As men over 40 keeping our natural testosterone levels as high as possible for as long as possible is very important.
Testosterone is responsible for a whole host of important chemical processes in the body including developing and maintaining lean muscle and keeping body fat at bay.
Thankfully through the nutrition and training information I’m sharing with you on my website I’ll arm you with the power to elevate testosterone and keep you building muscle and burning fat well into your 50’s, 60’s and beyond.
But as we’re trying to elevate our diminishing testosterone levels, we’re also under attack from environmental factors and foods that cause our bodies to produce estrogen, the female hormone that’s quite literally feminising men.
In this post I’m going to share foods that you should avoid if you want to stay lean, stay strong and keep your testosterone as high as possible.
A lot of these foods interfere with your hormone balance, can lead to issues such as male infertility, chronic fatigue and even cancers.
Soy
Soy is a “Phytoestrogen” and if we break that word up “Phyto” simply means plant producing estrogens that we want to avoid.
Phytoestrogens are known as dietary estrogens because they’re not created by the human endocrine system, they can only be ingested or consumed.
Soy is known as the most “Phytoestrogen” rich plant around in the western diet. Although soy is considered as a super food and does have health benefits, the bottom line is it raises estrogen levels and something you want to avoid.
Countless studies have shown that eating soy-based products creates an overload of estrogen in the body, not something us men over 40 want with an already declining hormonal system.
Food additives
Over the years studies have been done to uncover hundreds of food additives with estrogenic effects. A popular additive named “4-hexylresorcinol” used to prevent the discoloration and shelf life of various foods such as fish has many estrogenic effects.
“Propyl gallate” is another popular preservative used to stop fats and oils from going rancid that has estrogenic effects.
“Propyl gallate” is not only estrogenic but it’s on the centre for science in the public “do not eat” list. It most commonly hides in the following foods:
- Meat products
- Vegetable oils
- Potato sticks
- Chicken soup base
- Chewing gum
Preservatives in foods are contributing to lowering testosterone in men, not great news if you’re trying to lose fat and get in good shape.
Conventional meat and dairy
While I’m not a vegetarian and advocate getting some of your protein sources from lean cuts of meat, it’s also important to note that modern farming methods, such as hormone and antibiotic use all contribute to increased estrogens that ultimately end up in us.
Anywhere from 60% to 80% of estrogen’s in the typical western diet come from milk and other dairy products, resulting in a higher rate of testicular and prostate cancer.
A new study has proved that virtually all food from animals contains 17b-estradoil and its metabolites to some extent, so some exposure to estrogens is virtually impossible in a non-vegetarian diet.
Alcohol
While low to medium alcohol consumption might be beneficial for heart disease, it’s a lot more complicated when it comes to increasing estrogen’s and cancer risk.
Common plants that are used to create alcohol contain estrogen-like substances, dozens of studies have shown links to symptoms of feminization and testicular problems in men who drink heavily.
Beer, wine and bourbon consumption have been proven to increase estrogen activity in human studies.
Bottled Water
It’s very tempting to go for bottled water, but it can be worse than tap water for increasing estrogen in the body.
The data has shown that 61% of bottled water samples have significant estrogenic properties when tested which is up to three times higher than water that’s packaged in glass bottles.
Environmental Estrogens
Household chemicals with estrogen like effects include plasticizers such as BPA which can act like estrogen in the body.
Exposure to BPA’s include the following hiding spots:
- Canned foods and drinks
- Cash register receipts
Water bottles
While it’s not easy to avoid all these all of the time, it’s better that you’re aware of what to look out for.
How to avoid high estrogen foods
As men over 40 there are ways we can drastically reduce the amount of estrogen compounds that we eat and absorb.
To start to balance the hormones naturally here are some tips to reduce estrogen’s in the body. Eat a variety of cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens and Brussel sprouts.
“Calcium d-glucarate” reduces total estrogen levels and is found in citrus fruits and cucumber, pumpkins and squashes.
Boost testosterone using compound free weights to support testosterone production and eliminate processed foods.
Use a properly structured cardio program to get your body fat down to a healthy level. Having excess visceral fat manufactures more estrogen in your body.
- Choose filtered water over bottled water and avoid using plastics as much as possible
- Use a stainless steel or glass water bottle
- Choose fresh foods instead of using canned foods
- Choose grass fed organic meats whenever possible
- Eat non-GMO foods as often as possible especially when it comes to corn and soy containing foods
- Use healthy oils such as olive oil, avocado and coconut oil instead of vegetable oils
- Choose wild fish like pacific sardines or wild caught Alaskan tuna instead of shellfish
- Cut down on too many dairy products
To your success!