Best natural testosterone supplements and herbs for natural TRT

If you have low levels of testosterone, not only will your libido plummet, your general health will also suffer. The good news is you can increase testosterone levels naturally and safely, with a combination of proven herbs. Let’s take a look at them…

Testosterone is what makes you feel a man and has an affect on numerous areas of your health and to get the most from life and sex you need it. As levels can drop as you age, you need to get more of it and you can do it naturally.

If you want to increase testosterone levels naturally and quickly then you can take the time tested herbs enclosed which have been used for centuries to enhance levels of testosterone and give numerous other sexual and general health benefits which we will look at in this article.

First let’s reveal the best testosterone herbs and then, we will look at the other sexual and general health benefits they can give you – the best testosterone boosting herbs are:

Fenugreek, Ginseng, Horny Goat Weed, Tribulus Terrestris and Tongkat Ali. Now lets look in detail at the other benefits they can give you to help you get more from sex and more from life.

A note on Androstenedione – banned by the FDA in April 2004.

6-OXO – banned by the FDA in July 2006. One over the counter testosterone booster after another banned by the FDA. A smart testosterone seeker could quickly get the idea that there are no herbs that can increase testosterone according to the research. After all, doesn’t the FDA just instantly shut them down?

Actually, the opposite is actually the case: there are many studies using herbs that show an increase in testosterone under certain circumstances and I have listed them below.

Now it is true that the FDA tends to shut anything that boost testosterone in the 50-100% range.

However, below we outline some of the herbs that likely work (to a lesser extent) under certain circumstances.

CAUTION: If you think you have low testosterone, get checked out by a (good) doc. Low testosterone is a serious medical condition that has long term consequences, including risks for diabetes, heart disease and erectile dysfunction. Also, if you are on any medications or have an existing medical condition, talk to your physician before making any change

1. Fenugreek. One study on 30 young males found that 500 mg of Fenugreek increased total and free testosterone by 7% and 12%, respectively. [10] Now this isn’t a big increase, but it also seems to proportionately inhibit the normal conversion to estrogen and DHT. Furthermore, Fenugreek is dirt cheap – see for example Fenugreek Seed 610 mg 90 Caps – and so it may be worth a try. Fenugreek has many other excellent properties, including blood sugar/insulin control and libido and growth hormone augmentation.

NOTE: The brand that has gotten the most popularity is Testofen. Read both the pros and cons here.

Is Fenugreek safe? Well, it should be as it is eaten as a common food and spice in many eastern cultures. Now there is a fenugreek extract, Testofen, out there that is very effective in improving libido and has its own following. However, the extracts may boost prolactin, not something a guy necessarily wants to do. Here is an example of the extract on Amazon: Testofen Fenugreek Extract (300 mg 60 Caps).

You can read more about Testofen here. Another popular supplement based on Testofen is Nugenix Ultimate.

2) Korean Ginseng. Does Ginseng increase testosterone? Well, it may in certain circumstances, especially guys that are struggling in the androgen/fertility areas. Several studies have noted that Ginseng boosts cAMP levels. One follow-up study observed that boosting cAMP in turn increases testosterone, LH and DHT levels in men with low sperm counts. [3] (And study on rats has also observed an increase in testosterone levels.) [4]

NOTE: One very small study of college age men showed that testosterone (and growth hormone) levels were not significantly raised by Ginseng. [5] Our guess is that Ginseng produces a small boost in testosterone for some men. It has the added benefit, for men with erectile dysfunction, of generally increasing nitric oxide and hardness factor. For more information, see this link on How Ginseng Can Boost Erectile Dysfunction.

Some Ginseng manufacturers have been caught with lead in the their products. To get around this, one should probably play it safe and go with a brand that has been tested by an impartial testing company such as Consumer Lab. This brand, for example, was found to be lead free and to deliver the active ginsenocides specified on the label: Solgar – Korean Ginseng Root Extract, 60 veggie caps. We also recommend this supplement and this supplement containing Asian Ginseng.

3) Horny Goat Weed. Horny Goat Weed has a PDE5 inhibitor, a la Viagra and Cialis, called Icariin. Most Horny Goat Weed supplements on the market have an extract of Icariin to boost its power and efficacy. This may be good for testosterone in some circumstances as one study showed that Icariin increased testosterone levels in animals with damaged reproductive systems. [6]

Icariin has the added benefit of generally improving erectile function in men with erectile issues.

For those interested: Source Naturals, a supplement manufacturer that seems to have a good reputation, has a Horny Goat Weed extract with 10% Icariin: Source Naturals Horny Goat Weed Extract (Epimedium) 1000mg, 60 Tablets .

