Are you feeling tired, experiencing weight gain, or suffering from other mysterious problems? Low testosterone might be the issue.

However, you don’t have to suffer from lowered testosterone levels forever. Once you know what causes low testosterone, you can start finding ways to fight the problem at the root. In this guide, we’ll go over some common low testosterone causes, so you’ll know how to treat them.

Learn the reasons for low testosterone so you know how to fight back. Keep reading for the information you need!

What Causes Low Testosterone?

There are a few different causes of low testosterone in males. Let’s take a look at some low testosterone causes, including both common and surprising factors.

1. Refined Carbs

Yes, those refined carbohydrates are delicious – but they can also contribute to hormonal issues.

The modern diet typically contains all kinds of processed carbs. You might eat cereal for breakfast with dairy milk, a cheeseburger with french fries for lunch, and a bowl of spaghetti for dinner.

This is a pretty normal American diet, but it can lead to heightened insulin secretion from your pancreas. Elevated insulin doesn’t always mean diabetes – it can start to cause problems long before that disease kicks in.

This elevated insulin messes with the body’s hormonal system, which can suppress the production of testosterone. It can take as much as a year of strictly watching your carb intake to get your insulin levels back to normal. However, it’s well worth it to get your hormones back on track.

2. Meat

Hormones in meat can also cause low testosterone in young men and other men who wouldn’t usually have this issue.

The dairy, beef, and pork industries use a lot of hormones. If you love your red meat, this could be one of your reasons for low testosterone.

How can you fight back? Start by working more vegetables into your diet. Vegetables are healthy in a general sense, but they also can help spark the normal production of hormones. And, if you do eat meat and dairy products, seek out ones that are hormone-free and grass-fed.

3. Xenoestrogens

This may sound like a sci-fi term, but it’s actually another of the causes of low testosterone in males.

Today’s environment contains massive amounts of chemicals that weren’t there just a hundred years ago. The effects of these new environmental factors aren’t yet fully understood, but we do know that a lot of these chemicals act like estrogen – hence the name.

Endocrine disruptors like phthalates and BPA are another common cause of low testosterone in young men. Too much exposure can even mess with puberty in boys. To avoid these environmental factors, try to eat organic food as much as you can.

4. Estrogen in the Water

Even good ol’ water isn’t completely free of risk. Today’s municipal water supplies are being contaminated with estrogen, due to frequently-prescribed pharmaceuticals with synthetic estrogen.

These estrogens in the water are thought to cause issues like sex changes in fish and lowered populations of aquatic species. To protect yourself, invest in a reverse-osmosis filtered water system at home, and buy filtered water when you’re out of the house.

5. Stress

Everyday stress is another one of the most common causes of low testosterone. If the stress is constant and you can’t catch a break, your reproductive system might start to show the signs.

What causes low testosterone in stressed-out men? Your cortisol levels go up when you’re stressed out, which suppresses your central hormone pathways. This hinders normal secretion of reproductive hormones, such as testosterone.

Even if your body does produce the levels of hormones it needs, stress can sometimes actually block the testosterone from working. Either way, it’s important to find a way to reduce stress in your life – this is just one of many stress-related health issues you may experience.

6. Beer

Even your best friend, beer, can be a culprit. If you’re a moderate drinker, you’re not free from worry: even moderate consumption can lower testosterone by almost 7 percent.

You might be surprised to learn that hops are the reason for this effect. Hops can have an effect that’s similar to estrogen, which messes with testosterone levels.

The link between hops and estrogen is surprisingly strong: some researchers are actually looking into hops as a way to treat women with menopause-related hot flashes. The more you can limit your beer consumption, the safer you’ll be from this estrogen-like effect.

7. Primary Hypogonadism

Sometimes, it’s not lifestyle choices but medical issues that cause low testosterone.

Primary hypogonadism is caused by underactive testes. They don’t make enough testosterone, so low-T levels are the result. Sometimes this issue is inherited, while other times illness or an accident can cause it.

If it’s inherited, the issue might spring from testes that haven’t descended, or from Klinefelter’s syndrome. In this syndrome, the man was born with three sex chromosomes instead of two: X, X, and Y. Another genetic cause of primary hypogonadism is hemochromatosis, which means the blood has too much iron.

Physical injury can also cause this issue. Diseases linked to underactive testes include mumps, and cancer – radiation and chemotherapy may damage the testes.

8. Secondary Hypogonadism

In this cause of low testosterone, the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland has been damaged. These are the areas of your brain that are in charge of producing hormones.

Again, secondary hypogonadism can be inherited or brought on by disease or injury. If it’s inherited, it can be caused by a number of pituitary disorders. Kallman syndrome, which causes abnormal functioning of the hypothalamus, is another genetic cause.

Other diseases, including inflammatory diseases like tuberculosis, and HIV, can also affect these parts of the brain. Obesity, aging, and certain medications may also cause secondary hypogonadism.

What to Do About Low Testosterone

Now that you know what causes low testosterone, what should you do about it?

There are many different ways to treat this issue. Medical professionals can help you decide what method will be best for you.

Are you in the Boca Raton area? Don’t wait – contact us today for your free consultation.