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Despite the anti-fat message we receive everywhere, research is showing that diets too low in dietary fat are actually harmful to healthy testosterone levels. "Our studies show that by limiting fat to only 10 percent or less of your total kilojoules, you can significantly reduce your testosterone levels," says kinesiology researcher Dr William Kraemer. In fact, many of the classic dietary commandments - restrict your overall kilojoules, eat a lot of roughage, avoid animal flesh - are a virtual recipe for lowering testosterone.
"We've observed a direct relationship between kilojoule intake and testosterone level," says researcher in reproductive physiology and exercise Dr David Cumming. "Perhaps the ideal diet to drop your testosterone is high fibre and vegetarianism - and the ideal way to raise it is the red-meat approach."
Note that this is not an endorsement for Atkins or any of the other carbophobic fad diets, but rather, it's an admonition to avoid going to nutritional extremes. To that end, keep your consumption of kilojoules from fat - preferably in the form of monounsaturates and omega-3s - up around 35 to 40 percent, the amount research shows to be optimal for robust T levels. Also, aim to derive at least 35 percent of your kilojoules from protein, with much of it from lean red meat, Cumming suggests; Dutch research shows that athletes had higher testosterone levels when eating meat-based protein, compared with other sources, such as dairy and eggs. (As for the recent Journal of the American Medical Association study linking red meat to an increased risk of colon cancer, the researchers didn't differentiate between steak and fast-food burgers, which means saturated fat, not meat per se, may be the key.)