Organ Meats for Men: Testosterone, Energy, and the Ancestral Advantage
There is a quiet crisis unfolding in men's health, and it has almost nothing to do with genetics. Testosterone levels in North American men have been declining steadily for decades. Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism documented a population-level decline in testosterone that cannot be explained by aging alone. Younger men today have measurably lower testosterone than men of the same age did in the 1980s and 1990s. Statistics Canada health surveys confirm that hormonal dysfunction and low vitality are increasingly common complaints among men under 40. The causes are complex, but one overlooked factor stands out: the modern diet has stripped away the very foods that once fueled male hormonal health.
This is not a story about obscure superfoods or fringe nutrition theories. It is a story about what men ate for most of human history, and what we stopped eating when industrialized food replaced the ancestral diet. Organ meats, once prized above all other cuts, were the cornerstone of male nutrition across virtually every traditional culture documented by Dr. Weston A. Price in his landmark fieldwork of the 1930s. The nutrients concentrated in those foods (zinc, cholesterol, saturated fat, fat-soluble vitamins) are the exact raw materials the male endocrine system requires to produce testosterone and sustain energy. This guide breaks down the mechanisms, the evidence, and what you can do about it.
The Testosterone Decline Is Real, and Diet-Driven
The data on declining testosterone is no longer contested. A study by Travison et al. published in JCEM in 2007 analyzed testosterone levels across three separate cohorts of men measured in 1987, 1995, and 2002 and found a consistent downward trend of roughly 1.2 percent per year, independent of age, BMI, or smoking status. More recent analyses have extended this observation into the 2010s. Endocrinologist Dr. Richard Quinton and others have pointed to environmental factors including endocrine-disrupting chemicals, sedentary behavior, poor sleep, and chronic stress. But the dietary component receives far less attention than it deserves.
The modern Western diet is, from an endocrine perspective, almost precisely anti-testosterone. It is high in refined seed oils that displace the saturated fatty acids required for steroidogenesis. It is low in dietary cholesterol, the literal molecular precursor to every steroid hormone the body produces. It is deficient in zinc, the mineral that acts as a cofactor in the enzyme pathways that convert cholesterol into testosterone. And it has almost entirely eliminated organ meats, the single densest food source of all three of these nutrients simultaneously. Functional medicine practitioner Chris Kresser has written extensively on this pattern, noting that the fear of saturated fat and cholesterol that dominated nutrition guidance from the 1970s onward effectively discouraged men from eating the foods most supportive of hormonal health.
Do organ supplements raise testosterone?
Not in the way the marketing implies, and the distinction matters. The evidence on nutrients and testosterone is mostly about correcting a deficiency, not topping up someone who is already replete.
Zinc is the clearest example. In healthy young men, restricting dietary zinc for 20 weeks drove serum testosterone down sharply, from roughly 39.9 to 10.6 nmol/L. In older men who were marginally zinc deficient, three to six months of supplementation brought testosterone up from about 8.3 to 16.0 nmol/L. Both directions are real. What the same literature also shows is that supplementing beyond adequacy does not push testosterone higher in men who are not deficient. That single caveat is the one supplement marketing tends to leave out.
So the honest framing is this: nutrients like zinc, selenium, copper, B12 and vitamin A are things male physiology genuinely depends on, and running short of them has consequences worth fixing. Fixing a shortfall restores normal function. It does not push a healthy man above his own baseline, and no capsule is a substitute for sleep, training, body composition and bloodwork.
Is there a randomized trial on beef organs and testosterone?
Not one we can point you to. We looked, because people search for exactly this. There are randomized trials on testosterone therapy, and there is a randomized crossover study comparing grass-fed with conventional beef that measured metabolomic responses rather than hormones. What does not appear to exist is a published randomized controlled trial showing that grass-fed beef or beef organ supplements raise testosterone in men.
You will find supplement sites citing a twelve-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 120 men aged 25 to 45 with suboptimal testosterone. We could not trace that to a primary source, so we are not going to repeat it as though it were established, and we would treat any brand that does with some caution. If that trial exists and someone sends us the citation, we will add it here and say so.
