Testosterone study - what do you think?

[dreamcatcher]

Men who eat a pro-inflammatory diet - rich in refined sugar, refined carbohydrates and fats all combined- are 30% more likely to have low testosterone levels. Testosterone deficiency (defined as serum levels <300 ng / d * L ) can cause low libido, decreased energy, poor concentration, and depression. It is also associated with cardiovascular disease and obesity.

This study used the diet inflammatory index as a marker of a diet that promotes inflammation. The dietary inflammatory index summaraizes data from ~2,000 studies looking at which foods increase serum levels of pro-inflammatory markers and which do the opposite.

A diet high in both refined carbohydrates and fats - essentially a Standard American Diet - was associated with low testosterone independent of age, race, caloric intake, smoking status, education level, and BMI.

Obesity, on top of the pro-inflammatory diet, increases risk of low testosterone by 60%.

Low testosterone levels are also associated with higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the body.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are one of the top dietary sources that are anti-inflammatory. A randomized controlled trial showed that supplementation with ~1,000 of omega-3 from fish oil increased serum testosterone - but only in males. omega-3 fatty acids incorporate into the plasma membranes of Leydig cells increasing their responsiveness to luteinizing hormone and increasing testosterone synthesis.

Dietary supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid rich fish oil increases circulating levels of testosterone in overweight and obese men - PubMed

Pre-clinical evidence suggests that omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), in particular, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been shown to affect testosterone synthesis in males. This study is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial which determined the effect of a...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Runenight201]

Are the results that surprising? Eat a SAD and health declines in all aspects. Omega 3 is for sure controversial here, but eating a nutrient rich diet is sure to reverse any testosterone decline that came as a result of a poor diet.

 

[dreamcatcher]

Are the results that surprising? Eat a SAD and health declines in all aspects. Omega 3 is for sure controversial here, but eating a nutrient rich diet is sure to reverse any testosterone decline that came as a result of a poor diet.

Thanks for reading it! I don't think that the participants' diet had been changed during the study.

 

[dreamcatcher]

I'm not a fan of fish oil supplements. I just came across this study through a news feed and thought that the results were interesting. I've also seen something about Princess Anne in the headlines today and out of curiosity, I read about her age and diet. She's 72 with better hair than most women her age (density) and although she has some grey hair, at last 60% of her hair is still dark brown. Long story short, in one of the articles it was mentioned that she's fond of oily fish.

 

[dukesbobby777]

You can try to take a reputable fish oil supplement, yielding just 1g per day and see what happens. It's only a G. If you're low PUFA anyway, it's not going to cause too much damage.

Fond of oily fish doesn't tell us anything relevant lol

 

[Hans]

Men who eat a pro-inflammatory diet - rich in refined sugar, refined carbohydrates and fats all combined- are 30% more likely to have low testosterone levels. Testosterone deficiency (defined as serum levels <300 ng / d * L ) can cause low libido, decreased energy, poor concentration, and depression. It is also associated with cardiovascular disease and obesity.

This study used the diet inflammatory index as a marker of a diet that promotes inflammation. The dietary inflammatory index summaraizes data from ~2,000 studies looking at which foods increase serum levels of pro-inflammatory markers and which do the opposite.

A diet high in both refined carbohydrates and fats - essentially a Standard American Diet - was associated with low testosterone independent of age, race, caloric intake, smoking status, education level, and BMI.

Obesity, on top of the pro-inflammatory diet, increases risk of low testosterone by 60%.

Low testosterone levels are also associated with higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the body.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are one of the top dietary sources that are anti-inflammatory. A randomized controlled trial showed that supplementation with ~1,000 of omega-3 from fish oil increased serum testosterone - but only in males. omega-3 fatty acids incorporate into the plasma membranes of Leydig cells increasing their responsiveness to luteinizing hormone and increasing testosterone synthesis.

Dietary supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid rich fish oil increases circulating levels of testosterone in overweight and obese men - PubMed

Pre-clinical evidence suggests that omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), in particular, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been shown to affect testosterone synthesis in males. This study is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial which determined the effect of a...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Testosterone increased from 455 to 511ng/dl after 12 weeks with the fish oil. Not that big of a deal IMO. It would be much better to lose fat, improve insulin sensitivity, fix diet, etc., to increase T.

Instead of fish oil, I'd use coconut oil. All PUFAs can be a problem. Replacing unsaturated fat with another unstable unsaturated fat is not a good idea IMO. Coconut oil has also been shown to reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity in humans. And it's resistant to oxidation.

