How to Increase Testosterone Naturally in Women

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0:42Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. low testosterone in women is actually a lot more common than most clinicians are aware of and certainly most women are aware of but it is never considered normal we're going to talk about the top three causes of low testosterone in women and i'm going to give you solutions on how exactly to address these and start to boost your testosterone naturally today if you're new to the channel hi i'm dr jolene brighton i'm board certified in naturopathic endocrinology i've been supporting women with their hormone health for over 15 years.

1:22I'm a nutrition scientist. I'm a certified menopause specialist, and I'm also a certified sex counselor. And this is the Dr. Brighton Show. If you can take a minute to leave me a review, I would appreciate it, but I'm not going to hold you up any longer because we need to get into exactly what is going on with your testosterone and what to do about it. Now, listen, if you have low energy, you're having trouble setting boundaries, you're losing muscle mass or you can't put it on no matter how hard you try, your libido has tanked, your orgasms have gone missing, and you're finding that maybe you could start a project but you don't have the motivation to do it and you certainly don't have the mental energy to see it through, you may have low testosterone.

2:06So let's get into the top three reasons that I see low testosterone in women and then stick around so I can give you solutions on what to do about it. Number one is chronic stress. Cortisol suppresses how your brain talks to your adrenal glands and how your adrenal glands respond to that communication. The adrenal glands are one of our primary sources of testosterone production by way of a hormone called DHEA. Now what chronic stress does is it causes dysregulation in the HPA axis, the hypothalamic pituitary, that's the brain part, adrenal access, two little glands that sit on top of your kidneys.

2:46When you're under chronic stress, DHEA levels drop, and what we see is testosterone can go low. And this is especially where high-achieving, under-recovered women are especially vulnerable. And what I mean by that is the people who are constantly in hustle culture never giving themselves a break, whether that is in their exercise routine, their work routine, their hardcore mom life, not taking enough time to pause. And what we see clinically is that you may have low libido, low motivation, poor strength gains, and you're feeling burnt out. Maybe you're very, very tired, but when your head hits the pillow, it's wired.

3:26It's that wired and tired feeling. Now keep in mind, chronic stress is not always psychological. Sometimes it can be due to inflammation, a chronic infection, if you have something like endometriosis. Anything that causes chronic systemic inflammation can also affect adrenal gland function and that can affect testosterone production. Now make sure you stick around till the end because I'm going to be giving you the best tips for increasing your testosterone naturally, including the dosages of supplements that I use in my clinical practice. Number two is one that most doctors don't talk about, but it's very common to see, and is hormonal birth control suppressing androgen production utilization.

4:14Actually, altogether, this is one of the most overlooked causes of low testosterone in women, and there is lots of science to support this. So what does the science say? How does the pill tank your testosterone? So combined oral contraceptives, that is estrogen and progestin, they shut down ovarian testosterone production. So how do women make testosterone? Ovaries and adrenals are the primary sites of testosterone production. So that chronic stress we talked about, that's hitting the adrenal glands, but the pill, it actually hits both. And it goes beyond that. So the pill can shut down how you produce testosterone from the ovaries, and in some people it can raise inflammation, and that can affect how your adrenal glands then make testosterone.

5:01But there's more. Taking oral estrogen significantly increases a protein called sex hormone binding globulin. Sex hormone binding globulin does exactly what it sounds like. It's going to bind to your testosterone and that's going to reduce your free, which is your active testosterone, and means it's less bioavailable. So now we don't make as much testosterone. What we do make, we bind up. But it goes beyond that. I know, right? Could there be another layer? Yes, there is. So some progestins are anti-androgenic. That's anti-testosterone. And they'll block testosterone signaling at the receptor.

5:41So here's the layers in which the pill hits your testosterone. Shuts down production from the main glands, then it binds up what's there, and then there's receptor dysfunction. Even increased inflammation can lead to receptor dysfunction. And so we have seen, there are multiple studies showing that there can be like a 40 to 60 % reduction in free testosterone in women who are using combined oral contraceptive pills. So this is very specific to the pill. And then the worst part of all of this is that these levels may remain suppressed even after you stop, especially if you've been on the pill long term.

6:19So what's really upsetting about this is that the pill is often used for conditions like PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, to address the high androgen state, the oily skin, the acne, the hirsutism, the hair growth where you don't want it. And doctors know that it can drop your testosterone, but they won't acknowledge that it's a pill problem when you report low libido and not a you problem. And what women are often told is, just have a glass of wine and get some lube. Super lame. And I'm sorry. I apologize for my colleagues. But the reality is, is that the pill does bring down testosterone, which does have therapeutic use.