Cholesterol: The Molecule Your Testosterone Is Made From
Every steroid hormone in the human body (testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, DHEA) begins as a molecule of cholesterol. This is not a metaphor or an analogy; it is biochemistry. The Leydig cells in the testes take up LDL cholesterol and run it through a multi-step enzymatic process that ultimately produces testosterone. The rate of this conversion is regulated by luteinizing hormone (LH) from the pituitary, but the availability of cholesterol substrate is a necessary precondition. Without adequate cholesterol, the production line stalls regardless of how well the hormonal signaling is functioning.
This is why population studies linking very low dietary cholesterol intake to reduced testosterone are not surprising to researchers who understand the underlying physiology. Beef liver, for example, contains approximately 380 mg of cholesterol per 100-gram serving, and it delivers that cholesterol alongside the full complement of B vitamins, retinol, and minerals required to support the enzymatic pathways downstream. Dr. Paul Saladino, a physician and advocate of animal-based nutrition, has pointed to this nutrient density as one reason why traditional cultures that consumed organ meats consistently showed robust physical vitality. The fear of dietary cholesterol, largely driven by the now-discredited diet-heart hypothesis, was the single biggest nutritional mistake made at the population level in the 20th century for men's hormonal health.
Zinc: The Gatekeeper of Testosterone Synthesis
If cholesterol is the raw material of testosterone, zinc is the gatekeeper. The enzyme 5-alpha reductase, which converts testosterone to its more potent form dihydrotestosterone (DHT), is zinc-dependent. More importantly, zinc inhibits the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone to estradiol. A man with chronically low zinc is therefore losing testosterone on two fronts: reduced synthesis and accelerated conversion to estrogen. This is not a marginal effect. Research by Prasad et al. published in Nutrition in 1996 demonstrated that zinc restriction in healthy young men reduced serum testosterone by approximately 75 percent over 20 weeks, and that zinc supplementation in zinc-deficient elderly men nearly doubled their testosterone levels.
The question then becomes: where does a man get adequate zinc from food? The answer, historically, was organ meats. Beef liver contains roughly 5–6 mg of zinc per 100-gram serving in a highly bioavailable heme-bound form that outperforms plant-based zinc sources by a significant margin. Oysters are the outlier plant-versus-animal comparison worth noting: they are extraordinarily rich in zinc at 74 mg per 100 grams. But for consistent daily intake, beef liver and kidney offer a practical, sustainable source that also delivers synergistic nutrients, particularly copper, which is required for proper zinc metabolism and is itself concentrated in organ meats. This is where food source decisively outperforms isolated zinc supplements: the co-factors arrive pre-packaged by nature.
Saturated Fat and the Hormonal Case for Animal Foods
The dietary fat composition of a man's diet has a measurable effect on his testosterone levels, and the research is consistent enough that it warrants serious attention. A study by Hamalainen et al. published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that men on a low-fat diet had significantly lower testosterone and higher sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) than men consuming adequate dietary fat. The relationship between saturated fat intake and testosterone is particularly well-documented: saturated fatty acids appear to support the structural integrity of Leydig cell membranes and facilitate cholesterol uptake into those cells.
Organ meats are naturally rich in both saturated fat and monounsaturated fat. The fatty acid profile of grass-fed beef liver and kidney aligns closely with what traditional diets provided and what the endocrine system appears to require. Contrast this with the dominant fats in the modern Western diet (linoleic acid from corn, soy, sunflower, and canola oils), which have been shown in animal studies to suppress testosterone and upregulate inflammatory pathways. The replacement of animal fats with industrial seed oils over the past 80 years is one of the most plausible dietary explanations for the observed testosterone decline at the population level. This is not a fringe position; it is increasingly reflected in peer-reviewed lipid research.
What Ancestral Men Actually Ate, and What Price Documented
Dr. Weston A. Price spent the 1930s traveling the world studying isolated traditional populations that had not yet been exposed to industrialized food. His findings, published in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (1939), documented remarkable physical vitality, dental health, and skeletal development in populations whose diets were animal-food-dominant and organ-meat-inclusive. Swiss villagers consumed raw milk and organ meats. Coastal Gaelic populations in the Outer Hebrides prized cod liver and fish organs. Masai warriors in Kenya consumed blood, milk, and meat, with organs reserved for men engaged in physical labor and warfare.
The pattern Price documented was not cultural coincidence. Every traditional society he studied that showed robust physical development prioritized the most nutrient-dense animal foods, which are, invariably, the organs. Modern ancestral nutrition researchers including Price's intellectual successors at the Weston A. Price Foundation, as well as clinicians like Dr. Saladino, have argued that the deliberate reintroduction of organ meats is not nostalgia but rather nutritional correction. The men who lived closest to this template were not experiencing the hormonal decline now affecting men in industrialized nations. The correlation is worth taking seriously.
