Old School Bodybuilders, Testosterone, and Saturated Fat
by Mark Wilson
I probably should have been born in the 1940's.
Why?
Because I look up to many of the old school bodybuilders from that era.
Long before steroids and performance-enhancing drugs soiled the sport, these men carved out astounding physiques, the old school way.
By training smart, and eating right.
Men like Armand Tanny, John Grimek, and Vince Gironda.
These pioneers of the muscle game didn't keep a bottle of testosterone cypionate in the medicine cabinet.
They didn't rely on fractioned, low-fat, over-processed foods either.
Vince shunned the primitive soy-based protein powders of the day, and got his aminos the way mother nature intended.
From food!
He believed a large percentage of your daily food intake should be consumed in a raw, natural state.
His go-to guys were steak tarter, whole eggs, and raw milk.
Yup, Vince, John, Armand, and most of the other muscle men of that era ate what I like to call "man food."
Food that real men consumed, before fat phobia took over our collective conscious in the late 70s and early 80s.
As a matter of fact, these men embraced fat, from clean, animal-based sources, and for good reason.
For one, fat is good for you!
Surprised? More on that later…
Second, fat, especially saturated fat, is vital for optimal Testosterone Production.
Studies have shown conclusively, that male vegetarians, who typically consume very little saturated fat, have considerably lower levels of testosterone compared to non vegetarians.
In 2005 JS Volek conducted a study titled, The case for not restricting saturated fat on a low carbohydrate diet.
This research compared the dietary records of several men involved in weight training.
The authors found significant correlations between testosterone levels and total and saturated fat intake among men with a history of at least one year of weight training.
Penn State researchers came to some of the same conclusions…
Specifically, they found that monounsaturated and saturated fat raise testosterone levels, while polyunsaturated has the exact opposite effect.
The take home message from the study above?
Avoid the oxidized, liquid oils in clear plastic bottles, sitting on the grocery store shelf.
Instead, get your fat from grass-fed beef, free range eggs, whole milk, almonds, and olive oil.
These foods, specifically meat, milk, and eggs, are swimming in substances that a man's body needs in order to build muscle.
These include zinc, cholesterol (a steroid hormone precursor), B vitamins, choline, vitamin A, K, and D, iron, protein, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, calcium, etc..
Remember…
Take the yolk out of the egg, the fat out of the milk, or the meat out of the diet, and you can kiss these nutrients bye bye, because they're gone!
But what about health you say?
I say, don't sweat it!
As long as your fat doesn't come wrapped in two all beef patties, special sauce, and a sesame seed bun, you're going to be OK.
In other words, the fat, in and of itself, isn't the problem, it's what you're eating along with the fat, that is.
So, drop the burger, the fries, and the super sized drink, and you've got nothing to worry about.
Need proof?
The French diet is very high in saturated fats from butter, eggs, cheese, cream, liver, and meats, yet they have 50% less coronary heart disease, compared to those living in the US.
The Masai out of Africa, who consume meat, blood, and milk, and get more than 50% of their calories from saturated fat, suffer very little heart disease.
In a meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Siri-Tarino and colleagues concluded that the evidence does not support "the conventional wisdom that reduced dietary saturated fat intake is beneficial for cardiovascular health."
They went on to say…
Clinical trials and prospective-cohort studies have not consistently shown that reducing dietary saturated fat lowers cardiovascular risk. And, replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate has NOT been shown to reduce CVD risk.
Again, I go back to the old school bodybuilders for proof that this current dietary mindset is entirely misguided.
Our three boys, according to conventional wisdom, should have all died very young from heart disease.
But, that's not what happened…
Vince survived to within a month of his 80th birthday.
John Grimek made it to 88, and Armand Tanny, the biggest carnivore of them all, lived until the ripe old age of 90.
Compare these numbers to the new school guys, who often check out before they reach the age of 60.
We could all learn a lot from the old school bodybuilders.
Mark Wilson is the owner of Boost-Your-Low Testosterone.com, a website dedicated to natural therapies you can use to increase testosterone levels, build muscle, and boost sex drive, without doctors, drugs, or artificial hormones.