The following is an animal study, but it's worth it. They fed animals soy, olive or coconut oil and found that "The oxidative stress in testes was higher with the grapeseed oil-supplemented diet and decreased with the other diets in this order: soybean oil > olive oil > coconut oil. Animals fed with the olive oil and coconut oil diets showed the highest testicular levels of antioxidants in addition to significantly high levels of testosterone and 3beta- or 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes." (R)

I've written a big article on the problems with omega 3 here.

 

[dreamcatcher]

Testosterone increased from 455 to 511ng/dl after 12 weeks with the fish oil. Not that big of a deal IMO. It would be much better to lose fat, improve insulin sensitivity, fix diet, etc., to increase T.

Instead of fish oil, I'd use coconut oil. All PUFAs can be a problem. Replacing unsaturated fat with another unstable unsaturated fat is not a good idea IMO. Coconut oil has also been shown to reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity in humans. And it's resistant to oxidation.

The following is an animal study, but it's worth it. They fed animals soy, olive or coconut oil and found that "The oxidative stress in testes was higher with the grapeseed oil-supplemented diet and decreased with the other diets in this order: soybean oil > olive oil > coconut oil. Animals fed with the olive oil and coconut oil diets showed the highest testicular levels of antioxidants in addition to significantly high levels of testosterone and 3beta- or 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes." (R)

I've written a big article on the problems with omega 3 here.

Thanks so much for your time and input @Hans and the interesting link you provided! It's great to be able to read the information you shared.

 

[Runenight201]

Testosterone increased from 455 to 511ng/dl after 12 weeks with the fish oil. Not that big of a deal IMO. It would be much better to lose fat, improve insulin sensitivity, fix diet, etc., to increase T.

Instead of fish oil, I'd use coconut oil. All PUFAs can be a problem. Replacing unsaturated fat with another unstable unsaturated fat is not a good idea IMO. Coconut oil has also been shown to reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity in humans. And it's resistant to oxidation.

The following is an animal study, but it's worth it. They fed animals soy, olive or coconut oil and found that "The oxidative stress in testes was higher with the grapeseed oil-supplemented diet and decreased with the other diets in this order: soybean oil > olive oil > coconut oil. Animals fed with the olive oil and coconut oil diets showed the highest testicular levels of antioxidants in addition to significantly high levels of testosterone and 3beta- or 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes." (R)

I've written a big article on the problems with omega 3 here.

Imagine if all animal feed were replaced with coconut oil instead of seed oil how much healthier animal meat would be.

Im guessing coconut oil is more costly, and also doesn’t provide as much meat per animal compared to seed oils?

 

[Hans]

Imagine if all animal feed were replaced with coconut oil instead of seed oil how much healthier animal meat would be.

Im guessing coconut oil is more costly, and also doesn’t provide as much meat per animal compared to seed oils?

For sure. But I think farmers go for fatty meat, which is what seed oils might be better at accomplishing than coconut oil.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Imagine if all animal feed were replaced with coconut oil instead of seed oil how much healthier animal meat would be.

Im guessing coconut oil is more costly, and also doesn’t provide as much meat per animal compared to seed oils?

Not exactly. Coconut Oil is simply less subsidized that products like corn and soy, at least in the US.

Federal farm subsidies: What the data says

Here’s a breakdown of how the federal government has played a role in aiding the nation’s farms through subsidies such as direct payments, crop insurance, and loans.

usafacts.org

It might be less costly to farmer using it as feed. Say that coconut oil costs $10 per unit, and soybean oil costs $6 per unit to the farmer. Yeah, it looks cheaper. But if that unit of soybean oil got $6 in subsidies, and the coconut oil got zero, then the true cost of soybean oil is $12, and coconut oil $10.

 

[Don]

For sure. But I think farmers go for fatty meat, which is what seed oils might be better at accomplishing than coconut oil.

on a side tangent apparently all "normal" dairy cows in canada are feed palm oil

 

[Runenight201]

Not exactly. Coconut Oil is simply less subsidized that products like corn and soy, at least in the US.

Federal farm subsidies: What the data says

Here’s a breakdown of how the federal government has played a role in aiding the nation’s farms through subsidies such as direct payments, crop insurance, and loans.

usafacts.org

It might be less costly to farmer using it as feed. Say that coconut oil costs $10 per unit, and soybean oil costs $6 per unit to the farmer. Yeah, it looks cheaper. But if that unit of soybean oil got $6 in subsidies, and the coconut oil got zero, then the true cost of soybean oil is $12, and coconut oil $10.

So if the government gave subsidies to coconuts instead of soybean, it’d end up being cheaper. I’m assuming we subsidize corn and soybean because it’s what grows in America, so the government wants to profitze what the land can produce…

 

[Hans]

on a side tangent apparently all "normal" dairy cows in canada are feed palm oil

Better than the rest haha.