Worried about your testosterone levels? All is not lost! There are things you can do, including eating estrogen-blocking foods.
Low testosterone is common with aging in men, affecting nearly 40% of men ages 45 years and older.
Blocking estrogen production in your body can improve the balance of estrogen and testosterone, as hormone balance is the key to looking and feeling your best in your 30s, 40s, and beyond.
If you have high estrogen levels or low testosterone due to aging or other health issues, you might experience one or more of the following signs and symptoms:
- Fatigue
- Unwanted weight gain
- Increases in body fat
- Decreased lean muscle mass
- Erectile dysfunction or low sex drive
- Moodiness
- Loss of muscular strength
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Increased hair loss
- Infertility
- Breast development
Eating estrogen-blocking foods or testosterone-boosting foods helps relieve these and other symptoms associated with low testosterone to restore your physique, energy, and overall quality of life.
Find out how to boost testosterone levels as you age!
6 Estrogen Blocking Foods
Include the following estrogen-blocking foods in your diet regularly, to look and feel your best at any age:
Curcumin
Studies show that curcumin, a spice that's common throughout Asia and available as a dietary supplement, helps reduce estrogen production within your body.
Additional health benefits of curcumin based on numerous research studies include better management of metabolic syndrome, anxiety, arthritis, and high blood cholesterol.
Curcumin might also reduce exercise-induced muscle soreness and inflammation, and enhance muscle recovery.
Try adding curcumin to soups, salads, protein shakes, rice, roasted veggies, or egg dishes.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are also classified as estrogen-blocking foods, according to research studies.
Examples of mushrooms to include in your diet are portabella, shitake, baby button, and crimini mushrooms.
Add these or other mushrooms to soups, salads, sautéed veggie blends, or stir fry.
Eat mushrooms raw, grill them, or cook mushrooms in olive oil to keep your hormone levels balanced.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables contain estrogen-like components that appear to help block your body from converting testosterone to estrogen.
Examples of cruciferous veggies to try include:
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Bok choy
- Brussels sprouts
- Rutabagas
- Turnips
- Collard greens
Eat these veggies as a side dish or make a leafy green salad to help reduce your body’s estrogen production.
Saute cruciferous vegetables in olive oil, or top salads with an olive oil-based salad dressing to boost your intake of healthy fats and reduce your risk of low testosterone.
Flax Seeds
Flax seeds are a source of polyphenols, which studies show may inhibit estrogen metabolism.
However, because flax seeds are also a source of phytoestrogens, ask your doctor before supplementing with flax seeds products.
You can add flax to oatmeal, soups, salads, or protein smoothies.
Green Tea
Green tea is another source of estrogen-blocking polyphenols.
Studies show that additional health benefits associated with green tea include protection from neurodegenerative diseases.
Tea can give you a boost of energy and enhance weight loss, which is a natural way to reduce estrogen within your body.
Aim to drink green tea with breakfast, lunch, or between meals in place of sugary drinks.
Choose unsweetened green tea to reap optimal health benefits without added sugar or the risk of unwanted weight gain.
Grapes
Because resveratrol found in grapes and grape juice helps inhibit estrogen metabolism, it’s no surprise that studies show eating these foods and drinks may prevent hormone conversion to estrogen within your body.
Snack on grapes between meals, or eat them with Greek yogurt or in smoothies.
Other Ways to Reduce Estrogen and Boost Testosterone
Eating estrogen-blocking foods isn’t the only way to keep estrogen in check to reduce symptoms of low testosterone in men.
Consider the following lifestyle changes to optimize hormone balance:
Eat Testosterone Boosting Foods
Eating testosterone-boosting foods helps optimize testosterone production in your body.
Examples of foods to choose from include:
- Pomegranate
- Oysters
- Whey protein
- Coconut
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Nuts
- Eggs
- Avocados
Foods to steer clear of when boosting testosterone is your goal include vegetable oil, chocolate, cheese, and alcohol.
Avoid Food High in Estrogen
Eating foods high in estrogen may increase your risk for elevated estrogen levels, so steer clear of them if you suffer from hormone imbalance.
Examples include:
- Red meat
- Milk
- Alcohol
- Legumes
- Grains
Soy foods may reduce estrogen levels within your body, as they contain estrogen-like phytoestrogens that might diminish your body's natural estrogen production.
However, studies show that soy foods can increase or decrease estrogen in your body, depending on the person and situation.
Examples of foods rich in soy include soy protein powder, soy milk, soy yogurt, tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy nuts, and miso.
Steer clear of alcohol, or limit it whenever possible, to keep estrogen in check and optimize your overall health.
Lose Weight If You're Overweight
Studies show that weight loss is associated with lower levels of circulating estrogen in the human body.
If you weigh more than you'd like to, try the following weight loss tips:
- Drink about two cups of water before each meal
- Replace sugary drinks with water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, or sparkling water
- Avoid diet foods and drinks sweetened with artificial sugars
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night
- Keep stress levels low
- Fill your plate half full with non-starchy vegetables
- Fill one-fourth of each plate with protein foods
- Fill one-fourth of each plate with corn, peas, potatoes, or other starches
- Work out most days of the week and keep your body moving every day
- Join an organized weight loss program for men
See Your Doctor Regularly
The best way to ensure testosterone and estrogen levels stay within a healthy range is to see your doctor regularly.
