For years, shirtless influencers have told middle-aged men that a diet of steak, eggs, and more steak is the cure for flagging testosterone. A new study of 2,546 men in Finland found the opposite: the more animal protein relative to plant protein a man ate, the lower his free testosterone. The 'Carnivore MD' himself reportedly had to quit eating so much meat after his own testosterone tanked.
The Study The Meat Bros Did Not Order
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, as reported by ScienceAlert, looked at 2,546 men aged 42 to 60 and checked how their diets lined up with their hormone levels. Participants carefully logged everything they ate over four days. Then the scientists compared the ratio of animal protein to plant protein against testosterone in the blood.
Men with a higher animal-to-plant protein ratio had lower total testosterone. Men who ate the most plant protein from non-grain sources, think vegetables, legumes, and nuts, had higher free testosterone.
Free testosterone is the stuff not bound to a protein in the bloodstream. It's essentially up for grabs. It's the version your body can actually use, which is why researchers pay attention to it.
A Cultural Trope Walks Into A Lab
There's a long-standing idea that real men eat meat. It's on bumper stickers. It's in steakhouse marketing. It's the entire personality of a certain kind of podcast guest.
In recent years, social media influencers have taken it a step further and claimed that eating meat and almost nothing else can reverse falling testosterone in later life. They sell it as a remedy. They sell a lot of things, actually, usually right next to the remedy.
The problem is that there's no robust evidence for any of it. The clinical evidence is scarce. And now a decent-sized study points in the other direction, at least on this one measure.
Even The Carnivore MD Tapped Out
Here's the part that should sting. Physician Paul Saladino was once known as the 'Carnivore MD.' He was the credentialed face of the whole movement. He reportedly had to quit eating so much meat because his testosterone dropped and caused sleep disturbances, heart palpitations, and muscle cramps.
Read that again. The guy with the nickname. The guy whose brand was the diet. His own body filed a complaint.
That's an anecdote, and we won't pretend it's a clinical trial. But when the poster child for a protocol has to walk it back for his own hormonal health, the people following him might want to take a look at the receipts.
The Fine Print, Because We Do Read It
Let's be honest about what this study does and doesn't show. The differences in testosterone were statistically significant but relatively small. Nutrition researcher Miika Wynne-Ellis conceded as much, saying the study cannot establish whether these differences have implications for health.
It's also observational, which means it can spot a link but can't prove one food caused another outcome. The cohort was predominantly Caucasian, so the results may not generalize to other populations.
And when the researchers modeled what would happen if a middle-aged man swapped animal protein for plant protein, the choice was not significantly associated with either total or free testosterone. So no, this is not a 'eat a lentil, grow a beard' situation. Anyone who tells you it is has the same rigor as the carnivore influencers.
Nobody Knows Why Yet, And That's Fine
Scientists can't say whether animal protein lowers testosterone, or why. They can only speculate. One possibility is that animal protein triggers inflammatory markers that suppress testosterone secretion. Another is that animal and plant proteins set off different metabolic responses, like alternate insulin reactions.
The authors also point out that plant protein sources tend to bring more fiber, carbohydrates, and unsaturated fatty acids, while animal sources tend to bring more saturated fat and cholesterol. Any of those could be doing the work.
The researchers also note that more testosterone isn't automatically better. The hormone needs to be carefully balanced, and science is still figuring out how diet nudges that balance. That's the honest answer, and it's a lot less marketable than 'eat a ribeye and become a god.'
The Dingo Take
The study is small in effect and big in irony. A group of men who built an identity around eating meat for hormonal glory may have been nudging their free testosterone the wrong way. Nobody saw that coming except, apparently, the Carnivore MD's own heart palpitations.
But let's not overcorrect. This isn't proof that a salad makes you a man, and the researchers say as much. What it proves is that a confident voice on a podcast is not a substitute for evidence, and that selling a cure before anyone has tested it is a business model, not a science. The gap between 'the clinical evidence is scarce' and 'this fixes your hormones' is where a lot of supplement money goes to live.
If you're worried about your testosterone, see an actual doctor who will run actual bloodwork. If you want to eat a steak because steak is delicious, go with God. Just don't expect it to do your endocrinology for you.
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