Foods to avoid or eat

Goldenrod

Well-known member
Staff member
It would be nice to get member's opinions on foods to avoid with an emphasis on the impact on testosterone. I have my opinion and suspect you have to take a lot of some of the ones I read about, but some are pretty obvious and just make sense for overall health anyway. I am concentrating on foods/products that impact testosterone especially for the members who are natural or cycle/pct/take significant time off. It is well known low testosterone in men is linked to shorter life spans and serious diseases.

I have read papers on almonds being good and being very bad for testosterone production. More research is needed but I won't stop eating a few almonds from time to time for their health benefits. The reason it is recommended to avoid is it's impact on SHBG.
Another which is kind of common sense is canola oil (similar type oils). There are animal studies that indicate it reduces your natural production. Better options that are deemed healthy like olive oil is recommended.

Soy in higher levels in also linked to higher estrogen/lower testosterone. I don't eat it, but curious if people do and their perspective. In other words creating a less masculine society/men. This includes muscle mass, bone strength, confidence, mental health, etc.

Albeit not a food - BPA's in drinks/food in plastic containers are known to be hormone killers. A quick search will show why BPA's impact your testosterone. In particular bottled water (plastic bottles) especially if it gets warm/hot, increase the amount leached into the H20 and into your body/hormone receptors. In general, as I am sure most know - almost everything you eat for health should not be processed and doesn't come in a plastic/some sort of a container.

I have read multiple articles on peptide usage and in particular BPC157/TB500 and how eating organ meat (red meat is not pissed on in the articles I read) will naturally increase BPC157 and how they are excellent sources of protein, in turn a healthier diet / higher testosterone production.

This is just a quick start as there are too many too mention, would appreciate other opinions from other members. If you ever have the opportunity to read on the studies with men who chop wood by hand like I did long before people delivered it your house for your wood stove and its result on testosterone. The results were staggering albeit this is not related to eating or not eating foods (off topic).

I grew up in a small village where almost everyone had a farm, wood stoves/furnaces, and/or fished. The technology was not available to do it for you, further most would save their money and do the work themselves. I wrote before about the strength some of these men (even the ones who were not huge) was incredible. Some men looked they worked out in a gym everyday/others looked normal but could throw a saturated bale of stray to the top of a trailer with one hand - as a 16 year old who worked out, I could barely get the damn bales with both hands half way up the pile of straw. There was a 60 year old man in the village nicknamed tiny, and he was not large but was known the strongest or one of the men in the village. They grew their own food, killed their own animals for meat, etc. and worked long hours doing physical work. Thinking back of my time living there, backs up a lot of what I read.
 
Most things ultra processed other than protein powder of course. Mainly preservatives and emulsifiers though it isnt direct but through the gut and imflamation when chronic will effect testosterone levels.
 
Good question. I've always heard to emphasize fat intake, particularly saturated fat as a natural.

Oddly I've been natural for 6 months or so now and I'm doing low fat (about 0.3g/lb, high carb instead and I notice no Ill effects.I wake up to morning wood I want to say 90% of the time. It's so normal now I hardly keep track 😅

I do have a bit of lean ground beef everyday, roughly 3.5oz or 100g. Only eating 1 whole egg, the rest of the protein is from white fish, chicken thighs (trimmed), protein powder and greek yogurt.
 
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I put about 80 grams of baby spinach in my shake first meal of day every morning for obvious reasons, but lately I have been addding 2 grams of cinnamon as well . Check this out ::

Cinnamon contains powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can benefit your body by lowering blood sugar, improving heart health, reducing inflammation, and potentially boosting metabolism. It can also enhance brain function and digestion, and its strong antioxidant properties help fight free radicals that contribute to cell damage and aging.
 
I put about 80 grams of baby spinach in my shake first meal of day every morning for obvious reasons, but lately I have been addding 2 grams of cinnamon as well . Check this out ::

Cinnamon contains powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can benefit your body by lowering blood sugar, improving heart health, reducing inflammation, and potentially boosting metabolism. It can also enhance brain function and digestion, and its strong antioxidant properties help fight free radicals that contribute to cell damage and aging.
Try Ceylon cinnamon its even better health wise. Can't remember if it tastes different though haven't used it in a while
 
I put about 80 grams of baby spinach in my shake first meal of day every morning for obvious reasons, but lately I have been addding 2 grams of cinnamon as well . Check this out ::

Cinnamon contains powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can benefit your body by lowering blood sugar, improving heart health, reducing inflammation, and potentially boosting metabolism. It can also enhance brain function and digestion, and its strong antioxidant properties help fight free radicals that contribute to cell damage and aging.

