Does sugar drop your testosterone?

We need to talk about this.

At least half of the blood test I review for men show low testosterone levels, including healthy athletes.

In fact, back in 2016 I wrote an article about the alarming levels of low testosterone.

Yes, testosterone is important for sexual function, but (just like all hormones) it’s also a critical hormone for overall health.

Low testosterone doesn’t just lead to loss of libido and muscle mass.

It also leads to increased risk of bone fractures (weaker bones), increased risk of depression, and increased risk of heart disease.

Men with elevated blood sugar levels (e.g. fasting glucose above 100mg/dl) are at a significantly higher risk of testosterone deficiency.

This new study looked at the impact of ingesting glucose on testosterone levels in healthy men.

They took a group of healthy men ranging in age from 19 to 74 and had them consume 75g of glucose.

On average, testosterone levels dropped by 25% across the board, and more alarmingly, levels remained low even 2 hours afterwards.

In fact, many of the men suffered a drop of more than 45%!

This demonstrates that consumption of a significant amount of simple sugars (e.g. glucose) significantly drops your testosterone levels.

The subjects in the study didn’t consume the glucose and go for a run or lifted weights. So I would guess that the results would have been different had the men been consuming glucose prior to a hard training session.

Contrary to what the marketing campaigns may lead you to believe, there are NO SUPPLEMENTS that are proven to raise testosterone levels.

Some supplements (e.g. Zinc, Boron) are important for overall health and help a little with testosterone, but they can’t magically raise it.

Controlling your blood sugar, your bodyfat levels and your level of inflammation remain the best strategies to maintaining a healthy level of testosterone.

Lifting heavy weights has also been proven through numerous studies to help raise / maintain healthy testosterone levels.

This is not something to take lightly, as low testosterone is a growing trend with significant health consequences.