Doing so allows your provider to monitor hormone levels using blood tests, so you know if your current diet, exercise, and supplement regimen are working.
While more common in women, low thyroid levels can cause unwanted weight gain, hair thinning, and fatigue in men.
Your doctor might check thyroid hormone or vitamin and mineral levels in addition to female and male sex hormones, to keep you healthier overall and eliminate undesirable side effects.
Try Hormone Therapy for Men
If testosterone levels are still low or your estrogen is high after eating estrogen-blocking foods and making changes to your everyday routine, your doctor might recommend hormone therapy to get your levels back on track.
They may suggest taking pills, using a skin patch, or trying testosterone injections, subdermal implants, creams, or gels.
The right choice for you is based on how unbalanced your hormone levels are, and your preferences.
You must undergo routine blood tests and check-ups with your doctor to ensure hormone therapy is working as it's supposed to.
Take Testosterone Boosting Supplements
Taking testosterone boosting supplements may increase testosterone production within your body naturally.
Examples of supplements to try include:
- Vitamin D
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Creatine Monohydrate
- DHEA
Check in with your doctor before taking any type of dietary supplement, especially if you have low testosterone or high estrogen levels.
They can let you know if your supplements interact with certain medications, and which dosage is right for you.
The Natural Testosterone Booster Guys 40+ Are Using For More Energy, Drive, & Results
After age 30, your Testosterone levels start declining. Add in some stress and a “less than perfect” diet… everything gets worse fast. You feel tired all the time. It’s hard to lose fat. It feels like you lost your edge. That’s the sad story that happens to most guys 40+. But now, it doesn’t have to be that way for you….
Increase Aerobic Exercise During Workouts
Studies show that aerobic, or cardiovascular, exercise can increase testosterone levels within your body naturally and improve erectile dysfunction in men.
Aim to get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily.
Try jogging, walking uphill, swimming, stair climbing, using an elliptical machine, rowing, playing basketball, or cycling.
Stay active outdoors, play with your kids, and do yard work to keep your body moving all throughout the day.
Combine strength training with aerobic workouts to enhance fat-burning.
Work in high-intensity interval training on certain days each week to help you stay lean.
Strength Train Regularly
Like cardiovascular exercise, strength training is one of the best ways to boost your body's natural testosterone levels.
Make sure to work each major muscle group at least twice weekly.
Try traditional weightlifting routines, circuit training, or consider using your own body weight as resistance.
No gym membership? No problem!
Purchase a few dumbbell weights and a weight bench to exercise from the comfort of home.
Get at Least 7 Hours of Sleep
Sleep helps improve overall hormone balance in men and can optimize your quality of life.
To maximize testosterone levels within your body, aim to get at least seven hours of sleep every night.
Set a regular bedtime, sleep in a quiet dark room, keep your bedroom temperature cool at night, and avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, or consuming caffeine right before bed.
See your doctor if you have difficulty getting or staying asleep, and avoid going to bed hungry or very full.
Use a white noise machine if light noises wake you up, and install sun-blocking curtains or blinds in your bedroom.
Be Cautions about Certain Supplements
If you take supplements marketed as testosterone boosters, you can't be entirely sure what you're putting into your body.
Why? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't tightly regulate such supplements.
Ask your doctor before trying testosterone-boosting supplements, especially if you're undergoing hormone therapy for hormone imbalance, to find products that are safe and effective.
Here’s a FREE Meal Plan & Workout For Busy Men 40+
We’ll show you exactly what to eat & how to exercise to reignite your metabolism in your 40’s, 50’s & 60’s.
Sample Estrogen Blocking Meal Plan
The best way to plan healthy meals and optimize hormone balance is to use the perfect plate method when creating your menus.
A sample healthy meal plan for men that contains estrogen-blocking foods and testosterone-boosting foods includes:
Breakfast
- Fill half your plate with mushrooms or Brussels sprouts sauteed in extra virgin olive oil
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with eggs mixed with curcumin
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with roasted potatoes
- Unsweetened green tea
Snack
- Greek yogurt topped with flax seeds or nuts and grapes
Lunch
- Fill half your plate with leafy green vegetables
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with grilled chicken
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with quinoa, sweet potatoes, corn, or peas
- Sunflower seeds, nuts, avocados, or olive oil-based dressings
- Unsweetened green tea
Snack
- A whey protein shake or bar with pomegranate
Dinner
- Fill half your plate with broccoli or cauliflower
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with fish or seafood
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with corn, sweet potatoes, or squash
- Extra virgin olive oil
Snack (optional)
- Low-fat cottage cheese or a why protein shake mixed with flax seeds, fruit, or nuts
Use curcumin or garlic to flavor foods whenever possible. Cook meals using extra virgin olive oil and buy free-range, grass-fed, organic meats if you can.
Here’s How Busy Fathers Over 40 Are Finally Burning Stubborn Belly Fat & Getting Healthy Without Restrictive Diets or Time-Consuming Workouts
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*Please know that weight loss results and health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on estrogen-blocking foods.