6:57And that's well known. But also, so is the side effect of low libido. So you may have low libido, loss of orgasms, your genitals may feel less sensitive, you may have loss of muscle tone despite exercise. There are studies showing that that's not true in athletes. We don't have great robust studies showing that it's not true in all populations. Athletes, keep in mind, are constantly stimulating their muscle fibers like on a daily basis. So very different population. You may also have mood changes or if you're just feeling like I don't feel like myself anymore. And so it's important to understand that these side effects that come with the pill, they're not psychological.

7:36They literally are biochemical. They are in the package insert. They're very well documented. They are prescribers' handbooks. And so we know the pill can be one of the top causes of dropping women's testosterone. Now, before we get into our third cause of low testosterone in women, I do want to remind you that I have a plan for you, drbrighton.com slash plan, that will give you some of the tips I talk about today and even more because it's got recipes, it's got a meal plan, it's got exercise, sleep, stress reduction tips, and all of that is geared at helping you implement everything that we talk about on this podcast so you can begin to optimize your hormones.

8:20So that's d-r-b-r-i-g-h-t-e-n.com slash plan. I encourage you to grab that. I'll put it in the show notes. I will also put it in the description below if you are watching on YouTube. Now on to the third cause of low testosterone in women. Remember there can be more causes in this, but these are just the top three that I see clinically. So the last one is age-related decline. This is especially common in perimenopause. And if you're thinking, oh, perimenopause, that's for like a 50-year-old, slow your roll. We're going to get into that because here's the truth. Testosterone peaks in our early adulthood, but it starts declining as soon as our late 20s.

9:01By our late 30s, we typically start feeling it a bit. And by our 40s, we can definitely feel the effects of low testosterone. And that's because, again, one of our primary sources of testosterone production are the ovaries. And ovarian testosterone production will drop earlier than estrogen in many cases. But you have your adrenal glands to fall back on, right? So the adrenal glands are going to be your backup. They're like your generator for testosterone. Power goes out, adrenal glands come online, and they're going to contribute to that DHEA that becomes testosterone. Their contribution becomes more important in perimenopause.

9:44However, they become more stress sensitive. In fact, many women in perimenopause experience HPA access dysregulation, how the brain and the adrenal glands are talking. It becomes dysfunctional. Not because of you, because the world is stressful. You're sandwiched and caretaking. You no longer have progesterone to help you feel chill and calm. And now what does low testosterone look like for you? Reduce resilience, worsening brain fog, even if your labs are normal, lack of motivation, and you might find that your drive is down. Not just your sex drive, like your drive altogether. Like not holding boundaries, do not care, like don't want to follow through on anything.

10:27In fact, it's a testosterone problem. So while perimenopause-related testosterone decline may mean that you need to consider testosterone hormone therapy, we're going to talk about that in next week's episode, I would say to you, if you were my patient, that you should also be examining other avenues of your life that support testosterone. So I'm always a fan of everything that we can do for you that doesn't require a prescription for me because that means you get to be a lot more autonomous in your health, but sometimes we do need more support. But what I want to move into now are the evidence-based ways that you can help increase your testosterone levels and support your natural systems in doing it right.

11:12These do not replace hormone therapy when that's needed, but they will support production of testosterone and signaling. And if you choose to go the hormone route, they create an excellent foundation for you to have less side effects and get more benefits from those hormones. So number one is zinc. It's required for androgen synthesis. So eat your oysters, eat your steak. If you're vegan or vegetarian, don't worry, eat your pumpkin seeds, but get more zinc in your diet. When you have a deficiency in zinc, you will have lower testosterone. What we're looking at for doses of zinc is anywhere in the range of 15 to 30 milligrams a day.

11:54But what's important for you to know is that we always balance zinc with copper. We do not exceed 40 milligrams a day, especially long term. Now, number two is vitamin D. This is not about your immune system. This is about it functioning as a steroid hormone. So it acts like a hormone. And we know from the research that low levels of vitamin D, they correlate with lower free testosterone. So you've got to get your levels checked. If you are experiencing low testosterone, your vitamin D levels are below 50. We got to start talking about supplementation. Typically, we're using a dose of 2 ,000 to 4 ,000 IUs a day.

12:35Your provider should adjust that based on your vitamin D labs. Now, if you're on the pill and you were like, oh God, I just have to quit the pill. That's the only way forward. That truly is the root cause of your low testosterone, you may want to look at a different form of contraception to be using. So maybe you're going to go with a copper IUD, non-hormonal route, or you're going to go with the hormonal IUD. The biggest thing is don't just jump off the pill without a backup method if your primary reason for using it is not getting pregnant. Now the pill is well known for depleting nutrients and one of those is magnesium.

13:15Everyone who's experiencing low testosterone, magnesium glycinate is one you want to consider. And why I bring up the pill with this is because magnesium can help improve free testosterone by influencing that protein, sex hormone binding globulin that we talked about. It's also going to support your sleep and insulin sensitivity. Two things we haven't talked about, but those can absolutely impact your testosterone in a negative way. When we're dosing magnesium, typically we're using 300 milligrams a day and we're doing that at night because magnesium glycinate, that little glycinate molecule, is going to help you sleep better.

