How To Raise Your Testosterone Levels Ftm

Maria Bez, is a registered Nutritional Therapist and Kinesiologist. She is also a GenderGP community member. Maria is the mother of a transgender son, and a health professional. Helping transgender people stay healthy or address specific physical or emotional symptoms through an MTF diet or an FTM diet and lifestyle, is a subject very close to her heart.

Everyone can benefit physically from making healthy food choices, including those on an MTF Diet or an FTM diet. It doesn't have to cost anything if you buy locally grown fruit and vegetables and it can help you feel good too.

*Please note: We use terminology like AMAB (assigned male at birth), MtF (male-to-female), and trans-feminine interchangeably for understanding across all age groups, cultures, genders, and identities. For more information. check out our glossary of terms.

Benefits include:

Achieving your ideal hormone balance
Reducing body dysphoria
Giving you a sense of control in life
Addressing other health problems
Improving how clothes look and fit
Uplifting your mood, energy, and self-esteem
Helping with sleep
Reducing depression and anxiety

As a trans person on an MTF Diet or FTM diet, you will have varied nutritional needs depending on which hormones you're taking and what your overall health is like. Below I have outlined some general tips and considerations. These guidelines do not replace advice from a medical practitioner.

Let's start with the basics: our MTF diets and FTM diets are made up of protein, carbohydrate and fat. The variation of these key elements determine how healthy our overall diet is. Too much in one direction or another can lead to an unbalanced, unhealthy diet. My healthy eating plate graphic outlines what proportion of fats, protein etc you need.

So where do I find these key elements for my MTF Diet or FTM Diet?

Protein

Found in meat, fish, nuts, seeds, tofu, eggs. No specific protein recommendations exist for transgender people, although a slightly higher protein intake may be beneficial in the context of weight gain, if you are a transgender man who is also looking to build muscle. Protein is also useful if you are a transgender female trying to keep to a healthy weight because it helps control insulin which is also known as the 'fat storage hormone'.

As a guide, I usually say to my clients that a piece of meat or fish the size of your palm is enough for a meal. For transgender men I would urge caution in going to extremes and having too much protein – for example in protein shakes etc to build muscle as this can lead to kidney problems. My advice to those looking to bulk up is to have moderate amounts of protein and do weight bearing exercises.

Fat

Fats are an essential component in any healthy, balanced MTF diet or FTM diet. They can be divided into good and bad fats. Here we will focus on the good fats.

Hormones are made of fat, so it's important to eat good fats to help with hormone development. Fat is also essential as it coats your nerve cells which helps you to cope with stress and stay emotionally balanced.

Good fats include avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish. Be conscious of products that are marketed as being healthy. For example, did you know that 'healthy spreads' are grey in colour, before they are bleached by the manufacturer to look like butter! Who wants to eat that! It's best to consume food in its most natural form i.e. a little butter spread on your toast is healthier than a grey mush!

Saturated fats (bad fats) may lead to increased blood fats (triglyerides) and unhealthy cholesterol. Bad fats include items such as cheese as well as the processed fats found in deep fried food and crisps etc.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are mainly sugars and starches that the body breaks down into glucose for energy. They include potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals and sugars. These foods make it harder to lose fat, because your body uses these for energy before it uses fat.

Consuming an excessive amount of refined carbs will cause blood sugar to rise which can trigger fat storage rather than fat burning. It also triggers high cortisol which can make any feelings of anxiety worse. Once insulin and cortisol rise too high, they work to decrease testosterone.

Ideally, you should include carbohydrates in your MTF diet or FTM diet to help increase your energy levels, but try to choose healthier unrefined versions: e.g. wholegrain rice, pasta, wholemeal bread, cereals and starchy veg (potatoes, carrots, parsnips).

Other healthy food choices include unprocessed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts, and seeds. Products that are high in animal fat should be avoided.

It is also important to ensure that you are having enough fibre through vegetables.

Please see my healthy eating plate diagram which outlines the ideal portions. Colourful vegetables are very important because they provide protective phytonutrients. Peppers, beetroot, carrots, tomatoes, squash have been shown to protect against diseases and aging.

Specific guidelines for transgender individuals for an MTF Diet or FTM Diet:

To lower testosterone for transgender women

Reduce meat but make sure you have protein from e.g. nuts, seeds, eggs.
Reduce cholesterol by cutting back on saturated fats, processed food and deep-fried food (crisps, fish and chips).
Increase soy from tofu, miso, soya sauce, edamame beans.
Eat organic food.

To lower oestrogen for transgender men

Increase fibre from vegetables.
Increase flaxseed.
Increase foods with sulphur: eggs, meat, fish, nuts, seeds.
Increase organic food.
Reduce caffeine.
Reduce processed food.

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To count or not to count?

Calorie counting is not going to drive healthier eating or give you a healthy weight and is a great thing to add to an MTF diet or FTM diet. If you count calories, you will think that an avocado and a doughnut are equal (an avocado has 250 calories and a jam doughnut has 252 calories). But they are not.

Avocados are:

Burned at a higher rate than other types of fats.
Increase the rate at which fat is burned.
Cause the body to burn more calories after eating.
Reduce appetite and decrease the desire to eat after a meal.

A doughnut does none of the above!

A daily menu for a transgender man (FTM Diet)

Breakfast

scrambled egg, avocado and tomato on sourdough toast.

Lunch

chicken or tuna salad with lots of coloured foods (tomato, beetroot, pepper, lettuce, sweet potato, flaxseeds).

Dinner

meat or fish with half your plate covered with vegetables.

Snacks

nuts and seeds with a piece of fruit.

Treat

a little dark chocolate.

A daily menu for a transgender woman (MTF Diet)

Breakfast

eggs with tomatoes, avocado or a soya yoghurt sprinkled with nuts and seeds).

Lunch

meat, fish or eggs with salad (tomato, beetroot, pepper, lettuce, sweet potato, flaxseeds).

Dinner

meat or fish with half your plate covered with vegetables.

Treat

a little dark chocolate.

I like to make a big frittata (effectively a thick omelet) using 10 eggs and loads of vegetables. I then keep it in the fridge and have a slice for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's a quick way of getting something healthy into your diet and helps to control blood sugar. It can last up to four days in the fridge.

Water is vitally important to our health. It helps regulate our blood pressure, helps concentration and detoxification. Aim to drink between one and two litres of water throughout the day.

Alcohol can disrupt blood sugar levels and hormones and make depression worse. Always moderate alcohol and try to keep to less than seven units per week.

References:

Bedell, Sarah. (2014). The pros and cons of plant estrogens for menopause.The pros and cons of plant estrogens for menopause. 139 (10), Pages 225-236.
Gomes, S., Jacob, M., Rocha, C., Medeiros, M., Lyra, C., & Noro, L. (2021). Expanding the limits of sex: A systematic review concerning food and nutrition in transgender populations. Public Health Nutrition, 1-14. doi:10.1017/S1368980021001671
Linsenmeyer, W., Drallmeier, T. & Thomure, M. Towards gender-affirming nutrition assessment: a case series of adult transgender men with distinct nutrition considerations.Nutr J 19,74 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-020-00590-4

How To Raise Your Testosterone Levels Ftm

Source: https://www.gendergp.com/mtf-diet-ftm-diet-nutrition-health-for-transgender-community/

How To Raise Your Testosterone Levels Ftm