Whole Food vs. Supplement: Getting the Hierarchy Right
For men who want to reclaim the nutritional advantages of organ meats without sourcing, preparing, and eating liver several times per week, high-quality desiccated beef organ supplements offer a practical bridge. The comparison worth understanding is not between supplements and doing nothing; it is between consuming organs in some form versus consuming none at all, as most modern men do. A desiccated liver or mixed organ capsule that is freeze-dried at low temperatures and sourced from grass-fed cattle preserves the fat-soluble vitamins (retinol, K2, D3), the heme-bound minerals (zinc, iron, copper), and the cholesterol substrate that make organ meats hormonally relevant.
The meaningful distinction is quality of sourcing. Grass-fed, pasture-raised organ meats have a superior fatty acid profile to conventionally raised cattle, with higher concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids. Rise Nutrition sources exclusively from grass-fed, grass-finished cattle, which is a non-trivial distinction when the goal is hormonal optimization. A conventionally sourced organ supplement from feedlot cattle delivers a different nutrient profile: more omega-6, less omega-3, and a fat composition closer to the industrial food the supplement is meant to replace. When evaluating any organ supplement, sourcing transparency is the first question worth asking.
A Practical Framework for Men Starting Out
Getting started with organ meats does not require a dramatic dietary overhaul. A practical framework looks like this: begin with desiccated organ capsules to establish a consistent daily intake of liver, kidney, and heart without the learning curve of preparation. As comfort increases, introduce whole beef liver one to two times per week, cooked simply with butter and onions or incorporated into ground meat blends at a 20 percent ratio where the flavor becomes undetectable. Prioritize grass-fed sources. Track subjective markers (energy, sleep quality, morning vitality) over four to eight weeks. Pair the dietary shift with adequate sleep, strength training, and reduction of seed oil consumption for compounding effect.
Rise Nutrition's grass-fed beef organ complex is designed specifically for men who want the nutritional density of whole organs in a convenient, consistent daily form. The formula includes liver, kidney, heart, spleen, and pancreas: the five organs that collectively deliver the broadest spectrum of bioavailable nutrients implicated in hormonal and metabolic health. This is not a replacement for whole food, but for most men whose current organ meat intake is zero, it represents a meaningful and immediate step toward reclaiming what the ancestral diet provided without effort.
The evidence is clear: testosterone decline is real, it is accelerating, and it is not inevitable. The same dietary patterns that fueled male vitality for millennia (organ meats, animal fats, cholesterol-rich foods) are available today. The decision to reintroduce them is one of the highest-leverage nutritional choices a man can make.
Ready to rebuild the nutritional foundation your hormonal health depends on?
The simplest place to start is liver itself: grass-fed beef liver capsules, four a day, no cooking required.
Asked about their male formula specifically? See Heart & Soil Whole Package vs Rise, compared honestly.
Common questions about organ meats and testosterone
Do beef organ supplements raise testosterone?
Not in men who are already nutrient replete. The evidence is about correcting deficiency: restricting zinc in healthy young men lowered serum testosterone from around 39.9 to 10.6 nmol/L, and supplementing marginally deficient older men raised it from about 8.3 to 16.0 nmol/L. The same literature indicates that supplementing beyond adequacy does not raise testosterone further. Organ meats supply nutrients male physiology depends on; they are not a hormone treatment.
Is there a randomized controlled trial on beef organs and testosterone?
We could not find a published randomized controlled trial showing that grass-fed beef or beef organ supplements raise testosterone in men. Trials exist on testosterone therapy, and a randomized crossover study compared grass-fed with conventional beef for metabolomic responses rather than hormones. Some supplement sites cite a twelve-week trial of 120 men that we could not trace to a primary source.
What nutrients actually matter for male hormonal health?
Zinc, selenium, copper, B12, preformed vitamin A and vitamin D are the ones that repeatedly appear in the literature on male reproductive physiology, alongside adequate dietary fat and cholesterol as hormone precursors. Organ meats are dense in several of these in whole-food form. Deficiency is worth correcting and worth testing for; beyond that, sleep, training load, body composition and alcohol intake move the needle more than any supplement.
