Brazil Nuts for Testosterone, Libido and Selenium

Brazil nuts are a potent and great tasting superfood from the Amazon rainforest.

As the richest known natural source of selenium, they have many benefits. They need to be eaten with caution though as having too many can have side effects.

Here’s how to use these nutritious nuts for selenium and why they are superior to the kind found in multivitamins.

Also ahead is how many to eat a day and why Brazil nuts can increase your testosterone levels naturally — good news for both men and women.

The Importance of Selenium in Your Diet

Brazil nuts are exceptionally high in selenium, an essential micro-mineral and antioxidant used by your body to prevent free radical oxidative damage to your cells.

While you only need a small amount of it, without adequate selenium you can have problems making enough glutathione peroxidase within your cells.

Glutathione peroxidase is a substance critical for cellular detoxification. It converts toxins into harmless byproducts that your body eliminates and provides important protection against many environmental and dietary hazards.

Skin complaints like acne and psoriasis, as well as joint problems like rheumatoid arthritis, are often reported to respond well to extra selenium in the diet.

This trace mineral is also necessary for a properly functioning thyroid. Since your thyroid controls your body’s metabolism, inadequate levels may be a factor in sudden weight gain or weight loss.

How Much Selenium is in Brazil Nuts?

Selenium is found in highly unusual amounts in these rainforest nuts. Just one Brazil nut has around 50 mcg.

The amount can vary though, depending on the soils they are grown in, and can be as high as 90 mcg for each nut. Organic Brazil nuts generally have a higher mineral content and are recommended.

100 grams of raw Brazil nuts have 2550 mcg selenium on nutritional databases, which is 3643% of the RDA. Even if you could eat that much of such a rich and filling food, you definitely wouldn’t want to.

The recommended daily allowance of selenium is 55 mcg a day and just 1 Brazil nut, on average, will provide close to that amount. If you already eat other high food sources, like shrimp, salmon and cremini mushrooms, that’s probably all you need.

Many health experts believe that the RDA for selenium is too low though and recommend getting at least 100 mcg a day.

2 Brazil nuts should provide close to this amount and this is what I have personally most days, primarily for the antioxidant, thyroid and skin benefits, but also for their potential to increase testosterone production.

Better than Supplements

Studies on selenium absorption showed participants eating just 2 Brazil nuts a day, versus those taking 100 micrograms of selenomethionine (a popular supplemental version) had far superior absorption.

These nuts also contain good levels of antioxidant vitamin E, which enhances the beneficial effects of this essential mineral.

So just 1 or 2 Brazil nuts, ideally organic, is superior to supplemental selenium like selenomethionine (and especially selenium selenite found in some multivitamins, shown to adversely interact with vitamin C).

These healthy nuts also contain B vitamins, choline, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, manganese and copper in good levels.

With such a rich array of nutrients they could be considered the Amazon rainforest’s antidote to all the mineral depleted foods in our regular diets.

Brazil Nuts — A Natural Testosterone Enhancer

Selenium has been shown in research studies to boost testosterone levels in infertile men and many people, particularly in bodybuilding forums, report greater libido when they eat Brazil nuts regularly.

It’s possible that this is simply the result of rectifying a pre-existing selenium deficiency that affected hormonal production.

However, Brazil nuts are also high in zinc, the amino acid arginine and beneficial fatty acids needed to make steroidal hormones like testosterone.

Low amounts of zinc in your diet is strongly associated with reduced testosterone. Increasing intake of this mineral has been demonstrated in studies to improve luteinizing hormone levels, a key factor in testosterone production.

Arginine is a precursor to nitric oxide, important for vasodilation and known to increase testicular blood flow for better hormone production.

L-arginine is also a popular supplement for boosting workout performance and regular intensive exercise is one of the best ways known to improve to elevate your testosterone levels.

Libido Booster

Even a small increase in free testosterone can have a significant effect on both female and male libido.

Zinc, arginine, EFAs and selenium could all play a part in Brazil nuts long-standing reputation as an aphrodisiac for both men and women.

While women don’t make or need nearly as much testosterone as men, rectifying a selenium deficiency and increasing nutritional intake of zinc and arginine can still have some very positive results in the bedroom.

At the higher levels of daily intake, athletes, bodybuilders and those with a known selenium deficiency have reported very good results from taking 2 to 3 Brazil nuts for testosterone first thing in the morning and again in the evening before bed.

Unless you’re an athlete with higher selenium needs, or known to be deficient in the mineral, I personally think 6 a day is getting a bit high for regular use, particularly if you’re eating an especially strong batch of the nuts. Here’s why.

Potential Side Effects

The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine has set an upper limit of 400 mcg per day of selenium for adults and less for children. Just 6 Brazil nuts could potentially exceed this amount.

While considered rare, symptoms of selenium overdose and side effects include nausea and even vomiting after eating them, possibly followed by hair loss and skin lesions in extreme cases.

Conversely, serious selenium deficiency can result in muscle weakness and pain, discoloration of the skin and hair and excessive whitening of the fingernail beds.

Clearly it’s important to get enough, but not too much selenium. With parts of the USA, like the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes region and parts of the Atlantic Coast, recognized as producing selenium deficient crops, it’s likely that the standard American diet is far from high in this essential mineral.

How Many a Day?

For most people, 2 Brazil nuts a day is a recommended daily dose. This should provide a good amount of selenium and other nutrients without going anywhere near the amounts that might cause side effects.

I find eating just a couple of organic Brazil nuts are particularly good for staving off hunger in the evening. Realistically though, having 3 or 4 nuts on occasions would be fine as well.

Particularly for men involved in exercise and weight training, having 2 Brazil nuts in the morning and 2 in the evening may help to boost testosterone levels.

It’s recommended to not have more than 6 nuts a day on a regular basis as you may start to exceed a healthy intake.

Have you used Brazil nuts for testosterone or taken them for selenium before? I’d like to hear how they made you feel and how many a day you think works best for you.