symptoms, especially if it was normal at another time. - 2024-12 [Endocrine Disruptors - Common Chemicals That Severely Alter Your Hormones - Dr. Shanna Swan - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLxFazLK2Mg&ab_channel=AfterSkool) - Interesting insights on the global decline in fertility. It shows how much our environment—diet, exercise, air, water, smoking—impacts not just us, but our future kids too. - Understanding what’s reversible versus what’s permanent is a real eye-opener. It definitely makes you want to be extra careful (especially when trying to conceive). # Increasing testosterone ## Pros - Muscle size and strength - Bone growth and health - Sperm production - Sex drive ## Cons - Agressivity and irritability (if too high or too low) - Acne, oily skin - Increase sleep apnea - More hair / balding - Increased appetite - Prostate cancer (helps cancer to grow, but may not help create it) ## If you don't have enough testosterone - You'll miss all of the pros above - Depression, low energy, generalized weakness, anxiety, loss of appetite - Problems with sexual function and cognition # How to maximise ## Upon wakeing up / before sleep - 1 capsule cod liver oil, 3-5k IU vitamine D - Spinach, couple of eggs, 3 brazil nuts, 15gr almonds, kimchi ## Bonus - Cold baths - Exercise, and weight lifting - Avoid stress (produces cortisol, inversely correlated to testosterone) - Maca or ashwaganda, ginger - No alcohol ## Quick reads - [Testosterone - What it does and doesn't do](https://www.health.harvard.edu/drugs-and-medications/testosterone--what-it-does-and-doesnt-do) # The 4-Hour Body - Tim Ferriss ## Notes - Don't take testosterone gel/injections before testing other methods. Tim didn't have any positive effects on libido when doing so. Increase luteinizing hormone (LH) instead. - Vitamin A (especially with zinc) boosts testosterone production (especially A from animals, not plants) - Fermented Cod liver oil - Vitamin K amplifies effect of vitamin A and D. It decreases vitamin D toxicity. - Green leaf food, kimchi, sauerkraut - Best source is Japanese Natto - High vitamin K butter oil capsules - or butter from grass fed kows - Vitamin D - increases physical performance - get it tested! - Minimum 20-30mn direct exposure to sunlight, 2x a week - Liquid vit D - don't under/over dose - get it tested regularly. - Cod liver oil - Selenium increases sperm production and quality - Ketosis depletes selenium - It protects from mercury by binding to it. High mercury diets deplete selenium. - Max 30g of Brazil nuts per day. Ideally 3 upon waking and going to bed. - Vitamin E - Almonds - Increases LHRH → increases testosterone - 30g / day - 100 g max max (calories) - peanut butter and brazil nults have 1/3 to 1/5 of vitamin E in Almonds. - Cholesterol - Eggs. Need >800mg so ≥ 4 whole eggs. Or massive amounts of grass fed beef. - Sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) makes testosterone innert. And cholesterol consumption is inversely correlated to SHBG. So eat more cholesterol for more testosterone. - Intermittent cold exposure - Increases high pulse GNRH → increases LH → increases testosterone - 10min cold baths upon waking / before bed ## Tim Ferriss’ Testosterone Protocols ### Protocol #1: Long-Term and Sustained - **[Butter Oil / Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend](https://www.amazon.fr/s?k=butter+oil+fermented+cod+liver+oil&__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&ref=nb_sb_noss)** – 2 capsules upon waking and before bed - Tim uses the combination from "blue ice" - Can be 100mg cod liver oil e.g. from carlson super - Can be kerrygold vitamin - rich Irish butter - **Vitamin D3** – 3,000-5,000 IU upon waking and before bed (6,000-10,000 IU per day), until you reach blood levels of 55 ng/mL. - You can test your vitamin D levels at home: everlywell, zrt,.. - NOW liquid vitamin d3 - **Short ice baths and/or cold showers** – 10 minutes each, upon waking and right before bed - **Brazil nuts** – 3 nuts upon waking, 3 nuts before bed. (only if defficient in selenium) ### Protocol #2: Short-Term and Fun “Nitro Boost” - **20-24 Hours Prior to Sex** - Ferriss recommends consuming at least 800 milligrams of cholesterol with three hours of going to sleep, the night before you plan to have incredible sex. You can get 800 milligrams of cholesterol from at least four large whole eggs. What’s the point of doing this? Easy, testosterone is derived from cholesterol, which is mainly produced during sleep from between midnight and 4-6 in the morning. - **Night before** - ≥ 4 whole eggs - **Four Hours Prior to Sex** - 4 [Brazil nuts](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C59Q8WR/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brainflow0a-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07C59Q8WR&linkId=e1e2b06da31ca97d95084c88889e0c0f) - 20 raw almonds (You can get these at your local grocery store, or [pick them up in bulk online](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IRTIUY/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brainflow0a-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B004IRTIUY&linkId=ff37aec48d3c03e9cad0567e600cbda9)) - 2 capsules of [Blue Ice Butter Oil / Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OZHWX1I/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brainflow0a-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00OZHWX1I&linkId=cd4e8099ee2e3ac0207c800daf6d23cb) - Other avenues - Eat lots of grass fed beef + almonds