This Type of Fruits and Veggies can Harm a Man's Hormone Balance (We're referring to your Testosterone to Estrogen ratio) by Mike Geary,

This Type of Fruits and Veggies can Harm a Man's Hormone Balance
(We're referring to your Testosterone to Estrogen ratio)

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist
& Dr. Richard Cohen, MD

Everybody "knows" that fruits and veggies are some of the healthiest foods that you can eat for overall health. However, what you probably don't realize is that some types of conventional (non organic) fruits and veggies contain enough pesticide residues to disrupt your hormones, most notably harming the testosterone to estrogen ratios of men, and causing many "low-T" related problems in older men as described below.

The reason for this is that many pesticides are endocrine disruptors and act as something called xenoestrogens.  Xenoestrogens are essentially chemicals that we are exposed to that mimic the action of estrogen in our bodies.

While some pesticides mimic estrogen and take over cellular receptor sites, others also interfere with the chemical pathways responsible for the formation and/or delivery of testosterone and/or estrogen.

Besides pesticides, other sources of xenoestrogens that can harm your hormone balance are plastics (BPA and phthalates being a couple of the worst), lotions, shampoos, chemical sunscreens, shaving creams, and other cleaning and beauty supplies.


If you're a man reading this, you should take the topic of xenoestrogens very seriously, because if you don't, you'll slowly accumulate more and more xenoestrogens in your body until your levels are high enough that you start to experience some of these problems:

• excess belly fat
• a decreased desire for sex
• erectile dysfunction to varying degrees
• less muscular strength and power
• lack of energy
• problems sleeping
• and just an overall feeling that you are less of a man than you used to be (decreased manliness)

High levels of testosterone are, quite literally, what make you a man and keep you healthy and vital throughout your entire life.  The loss of youthful levels of testosterone can greatly diminish your energy, strength, mental, emotional, and sexual function and contribute to fatigue, premature aging, and disease.  Luckily, your testosterone level—and overall state of well-being—are within your control if you do some of the right things, and one of the first actions you can take is to minimize your exposure to xenoestrogens.  

Getting back to the problem of pesticides in your food, your best bet is to buy as much of your food as possible as organic to minimize  your exposure to xenoestrogen pesticides.

However, if the slightly higher cost of organic food is a concern for you, at the very least, make sure to buy the "dirty dozen" as organic, since those are the fruits and veggies with the highest levels of xenoestrogen pesticides.

The "dirty dozen" to always buy organic are:

• apples, 
• celery, 
• bell peppers, 
• peaches, 
• strawberries, 
• nectarines, 
• grapes, 
• spinach, 
• lettuces, 
• cucumbers, 
• blueberries, 
• and potatoes

Kale and green beans also should be organic.  Organic fruits and vegetables will be labeled with a sticker beginning with the number nine; conventional foods with the number four.  

Did you know that ALL of these factors below also dramatically affect your Testosterone levels, either in a bad way or a good way, depending on which factor we're talking about...

• Your stress levels
• Eating the RIGHT amounts of fats and proteins (and enough cholesterol too since that's a building block of Testosterone)
• Utilizing adaptogenic herbs
• Keeping your testicles from overheating too often
• Minimizing carrying your cell phone in your pocket right next to your testicles
• Doing the RIGHT types of exercises that boost T levels, and minimizing the exercises that harm your T levels  

The next page will talk more about these and show you how to skyrocket your T levels, maximize your energy, strength, and libido, and feel like you're 25 again!