How to Increase Testosterone Naturally? Testosterone Boosters

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Last Updated on April 7, 2024 by Max

Updated 11/9/2020

T-Boosters: Can We Trust the Sellers’ Claims And Product Reviews?

Although testosterone therapy may benefit men with hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction caused by low hormones, and many other health conditions, issues regarding its potential risks and side effects, such as prostate cancer and cardiovascular diseases, are still a significant concern and remain controversial. Almost 35% of hypogonadal men refuse testosterone therapy due to the fear of prostate cancer risk (Gooren LJ et al. 2007). And here, alternative medicinal herbs with a long history of traditional use were in wide demand. These remedies, unlike pure hormones, seem to exert their effect in a much more mild and tolerable mode.

But can we trust the sellers’ claims about the so-called T-boosters?
No, you cannot trust them, even if they’ve got 99% of 5 stars and the most convincing reviews on Amazon.com. Today, when the online seller does not directly contact you, has so many tools to influence your decision, and takes no responsibility for false claims, it is easy to get a pig in a poke. I’ll show you why.

A recent study (Alexander W. Pastuszak, 2019) supported by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases evaluated the most highly rated and frequently reviewed T-boosters on Amazon.com. The work aimed to reveal the underlying evidence for the efficacy of T-boosters and test the trustfulness of the product reviews; are they from real customers or just a form of digital marketing?

Researchers chose five of the most popular Amazon testosterone-boosting supplements and analyzed their ingredients for T-boosting evidence and customer reviews for truthfulness.
The top 5 testosterone supplements on Amazon on July 22, 2018, were:

Prime Labs Manufactured by Prime Labs
Alpha Boost is Manufactured by Invictus Labs
Extra Strength Manufactured by Dr. Martin’s Nutrition
Iron Brothers Manufactured by Iron Brothers Supplements
Pro-T is Manufactured by Prometheus Wellness LLC

The chosen T-boosters had an average ± SD(standard deviation) of 2,761 ± 5,112 reviews and an average rating of 4.6 ± 0.25 stars.
The researchers noticed that Alpha Boost and Extra Strength, as well as Pro-T and Iron Brothers, had the same ingredients in the same quantities despite being sold under different brand names.

See also Testosterone Boosters: Zinc

PubMed, the most comprehensive database of peer-reviewed scientific literature, was searched for the ten most common ingredients of the chosen T-boosters. A total of 19 unique ingredients were identified across the group of supplements. The table below shows the number of human studies and the effect of the supplement ingredients on testosterone levels.

Ingredients	Positive Effect for T	Negative Effect for T	No effect for T
Tongkat Ali Extract	2	0.0	1
Horny Goat Weed	0.0	0.0	0.0
Saw Palmetto Extract	2	0.0	6
Boron	2	0.0	6
Nettle Extract	0.0	0.0	1
Maca Root Powder	0.0	1	3
Ashwagandha Root Extract	1	0.0	0.0
Fenugreek	4	0.0	0.0
Bioperine	0.0	0.0	0.0
DIIM (Diindolylmethane)	0.0	0.0	0.0

Impact of Supplement Ingredients on Testosterone Levels in Human
Studies

So, at least half of the ingredients included in the most popular supplements, “T-boosters,” don’t have any testosterone-boosting activity or had not been tested in human studies by the time of the article’s publication.

The good news is that Boron and Tongkat Ali extract, the ingredients shown in randomized placebo-controlled studies to increase testosterone levels in men, were present in all five supplements.

Unfortunately, this is not the case, with some T -boosters available today. If the supplement, from 5 to 10 ingredients, contains only 1 or 2 substances with T-boosting activity, I would question its efficacy. Why? Because with an increase in the number of ingredients, the proportion of the T-booster decreases accordingly, and its real amount in the supplement is often below the recommended effective dose.

To evaluate the T-booster potency of the supplements, the product reviews were categorized and analyzed before and after the filtration of untrustworthy comments using ReviewMeta.com, a proprietary Amazon software.

