3 Reasons Why Carbs Kill Testosterone

Why Carbs Kill Testosterone

Reason #1: Carbs Make You Fat

We've already discussed how evil carbs are in this article. Just to recap, carbs result in acute and chronically raised levels of insulin. Insulin is the chief fat-storing hormone in the body. Another (perhaps more important) role of insulin that few people know about is that it's also a powerful inhibitor of fat breakdown. Even if you restrict your calories and do lots of exercise so you are burning more calories than you are consuming, as long as your insulin levels are raised, your body will not be able to break down fat. Because insulin inhibits the very enzyme your body needs to break down fat – hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), and the enzyme your body needs to burn fat – CPT-1.

So carbs indirectly increase your estrogen levels and decrease your testosterone levels by making you fat and keeping you fat. We know that fat both stores estrogen and contains the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen. Studies have found that obese individuals have higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone.

But one thing I haven't mentioned yet is that insulin resistance has a direct effect on lowering the levels of the manly hormone testosterone…

Reason #2: Insulin Resistance Kills Tesotsterone

Multiple studies have demonstrated that insulin resistance is associated with low testosterone levels in men. A 2005 study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that insulin resistance actually directly inhibits the Leydig cells in your testes from producing testosterone.

Reason #3: Sugar Directly Kills Testosterone

Insulin resistance is a chronic condition that develops over time on a high carbohydrate diet. But more recently in the 91st Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society in Washington D.C. in 2009, researchers presented findings that suggest it isn't just long-term insulin resistance that causes low testosterone, but that sugar directly reduces testosterone levels almost immediately after consumption.

In the study, they found that downing a sugary drink can decrease your testosterone levels by up to 25%! Over 95% of the men in the study experienced lower testosterone levels that lasted for hours after a 75 gram glucose drink. It didn't matter whether the men had excellent insulin sensitivity, had insulin resistance or full-on diabetes, the results were the same regardless.

So as I've already discussed, consider avoiding all carbs (except for fruits and vegetables, which are very micronutrient dense), especially refined carbs like white rice, white pasta, white spaghetti, cakes, biscuits, crackers, chocolate, cereals, donuts etc.

How To Boost Testosterone Naturally

Avoiding carbs is one way to keep those testosterone levels up throughout the day. There are literally hundreds of different natural methods you can use to help boost your testosterone levels. What I've done is gone through all of the research and come up with the 4 of most powerful ways to boost testosterone naturally. You can discover these testosterone boosting secrets here:

https://chestsculpting.com/the-4-best-ways-to-boost-testosterone-naturally/

19 thoughts on “3 Reasons Why Carbs Kill Testosterone”

  1. Hey Garry, it’s Jesse Lescarbeau.

    I am completely bought in on your program, my fitness level is at an all-time high at 37 years old. I am in Peak physical condition and my diet is completely dialed in and tight. ALL THANKS TO YOU, STEVE REEVES, AND VINCE GIRONDA!

    I would just like to know about potatoes and rice in my diet. I have completely omitted grains and sugar with unbelievable results. I have cut way down on potatoes and rice, but want to know if I should omit them as well ….. please email me back with your thoughts and suggestions,and thank you so much for all of your help and emails.

    Big Fan, Jesse

    Reply
    • Hey Jesse, it’s great to hear about your good results on my program.

      Removing grains is probably the best thing you can do. You might not see the results immediately, but over a few weeks/months, your body will start to transform. Unfortunately, both potatoes and rice are very carbohydrate dense, and should be avoided. Potatoes are the lesser of the two evils, but they are still carb-dense and should be avoided.

      Hope that helps,
      Garry

      P.S. I’ve sent you a more detailed reply via email.

      Reply
  2. Hello Garry.  
    I recently read your program and have a few questions.   Are beans (kidney) considered carbs I can’t  eat.  Also is raw organic honey also off the good things to eat as well.  I know pure organic honey has great  benefits  but if it’s affecting me negatively I would like to know.  
    Thank you
    Jason. 