Yea been using cinnamon on my cream of rice for ages for this reason although I don’t weigh it I just smash some on there

Get the Ceylon cinnamon
 
I put about 80 grams of baby spinach in my shake first meal of day every morning for obvious reasons, but lately I have been addding 2 grams of cinnamon as well . Check this out ::

Cinnamon contains powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can benefit your body by lowering blood sugar, improving heart health, reducing inflammation, and potentially boosting metabolism. It can also enhance brain function and digestion, and its strong antioxidant properties help fight free radicals that contribute to cell damage and aging.
I put cinnamon on almost every meal, even with my chicken / meat meals lol. Chicken and rice with cinnamon is actually pretty good. I just use the Kirkland Saigon.
 


Well according to this guy, a TBS of nut butter before bed is a diet hack.

Have any of you guys done anything similar to this? What are your thoughts.
 
I put about 80 grams of baby spinach in my shake first meal of day every morning for obvious reasons, but lately I have been addding 2 grams of cinnamon as well . Check this out ::

Cinnamon contains powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can benefit your body by lowering blood sugar, improving heart health, reducing inflammation, and potentially boosting metabolism. It can also enhance brain function and digestion, and its strong antioxidant properties help fight free radicals that contribute to cell damage and aging.
Read up on the thermogenic cinnamaldehyde (part of cinnamon)- one of the main staples I take for months, break, again for months. Supposed to help with fat loss albeit it subtle, is a great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and kills cancer cells or is supposed to, good for heart disease as you mention as well.. I have written before about it being investigated for fatty liver. I only know one lab that makes it, not sure if others do. Good for blood sugar levels and even brain health or is touted to. Good call on discussing cinnamon as healthy herb.
If you take cinnamon avoid cassia in large amounts regularly - hard on the liver. You can get other forms that are not and are supposed to be great. Good call on the spinach too - I love it but also forget to put it on the grocery list all the time. Amazing how much is left after you steam it lol. A few handfuls unless you eat it raw.
 
Good question. I've always heard to emphasize fat intake, particularly saturated fat as a natural.

Oddly I've been natural for 6 months or so now and I'm doing low fat (about 0.3g/lb, high carb instead and I notice no Ill effects.I wake up to morning wood I want to say 90% of the time. It's so normal now I hardly keep track 😅

I do have a bit of lean ground beef everyday, roughly 3.5oz or 100g. Only eating 1 whole egg, the rest of the protein is from white fish, chicken thighs (trimmed), protein powder and greek yogurt.
Do you mind me asking why 1 egg? I eat a dozen a week - one of my meals calls for a whole egg or two and the rest whites. I scramble now, but used to eat them raw all the time. One of my farmers in my area has free range chickens and an egg washing machine. Old school - they sit in a fridge and you the cash in a small container and take what you paid for - 100% honour system. Costs less than the grocery store and taste considerable better.
 


Well according to this guy, a TBS of nut butter before bed is a diet hack.

Have any of you guys done anything similar to this? What are your thoughts.

Not right before bed, but I just wrote about healthy nut butters (real peanut butter) in some thread, which PB would be one, and taking it in one of your last meals to slow down digestion. I don't do it all the time and really never thought of it for fat loss even thought it may be. Ironic, some of the coaches/people that compete recommend removing PB from the house when cutting.
I used to until I completely changed my diet, but usually on my 2nd last meal and did not measure out an exact tablespoon, just a big spoonful.
Curious on the sleep improvement too. Thanks for posting this.
 
Read up on the thermogenic cinnamaldehyde (part of cinnamon)- one of the main staples I take for months, break, again for months. Supposed to help with fat loss albeit it subtle, is a great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and kills cancer cells or is supposed to, good for heart disease as you mention as well.. I have written before about it being investigated for fatty liver. I only know one lab that makes it, not sure if others do. Good for blood sugar levels and even brain health or is touted to. Good call on discussing cinnamon as healthy herb.
If you take cinnamon avoid cassia in large amounts regularly - hard on the liver. You can get other forms that are not and are supposed to be great. Good call on the spinach too - I love it but also forget to put it on the grocery list all the time. Amazing how much is left after you steam it lol. A few handfuls unless you eat it raw.

For the spinach, I’ve been adding it in my meal 1 for years . Close to 80 grams raw. I have a really good blender so no chunks left over and with the protein powder and other good stuff I put in it you can’t even taste the spinach.
 
