HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN SUPPLEMENT STACK SERIES – #1 Natural Testosterone Stack
Everyone and their mother is constantly looking for the “best” or most “optimal” supplement stack to implement into their daily regimens in order to increase their growth potential, increase lipolytic processes, enhance recovery, or some combination of them with the ultimate goal of improvement. I decided with that in mind, I wanted to bring you a “How to Build Your Own Supplement Stack Series” and covera everything under the sun! Increasing testosterone, improving endurance, increasing fat loss, and everything you can imagine to help you further your progress! Today, just as the title reads, I wanted to talk about how to create a natural testosterone stack that I’ve personally used on well over two hundred various clients that works (always check the ingredients with your federation before ingesting ANYTHING just to be on the safe side.) As always, it not only worked in practice but has more than enough research to back up their claims as many over the counter (OTC) testosterone products simply do not work….some do…so I hope to break this down for you so you can look for specific ingredients on these testosterone products and make an informed decision on whether or not it would be beneficial to purchase. The ingredients we’re going to be looking at are fenugreek, dehydroepiandrosterone, eurycoma longifolia jack, zinc, and vitamin D.
Fenugreek, has been shown to increase testosterone levels by increasing serum testosterone levels as well as 5-alpha reductase properties which reduce DHT. According to the literature we have available to us, a clinical dosage of fenugreek looks to be in the 400-800mgs per day range depending on which other ingredients it is going to be blended with (1, 2, 3.) Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), has probably been the most proven ingredient for increasing testosterone levels as well as aiding in sexual dysfunction, libido, some increases in bone mineral density, and some reductions in LDL particle size. From a dosage perspective its extremely clear that a dosage between 25-50mgs per day is all that is needed for an adult in their late thirties, early fourties. For the younger generation, I’ve seen research as high as 100mgs all the way up to 200mgs per day. This is an ingredient that like fenugreek, needs to be taken with consideration to the entire supplement stack (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.) Eurycoma longifolia jack is a testosterone enhancement ingredient that doesn’t seem to get the spotlight very often. In terms of increasing libido, aiding in weight loss, reducing cortisol, and increasing testosterone (up to 37% in one study), “long jack” does a tremendous job. Sadly I could not find enough conclusive evidence supporting its true mechanism of action but with it becoming more and more popular, given time we will be able to learn how it works on a molecular level sooner rather than later (10, 11.) A dosage of long jack is typically in the 200-400mg range if it is a 100:1 extract.
I feel its appropriate to up zinc and vitamin d within the same category as these are two supplement ingredients that VERY FEW people remember to consider when thinking about “optimal” testosterone levels. Typically both of these are only going to actually increase testosterone levels if someone is deficit in them…but thats more of a common issue than people think. Being deficit in zinc will reduce serum testosterone levels dramatically, thus, supplementing with it will bring those serum concentrations back within normal ranges being that it is an essential mineral thats involved in a number of enzymatic bodily processes (12, 13, 14.) From a dosage aspect it will depend on how severe your deficiency is.
Finally, we look at vitamin d which, as we know, can be synthesized by interaction with sunlight. Sadly, many are deficient in this essential vitamin because they do not get enough time outdoors and thus, less sun exposure. Being that I work the majority of my day indoors, I clearly fall into this category. There was only one study that holds proper data that I could find on how supplemental vitamin d aided in testosterone levels. In this study, they had men day take a little over 3000IUs of vitamin d per day for an entire year. They saw increases in both bioactive and free testosterone levels. This dosage, I feel is somewhat inadequate as 1,000-2,000IUs is the minimum effective dose, and although more is not always better, many would be better off ingesting 5,000-8,000IUs (some even go upwards of 10,000IUs but that is right at the upper safe limit.) As long as you’re ensuring your within that range and utilizing Vitamin D3 (which is more effectively utilizing within the body) then you will be good to go (15.) In closing, this is a very effective natural testosterone stack that I’ve seen bring up levels that were in the gutter to within the normal ranges or even within the upper limits. This will obviously depend on how well or how poor you metabolize these ingredients as well as why your testosterone levels are low in the first place.
