u/Redpill-cool wrote up a great post talking about testosterone.

This is a complement to that, adding more thoughts and things that can help.

It started as a comment reply to u/OsmiumZulu and turned into a much larger thing, so making this it's own post for visibility.

I recommend ordering online. It's the fastest, easiest and most convenient. I've used WellnessFX.com (on the pricey side) and WalkInLab.com probably has the widest variety of tests (of any kind), but the best I've found for price is:

DiscountedLabs.com

They seem to cater to bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, offering tests most of these clients want.

Here's a link to their testosterone options.

In short, you order what you want online, a doctor on staff approves it / attaches his name to these orders, and you print out a lab requisition form and take it to either Quest Diagnostics (who DiscountedLabs.com uses) or LabCorp (WalkInLabs.com uses both), who are nationwide providers/draw sites.

[None of those are affiliate links, if anyone is wondering. Just places I've used or know of.]

Some of the places have handy maps to find a clinic/draw site in your area, but if not, just type in Quest Diagnostics or LabCorp and their home pages will have link to find a site near you.

Note: Make sure you go to the right one, because some ONLY use certain draw sites. For example, Discounted Labs only uses Quest Diagnostics, last I checked.

Once you get your lab requisition form, and find a draw site near you, you can just walk in (a bit longer wait time) or make an appointment. I've found (in my area) appointments are far better. They are on the ball, and usually call me in exactly on time.

If anyone is short on money, simply ask your doctor to run the tests. Some will, some won't. They'll usually want to know a reason. Low energy, low libido, etc.

But to bypass the doctor route, go online and get whatever you want.

More tips: Get your T checked earlier in the morning, because it's highest in the morning and begins to drop by the afternoon. If you test one morning, and the next test is late afternoon, it could be as much as 10 to 20% difference.

Also, keep in mind, there are different testosterone testing methods. For example, LC/MS as compared to others. So if you're tracking T levels, try and ensure you're keeping with the same testing method.

Now, to add more to RP-Cool's good article:

He mentioned free and total testosterone, but there's another.

And they are in this order of importance:

Free testosterone: Freely circulating in the body and not bound to anything and readily available for the body to use, hence the most important.

Bioavailable testosterone: This is free testosterone plus weakly-bound testosterone (often called bioavailable testosterone), meaning it's bound to a molecule called albumin, but it's still technically available for the body to use, as needed.

Total testosterone: This is free testosterone plus weakly bound/bioavailable plus the rest of testosterone in your body, that bound to SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin). Total is the least useful measure when it comes to T levels (and especially when it comes to real world benefits), but still useful to know, to see what range you're in, overall health, ratios in regard to other lab work, etc.

All the benefits redpill-cool talks about is from free testosterone and from bioavailable/weakly bound, when needed. These are the two a man wants to focus on.

More thoughts:

There can be many reasons your T levels may be low and a wide array of things you can do to raise them, but to apply the Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule to them, when it comes to vitamins and minerals, you want more:

Vitamin D: Technically a steroid hormone, although it was named a vitamin many decades ago. Get tested to make sure you don't reach toxic levels, but shoot for 50 ng/dl (nanograms per deciliter, although Europe doesn't use ng/dl) and higher. Up to 100.

Unless you're out in the sun for hours a day, most people can handle 5,000 IU (international units) a day for a few months. But get tested! It's best to know.

While at home tests may aren't as accurate (my opinion) as venipuncture, for vitamin D they often get close enough, especially to measure trend lines or get a general idea. You can buy these at Amazon.

If you take higher amounts of vitamin D, I'd also take vitamin K and vitamin A along with it. These three work together and have a synergistic effect, help prevent toxicity of each other, and their combination seems to be far better than taking any on their own.

I like Life Extension for vitamin K, as it has both forms of K (K1 and K2) and their K2 has two forms, MK4 and MK7, which just stands for menaquinone and one is used up much faster in the body, while the other lasts longer, but both are essential.

Magnesium: Get some. It's vital for so many things in the body. And it plays an important role in your T levels.

Zinc: Another essential when it comes to increasing T levels. Low zinc levels can dramatically effect your T, depending on how low we're talking. Having more of it in your system helps your body produce more T, along with other benefits of zinc.

There are supplements that include these three (Vit D, Mag and Zinc) but I'd get these separate. It's easier to tirate doses or increase where needed, make adjustments, etc.

Sleep: Your T levels are heavily influenced by your sleep. Quality and quantity. Too little of either one, and even if everything else is dialed in, your T levels won't be anywhere near what they could be.

Underpublicized info: When it comes to T, your stress levels play an outsized role. Stress increases cortisol, and cortisol can wreck your testosterone.

Do whatever it takes to lower your stress. Go for a walk out in nature. Change jobs if you can (if it's that bad and you can find another good one). End or adjust relationships. If someone just sucks the life out of you, don't spend as much time with that friend, etc.

Pray. Think on good things, that are praiseworthy, etc. Don't wallow in negativity. Get out and get active doing God's work, as well as having fun and enjoying more of life when you can, whatever it is you find fun and fulfilling. You need more of this. It's essential.

Remember, if you want to help others, you have to help yourself. When the apostle talked about being a vessel, and poured out, you have to have something in you to be poured out.

Take care of yourself, fill yourself up. Then go out and do what God requires and live for Him! To even greater degrees, when your body is humming like it should be!

Please add to this as needed. There is a lot to be said and RPcool already said a lot!

u/rocknrollchuck

Yes to organ meats, especially liver!

The best company I know of (they are obsessive about purity, which I love) is: AncestralSupplements.com

I've had a lot of email exchanges with their owner, Brian Johnson, a good guy and ancestral living fanatic. He's a beast!

A great second option is: Heart and Soil.

You can find them both on Amazon or at their respective sites.

Beef liver, Bone Marrow and Beef Organs are excellent supplements that should be staples in most people's diets. I'm not eating this stuff off a plate, but process it in a way that preserves as much nutrients as possible as you turn it into a powder and encapsulate it? Sure! I'll happily take it that way and have.

There is an an ancient concept of "like supports like" which our ancestors believed (and there is very limited research and studies on this, but there is some evidence), meaning if someone has a weak heart, take beef heart. Beef liver to help your liver, pancreas to help pancreas, and so on.

Anecdotal evidence, so keep that in mind, but my dad doubled his EF (ejection fraction, measures heart pumping ability) with taking large amounts of beef heart, when nothing else worked.

There's other examples, and take with as many grains of salt as needed, but in general you always want to follow what Hippocrates said: "First, do no harm."

And this stuff is safe.

Chuck is right, the old school bodybuilders were big on liver, and liver does have many, many great benefits, so worst case scenario, you're giving your body some great nutrients. Are you going to turn into the Hulk? No. What about a larger Chris Hemsworth? Nope. Disappoint everywhere, I'm sure.

But this stuff is good for you and can help support your gains, recovery and overall health.

Well, as usual, I've turned what was supposed to be a quick comment into a long post. I'll probably make this it's own post, to complement this one.

Good luck brothers, and all the best!