Testosterone boosters – a group of dietary supplements designed to restore the natural level of sex hormones in the body. The drug is used by athletes to progress in strength and muscle gain.
It should be noted that the use of this supplement is relevant only for those people who really have an underestimated level of testosterone in the body, a conclusion about which can only be made on the basis of tests. Most often, these are men over 40, but there are other cases when it is advisable to use testosterone boosters, which we will discuss in this article.
If you are a young athlete under the age of 25-30, then the question of whether to take a supplement is not worth it. Your hormones are in good order and your testosterone levels are high. By purchasing the drug, you will only waste money, and any effect obtained will be approximately at the level of a placebo.
What are testosterone boosters?
Testosterone boosters produced by sports nutrition brands are most often made on the basis of tribulus extract (tribulusterrestis is a herb that stimulates the production of luteinizing hormone), D-aspartic acid (an amino acid involved in the regulation of the endocrine system) and elements like zinc, magnesium, vitamins B6 and B12 (for example, the ZMA complex), which have a positive effect on all endocrine processes in the body.
Pharmacy preparations
In addition, there are a number of drugs that can also be conditionally attributed to this group. You can buy the following testosterone boosters from your pharmacy:
- tamoxifen;
- tribusterone;
- dostinexilyletrozole (aromatase inhibitors that lower blood estrogen levels);
- Forskolin (made on the basis of the natural plant coleusforskohlii, improves the functioning of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus);
- agmatine (stimulates the production of gonadotropin and gonadoliberin).
Natural boosters
However, it is possible to achieve an increase in the level of your own testosterone not only with the help of medicines or sports nutrition. There are also natural testosterone boosters, among which walnuts, seafood, red fish and beef can be distinguished.
The fact is that these foods are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which serve as a kind of "fuel" for the production of testosterone. Natural pomegranate juice also has a positive effect on the hormonal background, due to the large amount of B vitamins. The effect of these products will be weaker than that of sports nutrition or medicines, but you can be sure of their naturalness and benefits.
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Purpose of boosters
This supplement is designed to restore low levels of free testosterone in the body to natural values. You should take a testosterone booster only after passing tests for sex hormones and consulting an endocrinologist. If analyzes show that the level of endogenous testosterone is not lower than the reference values, then there is no particular point in taking this supplement - you will not get a visible effect, and the rise in testosterone levels, if any, will be quite insignificant.
Sex hormones are responsible for a huge number of vital functions in the body, including:
- Increased strength and muscle mass.
- Exchange of fats.
- Improving protein synthesis.
- Decrease in catabolic processes.
- Decrease in blood glucose.
- Normal functioning of the gonads and others.
Accordingly, if the level of testosterone is underestimated, then the situation with these functions is not the best: libido weakens, strength indicators fall during training, muscle cells are destroyed, and overall health worsens. Drowsiness, irritability, aggressiveness appear. If you want to avoid this, then it is advisable to start taking a testosterone booster.
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Post-course therapy
If you are a professional athlete and use anabolic steroids to increase athletic performance, then you should understand that the course of steroids must be followed by a recovery phase. In a sports setting, it is called post-course therapy. This must be done to give the body a little rest from prolonged doping. In addition to the endocrine system, pharmacological drugs have a strong effect on the liver, and the restoration of liver cells is the second priority task for post-course therapy.
The mechanism of action of anabolic steroids is such that with their intake, the production of own testosterone is reduced to almost zero. The hypothalamic-pituitary system stops working properly. The body simply does not need such a large amount of sex hormones.
After the end of doping, the athlete's hormonal level is in a deplorable state: testosterone is at zero, estrogens are increased.
This leads to many unpleasant consequences: a decrease in strength and muscle mass, a decrease in libido, acne, weakening of joints and ligaments, irritability and depression.
In these conditions, taking testosterone boosters is necessary. This will help restore natural testosterone levels faster. As a rule, the athlete starts taking it immediately after stopping the hormonal drugs and continues for 4-6 weeks. It helps reduce the rollback in muscle mass and strength and restore hormones to normal.
Typically, athletes use a tribulus or D-aspartic acid booster to stimulate their own testosterone production, along with pharmaceuticals like tamoxifen or dostinex to lower estrogen levels.
At the same time, we must not forget about hard strength training in order to maintain muscle tone and further stimulate the production of sex hormones. Thanks to such complex therapy, most of the side effects can be minimized.
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The benefits and harms of drugs
We figured out the benefits of testosterone boosters: they help restore the natural hormonal background, which is extremely important for the body of any athlete. In addition to athletes, boosters are often used by men over the age of 40. At this age, the hormonal system is already being rebuilt, and much less testosterone is produced. Many problems follow from this: erectile dysfunction, constant fatigue, weakness, irritability, etc. A man simply loses strength and vitality. In this case, you should try to use a testosterone booster, it will help bring life back to normal.
