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In case you lose your attention in the next 30 seconds, here’s the take-home message: Men who value their balls shouldn’t eat too much soy. I understand?
The other day, while killing some time at my gym, I found myself looking at the ingredients of a well-known brand of protein powder that the juice bar uses for all of their shakes and smoothies. To my surprise, soy protein was listed as one of the ingredients. I asked the company that made this protein how much soy was in each serving, but was told details of their ‘proprietary formula’ could not be disclosed. Now, soy protein is extremely cheap (much cheaper than whey, for example, which is pretty cheap in itself), so the ‘Our formula is a secret’ stance = We’re making tons of money with this product and we don’t want you or our competitors to know how much.
However, aside from having a lower amino acid profile compared to just about every other protein I can think of (perhaps apart from pea protein!), the main problem for men who eat soy is that several studies like this one have been shown to lower testosterone levels (This article from a weightlifting site has a more detailed article on the effects and lists several supporting studies.) If you value your abilities as a man (whether on the sports field, in the boardroom, or in the bedroom), you’ll want to take note of this. I’m not saying that a little miso soup with your sushi or a serving of soy protein in your shake will give you the hormone levels of Mr Muscle, but what I’m saying is that if you consider the estrogenic world you live in and how has been shown to affect your hormone levels (consider the estrogens in the tap water you drink, thanks ladies!, the alcohol you also drink, and the food you eat), men may want to avoid other easily avoidable things that still reduce plus testosterone.
And for the girls who, for obvious reasons, may not be worried about this article, instead of spending your money on a soy protein that has a poor amino acid profile, buy a suitable whey or casein protein. Ultimately, you’re getting a lot more for your money.
What are the symptoms of low testosterone?
Without going into excruciating detail, all men understand that as they get older, virility-wise, they won’t be the “man” they were when they were older. And despite what progressive parts of the medical community may say, this is not only normal, it’s a good thing. The flip side of less testosterone and aggression is greater tolerance and empathy with the world and those around you. It’s one of the reasons so many men only seem to pick up the slack (whether in terms of business or relationship success) until they reach middle age.
Having said that, abnormally low levels of testosterone outside of old age are a bad thing that can and should be treated. Symptoms include
- loss of libido (really? Who would have thought!),
- reduced energy and increased fatigue,
- loss of athletic performance
- difficulty staying awake, especially at night
- loss of enjoyment of life and perhaps depression
- increased interest in buying a red sports car (not yet scientifically proven)
What can you do about it?
Assuming you don’t have abnormally low levels of testosterone (in which case your healthcare professional will advise you on the appropriate form of hormone replacement therapy) for those with normal or low levels, or for those men who just want to maximize what they have, In addition to minimizing soy consumption in your diet, I suggest the following:
- Don’t buy bottled water in plastic bottles, choose glass. Plastics can release estrogenic compounds into the water over time.
- For the same reasons, NEVER microwave food in plastic containers.
- If you drink, drink spirits or wine, not beer.
- Make sure you eat enough healthy fats in your diet; it should be a combination of saturated fats from things like avocados, steaks, eggs, and butter, and essential fatty acids from things like fish or fish oil supplements. If you eat like a bird, you will look like a bird. (You can take that however you want to interpret it!)
- Do heavy compound lifting weight training at least once a week. (A few decent sets of a compound lift (squats, bench press, deadlifts, pullups, etc.) stimulate the endocrine system to cause hormone release, albeit temporarily, much more than dozens of sets of bicep curls, without matter how much you burn, you get.
- Reduce the amount of cardio you do, unless you’re an athlete training for an event, you really don’t need that much for overall health and body composition. (Extreme amounts of cardio training can greatly reduce testosterone levels; in a study of US Ranger soldiers, the extreme exercise and low food intake of their regimen resulted in most soldiers having the hormonal profile of castrated men).
- After all of this, consider supplementing with herbs like tribulus terris, which can increase testosterone levels.
Your reward for reaching the end
And finally, gentlemen, since summer is finally here, the next time your partner catches you looking where you shouldn’t be, blame the sun and your hormones, as sunlight also increases testosterone levels.