There are a wide number of things that can lead to low testosterone levels, so taking the time to learn what these are and then what you can do to make sure they aren’t influencing you will be pivotal to overcoming this problem.  As you read through this, you’ll likely come to realize that when you read something that causes low testosterone, this gives you clues as to what you should do to avoid low testosterone in the first place – or reverse the signs if it is currently present.

All it takes in some cases are a few simple adjustments to get your body running back normally again and producing this powerful muscle building hormone.  So let’s get started and go over all the things that can cause low testosterone.

Jump To A Cause

#1:  Chronic Dieting
#2:  Insufficient Dietary Fat
#3:  Alcohol Intake
#4:  Lack Of Zinc
#5:  Injury To The Testicles
#6:  Obesity / Diabetes
#7:  Chronic Liver or Kidney Disease
#8:  Chronic Stress
#9:  Lack Of Sleep
#10:  Lack Of Orgasmic Release
#11:  Lack Of Exercise

1.) Chronic Dieting

The very first thing that can quickly sap testosterone levels in a hurry is chronic dieting. Since many of you who are reading this are looking to pack on lean muscle mass, this may not apply to you as you will be using a higher calorie intake in order to go after that goal.

However, some of you reading this will be more concerned with losing body fat and as such, will have been using a very low calorie diet to try and accomplish this.  If you have been using a low calorie diet for as long as you can remember, make no mistake about it…

This will be causing your testosterone levels to be lower than they should.

Dieting basically dampens all body functions including testosterone release as well as a slow metabolic rate.  So now you basically have two factors working against you in terms of getting lean and slashing body fat.  Clearly this isn’t going to place you in a favorable position by any means.

This is why it’s important, if you are aiming to get lean, that you periodically implement diet breaks throughout the program.  Every week or two, you should take a day and eat at maintenance levels, which can help to restore all the hormones in the body, including testosterone, as well as others such as Leptin, which are critical for the fat burning process to take place.

The body is not going to particularly like being on a low calorie intake and if you stay far too low for too long, you will pay the price.  So step number one is getting off ultra low calorie diets for a while to allow your testosterone levels to normalize.

Keep in mind that the very lowest calorie intake a man should ever use is around 1700- 2000 calories for fat loss purposes.  Most men will have maintenance calories between 2500-3000 calories per day, so this is where you should aim to be right now while attempting to fix your hormonal levels.

2.) Insufficient Dietary Fat

Along with too low of a calorie intake, another problem that could lead to lack of testosterone in the body is not taking in sufficient amounts of dietary fat.  Dietary fat is highly correlated with the development of the steroidal hormones (testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone), so when levels are too low in your diet, you start to see declines in these hormones being produced.

This is especially the case with saturated fat as well – which unfortunately many men are taking significant steps to reduce because they are worried about heart disease and of the like.  While you definitely do not want to be feasting on bacon, fatty cuts of beef, and other foods very rich in saturated fats, you don’t want to completely eliminate saturated fat either.

Saturated should make up around 15% of your total dietary fat intake and your total dietary fat intake should be around 25-40% of your diet plan, depending on the particular diet you’re using (some people perform better on a diet slightly higher in fats and lower in carbs).  As a raw number, dietary fat should be set at around 0.35 grams per pound of body weight at minimum. Many people will go up higher than this, but this is the lowest you should take dietary fat if you hope to sustain healthy testosterone levels.

Related Article:  63 Foods That Boost Testosterone Naturally

3.) Alcohol Intake

The next factor that can cause testosterone to decline is too much alcohol. If you’re out drinking alcohol every Friday and Saturday night, you’re likely not only suffering from low testosterone levels, but you’ll also be suffering from excess abdominal fat as well.

No matter how you slice it, alcohol is not good for the male body. It causes your testosterone level to decrease.  It increases your chances you pack on body fat. It can lead to liver problems.  It puts the brakes on all fat burning taking place. And it decreases your recovery from exercise.  Does that sound like something you want happening?

Clearly not, which is why you must be avoiding alcohol as best as possible. While the odd drink here and there won’t hurt too much, if you’re out getting rowdy every
weekend, you are not going to be seeing the results that you had hoped for with your testosterone boosting program.

4.) Lack Of Zinc

Lack of the mineral zinc can also cause you to suffer from low testosterone. Zinc is going to be important for the synthesis of this hormone and every time you have an orgasm, you’ll actually release a high dose of zinc into the blood stream, so this can put you at a deficiency over time if you aren’t replenishing your store with zinc-rich foods or supplements.

This is also why many men do very well supplementing with ZMA supplements, which help to fix this deficiency, improve sleep, and boost testosterone levels.
Natural food sources that are rich in zinc include oysters, crab, lobster, baked beans, yogurt, cashews, chickpeas, milk, as well as kidney beans and chicken breast.

You can also find a decent amount of Zinc in many over the counter testosterone boosters, including Testofuel.

5.) Injury To The Testicles

While this won’t be applicable for most men, if you did suffer from an injury of any sort to the testicles, this could be what’s at the heart of your low testosterone levels.
It’s worth noting for the simple fact that if you know you did experience a hit of some sort to this area, this is extra reason to go get it checked out as that may alone be what’s causing the issue.