References
1.Effects of a purported aromatase and 5α-reductase inhibitor on hormone profiles in college-age men. Colin Wilborn, Lem Taylor, Chris Poole, Cliffa Foster, Darryn Willoughby, Richard Kreider. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2010 Dec (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21116018)
2. Physiological Aspects of Male Libido Enhanced by Standardized Trigonella foenum-graecum Extract and Mineral Formulation. Steels, E., Rao, A. and Vitetta, L. Phytotherapy Research. 2011. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21312304)
3. The effects of a commercially available botanical supplement on strength, body composition, power output, and hormonal profiles in resistance-trained males. Chris Poole, Brandon Bushey, Cliffa Foster, Bill Campbell, Darryn Willoughby, Richard Kreider, Lem Taylor, Colin Wilborn
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010; 7: 34. Published online 2010 Oct (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20979623/)
4. Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation on hormonal, metabolic and behavioral status in patients with hypoadrenalism. R. Libè, L. Barbetta, C. Dall’Asta, F. Salvaggio, C. Gala, P. Beck-Peccoz, B. Ambrosi. J Endocrinol Invest. 2004 Sep (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15636426)
5. Supplementation with DHEA: effect on muscle size, strength, quality of life, and lipids.
Molina Dayal, Mary D. Sammel, Jing Zhao, Amy C. Hummel, Krista Vandenbourne, Kurt T. Barnhart. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2005 Jun (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15989411)
6. Androgens and sexual function: a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study of testosterone vs. dehydroepiandrosterone in men with sexual dysfunction and androgen deficiency. Alvaro Morales, Angela Black, Laurel Emerson, Jack Barkin, Irwin Kuzmarov, Andrew Day. Aging Male. 2009 Dec (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19883295)
7. Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation on cognitive function and activities of daily living in older women with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Shizuru Yamada, Masahiro Akishita, Shiho Fukai, Sumito Ogawa, Kiyoshi Yamaguchi, Jun Matsuyama, Koichi Kozaki, Kenji Toba, Yasuyoshi Ouchi. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2010 Oct (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20497239)
8. Dehydroepiandrosterone combined with exercise improves muscle strength and physical function in frail older women. Anne M. Kenny, Rebecca S. Boxer, Alison Kleppinger, Jennifer Brindisi, Richard Feinn, Joseph A. Burleson. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010 Sep (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20863330)
9. Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone and atamestane supplementation on frailty in elderly men.
Majon Muller, Annewieke W. van den Beld, Yvonne T. van der Schouw, Diederick E. Grobbee, Steven W. J. Lamberts. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Oct (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16804050)
10. Randomized Clinical Trial on the Use of PHYSTA Freeze-Dried Water Extract of Eurycoma longifolia for the Improvement of Quality of Life and Sexual Well-Being in Men. Shaiful Bahari Ismail, Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad, Annie George, Nik Hazlina Nik Hussain, Zatul Mufiza Musthapa Kamal, Eckehard Liske. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23243445)
11. Effects of Eurycoma longifolia on Testosterone Level and Bone Structure in an Aged Orchidectomised Rat Model. Abdul Shukor Tajul Ariff, Ima Nirwana Soelaiman, J. Pramanik, Ahmad Nazrun Shuid. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22966245)
12. Effect of zinc administration on plasma testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and sperm count.
A. Netter, R. Hartoma, K. Nahoul. Arch Androl. 1981 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7271365)
13. Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults. A. S. Prasad, C. S. Mantzoros, F. W. Beck, J. W. Hess, G. J. Brewer. Nutrition. 1996 May (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8875519)
14. Relationship between abnormal sperm morphology induced by dietary zinc deficiency and lipid composition in testes of growing rats. Krystal J. Merrells, Heather Blewett, Jennifer A. Jamieson, Carla G. Taylor, Miyoung Suh. Br J Nutr. 2009 Jul (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19222874)
15. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on testosterone levels in men. S. Pilz, S. Frisch, H. Koertke, J. Kuhn, J. Dreier, B. Obermayer-Pietsch, E. Wehr, A. Zittermann. Horm Metab Res. 2011 Mar (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21154195)
