Boosting testosterone

Galaxyshock

It seems that often men and especially those who lift weights seek to boost their testosterone levels, but what is the evidence base behind supplements that are supposed to affect male hormones?

I ordered a testosterone booster blend that seemed to have good ingredient profile:

Nutritional Value per 10g

D-aspartic acid 3500mg
Ashwagandha extract 2000mg
Magnesium bisglycinat 1000mg
Maca powder 500mg
Fenugreek (40%) 500mg
Grape Seed Extract 500mg
Potassium Nitrate 400mg
Urtica Diocia Folium 200mg
Ginseng Extract 200mg
Zinc gluconate 25mg
Boron 100mcg

It costed €21,39 for 30 servings so about 70 cents per dose. I'm probably not going to get my testosterone levels measured but I'll report what subjective benefits I notice.

Neuro

I took a look at some of the studies regarding those ingredients. Most of them just seem to help in men with low testosterone, and even then only to a certain degree.

Does that blend really have 2 g of Ashwagandha per serving? That seems a bit high. It can negatively affect thyroid hormones if you don't have low thyroid hormones. But it also improves GABA activity so it should induce some relaxation.

The magnesium dose is also on the high end, but it's likely safe. It might cause drowsiness and fatigue though.

The Maca dose is too low for most people to notice anything. And I recall a study using high doses, like 4-5 g, found some increase in testosterone levels. But it really doesn't seem to have any significant effect on testosterone in most people. It's mainly used to improve libido and energy.

Urtica Diocia Folium is stinging nettle, which decreases SHBG levels. This can also increase estradiol levels, but SHBG more strongly binds to DHT and testosterone than estradiol so the overall effect is a net positive for men.

The Ginseng might be low quality. Real ginseng is often expensive.

Zinc gluconate is not an optimal form as it can cause stomach issues so I'd watch out for that.

The boron dose is too low to have any real effects. Studies use 3-10 mg if I recall correctly.

I'm not sure about the other ingredients.

The overall value is quite good. You're getting a lot of ingredients and at relatively high doses for cheap. Is the company reliable? Do they provide lab reports?

Also, I'm assuming this is a powder and can't imagine it tasting good, even with flavoring.

Yeah, definitely report the benefits, I'm curious what it'll do for you.

Galaxyshock

Yeah 2 grams of Ashwagandha is a big dose, but I assume the extract is like 1 % withanolides? It doesnt state that though. I don't know how much elemental magnesium does 1000 mg of magnesium bisglycinate equate.

Yeah I just realized 100 mcg of Boron equates to 0.1 mg. I thought it would be like 10 mg or at least 1 mg.

The company is pretty reliable, it's the supplement store's own brand.

Yes it's in powder form, I'm probably going to mix it with flavored protein powder.

Galaxyshock

I finally received the testo booster product yesterday. The taste is bearable, especially when mixed with flavoured protein powder. Initial effects seem to be increased calmness, I assume from Ashwagandha and magnesium. Perhaps also mild stimulatory effect, could be D-aspartic acid acting on NMDA-receptors? I also notice some increase in libido, but can't count out placebo.

I will report what the product does when taken daily for a couple of weeks.

Galaxyshock

I've been taking the testosterone booster for two weeks now. I'd say it does something, I feel increase in calmness and contentment in life, my day-time fatigue has decreased to some extent and libido and drive is increased a bit. Perhaps I also feel a bit more confident? The effects are quite subtle though, nothing dramatic there but it's definitely not an useless product. Might buy another bottle at some point when I run out. I am curious if it in fact has effect on hormones or is it just affecting neurotransmitters or the adaptogenic effects of Ashwagandha etc. Male hormone blood tests are quite expensive here so I'm not getting them measured at least not this time.

Neuro

Yeah, that's what I'd expect from this formula. Maybe try adding in Tribulus to see if it synergizes with it? I don't know if upping the dose will yield more benefits or if it's even safe/tolerable.

Have you noticed an increase in strength or any physical benefits?

Are all male hormone tests expensive or is it just for non-medical ones? If you were to complain about low libido, weak strength, and other low testosterone symptoms would the test be covered by universal healthcare?

Galaxyshock

Yeah Tribulus could synergize, maybe I'll buy a bottle of Tribulus extract too. I don't think upping the dose is wise, the Ashwagandha dose would be pretty huge then and I think I've read that D-aspartic acid in larger doses can actually have negative effects.

I've had better workouts when taking the product, I've felt that I can maintain good form even to the last reps more easily. Also I think pump is improved, my arms felt very full after doing bicep curls.

One side effect I think is mild increase in acne / oily skin. Nothing too bad though.

I'm not actually sure if I could get the hormone test covered by healthcare. Will have to look into it.

Neuro

Yeah, the ashwagandha dose is rather high. I didn't know that high doses of DAA can have negative effects, good to know.

Perhaps Agmatine and L-Citrulline can also synergize well with it? Might improve the pump and increase the benefits.

