Men's LifeStyle Blog

Testosterone is the male sex hormone. Women have it too,  but men have more and it’s the abundance during puberty that helps boys become men and develop more masculine traits such as a deep voice and facial hair.

Apart from being an androgenic hormone capable of producing these changes, testosterone serves many other roles in the body. For one thing, it’s also an anabolic hormone and steroid that helps with muscle growth.

Testosterone also helps the body burn fat and stay lean. It has more importance in the body than many people think. Unfortunately, testosterone production peaks during adolescence. For many men, their testosterone production rates will already be on the wane by the time they reach their early 20s. After the age of 30, testosterone levels continue to deplete at a rate of around one per cent per year.

When their testosterone levels are not what they used to be it can retard the sex drive and cause fertility issues and erectile dysfunction.  It can also rob the body of energy and take the joy out of life in many other ways. Not surprisingly, many men are keen to find a way to fight back and give their testosterone levels a boost.

Is It Really Possible to Boost Testosterone Levels?

The good news is there are several things men can do to boost normal testosterone production. Better still, research shows it’s generally possible to see and feel the benefits in a matter of weeks.

Here are seven ways you can boost testosterone naturally and be the man you were born to be.

Get More Exercise Exercise

It doesn’t matter whether you hit the track or head for the gym, getting more exercise can help increase testosterone levels. Getting more exercise will also be good for your heart and provide numerous other health benefits.

However, although all exercise is good, research shows resistance training works best. High-intensity interval training (HIT) can also deliver good results.

Furthermore, using a pre-workout supplement that contains caffeine and creatine monohydrate may push-up testosterone levels that bit more. Why? The guys in white coats who frequent the research labs are still trying to figure that out. So far, all anyone knows is the combination works.

Eat Testosterone Boosting Foods

Incorporating a few testosterone-boosting foods into your diet is another good way to wake up those sluggish testicles. Many foods have this ability so there’s a variety of choices.

It’s not the cheapest option but oysters can do it. That may be why they have such a good reputation as an aphrodisiac. The reason Oysters work so well is probably because they are high in zinc. There’s plenty of research that shows increasing zinc intake boosts testosterone. It’s not just a myth.

Eggs boost testosterone as well and they cost a lot less than oysters. In this case, it appears to be the Vitamin D in the yolk that gets the job done. Tuna is a good source of Vitamin D as well. It also provides a little creatine

Avoid Stress

Depending on your situation, avoiding stress may be easier said than done, but it’s something you need to try and do. During periods of stress, the body becomes flooded with a hormone called cortisol. It has a see-saw-like relationship with testosterone.

When cortisol is up, testosterone goes down. Then, when cortisol is down, testosterone goes up.  So, if you are one of the many guys who have a problem getting it up (figuratively speaking), it may be cortisol that’s keeping you down and out.

Stay Away from Estrogen-Like Compounds

If testosterone has a nemesis, it’s estrogen. Although there’s always a tiny bit of estrogen present in a man’s body, it’s not good if levels become overly elevated.  High estrogen dampens testosterone. Estrogen is the female sex hormone, after all.

Certain plastics, such as those used for disposable eating utensils, plastic beakers, and coffee stirrers contain estrogen-like compounds. The white, plastic used to line some of the tins used by the food industry can be particularly bad.  These estrogen-like chemicals can lower testosterone in a similar way to that of the genuine female hormone.

Drink Sensibly

Drinking alcohol for recreational and social purposes is a custom/habit that’s deeply ingrained into many cultures of the world. However, binge drinkers and “power drinkers” beware. Researchers have discovered acute alcohol intake suppresses testosterone production. This is largely a result of the way alcohol affects the pituitary-gonadal axis, but who cares about all that science-speak. The result is what matters.

Some research shows alcohol can cause further problems by increasing cortisol. So, although there is nothing wrong with an occasional drink, going overboard with the party spirit can be a passion killer that will see the only thing getting screwed is your testosterone levels.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleep is important. If you have too many late nights and starve yourself of sleep it can be a major downer for your testosterone. Granted, some people need more sleep than others but, you may not be one of them. If you wake up each morning feeling like death warmed up something is wrong somewhere.

Some research shows people who only get five hours of sleep per night may suffer a 15% reduction in testosterone. Taking things further, the results of another study suggest each additional hour of sleep may produce a 15% increase in testosterone. If there’s a take-home point here it’s that getting more downtime may improve the quality of your up time.

