How to Boost Testosterone Naturally: What Works and What Does Not

If you want to know how to boost testosterone naturally, start with the lever that has the biggest measured effect: losing excess body fat. In a 2013 meta-analysis of 24 studies, men who lost weight on a low-calorie diet raised total testosterone by about 2.9 nmol/L (roughly 83 ng/dL), and men who lost more weight gained more. Sleep and alcohol come next. Most pills sold as boosters come last, and several popular ones have been tested and failed.

Quick answer: The changes with the best evidence are losing excess body fat, sleeping well past five hours a night, and keeping alcohol light. Exercise helps mainly through fat loss. Most testosterone booster supplements lack data for their claims, and vitamin D pills did not raise testosterone in a 2019 trial of men with low levels. If two early-morning tests stay low, see a clinician.

Man in his 40s doing barbell squats as part of a plan to raise testosterone naturally

How to boost testosterone naturally, ranked by evidence

If you are working out how to increase testosterone naturally, here is the order we would put things in, based on the studies below. The ranking is about how well each change is tested in men and how large the measured change in blood testosterone was, which is a different question from which change is easiest or most popular.

Rank	Change	What the research found	Evidence strength
1	Lose excess body fat	Diet-based weight loss raised total testosterone by about 2.9 nmol/L; the more weight lost, the bigger the rise	Strong (meta-analysis of 24 studies)
2	Protect sleep	One week of under five hours a night cut testosterone 10 to 15 percent in healthy young men	Moderate (small controlled study)
3	Keep alcohol light	Heavy, chronic drinking lowers testosterone; a single small dose may briefly raise it	Moderate (review of mechanisms and studies)
4	Exercise	In men 60 and older, aerobic and interval training gave small rises; weight training alone did not change resting levels	Moderate (meta-analysis of 22 studies)
5	Avoid very low-fat diets	Low-fat diets produced slightly lower testosterone than higher-fat diets	Limited (6 studies, 206 men)
6	Booster supplements	Under 25 percent of products had data behind their claims; vitamin D showed no effect in a 2019 trial	Weak or negative

Look at the bottom row.

Lose excess weight first

Fat tissue and testosterone pull against each other. The 2013 meta-analysis in the European Journal of Endocrinology pooled 24 trials of diet or bariatric surgery and found that the amount of weight lost was the best predictor of how much testosterone rose. Diet alone raised total testosterone by about 2.9 nmol/L. Surgery raised it by about 8.7 nmol/L (roughly 252 ng/dL). The gains were larger in younger men, in men without diabetes and in men who started out heavier.

For most men asking how to raise testosterone naturally, this is the place to start, and you do not need to lose half your body weight to see a change. Dr. James Hotaling, a urologist at University of Utah Health, puts it at 15 to 20 pounds making “a huge difference,” and he notes that men tend to gain about a pound of fat a year as they age.

The Endocrine Society’s 2018 guideline makes the same point from the medical side. It says many men with low testosterone from the brain-signaling side, often called functional secondary hypogonadism, have causes such as obesity, opioid use or other illness that “may be managed without need for testosterone treatment.” In plain terms, a treatment guideline is saying that some men can fix the number without a prescription.

Sleep is the cheapest fix

Short sleep shows up in blood tests fast. In a University of Chicago study published in JAMA in 2011, 10 healthy men with an average age of 24 slept under five hours a night for a week, and their testosterone dropped 10 to 15 percent. The researchers compared that to 10 to 15 years of normal aging, since testosterone usually falls about 1 to 2 percent a year.

Ten men is small. Still, the direction of the result matches the Endocrine Society guideline, which lists sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnea among the conditions that lower testosterone. If you snore loudly, stop breathing at night or wake up unrefreshed, ask about a sleep study before you buy anything.

Waking in the small hours is its own problem, and stress hormones are often part of it. We explain how cortisol disrupts sleep in a separate post.

Exercise helps, mostly through fat loss

Lifting weights is the first thing most articles recommend. The data on resting testosterone are less tidy than that. A 2019 meta-analysis by Hayes and Elliott in Frontiers in Physiology reviewed 22 studies of men aged 60 and over and found that resistance training did not change resting testosterone, while aerobic training and interval training produced small but measurable rises.

We would still lift. Dr. Hotaling says weight training raises metabolism for one to two days afterward, and fat loss is the lever with the strongest data, so lifting earns its place even if it does little to a morning blood test. Dr. Hotaling suggests twice a week for 30 to 40 minutes as enough to matter. Add some walking, cycling or intervals on the other days.

Shorter studies in older men may simply be too brief to catch a change. That question is still open.

Alcohol and what you eat

Alcohol works in two directions. A 2023 review by Smith, Lopresti and Fairchild in Expert Review of Endocrinology and Metabolism found that a single low-to-moderate dose of alcohol can raise testosterone briefly, but heavy and chronic drinking lowers it through stress-hormone activity, inflammation and oxidative damage. If you drink most nights, cutting back is one of the easier ways to increase testosterone naturally.

Diet matters mostly through weight. One specific finding is worth knowing. A 2021 meta-analysis by Whittaker and Wu pooled six studies of 206 men and found that low-fat diets produced slightly lower total testosterone than higher-fat diets. The effect was modest, and the studies were small, so we read it as a reason not to strip fat out of your diet in the name of health, rather than a reason to load up on it.

Dr. Hotaling also advises cutting back on processed food and sugar. We have no numbers on that one.

Do natural testosterone boosters work?