Not sure what could be causing the oily skin. My guess would be the ashwagandha but it's likely a combination of the other ingredients as well. Have you noticed any thyroid-related issues?

I'm sure that hormone tests are covered by healthcare. Probably not DHT as that's not covered in Canada.

Galaxyshock

I take L-Citrulline with my pre-workout so yeah it seems pump and vasodilation is improved even further.

I think it's D-aspartic acid that causes the mild increase in oily skin and acne. Years ago I took DAA alone and it caused similar issues. Ashwagandha actually used to reduce my acne I think due to its anti-inflammatory effects. But that was years ago, my acne is pretty mild these days. I don't think I've noticed any thyroid-related issues.

Neuro

Do you take Vitamin D and/or have you had your Vitamin D levels checked? It might increase testosterone levels if you're deficient:

Compared to baseline values, a significant increase in total testosterone levels (from 10.7 ± 3.9 nmol/l to 13.4 ± 4.7 nmol/l; p < 0.001), bioactive testosterone (from 5.21 ± 1.87 nmol/l to 6.25 ± 2.01 nmol/l; p = 0.001), and free testosterone levels (from 0.222 ± 0.080 nmol/l to 0.267 ± 0.087 nmol/l; p = 0.001) were observed in the vitamin D supplemented group.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21154195/

Galaxyshock

I take 50 µg Vitamin D supplement daily. I think I actually had Vitamin D levels along with some other blood values measured back in December 2021, the vitamin D levels were in the upper range. I was taking 100 µg of Vitamin D daily back then though. The summer is here so I probably get some Vitamin D from sunlight too.

Neuro

I think some people use DHEA to try to increase testosterone. It seems to be only useful for older individuals, but even then it's going to also boost the production of other hormones, including estradiol. I don't know if it would be helpful or not, most likely not since you're still young.

Galaxyshock

DHEA is controlled substance in Finland I think. Ashwagandha increases endogenous DHEA levels according to some research.

I think I'll start supplementing Boron again, it seems to have evidence base behind increasing free testosterone.

Fenugreek was also suggested to be possibly effective for testosterone levels by a Finnish biohacker-doctor.

drma3

I would not recommend Fenugreek, it is reported to increase prolactin. It should be researched more IMO.

Galaxyshock

drma3

Didn't know that about Fenugreek, increase in prolactin for sure isn't something a man wants. Although, I'm on dopamine partial agonist Aripiprazole 5 mg which seems to decrease that prolactin feeling that you get after orgasm. Not sure if that's healthy way but I have to take Aripiprazole at least for now.

Neuro

Selegiline also seems to decrease prolactin and I often don't have a refractory period on it.

As for increasing testosterone, 5-AR inhibitors slightly increase free and total testosterone. Dutasteride raises it slightly more than Finasteride. The increased levels could be converted to estradiol so taking something that decreases aromatase activity would be beneficial. Boron has been shown to increase free testosterone while decreasing estradiol, though the research isn't very strong. Still, Boron is an essential mineral and has many other potential benefits.

Galaxyshock

White Button Mushroom might decrease aromatase activity:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022316622144408

Galaxyshock

I'm currently taking Mutant Test, it's pretty strong product.

Positive effects:

Improved sense of wellbeing
Libido is definitely up
More drive and desire I'd say

Negative effects:

Sometimes increased anxiety
Mild increase in acne

It's somewhat expensive product, €29.90 for 90 capsules and you have to take 6 capsules for full effects, although I can already feel it at 3 capsules.

Galaxyshock

Well I stopped taking Mutant Test because it caused some wierd effects like mood lability (switching between depressive feelings and sort of a hypomania), anxiety/agitation and increase in back acne. I did like the positive effects like increased libido and sense of wellbeing, so perhaps I'll try it again but with lower dose since I have some left.

Neuro

One substance that people overlook a lot are 5-AR inhibitors. They decrease the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, thereby increasing testosterone levels.

There's a misconception that DHT is a more potent form of testosterone but this has never been proven. In fact, in adults DHT has essentially no benefit and only adverse effects like

Increased sebum production (oily skin)
Enlarged prostate
Hair loss
Even heart issues

Example:

Design, Setting, and Patients The 5α-Reductase Trial was a randomized controlled trial of healthy men aged 18 to 50 years comparing placebo plus testosterone enthanate with dutasteride plus testosterone enanthate from May 2005 through June 2010.

Conclusion Changes in fat-free mass in response to graded testosterone doses did not differ in men in whom DHT was suppressed by dutasteride from those treated with placebo, indicating that conversion of testosterone to DHT is not essential for mediating its anabolic effects on muscle.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1105045

Dutasteride, a dual 5-AR inhibitor (type A and type B), increased testosterone levels and even increased weight loss in men:

Our results show that dutasteride treatment in men with BPH led to a significant increase in serum testosterone level and a significant decrease in BMI among those with relatively lower baseline serum testosterone levels.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19793378/