How do testosterone boosters work? Well, first of all are you feeling like you have sluggish testosterone levels? Does it seem like your body just feels ‘off’ – you don’t feel that normal manly feeling that you normally have?
You’re less aggressive, less strong, and you’ve noticed that you are starting to pack on a bit of fat around your midsection?
Low testosterone levels are something that many men deal with, especially as they get older. It’s natural and normal for testosterone levels to decline with age, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit back and just take it. There are things that you can do to help elevate your testosterone levels back up and start feeling more like yourself again.
As a man, chances are you already know that testosterone is key to your overall well-being. It’s the hormone that helps you pack on lean muscle mass and possess the strength in the gym that allows you to stack those plates on the barbell.
It’s also the hormone that controls your libido and revs your sex life. When it’s low, sex may be the furthest thing from your mind.
It only stands to reason then that if you feel like your current testosterone is on the low side, you are going to want to do everything in your power to change that.
As such, you may begin looking into testosterone booster products. A product that will help increase your testosterone naturally? ‘Sign me up!’…you’re likely thinking.
But how do testosterone boosters work? Do they really work?
And more importantly, will they work for you?
In this article, you’ll learn:
- The premise behind testosterone boosters
- The different ways testosterone boosters impact your natural testosterone release
- Whether there are any other benefits these products have
- The drawbacks/side effects to know about
The Premise Behind Test Boosters
Testosterone boosters aren’t designed for everyone. If your testosterone levels are already on the normal to high side, chances are, you won’t experience benefits from using them. It’s not a ‘never ending scale’ you get here where the more testosterone boosters you take, the higher your testosterone will go.
Your body has limits as to how much testosterone it can produce naturally and once those limits are reached, you’ll simply maintain the status quo.
So the idea behind these products is to help men who may be suffering from low testosterone levels due to a deficiency, often with key vitamins and minerals, bring those levels back up and in turn, help to raise their natural testosterone production.
Note that these products are not putting additional testosterone into your system like you would if you were injecting steroids. That is a totally different ball game and comes with a wide array of negative health effects.
With a natural testosterone booster, you are simply looking to optimize what you already have. You are maximizing your own genetic potential and are making sure that your body is doing what it could be doing.
It’s important that you understand this going in so that your expectations are correct from the start.
How Do Testosterone Boosters Work: How They Improve Test Release
So how do testosterone boosters work then?
First, they supply key vitamins and minerals that your body needs to properly manufacture testosterone.
Zinc
For example, zinc is a mineral that is necessary for testosterone formulation and research published in the Nutrition journal1 suggests that men who are low in zinc typically have suppressed testosterone release.
If you are not eating enough zinc in your diet plan, this could be the very reason you are experiencing the issues that you are. By increasing your zinc intake up – through the use of a testosterone booster – you’ll help remedy that situation. Zinc is one of the most common ingredients found in testosterone boosters.
Magnesium
Additionally, magnesium may come into play as well. Research2 has noted that both zinc and magnesium supplementation has been shown to significantly decrease the levels of the catabolic ‘stress’ hormone cortisol in the body, which can have detrimental effects on muscle building and your overall testosterone release.
As testosterone is an anabolic hormone and cortisol is a catabolic hormone, the two hormones essentially work in opposition to each other. As such, you’ll often see magnesium in the testosterone boosters you find on supplement shelves as well.
Vitamin B6
In many cases, the zinc and magnesium is paired with vitamin B6, which forms the popular combination ‘ZMA’, which is one of the most prevalent testosterone boosters out there.
Some times men will take just ZMA alone while in other cases, the ZMA is added in combination with other ingredients in the testosterone booster stack.
D-Aspartic Acid
D-Aspartic acid is another ingredient often found in test boosters and has been shown to help infertile men gain their fertility back, which therefore means it helps to improve testosterone function in the body. If you are struggling with issues in this area of your life in addition to strength and/or muscle mass loss, you’ll definitely want to find a testosterone booster that contains this ingredient.
Likewise, many testosterone boosters also contain herbal ingredients, which are shown to help increase libido levels and may enhance overall testosterone levels. Men who are low in testosterone often have very little desire for sexual activity and may experience problems performing in the bedroom as well.
Tribulus Terrestris
Tribulus Terrestris for example is a herbal ingredient that research has shown impotent men can utilize to help maximize the strength of their erections. The research also suggests that these men who are experiencing issues do see a notable increase in testosterone levels as well.
Once again, note that if you are not experiencing issues related to this, it’s unlikely that taking tribulus is going to help, so it’s not a product for everyone.
Maca
Maca is another herbal ingredient that is often utilized to help who are suffering from low libido levels and research published in the Andrologia journal does show that it can help to increase sexual desire quite significantly in these men. It does not however appear to raise testosterone, so note that this is just an ‘extra benefit’ you are going to get from using a testosterone booster.
Often men who are not suffering from low testosterone levels but who choose to use a testosterone booster do find that the main difference they notice is an increase in their sexual desire.
All the herbal ingredients added to the product can be thanked for that.
The Drawbacks To Using A Testosterone Booster
All in all, there aren’t a lot of drawbacks to utilizing testosterone boosters. Because these are created utilizing a combination of herbal ingredients along with vitamins and minerals, they are considered to be all-natural for the body. As such, the risk of side effects is quite low.
As noted, the primary side effect you may experience is a much greater sex drive, so you can decide for yourself whether this is a benefit or a drawback depending on your lifestyle situation and preferences.
Other than that, testosterone boosters don’t tend to cause any unwanted symptoms when utilized properly by males. Note that these products are never to be used by women however as they may cause issues with their natural female hormonal levels.
How To Use Testosterone Boosters
So how should you use your testosterone booster? Usually these testosterone boosters are taken before bed for optimal results as the ZMA they contain (if the one you are using does in fact contain that) can cause you to feel quite sleepy. This is a good thing however because since testosterone is largely released during the overnight sleeping period, the better quality sleep you get, likely, the higher your testosterone levels will be naturally go. Research5 also has proven that men who suffer from short-term sleep deprivation tend to notice much lower testosterone levels than normal, so this can help offset that effect.
You may also be instructed to take your testosterone booster around the exercise period as well, taking it 30-60 minutes prior. In some cases, you may find a product that serves to help not only improve testosterone, but also has ingredients that may help you have a better workout as well (such as a nitric oxide booster), so the two can go hand in hand.
Look at the label directions for whatever testosterone booster you plan to use and follow it accordingly. Always start off with the lowest dosage recommended and then increase from there as needed.
So there you have the facts on how testosterone boosters work. When used properly by someone who is already suffering from low testosterone levels, they can certainly help boost the results that you see.
References:
- Prasad, Ananda S., et al. “Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults.” Nutrition 12.5 (1996): 344-348.
- Brilla, L. R., and Victor Conte. “Effects of a novel zinc-magnesium formulation on hormones and strength.” J Exerc Physiol Online 3.4 (2000): 26-36.
- Sellandi, Thirunavukkarasu M., Anup B. Thakar, and Madhav Singh Baghel. “Clinical study of Tribulus terrestris Linn. in Oligozoospermia: A double blind study.” Ayu 33.3 (2012): 356.
- Gonzales, Gustavo F., et al. “Effect of Lepidium meyenii (MACA) on sexual desire and its absent relationship with serum testosterone levels in adult healthy men.” andrologia 34.6 (2002): 367-372.
- Leproult, Rachel, and Eve Van Cauter. “Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men.” Jama 305.21 (2011): 2173-2174.
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