What to avoid before testosterone test

What to avoid before a testosterone test? When we do a testosterone level test, we want to do everything right to get the best possible reading.

We don’t accidentally want to do something that can reduce our serum total testosterone levels by 200ng/dl right? We could be 800ng/dl, but due to this one thing, now you’re at 600ng/dl. Not bad, but it could be better.

What we’re going to discuss

• Why do we want to be an alpha energy male?
• What to avoid before a testosterone test
  • #1 Avoid intense exercise before a testosterone test
  • #2 Avoid alcohol before a testosterone test
  • #3 Avoid eating before a testosterone test
  • Fasting vs non-fasting before a testosterone testosterone
  • #4 Other things to avoid
• Timing: Is testing first thing in the day necessary
  • Working nightshift (or just sleep in late)
  • Night shift
  • Rotating shift work
  • Intermittent fasting
  • Study 1 – 16/8 IF lowers T after 8 weeks
  • Study 2 – 16/8 IF doesn’t lower T after 4 weeks
  • Study 3 – 16/8 IF lowers T after 1 year
• FAQ
  • Does alcohol lower testosterone?
  • Can I workout the day before a testosterone test?
  • Does ejaculation before a blood test lower testosterone?
  • Does caffeine lower testosterone?
  • Does time of day matter for a testosterone test?
  • What can cause a false low testosterone level?
  • What is the average testosterone level by age?
  • How much does testosterone drop through the day?
  • Is there an at-home testosterone blood test to test for low testosterone levels?
• Summary

What to avoid before a testosterone test

I’m going to share with you 3 main things to avoid before a testosterone test.

• Exercise
• Alcohol
• Eating

#1 Avoid intense exercise before a testosterone test

Various forms of exercise can have multiple effects on testosterone.

Lifting heavy weights that require a lot of muscle mass (squats, deadlifts, clean and jerk, etc.) stimulates the release of testosterone. This increase peaks around 30-60 minutes after a workout, which then declines from there. This effect is much more pronounced in beginners and significantly blunted in advanced trainers (R).

Another study found that doing 4 sets of 10 squats with 90 seconds of rest increased testosterone by 15% after 24 hours and 9% after 48 hours (R).

A CrossFit-style workout could spike your testosterone immediately after the workout, but your testosterone can drop afterward (R). You can see one guy got a massive spike in testosterone after the workout, but then his testosterone was back to normal within the hour. Most guys had lower testosterone 60 min after the workout than before.

If you do a chill stimulating workout, such as 4 sets of 10, you might get a boost in testosterone. But if you do a balls-to-the-wall grueling Crossfit style workout, you can expect a decrease testosterone levels.

This will also throw your creatine kinase levels off which will freak out the doctor.

#2 Avoid alcohol before a testosterone test

Moderate alcohol consumption (1-2 glasses of wine or 1 beer) the night before the test should have a neutral effect on testosterone. However, drinking moderate or large amounts of alcohol every single night will likely lower testosterone.

#3 Avoid eating before a testosterone test

The standard recommendation is to not eat before a blood test when done in the morning. This is because food consumption has been shown to lower testosterone.

Also, testosterone is the highest in the morning, so you don’t want to do anything that will bring down your peak.

However, this is only applicable to younger individuals (<45 years).

Let me first show you 3 studies on food intake and testosterone.

Study 1 – glucose intake on testosterone

75g of glucose consumption decreased testosterone levels by 25%. Testosterone levels remained suppressed even after 120 min (13·7 ± 0·6 vs 16·5 ± 0·7 nmol/L). SHBG, LH and cortisol levels remained unchanged (R).

Study 2 – McDonald’s on testosterone

Consuming a McDonald’s meal reduced testosterone by 25% within 1 hour of eating, which remained suppressed for up to 4 hours. LH didn’t differ (R).

Study 3 – glucose or mixed meal on testosterone

Consuming either 75g of glucose or mixed meal 1.5 Cal/mL at 5ml/kg/BW (15% protein, 58% carbohydrate, 28% fat (e.g. 750 calories for 100kg guy with 28g protein, 109g carbs and 23g fat)) (R). These meals suppressed testosterone for over 120 min. Interestingly, it would seem that total calories are not the determining factor for how big the suppression is.

Fasting vs non-fasting before a testosterone testosterone

This study found no difference in testosterone between the fasting and non-fasting groups in men aged 45-51 (R). However, they had low testosterone levels to begin with. The fasting and non-fasting groups had testosterone of 10.9 and 11.1nmol/L, respectively (R).

The healthier someone is and the higher their testosterone is, the more important it becomes to test in the fasted state.

#4 Other things to avoid

• Drugs
• Sleep loss
• Partying all night
• Anything crazy or abnormal from the regular routine
• Avoid sexual activity. Sex/ejaculation is only likely going to increase proalctin and PSA levels on you PSA test restuls, but it is unlikely to decrease testosterone.

Timing: Is testing first thing in the day necessary

Testosterone fluctuates during the day. It peaks around 7-10am and then is about 20-25% lower at 4 to 8pm. The difference declined
with age, with only a 10% difference at 70 years of age (R).

This study illustrates it quite well. They tested 229 men with an average age of 61 years. If they tested between 8-11am, testosterone was on average 411.7ng/dl. After that, testosterone was lower (R).