Don’t Be Afraid to Supplement If Needed

Taking a good vitamin and mineral supplement is a good way to make up for dietary inadequacies that may be affecting your testosterone. Supplements that are high in zinc or Vitamin D may be particularly good.

If all else fails that are also a few incredibly advanced testosterone boosting supplements that are good for providing a man with the extra get up and go he needs. However, supplements are best seen as part of the answer, rather than the only answer. There is no substitute for a healthy lifestyle.

The legal landscape for marijuana seems to change weekly, with new ballot initiatives and new court challenges occurring regularly and the federal government offering comments and guidance along the way. As of February 2019, marijuana is fully legal in 10 states and fully illegal in 15 states, with the remaining 35 states having a mishmash of rules related to medical use and “decriminalization.”

Whatever your views on the appropriate legal status of marijuana in your state, whether Utah, New York, Texas, or California, it’s important to understand and accept that sales of marijuana-related products are now no different than sales of tobacco or alcohol products in many areas of the United States.  Some may consider them all “vices” but they are legal, at least in some locales.

Anyone who wants to sell products and services needs to consider how to protect their brand—their trademark—in order to facilitate consumer goodwill and recognition of preferred products.  The challenge now is that U.S. federal law still classifies marijuana as a controlled substance—illegal.  While the courts are working out how to reconcile the conflicting state and federal laws in this area, producers of goods and services related to the booming marijuana market need to deal with protecting their trademarks.

And that is the problem. As trademark attorney Nicholas Wells, of Legends Law Group, explains, the federal government will reject federal trademark applications for marijuana or marijuana-based products because it is against federal law, even if it is currently permitted in the state where the trademark owner resides or plans to sell the products.

But Wells also suggests three secrets to getting your trademark protected despite these challenges.

First, secure a trademark registration in your state.  While state-level trademarks are generally of little value compared to a federal trademark registration, they can be very helpful when you are focused on sales of marijuana-based products within a specific area, because—while weak compared to federal trademark rights—they still prevent others in your state from using similar brands.

Second, avoid mentioning marijuana or marijuana-derived products such as CBD oil, in your federal trademark application.  

When you file a federal trademark application, you must specify the goods and services for which you are seeking protection. Business owners may initially assume that they should be as specific as possible—they may wish to highlight the nature of their business as selling marijuana-based products.  But the trademark application is not the place to do that.  Instead, use terms that are as generic as possible.

For example, if you are selling a facial cream that includes CBD oil as a prime ingredient, you could describe your goods as “Facial cream with a CBD-oil base”.  Don’t do that.  Instead, just use the term “Facial cream” or “cosmetics”.  If you are selling a food product or a dietary supplement with marijuana-based ingredients, you don’t need to mention those in the trademark application.  

Third, consider the mark itself.  The US trademark examiners are watching for trademarks that are focused on marijuana products.  If your mark includes words like “CBD” or “hemp” then the trademark examiner is much more likely to object to your application based on an assumption that you selling a federally proscribed substance.  So consider if the way you are using your brand would permit you to register a part of your trademark that does not include these words.  Most of these terms are descriptive anyway and so are less important legally to your ability to protect your brand.  So, register just the main, distinctive parts of your mark.

Finally, consider how you are using the trademark.  In order to complete a US trademark registration, you’ll need to submit a “Specimen of Use,” which is a photo showing the trademark as it appears on the packaging for the goods or an advertisement for the services.  If the nature of your products and services allows it, find a way to show use of the trademark without making it obvious that you are selling a marijuana-based product or service.  This might include showing only a part of the package, or using a photo or advertisement for those of your goods and services that do not include or reference marijuana.  For example, if you sell a variety of therapy services under your brand, one of which involves medical marijuana, you might submit evidence of an advertisement promoting the therapy services that do not use marijuana.

The goal in all of this is not to deceive or act in bad faith.  But it is reasonable for those who sell marijuana in accordance with state law to act strategically to secure federal trademark protection for their businesses. As any experienced trademark attorney will confirm, all businesses should and must act within the rules of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the most effective way possible to secure legal protection for their intellectual property.  The secrets above are simply intended to do this—to secure protection of a federal trademark to the extent that it can be done within the standards set up by the relevant government officials.