The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [109]
Four Hours Prior to Sex
4 Brazil nuts
20 raw almonds
2 capsules of the above-mentioned fermented cod/butter combination
Sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is the party spoiler.
SHBG binds to testosterone16 and renders it inert for our purposes, and “total testosterone” in blood tests can therefore be misleading. Some vegans have been shown to have higher testosterone levels than both meat-eaters and vegetarians, for example, but higher levels of SHBG cancel out this advantage. In other studies, consumption of cholesterol has been shown to be inversely correlated with SHBG. In other words, the more cholesterol you eat, the less SHBG you have.
From Carruthers’s Androgen Deficiency in the Adult Male: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment:
Strict low cholesterol diets have been shown to lower total and free testosterone levels by 14%. Vegetarian diets, especially if low in protein, can increase SHBG, further reducing FT [free testosterone]. However, men put on a low-fat, high-fiber, vegetarian diet have a 18% reduction in both total testosterone and FT, which is reversed when they go back on a normal diet.… Conversely, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, such as the fashionable weight-reduction Atkins diet, may partly exert their slimming action by raising total testosterone and lowering SHBG.
SHBG isn’t evil, and we don’t want to eliminate it, but a little less SHBG equals a little more free testosterone. This isn’t evil either. It actually makes life much more interesting. This is the reason for our cholesterol-loading in Protocol 2.
How Well Can It Work?
Here is a sample of before-and-after sex hormone results from my first experiment (protocol 1), excluding Brazil nuts, which were added later:
APRIL 3, 2009 (BEFORE) TO AUGUST 20, 2009 (AFTER)
Total testosterone: 244.8 to 653.3 (normal: 170–780; it would later jump to 835, more than tripling my original value, with the addition of Brazil nuts)
Free testosterone: 56 to 118 (normal: 47–244)
Percentage free testosterone: 2.3% to 1.8%
Bioavailable testosterone: 150 to 294 (normal: 128–430)
Albumin: 5 to 4.6 (normal: 3.5–4.8)
DHEA-S: 170.5 to 201.8
FSH: 6 to 8.5 (normal: 1.27–19.26)
Estradiol: 39 to <20 (normal in males: <47)
Eager to give it a shot?
This chapter is enough to get started, but the real magic happens when we finesse the details. Be sure to read “Sex Machine II: Details and Dangers” in the Appendices if you’re serious about kicking testosterone and sex drive into overdrive.
TOOLS AND TRICKS
SpectraCell Laboratories (www.fourhourbody.com/spectra) SpectraCell is the micronutrient testing lab allegedly used by Lance Armstrong. I uncovered my selenium deficiency through SpectraCell and used Brazil nuts, among other things, to correct it. To find local SpectraCell clinicians, go to: www.fourhourbody.com/spectra. More on this in “Sex Machine II.”
Blue Ice™ Butter Oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend (www.fourhourbody.com/butterblend) This is the cod/butter combination I used. Blue Ice™ is from a small manufacturer and production is limited.
Carlson Super 1000mg Cod Liver Oil (www.fourhourworkweek.com/cod) A decent substitute if the above is sold-out, but consume at the same time as the below.
Vitamin-Rich Butter Fat: Kerrygold Irish butter (www.kerrygold.com/usa/locator.php) This site helps you find local stores where you can buy Kerrygold Irish butter. If you’d prefer to order online, check www.foodireland.com and click “Deli Counter” at the top of the screen.
ZRT At-Home Vitamin D Test Kits (www.fourhourbody.com/testd) If you spend a lot of your time indoors, there’s a good chance that you are deficient in vitamin D. Don’t just guess what amount of vitamin D you need, as overdosing will produce side effects.
SpectraCell is a more reliable blood-based test, but ZRT’s saliva mail-in kit can give you an inexpensive estimate of your vitamin D levels. Once you’ve established your baseline,