What not to eat...

In the last post I went over some foods that aid in T production but what about foods to avoid?
The types of foods you want to avoid are ones that contain Phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens, sometimes called "dietary estrogens", are a group of naturally occurring plant compounds that, because of their chemical similarity with estradiol have the ability to cause estrogenic effects.
Foods that contain phytoestrogens include soy foods such as tofu, soy milk, tempeh and soy protein powder. Soy has been used as a healthy alternative to animal protein for years but for us Transmen consuming soy can raise our estrogen levels therefore adversely affecting our goals.

Other foods containing phytoestrogens include:
Sunflower seeds, Pomegranate, Licorice, Red Clover, Yucca, Hops (Beer), Oregano, Turmeric, Yucca, Thyme, Goldenseal, Cumin, apples, beets, carrots and Fennel.
It isn’t just phytoestrogens to look out for.
Some other foods you want to avoid:

Alcohol- drinking alcohol can lead to lower testosterone levels by increasing the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Keep alcohol consumption to a couple of glasses a week. Try to stick to wine or liquor because beer also contains phytoestrogenic hops.

Caffeine- research has shown that excessive consumption of caffeine causes a significant loss of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B and C, calcium, iron, and zinc. It can also lead to “adrenal-fatigue” which can stop the adrenal gland from producing testosterone. Stick to a cup or two of coffee or tea a day and cut out the colas and energy drinks.

Sugar- Is in my opinion the main thing to try and cut out of your diet. It also over stimulates the adrenals like caffeine. Also eating too much fructose and glucose can turn off the gene that regulates the levels of active testosterone in the body according to studies by the Canadian Institute of Health and others. Excess sugar is easily converted to fat once in the body. A food may be advertised as low fat and still be loaded with sugar so make sure to read your labels! Quite a few a few of the sports drinks and nutritional sports bars are loaded with sugar.
When I discuss sugar I am primarily talking about “table” or white sugar. Sugar occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables so completely avoiding sugar would be impossible in a balanced diet. I also believe that deprivation=failure so saying “I will never have cake again!” is just setting you up for a birthday cake binge…Most people get most of their sugar in soda or other beverages so cutting soda down to once a week will really change your intake. Also for you coffee/tea drinkers out there (including myself) if you sweeten your beverage of choice using a little honey instead of sugar works and is a whole food (unlike those pink, blue, and yellow packets).
*A side note on honey… Local honey can help folks with seasonal allergies.

A non-diet related lifestyle change that you might want to consider...

Quit Smoking- This is something I am personally struggling with and I know it is difficult but smoking tobacco has been linked to severely lowering T levels as well as all the health problems it can cause.

OK now we have covered the basics...now for the fun part! We will get cooking in the next posts!

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