4) Tribulus Terristris. Tribulus terrestris is believed to increase testosterone levels by, increasing the body’s luteininzing hormone (LH) levels. LH is the hormone which tells the body to start making natural testosterone.

This herb is somewhat controversial because, although initial evidence showed that it did increase testosterone, one one recent and study showed the opposite. [12] What gives? Well, one important thing to note is that the study showing that Tribulus did not significantly increase testosterone was on younger, healthy men. These men already, generally, have abundant testosterone, so do we really expect Tribulus to help in this category?

Tribulus may very well affect men with low testosterone or with certain types of hypogonadism, which may explain the many anecdotal reports of it helping significantly. Furthermore, Tribulus has some excellent properties, such as raising libido, that make it a very likely bedroom booster even in cases where it only marginally helps testosterone. For example, other studies show that it increases both libido and nitric oxide.

Tribulis is typically packaged in very expensive formulations in health food and bodybuilding stores. However, the herb itself is not expensive: Ahana Nutrition Bulgarian Tribulus (750 mg, 90-Count) or NOW’s brand NOW Tribulus (1000mg, 45% Extract, 180 Tablets)

DOSAGE: The dosage in the above study was 10-20 mg/kg daily. For a 180 lb man, this works out to be between about 800-1600 mg daily. Many men take smaller amounts, more in the 400-800 mg per day range.

5) Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma Longfolia). This herb has been used for thousands of years and has an impact on general and sexual health. The Glygopeptide compounds contained in Tongkat Ali have been proven to increase free testosterone in the body while at the same time, reducing SHBG levels. Tongakat Ali also is important in terms of sperm health and enhances sperm count, sperm size and motility.

One study on rats using Tongkat Ali showed a significant increase in testosterone.

[1] This has not been verified in humans however. One set of researchers in Brazil noted that Tongkat Ali’s true powers seem to lie in its ability to halt the “inhibitory effects of estrogen on testosterone production.”

[2] They further noted something very important for many guys: “where there is an excess of estrogen or deficiency in testosterone, Eurycoma Longifolia Jack or Tongkat Ali may be able to act as a remedy for the condition.” Of course, a low testosterone, high estrogen state is what a large percentage of males struggle with in modern, industrialized societies and so Tongkat Ali may be a significant help in these situations.

NOTE: Tongkat Ali is generally sold as an extract and probably the most reliable form is LJ100 as it is, at least, backed by certain agreed-upon concentration levels. We are a little cautious about this product, though, because some of its components have shown toxicity. [11] However, the counterargument is that men have been using Tongkat Ali for years seemingly without issue.

NOTE: You may want to read this review of Andro400, a Tongkat Ali based product.

6) Zinc (ZMA). There is one supplement, ZMA, a form of zinc that has one study that shows a boost in testosterone. Although, a follow-up study showed no significant benefit, it seems like that zinc deficient men may get some benefit in testosterone levels, if nothing else from improved sleep.

The zinc content of the prostate gland and sperm is higher than in anywhere else in the body and zinc not only plays a key role in helping to produce testosterone, it also works to maintain healthy semen volume.

So make sure you get enough zinc before taking the above herbs. Its importance in terms of testosterone production, has seen it now been blended into to many of the best herbal sex pills.

For more information, see this link on Zinc and ZMA. ZMA also has an absorbable form of magnesium, which is worth its weight in gold.

NOTE: We recommend this supplement containing ZMA.

CAUTIONS: Another supplement, high potency resveratrol, has also been shown to raise testosterone. [7] However, it has also been reported as an estrogen agonist, i.e. estrogenic. [8] Forskolin is another supplement that has a study showing a modest increase in testosterone. [9] Unfortunately, little is known about its medium, or even short term effects.

7). Mucuna Pruriens

The high levels of l-dopa contained in the mucuna seed are converted to dopamine which stimulates the release of testosterone by the pituitary gland. L-dopa and dopamine also act as effective inhibitors of prolactin, high levels of which are thought to be responsible for over 70% of all erection failures in normally healthy males.

NOTE: We recommend this supplement containing Mucuna Pruriens.

Conclusion

The above mentioned herbs seem to be the best bet while increasing testosterone levels, but keep in mind that everyone is different, and while one herb may work excellent for one man might not do much for another.

Also as mentioned above, some of the herbs have mixed/contradictory clinical studies so the benefits are NOT actually proven substantially.

Recently, we’ve come across some compound supplements that combine several herbs, including those discussed above, all into one capsule. This supplement might deliver a very solid hormonal kick. You can read some of their testimonials by following the link below.