The harm of testosterone boosters is a hotly debated issue in the fitness community. Most experts agree that side effects from taking testosterone boosters are extremely rare, and you don't need to worry about it. However, sports nutrition manufacturers are reinsured and indicate the following among the possible side effects:
- impotence;
- acne;
- irritability;
- fluctuations in blood pressure;
- gynecomastia;
- aggressiveness.
Testosterone boosters are not recommended for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases and kidney failure.
How to take testosterone boosters?
Testosterone boosters are recommended to be taken in courses of 4-6 weeks to achieve a noticeable result. Depending on the amount of active ingredient, the number of supplements taken varies from 1 to 3 times a day. At the end of the course, you should definitely take a break in admission. For better absorption of the active ingredient, it is not recommended to consume the supplement on an empty stomach.
We recommend adhering to the following dosage regimen:
| Weeks 1-2 | On training days, we take a testosterone booster 3 times a day: in the morning, after training, and before bed. On non-training days: only in the morning and before bedtime. |
| Weeks 3-4 | On training days, we take a booster in the morning and after training. On non-workout days, take a double serving in the morning or one serving in the morning and one before bed. |
| Weeks 5-6 | We take one serving in the morning. When the effect wears off, add one serving after training. |
In the conditions of post-course therapy, the intake of aromatase inhibitors (tamoxifen, dostinex and others) is added to the intake of boosters. Medications should be taken strictly in accordance with the instructions.
Different manufacturers have different dosages of the active ingredient. Assume that the daily dose of tribulus should not exceed 1500 mg per day, and the daily dose of D-aspartic acid should not exceed 3 grams per day.
Are the products suitable for women?
Women are not advised to use testosterone boosters, as in some cases this can lead to the manifestation of secondary male characteristics, such as increased body hair growth, voice changes, and rapid muscle gain. Problems with the menstrual cycle can also be observed, since the normal course of menstruation directly depends on hormonal levels and the absence of stress, and any intervention in the endocrine system is a huge stress for the body. Of course, this is a temporary phenomenon, and after the end of the use of the testosterone booster, the hormonal background will return to normal, and these problems will disappear.
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Testosterone boosters rating
The testosterone booster, the rating of which we present to you below, is considered the best tribulus-based drugs at the moment. At least if you believe the reviews left on the site of the world's largest online sports nutrition store bodybuilding.com. So, here's what the list of the most popular drugs looks like:
- Alpha Test from Muscletech.
- Mens Multi + Test by GAT.
- Animal Stak from Universal Nutrition.
The best D-Aspartic Acid Testosterone Boosters are:
- Prime-T from RSP Nutrition.
- EvlTest from Evlution Nutrition.
- Anabolic Freak from PharmaFreak.
The best testosterone boosters based on zinc, magnesium and B vitamins are:
- ZMA Pro from Universal Nutrition.
- ZMA from NOW.
- ZMA from Optimum Nutrition.
Reviews of doctors and experts
Experiments with increasing muscle mass have been carried out more than once and in more than one country. Let's talk about the results of the most impressive of them.
Chinese medicine opinion
An interesting experiment with the use of Tribulus was conducted by Chinese doctors and documented the results in the article "Effects of Tribulus Terrestris saponins on exercise performance in over training rat sand the underlying mechanisms."
The essence of the experiment is that the experimental rats were created conditions of strong overtraining, physical activity took most of their time. At the same time, the rats consumed 120 mg tribulus per kg of body weight half an hour before each training session. Tests showed that the testosterone level in rats increased by 216%. This resulted in an increase in muscle mass and overall physical potential.
Experiment in Egypt
Egyptian scientists conducted an experiment, a scientific article about which was titled "The Effect of Oral Feeding of Tribulusterrestris L. on Sex Hormone and Gonadotropin Levels in Addicted Male Rats." lowering testosterone and growth hormone levels. The other group of rats was not given drugs. Twenty-one days later, both groups of rats were treated with tribulus to restore hormonal levels. The group of rats who were given drugs showed a fairly strong rise in testosterone levels, while the hormonal background of healthy rats remained practically unchanged.
American study
American scientists have questioned the effectiveness of D-aspartic acid. The article "Three and six grams of supplementation of d-aspartic acid in resistance trained men," describes an experiment in which they gave well-trained adult men 3 or 6 grams of D-aspartic acid. The results are disappointing: in men who consumed 6 grams of D-aspartic acid per day, there was a drop in free testosterone levels, there were no other changes in the hormonal background. Men who consumed 3 grams of D-aspartic acid per day did not show any direct effect on testosterone levels.
