Raw eggs, ice baths, nofap – social media is full of ‘T-maxxing’ hacks. But what actually works – and which ones are pure bro-science?
There’s so much chat around testosterone these days that it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s, quite frankly, a load of balls.
Of course, with the new understanding around testosterone, there’s been some real positive advances in removing stigma around men’s health.
Unfortunately, though, there’s always a flip side; a huge spike of misinformation and profit-incentivised targeting which plays on men’s insecurities in an attempt to capitalise.
Enter, T-maxxing. A new online trend that’s started circulating, claiming to help men boost their testosterone levels – mainly for aesthetic reasons.
But do any of these trends actually work, and should you even be trying to boost your levels in the first place? We found out the truth from an expert doctor.
Dr David Weinstein has been a GP for 20 years, was formerly head of men’s health at Newman and now owns his own men’s health clinic – meaning he’s covered everything from the NHS to corporate clinics. We got the lowdown on everything you need to know.
Firstly, what is T-maxxing?
“T-maxxing is a pretty broad term for the idea of just getting testosterone up to the highest dose that you can,” says Dr Weinstein.
“It seems to be about achieving the hyper masculine ideal by building muscle – some of which is trying to do that naturally by going to the gym and eating healthy foods – but there is that slight toxic masculinity aspect which I would really like to try and distance what I do from.”
Does T-maxxing work?
With regards to the online trends claiming to boost testosterone such as ‘no-fap’, ice baths, raw eggs etc – does the doctor believe there’s any truth to those? “No, I really don’t,” he says. “These are mostly internet trends, and I don’t think there’s much evidence for any of them!”
However, there are ways to ‘t-max’ though simple lifestyle changes to help boost your hormones.
“There’s good evidence that sleeping well, clean living and not drinking do naturally help testosterone levels, as does actually going to the gym – but some of the other things are probably nonsense, and just really just content for people that they’re trying to sell,” he says.
“Eating a nutritious healthy and balanced diet, resistance training, getting really good sleep and cutting down stress (as cortisol is a stress hormone and that’s kind of the enemy of testosterone) will naturally improve your testosterone.”
Is having high levels of testosterone a good thing anyway?
The short answer is no. In fact, the only time you might want to try and boost your testosterone is if you have found out – via a blood test or speaking to a medical professional – that your testosterone is low.
If you’re experiencing the latter, you may have noticed symptoms such as low mood, erectile issues, drop in libido, fatigue, trouble gaining muscle and brain fog.
In this case, boosting testosterone to get it back to a balanced level might be recommended through lifestyle adjustments, or in some cases TRT. When the hormone is needed, it can be a very effective treatment.
“Although it’s really important to be cautious, men who genuinely have low levels of testosterone and are symptomatic, it’s absolutely life changing taking TRT,” says Dr Weinstein. “Many of those men come back and say they wish they’d done this years ago.”
In terms of testosterone being high, it’s unlikely you would experience these levels naturally without supplementation (which is currently illegal and unregulated). When testosterone levels get too high, there is a risk that your body stops producing it, causing infertility and a crash in the hormone.
High levels can also cause the risk of blood clots and a drop in libido – so it’s really safest to try and keep your hormone levels within a ‘normal’ range.
“The big risk is that you end up on a medication which has potential side effects that you are taking long term – and then it’s difficult for you to stop,” says the doctor. “You then have a medical solution when there are potentially non-medical ways of dealing with the problem first.”
He continues: “You might get somebody who’s really not looking after their health in terms of lifestyle, exercise, alcohol, sleep, stress etc, and they’re being given a drug to try and alleviate some of their symptoms, when it would be better for them to try and manage things with lifestyle.
Why are men being pushed to be high?
It’s most likely that the pressure to have high testosterone levels has come from a profit-based motivation, designed to target men based on their physical insecurities.
Those who have patients’ best interests at heart, should only be trying to get men to a regular level of the hormone.
“I would never recommend anyone to have very high levels,” says Dr Weinstein. “I think it’s slightly toxic to push ourselves in that direction, but that is what you see a lot of on Instagram – personal trainers who are absolutely huge and are endorsing testosterone – but it’s not how I look at things.”
“There’s a real gym culture among some guys, a kind of competitive thing, and they want to look a certain way – that’s really what it comes down to,” says Dr Weinstein.
“It’s about physique and vanity, and some of that is because then they feel that it will make them more attractive to women. That seems to be the fundamental aspect of it.”
What to do if you’re worried about your levels of testosterone
“If you’ve got genuine symptoms of low testosterone: [such as] low libido, lack of morning erections, low mood and fatigue, then getting a blood test is a genuinely valuable thing.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that you should automatically be put on testosterone supplements, but getting a check is a reasonable thing to do,” advises Dr Weinstein.
“I would always advocate seeing a doctor who is effectively independent in the sense that they are not on a commission, or not going to profit wildly from you being started on testosterone,” he recommends.
“That way hopefully you’re paying someone who can give you an honest opinion on you as an individual, your health and your blood levels.
“You need someone to look at your health holistically rather than seeing you as just a number and a way of making a bit of money – but it can be hard for people to try and navigate that.”