13:52So it's the perfect time to use it. You can take it at dinner or you can take it 30 to 60 minutes before bed. I want to move on to talking about an herb that can be helpful, but I want to preface by saying there are no magic herbs that will force a woman's testosterone higher. But there are herbs, like ashwagandha with clinical human trials that show that it can help with raising testosterone indirectly by affecting the HPA access. So the adrenal glands, again, coming in here, we're going to, and if you're perimenopause, listen in because this is something that can be helpful. It also can help with restoring hormonal signaling.

14:30So when we're looking at ashwagandha, we want to be taking that typically twice a day if we are under a lot of stress. It's because it can help with modulating cortisol levels and in modulating cortisol levels and that, remember I said DHEA can be suppressed, can indirectly support testosterone. But if you have to choose to take it one time a day, I would say to hit it in the evening to help you get better sleep. So ashwagandha may improve androgen levels in stressed individuals. And typical dose that we're looking at is 200 milligrams every time that you're taking it. So if you're taking it twice a day, 200 milligrams twice a day.

15:10If you're taking it once a day, just the 200 milligrams. And I will link in the show notes, and I'll put in the description below, some of the products that I use in my clinical practice. I'm talking about several nutrients here. It's nice when you can a combination product so that you're not having to take tons of things. I will link to some of those to make it easier. And so you can see what I use. Now, the next one to consider is increasing omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. That can help improve metabolic and ovarian signaling. It can also help with inflammation. So these are anti-inflammatory.

15:46Remember, we talked about inflammation can be a driver of why there is that cortisol issue, why there is that HPA access dysregulation. So taking omega-3 fatty acids, this can support androgen receptor function. So remember, we can make it and then we got to have it free, but we've got to get it onto the receptor and omega-3 fatty acids can help with that. Typically, we're looking at a dose of one to two grams a day, depending on your needs. And we're going to do a combination of EPA, which is anti-inflammatory and DHA because we love our brain. And having the combination can work really well, not just for our hormones, but for our brain health as well.

16:26Now, before we move into the next one, which is very, very important and not often talked about, I want to remind you that the Dr. Brayton Show has many episodes on how to support your cortisol, how to support yourself through perimenopause, how to support yourself if you're on the pill, how to reduce stress. There's a whole lot of resources. So I encourage you to subscribe to this channel so that you can make the most of the resources I provide in optimizing your hormones and filling your best. All right. So this big one is you have to reduce endocrine disruptor exposure. Our environment is full of things that disrupt our hormones.

17:08And this is not some, you know, fringe idea anymore. This is very well supported in the research. Things like BPA, phthalates, chemicals that are in flame retardant, anything in plastics, these can disrupt your androgen signaling. They can increase sex hormone binding globulin. In some instances, they are causing problems at the receptor level. So even if you are making your hormones, you can't actually utilize them. And the reality is, is that their effects are more pronounced in perimenopause where the whole system is recalibrating and feels like it's in chaos as it is. So I want to give you some high impact swaps, some really easy things to do today that doesn't overwhelm you.

17:53So first thing is take your plastic and replace it with glass or stainless steel. So glass or stainless steel is going to be a better option for our water bottles. And when it comes to heating our food, glass is going to be a better option for your Tupperware containers. We're not going to use Tupperware, right? Because those are plastic. You never want to heat your food in plastic. If you can, filter your drinking water. You want to be drinking like 60 plus ounces of water a day, at least most of us do. And we want to make sure that our water isn't delivering things like forever chemicals, which we know are pretty ubiquitous in our environment.

18:33We want to try to minimize the inputs as much as possible. You also want to minimize fragrance in your personal care products, candles, Glade plugins. Honestly, I know it can feel like a lot, but these are actually really low effort moves that have a high hormonal return and they can have a really big impact on your testosterone. Now, if you're asking yourself right now, what about hormone replacement therapy. That is coming up next week. I have a whole episode for you, not just like on like what you should know of the history of hormone replacement therapy or how women were done dirty. We're going to talk about the forms of testosterone that are available for women, how to know if you're a candidate, what to do to avoid the side effects, and what are the side effects you should be aware of, and how to talk to your provider about all of this.

19:22But if this episode has been helpful for you, I want you to go a little deeper on your learning, especially if you're struggling with low testosterone. And I want you to check out my video on the five ways to reduce your cortisol. Truly, adrenal gland dysfunction is one of the biggest reasons that we will see hormonal issues that are coming from the ovaries, testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone in women. And if you can get those strategies dialed in, that's going to do even more for your hormonal health. As always, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment, give me your feedback, and certainly leaving a review so that other women can find this podcast.

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