    Reply
    • Hi Jason

      Beans are not the worst foods you can eat. They have some very good nutritional benefits, but the main problem is they are very carbohydrate dense. It would be best to avoid them entirely. But if beans are important to you, then I suggest you simply limit your intake. I for example, grew up eating baked beans for breakfast. I used to have this almost every morning for breakfast. Nowadays, I limit my baked beans consumption to weekends only :p.

      Raw organic natural honey is great, excellent for your health. But do remember that it still causes an insulin spike. If you are trying to reduce body fat, lose man boobs, and keep your testosterone levels high, then you should limit your intake.

      Reply
  3. Hi Garry,
    Just a doubt I.e. are you trying to say that we should avoid any types of carbs. Even good carbs like wholemeal bread brown rice quiona etc.
     
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Who said these were “good” carbs? This is conventional wisdom talking. The brown wholemeal variety may be better than the refined, white variety, but a grain is a grain. All grain-based carbs are to be avoided. The only real allowed carbs are fruits and vegetables, with fruit in moderation.

      Reply
    • Hi Hari

      I recommend anywhere form 50-100 grams of carbs a day. You likely will get tired at first, but then your body will get better at burning fat for energy – fat is broken down into ketones, which can be used for energy. After this starts to happen, you will easily feel more energized than you ever did before on a moderate/high carb diet.

      Reply
  4. I understand, but isnt it impossible to avoid carbs? THey are everywhere. For instance, I may avoid rice or bread, but milk will have it. And so on. Wouldn't it be hard, espeically for a vegetarian, to go low carb? Are there any sample diets?

    Reply
    • Hi Hari. You don’t avoid ALL carbs. You avoid mostly sugars and grain-based carbs like rice and flour-based foods like pasta, cakes, biscuits, etc. Milk is best avoided, not because of the sugar content, but for the reasons discussed here. Carbs in fruits and vegetables are allowed, because of their high micronutrient content. The complex carbs in vegetables, which are loaded with fiber, do not have the same insulinogenic response that grain-based carbs do. As a vegetarian, you can eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and eggs. A lot of vegetarians have man boobs because they consume too much pasta, too much rice, and too much dairy.

      Reply
  5. Garry, I want to first off thank you for all of the information that you have put out on the subject of getting rid of man boobs. It has personally helped me alot. I can understand that you say that eating carbs lowers testosterone indirectly, due to the fact that it triggers a large release of insulin. Which you say is ‘the chief fat storing hormone’. But supose you were already skinny. Like me I’m 5 10 and 65kg do you think eating carbs like brown whole grain rice is a problem for some one like me.

    Reply
    • Hi Fulan. Yes. Skinny or not, you are still prone to hormonal imbalances. Rice being a grain, is still bad for you. By eating low carb, you are eating in accordance to the expectation of your genes. When you eat, exercise, and live the way your genes were designed to optimally respond to, then you will lose weight if you are overweight, you will gain weight if you are underweight, and you will lose your man boobs whether you are underweight or overweight.

      Reply
  6. Hey garry!

    Amazing articles, lost, 4 pounds just in a week but i would really like to know about breakfast recipes cause i eat only eggs and its started to get hard for me to continue eating them everyday

    Thanks

    Reply
    • I’ll get to doing some breakfast ideas in the near future. Meanwhile, here’s an idea: stop treating breakfast like a different type of meal from lunch and dinner. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to eat meat and fish during breakfast, just keep the flavors and the spices a tad more mild. You can have fish dowsed in traditionally brewed soy sauce, with a salad side.

      Reply
  7. I guess this is why studies with high carb diets always have higher levels of anabolic hormones than low carb, right?

    You do know that anytime you take in any food, your testosterone drops temporarily, which is why hormone tests are done fasted.

    This article is horrible…you should not be spreading this misinformation. Every single point is a gross oversimplification and following this advice will lower testosterone. You can have high testosterone on a keto/low carb diet, but it will not work for everybody.

    Reply
  8. I’m in the army what does good daily low carb dieting looks like. I want less body fat more energy but how not to get stagnated by a low carb diet.

    Reply
    • Hi Trey

      Low carb diets initially result in low energy, but once your body adapts and gets good at burning fat for fuel, you’ll find you have MORE energy on a low carb diet than on a normal high carb diet.

      Reply

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