6.) Obesity/Diabetes

If you’re someone who is suffering from a body weight problem, this could be what’s causing lower levels of testosterone to develop.  Those who are over fat (not just overweight with extra muscle mass, but overweight with extra fat mass) will not naturally produce as much testosterone as they should, so this can influence your health in a number of ways.

If diabetes is also occurring because of all the fat mass you have packed onto your frame, this too could definitely be leading to issues.  Diabetes and being overweight typically do go hand in hand, so often they will have dual impacts leading to low testosterone levels.

Men who start taking steps to shed excess body fat often find their testosterone levels naturally increase, which is a great thing because with this increase comes an easier time staying lean from then onwards as well.  It’s a self-perpetuating cycle for the better.

7.) Chronic Liver Or Kidney Diseases

If you happen to be suffering from any sort of chronic liver or kidney disease, this can be causing low testosterone levels as well.  If you are currently suffering, chances are good that your doctor has likely discussed the potential side effects with you and you may be very well aware that this is what is at the root of the cause.

If you have not been diagnosed with liver or kidney disease however and are starting to see signs of low testosterone as well as symptoms of either liver or kidney disease, that is a very good sign that it’s time to go for numerous tests.  This way you can find out what’s all at place here and take immediate action to defend against these potentially life-threatening conditions.

When it comes to liver and kidney disease, you don’t want to be messing around. Proper medical treatment must be sought out.

Related Article:  Do Home Testosterone Kits REALLY Work?  Find out here.

8.) Chronic Stress

The next factor that can have a significant influence over your natural testosterone release is chronic stress.  If you are highly stressed out on a day to day basis, this is going to have numerous health implications far beyond just low testosterone levels.

High levels of stress will put you at an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, depression, and on and on it goes.  Then add to this that it will also decrease testosterone and further cause all the negative impacts we talked about there and you can easily see why this is such the problem that it is.

Practicing good stress management techniques will be a must.  They will improve your health, enhance your mindset, and also help to increase your testosterone concentration in the body.  In some cases, stress management techniques are not enough however and what you’ll really need to do is find a way to reduce whatever is stressing you out in your life entirely.

This may mean ending relationships that cause stress, getting control over your finances, finding a new career position that leads to less stress overall, or whatever else you feel like you need to do to better position yourself to defend against stress.  Underestimating the influence that stress has on you is one of the most vital mistakes you could be making, so be absolutely sure that you are not committing this fatal crime.

9.) Lack Of Sleep

The next problem we come to that can lead to low testosterone levels is an overall lack of sleep.  We already mentioned the fact that a good amount of testosterone will be released during the overnight hours along with growth hormone (which is another powerful muscle building hormone in the body that is not to be forgotten), but in addition to that, sleep is also going to impact your metabolism as well as the overall state of the body.

When you aren’t sleeping enough, you will suffer from a lower level of immunity, poor recovery from your workout sessions, increased cortisol (which prompts muscle mass loss and belly fat storage), as well as the hormonal shift that leads to low testosterone.

So as you can see, sleep is something that will have a big influence on not only the testosterone-muscle building connection, but many other connections as well.
Again, not something to be overlooking.

You should be aiming to get at least 7 hours of sleep on a regular basis, if not 8 or 9 if you feel like you need it.

10.) Lack Of Orgasmic Release

Now, we mentioned earlier how each time that you have an ejaculation, you will lose some zinc from the body.  This much is true and for that reason, in a way, orgasmic release can have a negative impact on testosterone if zinc is not replaced.  But if zinc is, this is going to actually have beneficial effects.

Orgasms will bring about an increase in testosterone overall, which is one reason why you may tend to find that the more sex you have, the more sex you want.  Likewise, if you for whatever reason you are not having sex and are not getting this release, you will not desire it nearly as strongly as you were before.

So getting horizontal on a regular basis, as much as you may not feel like it initially due to your low libido levels from low testosterone, can assist with improving the situation.

Do what it takes to get into the mood and you should find that it becomes easier and easier from then onward to continue to be in the mood.

11.) Lack Of Exercise

Finally, lack of exercise is the last thing that can lead to low testosterone levels. This said however, it’s lack of proper exercise that does it.  Being sedentary is very bad for overall testosterone release, but in addition to that, performing hours and hours of aerobics training (think long distance running) is also going to have a negative influence on your overall testosterone levels, so that’s something that you’ll also want to stay away from.

It’s strength training and interval sprint training, which we’ll go into more details on in a second, that will have the greater and more significant influence on your testosterone release.

So there you have all the main reasons why you may be suffering from low testosterone levels. Multiple things may be at work, so it’s up to you to assess your lifestyle and decide whether these are actually impacting you or not.

Like what you’re reading here?  Then sign up for our Free “How To Boost Testosterone Naturally” Ebook.  It’s packed with tons of information on helping to restore your bodies natural testosterone production, and get you back to feeling like you were in your 20’s again!