But as you can see in the graph, the difference isn’t that big. That’s because the men were on average 61 years of age and they have lost most of the daily fluctuations in testosterone.

In this regard, some clinicians argue that for men over 45 years of age, it shouldn’t matter when they test for testosterone. It would be too inconvenient to tell the patient to come back the next day in the morning to get their blood drawn when they are already in the clinic. Get it all done at the same time.

Working nightshift (or just sleep in late)

What about night shifts or rotating shifts?

Night shift

When someone does nightshifts, their body adapts to it and they don’t get a drop in testosterone. In this study, researchers tested 16 urinary steroids of men who did night shifts for at least 1 year. And they found that night shift workers had increased levels of progestagens and androgens (including testicular and adrenal steroids).

Some people adapt to night shifts and thrive. This study found that shift workers who were satisfied had a testosterone of 14nmol/L (404ng/dl) and those who were unsatisfied had a testosterone of 10nmol/L (288ng/dl) (R).

Also, night shift workers’ androgens peaked much later compared with day workers (R). This means that your testosterone will likely peak more or less when you wake up. But since you wake up in the late afternoon, your T will peak then, not in the morning. So you can either test when you wake up, or before you go to bed the following day. Just expect your T will be lower in the morning than in the evening.

Rotating shift work

In terms of shift work (e.g. 1 week, day shift, next week, night shift), your body doesn’t really get the chance to adapt and shift workers tend to have lower levels of total and free testosterone than non-shift workers (430ng/dl vs 580ng/dl) (R).

Intermittent fasting

Food is a strong regulator of the circadian rhythm. If you skip the first meal of the day, the testosterone peak will likely happen later. E.g. if you wake up at 7am and eat at 7:30 or 8, testosterone will peak at that time.

Practicing intermittent fasting might delay your testosterone peak and give you a false reading when you test first thing in the day.

Study 1 – 16/8 IF lowers T after 8 weeks

Moro et al in 2016 found that 16/8 IF lowered testosterone (21.26 to 16.86nmol/L) after 8 weeks. Calorie intake did not differ between the groups (R).

Study 2 – 16/8 IF doesn’t lower T after 4 weeks

This 2020 study also utilizing the 16/8 fasting regime found that 4 weeks of IF didn’t lower testosterone (the average stayed around 580ng/dl) (R).

Study 3 – 16/8 IF lowers T after 1 year

In this 12-month study (published in 2021), time-restricted feeding (16h fast/8h feast) reduced testosterone from 19.55nmol/L (564ng/dl) to 14.61 (421.4ng/dl). Basically a 140ng/dl drop. The likely reason for this is that over time, the TRE group ate fewer calories, from 2760 to 2580 calories, whereas the non-fasting group ate roughly 2900 calories daily (R).

12 months of 16/8 intermittent fasting lowered testosterone by 140ng/dl! (from 564 to 421.4ng/dl) pic.twitter.com/LjeztzAEHK

— Hans Amato || testosterone optimization (@HansAmato) July 10, 2023

FAQ

Does alcohol lower testosterone?

A glass or two of alcohol will likely not lower testosterone, but drinking multiple glasses or beers per day will lower testosterone. Just to play it safe, I’d rather not have alcohol the day before.

Can I workout the day before a testosterone test?

Depending on the kind of workout, it can either lower or increase your testosterone the next day. A bodybuilding style training with low to moderate volume and short rest might increase your testosterone. But Crossfit style workout might decrease your testosterone.

Does ejaculation before a blood test lower testosterone?

Masturbation or ejaculation doesn’t lower or increase testosterone (R). However, viewing erotic images or videos (watching porn or even social media these days), has been shown to increase testosterone (R). Looking at half-naked women before a blood test might lead to slightly higher testosterone levels.

Does caffeine lower testosterone?

Coffee (or energy) drinkers don’t have lower testosterone than non-drinkers. Some studies have found that coffee drinkers tend to have slightly higher testosterone than non-drinkers (50ng/dl on average).

Does time of day matter for a testosterone test?

Yes, if you’re young and healthy. Testosterone is about 20-25% higher in the morning than in the evening, however, this declines a lot with age.

If someone is overweight and middle-aged, the timing of day doesn’t matter all that much anymore.

What can cause a false low testosterone level?

Exercising too hard the previous day. Drinking too much. Not sleep enough. Not eating enough calories the couple of days leading up to the test (big caloric deficit or fasting).

What is the average testosterone level by age?

The average testosterone across age and race is 450-600ng/dl for healthy individuals.

• Testosterone across age
• Free testosterone across age
• Testosterone across race

How much does testosterone drop through the day?

Testosterone drops by about 20-25% during the day. However, this percentage decreases to only about 10% by the age of 70.

Is there an at-home testosterone blood test to test for low testosterone levels?

There are a few at-home testosterone tests. It can be tested via urine, saliva or blood. However, blood is the most accurate. There are 2 ways to go about it. You can either let a nurse come to your house/place to do the blood draw or you can order a blood spot test and do it yourself.

Summary

The key is not to do anything crazy for a day or two beforehand. If you’re young and healthy, do the blood test fasted between 7-10am. If you’re >50, the timing of day doesn’t matter all that much, but if you consider yourself to be in great health, then consider doing it first thing in the day fasted.

• How to interpret your testosterone blood test
• How to maximize your testosterone naturally
• How to increase your free testosterone

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