Are you a manly man who has spent the past several years basing your entire personality on your militant meat consumption out of the odd belief that eating more animal flesh will supercharge your testosterone and turn you into a turbo dude whose cup runneth over with dude juice? Well, you might want to brace yourself. A study from Finland, published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, just might be the keystone that brings your tower of fragile masculinity crumbling down.
That meat ain’t raising your testosterone levels. If anything, it’s doing the exact opposite.
Eating Lots of Meat Isn’t Good for Your Testosterone Levels, According to New Study
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland examined dietary intake and blood samples from 2,546 men aged 42 to 60. The dudes packing their plates with animal protein had lower levels of total and free testosterone in their blood.
On the other hand, men getting their protein from non-grain plant sources, like legumes, nuts, and vegetables, actually clocked higher levels of circulating free testosterone. Eating the most meat translated to roughly an 8 percent drop in testosterone compared to average levels, while those who returned to plant-based proteins enjoyed a 7 percent testosterone boost.
The researchers acknowledge the shifts were modest and mostly observational, but the findings do a lot to topple the myth of animal flesh as a magical testosterone elixir. The maligned plant proteins your average crazed, testosterone-obsessed TikTok influencer avoid like the plague actually reduce systemic inflammation, whereas diets heavy in meat carry with them a ton of saturated fats, which lead to higher BMIs and a suppression of hormone production.
You don’t need to choke down steaks to feel like a man. A bowl of lentils or some beans will get you the testosterone numbers you’re looking for. Those guys on TikTok are on steroids anyway.
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