Mostly no. A 2019 study led by Dr. Mary Samplaski at Keck Medicine of USC, published in the World Journal of Men’s Health, examined popular testosterone-boosting supplements and found that 90 percent claimed to boost testosterone but under 25 percent had data to support the claim. Common ingredients were zinc, fenugreek and vitamin B6, and some products contained vitamins and minerals above the tolerable upper limit.

Here is how the ingredients that have been through trials came out:

Vitamin D. A 2011 trial by Pilz and colleagues gave vitamin D to 54 men during a year-long weight-loss program, and testosterone rose modestly, but testosterone was a secondary measure and weight loss was happening at the same time. A later double-blind trial by Lerchbaum and colleagues, published in 2019, gave vitamin D or placebo to 100 men with low testosterone for 12 weeks and found no effect on total testosterone.
Ashwagandha. A 2019 crossover trial in the American Journal of Men’s Health found a 14.7 percent greater rise in testosterone than placebo in overweight men aged 40 to 70. Only 43 men finished, the study was funded by the extract’s maker, and there was no difference from placebo in fatigue, vigor or sexual well-being.

Our position is simple: we would not spend money on a testosterone booster. If a blood test shows a vitamin D deficiency, treat it with your clinician, but do not expect it to move your testosterone.

Myth: A testosterone booster from the supplement aisle is a natural alternative to seeing a doctor.

Fact: Most boosters have no published data behind their label claims, and the USC researchers behind that finding called for more FDA regulation of these products.

Myth: Lifting heavy weights will reliably raise your resting testosterone.

Fact: In men over 60, resistance training alone did not change resting levels in a 22-study meta-analysis. It helps through fat loss and muscle.

Myth: Frequent ejaculation drains testosterone.

Fact: That question has its own evidence, covered in our post on does masturbation lower testosterone.

When lifestyle alone is not enough

How to increase testosterone levels depends on why they are low in the first place. Weight, sleep and alcohol explain many cases, but not all. The Endocrine Society guideline also lists age, diabetes, acute illness and medications such as opioids and glucocorticoids among the things that lower testosterone, and a man can fix his sleep, weight and drinking and still test low.

The first step is an accurate measurement. The American Urological Association guideline recommends diagnosing low testosterone only after two early-morning total testosterone tests on separate days, and uses a level below 300 ng/dL as a reasonable cut-off. The same guideline says every man with testosterone deficiency should be counseled on lifestyle changes as part of treatment. The Endocrine Society notes that about 30 percent of men with one low reading have a normal result when retested, which is a good reason not to act on a single number.

If your second test is also low and your symptoms fit, ask for a full hormone panel so the cause can be sorted out. At that point the choice is no longer lifestyle or treatment. It is usually both.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to raise testosterone naturally?

It depends on the change. In the University of Chicago sleep study, testosterone fell within one week of short sleep, so better sleep can matter quickly. Weight loss takes longer because the rise tracks the amount of weight lost. Dr. James Hotaling of University of Utah Health says men who combine a healthy diet with weight training often see a difference in four to six weeks.

What is the fastest way to increase testosterone naturally?

For a man sleeping five or six hours a night, getting more sleep is likely the fastest change, because one week of short sleep cut testosterone 10 to 15 percent in a controlled study of young men. For a man carrying extra body fat, weight loss has the largest measured effect, though it takes longer. If you snore heavily, ask about sleep apnea, which the Endocrine Society lists among the conditions that lower testosterone.

Do natural testosterone boosters work?

Most do not have evidence behind them. A 2019 USC-led review found that 90 percent of testosterone boosters claimed to raise testosterone, while fewer than 25 percent had data supporting the claim. Vitamin D did not raise testosterone in a 12-week placebo-controlled trial of 100 men with low levels. Ashwagandha has one small, industry-funded positive trial.

Does lifting weights increase testosterone?

Not much on its own, at least in older men. A 2019 meta-analysis of 22 studies in men aged 60 and over found that resistance training did not change resting testosterone, while aerobic and interval training gave small increases. Lifting is still worth doing. Dr. James Hotaling of University of Utah Health says it raises metabolism for a day or two after a session, which helps with fat loss.

When should I see a doctor about low testosterone?

See a clinician if you have symptoms such as low libido, fatigue or low mood, or if lifestyle changes have not helped after a few months. The American Urological Association recommends two early-morning blood tests on separate days before any diagnosis, with 300 ng/dL as a reasonable cut-off. About 30 percent of men with one low reading test normal on a repeat, according to the Endocrine Society.

If your labs keep coming back low after you have worked on sleep, weight and alcohol, it is time for a proper workup. At Proactive Choice, Dr. Collins follows the Endocrine Society approach: a fasting, early-morning total testosterone test repeated on a second morning, with treatment only when results are consistently low and your symptoms fit. You can learn how testosterone therapy with Dr. Collins works in Bend, or book a free 10-minute call at +1 (858) 333-5196 to talk through your results first.

Sources

Medically reviewed content from Proactive Choice. This article is for education and is not a diagnosis. Talk with a licensed clinician about your own labs and symptoms.

Want to talk this through for your own health? Book a visit with Dr. Drew Collins, ND at 601 NW Harmon Blvd in Bend, or call (858) 333-5196.

Dr. Drew Collins, ND

Dr. Drew Collins, ND, is a licensed naturopathic physician (Oregon license 1332) and founder of Proactive Choice in Bend, Oregon. He earned his doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University in 1984. His practice focuses on hormone health, chronic illness, IV and ozone therapy, and anti-aging medicine.