Do you mind me asking why 1 egg? I eat a dozen a week - one of my meals calls for a whole egg or two and the rest whites. I scramble now, but used to eat them raw all the time. One of my farmers in my area has free range chickens and an egg washing machine. Old school - they sit in a fridge and you the cash in a small container and take what you paid for - 100% honour system. Costs less than the grocery store and taste considerable better.
I've drastically lowered my protein as I'm not looking to grow anymore so I'm at about 175g of protein per day. All while deliberately keeping the fats as low as reasonably possible to prioritize carb intake.

I'm factoring in all sources of protein and fats even from my carb sources. For example 90g of uncooked oatmeal has 6.75g of fat and 11g of protein.

In short i just don't need the additional fats from more eggs.
 
I've drastically lowered my protein as I'm not looking to grow anymore so I'm at about 175g of protein per day. All while deliberately keeping the fats as low as reasonably possible to prioritize carb intake.

I'm factoring in all sources of protein and fats even from my carb sources. For example 90g of uncooked oatmeal has 6.75g of fat and 11g of protein.

In short i just don't need the additional fats from more eggs.
Hey @CoolRick - I know as we age and push our bodies we need more protein to recover, but I am in the same boat and don't follow the 1.5-2 g per lb of body weight. I at most eat 1 gram of protein (some days are more of course) per lbs and get around 230 grams a day right now.
Have a 6 oz chicken breast and you are almost 55 grams of protein, 6 oz of top sirloin and you are getting 35 grams of protein - point being if you eat 6 decent meals (healthy and reasonable portions unless you are doing a bulk and don't care about adding fluff) you can easily get the protein you need. My smoothie contains approximately 40 grams (which is a meal).
I may be wrong but I believe one of the issues that causes so many health issues with steroid abusing bodybuilders isn't just the steroids but the massive amount of protein they try to consume. I have nothing to prove this other than research and the extra work it puts on some organs and listening to guys who are smarter than I am who compete. If not obvious I agree with your comments albeit I keep fats higher than some of the guys who want to be under 100 g but they are healthy fats. For example - I eat a lot of salmon which increases my fat intake.
Hope all is well.
GR
 
It would be nice to get member's opinions on foods to avoid with an emphasis on the impact on testosterone. I have my opinion and suspect you have to take a lot of some of the ones I read about, but some are pretty obvious and just make sense for overall health anyway. I am concentrating on foods/products that impact testosterone especially for the members who are natural or cycle/pct/take significant time off. It is well known low testosterone in men is linked to shorter life spans and serious diseases.

I have read papers on almonds being good and being very bad for testosterone production. More research is needed but I won't stop eating a few almonds from time to time for their health benefits. The reason it is recommended to avoid is it's impact on SHBG.
Another which is kind of common sense is canola oil (similar type oils). There are animal studies that indicate it reduces your natural production. Better options that are deemed healthy like olive oil is recommended.

Soy in higher levels in also linked to higher estrogen/lower testosterone. I don't eat it, but curious if people do and their perspective. In other words creating a less masculine society/men. This includes muscle mass, bone strength, confidence, mental health, etc.

Albeit not a food - BPA's in drinks/food in plastic containers are known to be hormone killers. A quick search will show why BPA's impact your testosterone. In particular bottled water (plastic bottles) especially if it gets warm/hot, increase the amount leached into the H20 and into your body/hormone receptors. In general, as I am sure most know - almost everything you eat for health should not be processed and doesn't come in a plastic/some sort of a container.

I have read multiple articles on peptide usage and in particular BPC157/TB500 and how eating organ meat (red meat is not pissed on in the articles I read) will naturally increase BPC157 and how they are excellent sources of protein, in turn a healthier diet / higher testosterone production.

This is just a quick start as there are too many too mention, would appreciate other opinions from other members. If you ever have the opportunity to read on the studies with men who chop wood by hand like I did long before people delivered it your house for your wood stove and its result on testosterone. The results were staggering albeit this is not related to eating or not eating foods (off topic).

