Okay, I just had a major eye-opening moment. For the past two years, every day after training, I’ve been having a protein shake called “Peanut Butter Cup.” It’s made with almond milk, peanut butter, chocoholics choice, and chocolate protein. Sounds great, right? Well, turns out, not so much!
I’ve been digging into some research recently and discovered that some nuts might actually mess with your testosterone levels. And guess what? Two of those nuts are in my daily shake! Definitely a frustrating discovery.
For those who follow my stuff, you know I’ve been trying to boost my testosterone as I get older. I even got a blood test that showed my T level was a bit on the low side.
Sure, aging plays a role, but I’ve also dropped a lot of weight and been doing a lot of cardio, which can lower testosterone. So I added more strength training and dialed back the cardio, focusing on shorter, intense HIIT sessions.
Now, add this shake into the mix as another possible culprit. Apparently, these nuts can raise SHBG levels by 10 to 20 percent. I’m no scientist, but from what I understand, SHBG binds up free testosterone, which is the stuff your body can actually use for muscle growth and all that good stuff. And since only about 2 percent of your testosterone is free, anything that raises SHBG can be a real problem.
I’ve been taking supplements and eating foods that should boost my T, but all this time, the nuts in my shake might have been working against me. So I wanted to share that with you.
The nuts linked to lowering testosterone efforts are walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, and almonds.
On the flip side, some nuts can actually help boost testosterone. We covered that before here, but just to recap: macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, and tiger nuts are the good ones. I’ve grabbed the first two but haven’t tried tiger nuts yet.
So, starting today, that shake is out along with almond milk. I’ll switch to water instead, which cuts calories but more importantly should help keep my testosterone in check. We learn something new every day, right? I’m frustrated I didn’t know this sooner because I think my progress would have been better, but hey, better late than never!
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