You will be surprised, but more than 66 percent of reviews were determined as a scam. So, make your conclusions. Can you rely on such reviews before making a purchase?

Even more. Filtration through ReviewMeta.com had a profound effect on the customers’ evaluations of T-boosters’ efficacy:

91 percent decrease in users reporting an increase in libido
59 percent decrease in reports of increased energy
93 percent decrease in reports of improved strength/endurance
60 percent decrease in reports of improved erections
67 percent decrease in reports of improved sleep
89 percent decrease in reports of enhanced sports ability

I guess it is here that fake reviews pop up, which have been written by the sellers on behalf of the customers or by the customers themselves, who are “lucky” to receive free giveaways from companies.

So don’t be fooled into trusting the sellers’ honesty. Do your little research before purchasing; it is about your health. You protect yourself from wasting money, time, and possible frustration.

How to Know That T-Booster Is Effective?

First, you must decide whether you are looking for a testosterone booster or a supplement to treat erectile dysfunction. Unfortunately, people often equalize these terms. Erectile dysfunction may be caused not only by low testosterone instead by psychological, circulatory, or muscle conditions, which have nothing to do with your hormonal status.
If you have multiple symptoms of low androgens and are looking for an effective T-booster, check the supplement’s ingredients for their T-boosting activity. Do a Google search for the keywords: “PubMed+ingredient’s name+testosterone” or check the websites where such a search has been done.
Check the concentrations of the main T-boosting ingredients in the supplement. Let’s say the recommended effective daily dose of the ingredient is 300-600 mg, but its content in the supplement is 200 mg; you will most likely get a weak T-boosting effect.
Different T-boosters have varying sites of action (See below). So the more sites of testosterone production and maintenance the ingredients cover, the better.
Unfortunately, you cannot control or check the quality of the ingredients. Now you will know what you are buying, at least partially.

How Does Testosterone Convert To Other Hormones?

As shown in the scheme, about 0.3-0.4 % of testosterone is converted into estradiol in the body. The enzyme aromatase catalysis this reaction. The activity of aromatase is higher in adipose cells, so no wonder that obese men may often have effeminate forms. Estrogen is essential in men’s bone, hair, skin, and brain health.

Enzyme 5 alpha-reductase converts about 10% of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT has a masculine effect on men, increasing their sexual desire, but it is also related to excess skin oil and acne production.
About 2 percent of the testosterone in the blood is active or so-called “free testosterone.” It is not bound to any proteins that would prevent it from interacting with its receptor. Optimal free testosterone levels for aging men are 20 to 25 pg/mL Though some doctors consider the levels of 15 pg/mL normal.

About 40 % of the body’s testosterone is attached to albumin. As the body’s need for testosterone rises, the hormone releases from the connection and replenishes a fraction of “free testosterone.” Albumen-attached testosterone plus free testosterone are referred to as “bioavailable testosterone.”
About 60% of testosterone in young men is bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). This fraction of testosterone cannot be used by the body and may vary depending on age and health status. With age or if a chronic health condition is present, SHBG binds more and more testosterone, lowering free testosterone and its benefits.

Total testosterone is the sum of bioavailable testosterone and testosterone bound to SHBG. Measuring just the total testosterone in the blood may not provide the whole picture and let you know how much “active” or usable testosterone you have. When looking at total testosterone levels, one should strive for a range of 700-900 ng/dL; though conventional reference ranges, 264 to 916 ng/dl are considered sufficient.

Hereafter, you can find reviews of evidence-backed T-boosters, which include their effective concentrations too. So you can compare the ingredients of the T-booster you are going to buy with the list. This list may expand in the future.

A list of dubious testosterone boosters you can find here.

References

Gooren LJ, Behre HM, Saad F, Frank A, Schwerdt S. Diagnosing and treating testosterone deficiency in different parts of the world. Results from global market research. Aging Male 2007;10:173-81.
Alexander W. Pastuszak. Testosterone Imposters: An Analysis of Popular Online Testosterone Boosting Supplements. J Sex Med. 2019 Feb; 16(2): 203–212.