Testosterone is one of the most important hormones in the human body, and that is true whether you’re a man or a woman. Testosterone plays a role in a wide range of bodily functions, affecting areas of the body like bone and muscle health and sperm production in men or sex drive in women. The importance of testosterone production cannot be overstated, and, for some individuals, testosterone levels are so low that they suffer from hypogonadism, or Low T, which requires clinical treatment by a medical professional.

Add Specific Foods That Boost Testosterone to Your Diet

For others, testosterone levels are just lowering naturally. In some cases, natural methods can be applied to boost testosterone levels slightly. One such method is eating foods that boost testosterone because they’re high in certain nutrients. Vitamin D may help boost your testosterone levels, and Zinc may also increase your testosterone levels (check out the studies here for more info). Fighting cortisol, the “stress hormone,” may also help boost your testosterone levels. While many other nutrients may affect your testosterone levels, we are going to focus on foods that either affect cortisol or contain Zinc and Vitamin D because more evidence exists for these methods than anything else. Try adding these 5 foods that boost testosterone to your diet.

Milk with Vitamin D

This one might be so obvious that you miss it completely! Most of us have some milk in the fridge, and we might even refer to whole milk as “vitamin D milk,” but actually most store bought milk has vitamin D added to it (although raw milk and some organic milks may not be fortified with this nutrient). Adding a few glasses of milk to your diet a week may help boost your testosterone levels.

Shrimp

Who said boosting testosterone was going to be cheap? Seafood in general has a variety of health benefits, but shrimp in particular contains high levels of vitamin D. As one of the foods that boost testosterone levels, shrimp may improve your testosterone while helping thin your waistline. Consider adding shrimp to a meal once a week.

Oranges

This one’s a little more affordable! Cortisol levels may drop in response to vitamin C, so add this vitamin C rich food to your diet to fight cortisol and boost testosterone.

Beans

Beans have a variety of health benefits (they’re low cal and high in protein for a start), but they also have high levels of zinc. And they’ll offset all that money you’re spending on shrimp. Try replacing a side dish like mac and cheese with beans once a week.

Pumpkin Seeds

When you’re reaching for a salty snack, reach for pumpkin seeds instead of the crackers. Not only are they inexpensive, but their high levels of zinc can help push your testosterone levels up.

Spinach

I guess popeye had it right all along! Spinach is rich in magnesium and vitamins C and E. In the same study on Zinc mentioned above, the same researchers also found that magnesium may help boost testosterone levels. This may be one of the better foods that boost testosterone because it fights cortisol at the same time. Consider eating spinach once a week to add these key nutrients to your diet.