I grew up in a small village where almost everyone had a farm, wood stoves/furnaces, and/or fished. The technology was not available to do it for you, further most would save their money and do the work themselves. I wrote before about the strength some of these men (even the ones who were not huge) was incredible. Some men looked they worked out in a gym everyday/others looked normal but could throw a saturated bale of stray to the top of a trailer with one hand - as a 16 year old who worked out, I could barely get the damn bales with both hands half way up the pile of straw. There was a 60 year old man in the village nicknamed tiny, and he was not large but was known the strongest or one of the men in the village. They grew their own food, killed their own animals for meat, etc. and worked long hours doing physical work. Thinking back of my time living there, backs up a lot of what I read.
The foods thread haha my fav the “what to eat vs what to avoid” topic always gets messy because people try to make things too binary. From what I see, the foods worth avoiding are mostly those that hurt recovery, mess with hormones or just fill you with empty calories. Think processed meats (bacon, deli cuts, etc), ultra processed snacks, sugary junk, fast food/fried stuff, heavy sauces and too much added sugar. These tend to spike inflammation, mess up sleep, insulin response, digestion and all things that kill gains in the long run really or I guess MODERATION and discipline is key. On the flip side, foods you want to prioritize are clean proteins, nutrient dense sources, whole carbs that fuel workouts, healthy fats and foods with ANTI INFLAMMATORY compounds. Any foods yall dropped or added lately that you felt changed your recovery, inflammation or how you look in the mirror? I am a rabbit with my BERRIES 😂
 
Hey @CoolRick - I know as we age and push our bodies we need more protein to recover, but I am in the same boat and don't follow the 1.5-2 g per lb of body weight. I at most eat 1 gram of protein (some days are more of course) per lbs and get around 230 grams a day right now.
Have a 6 oz chicken breast and you are almost 55 grams of protein, 6 oz of top sirloin and you are getting 35 grams of protein - point being if you eat 6 decent meals (healthy and reasonable portions unless you are doing a bulk and don't care about adding fluff) you can easily get the protein you need. My smoothie contains approximately 40 grams (which is a meal).
I may be wrong but I believe one of the issues that causes so many health issues with steroid abusing bodybuilders isn't just the steroids but the massive amount of protein they try to consume. I have nothing to prove this other than research and the extra work it puts on some organs and listening to guys who are smarter than I am who compete. If not obvious I agree with your comments albeit I keep fats higher than some of the guys who want to be under 100 g but they are healthy fats. For example - I eat a lot of salmon which increases my fat intake.
Hope all is well.
GR
I think many of the issues are indeed related to not only excessively high protein levels for extended periods of time but just too much food in general.

I'm aiming for 0.9g/ lb for protein which works out to my weight at 10% body fat. Keep in mind I'm no longer looking to grow and possibly lose some muscle to get me down to a lean 170-175lbs. If I was looking to grow I'd get my protein up to 1.5g like i used to but pretty much only for the cycle as that's when its needed. But honestly with enough carbs I don't need as much protein as they spare amino acids.

I am experimenting with a high carb diet and I've noticed a positive effect on metabolism over getting the calories from protein and fats. The opposite you'd think a diabetic would do, but I actually found higher fats or even keto to not only have a negative effect on metabolism but also insulin sensitivity. The side effect however is less stable energy unless I eat on a strict schedule. The research on mixing fats and carbs I believe is correct. My protein isn't low but not high enough to be excess and the fats I eat are mostly poly or mono unsaturated fats and kept low.

I'm up at around 320g of carbs per day (hardly training) so come time to carb cycle my body will be trained that it always gets it's energy from carbs coming in all the time. In a deficit it should reach for body fat while still having carbs coming in to support T3 production. At least this is my theory.

I hope all is well on your end as well.
 
I mostly subscribe to the idea that there are not any truly good or bad foods...moreso....good or bad choices dependent on goals while ensuring overall nutrition and health.

This, like all things and perspectivestend to change over time and with age....at least in my case.

Different things are important now that maybe weren't such a priority in the past.

Now I'm not suggesting you can just plug any foods any time or even saying sure....eat all those ultra processed/ultra refined foods and high sugar and Sodium fat and carb laden shit.

What I am saying is a healthy understanding of food and nutrition is key and knowing how what you eat can affect desired outcomes is important.

With that....there are times that I will crush a whole pizza or triple cheese urges with fries.....and there are times I won't.

Balance with objectives and targets is more important to me than good vs. bad or eat or don't eat.

Having a solid understanding of how nutrition works (keeping in mind that there are soon many things we still don't know or probably have wrong) and developing a healthy relationship with all foods will get most folks further than an understanding of good vs. bad.

In this cunt's mind anyways. Its a fuid and dynamic situation, not static as i feel a lable like good v. bad sets up for.

Like almost everything I post....it may not be correct, it may not be incorrect....and it is my educated (mostly...lol) opinion.... and it will probably change and evolve another 1000 times before this ride is over.....at least I hope it does!

As they say....food...for thought....and possibly argument....and I'm OK with that.

Loose frameworks set in the bodybuilding world are probably a good thing....but as we all well know....there are seldom one direction definitive methods or approaches for all.
 
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