Get a Quality Multivitamin

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to significantly increase your natural

testosterone production, is by correcting all of your underlying micronutrient deficiencies.

In fact I would go as far as saying that the best “natural T-booster supplement” is in fact just a basic high-quality wide-spectrum multivitamin. Allow me to explain why…

…Even though many guys think they’re all topped up on all the necessary vitamins and minerals, they usually aren’t.

One study conducted by The Washington Council of Responsible Nutrition says:

“Large portions of the population had total usual intakes below the estimated average requirement for vitamins A (35%), C (31%), D (74%), and E (67%) as well as calcium (39%) and magnesium (46%).

Only 0%, 8%, and 33% of the population had total usual intakes of

potassium, choline, and vitamin K…”

When you start looking at how vitamin and mineral deficiencies affect your testosterone production, you’ll realize why its important to keep your body topped up on essential micronutrients;

Vitamin A is stored in testicles (and few other glands of the body).

Studies have shown that when there’s no active vitamin A in the testes, T levels start dropping rapidly, and estrogen synthesis shoots up. Also in a study of 155 male twins, a clear correlation was found between vitamin A levels and serum testosterone. In prepubertal teens, vitamin A + iron supplementation is as effective in starting puberty as hormone replacement therapy.

Vitamin B complex (which consists of 8 different water-soluble vitamins), plays an important role in testosterone production and overall bodily energy levels, deficiency in many B vitamins results in increased estrogen levels, increased prolactin levels, and lowered testosterone levels (study, study, study, study).

Vitamin C has a protective effect on testosterone molecules, and this is because it’s a potent antioxidant and able to block some cortisol

secretion and oxidative damage (study, study, study, study, study) Vitamin D supplementation with a dose of 3332 IU’s for one full year leads to 25% higher testosterone levels in healthy male subjects. The positive correlation with vitamin D levels and serum testosterone have been noted in various other human studies too (study, study, study).

Vitamin E deficient human and rodent subjects both experience a significant drop in LH, FSH, and testosterone levels, conversely, vitamin E supplemented humans and rodents notice significant increases in pituiary LH and FSH, and also in serum testosterone.

Magnesium intake has had a direct effect on serum testosterone levels in various studies. In this one, 10 mg/kg of magnesium was able to increase free testosterone levels by 24%. Here magnesium intake was

positively correlated with high serum T levels, and in this large review study the researchers conclude: “there is evidence that magnesium exerts a positive influence on anabolic hormonal status, including testosterone, in men.”

Calcium has its role in controlling neurotransmitter release and the signaling between cells and hormones. Not much is known about its effects on testosterone, but in 1976 a group of researchers found out that calcium stimulates testosterone synthesis in isolated leydig cells.

33 years later another study saw that calcium supplementation didn’t alter T levels at rest, but did significantly increase (18%) T levels post-exercise.

Selenium, mostly due to its gluthatione stimulating effects, has been linked to increased testosterone production and improved sperm parameters in few studies (study, study)

Zinc has a significant positive effect on testosterone production and a deficiency will hammer the endocrine system. In fact, zinc might be one of the most important micronutrients for healthy testosterone

production. It has increased testosterone levels in athletes and

exercising ‘normal men’ (study, study), in men with zinc deficiency, in infertile men, in animals… It’s also noted in one rodent study that zinc deficiency can upregulate the estrogen receptors by 57%, probably due to the fact that zinc has its role in controlling the aromatase enzyme.

Boron, although not very common mineral to supplement with, has few interesting studies backing up its testosterone boosting effects. In this human study 6 mg’s of boron for 60 days increased free

testosterone levels by 29%. In another human study, 10 mg’s of boron for 7 days increased free testosterone by 28%.

Manganese appears to have a direct GnRH stimulating effect in the brain, and logic says that it should therefore also increase testosterone levels. However, mega-dosing with manganese should not be an option, since it accumulates in the body and can become neurotoxic at high levels. When taken at too high doses, manganese can actually reduce T

38. Phosphatidylserine

Not much has been talked about phosphatidylserine (PS) as a

testosterone booster, even though there’s some evidence that at least in exercising individuals, PS can reliably increase testosterone levels and

suppress the exercise induced cortisol secretion.

Phosphatidylserine is actually a naturally occurring phospholipid complex present in all of the bodily cells. Its mainly a signaling molecule between cells and hormones, but may also have other functions, such as reducing the oxidative damage at the interior of cells.

Due to over 50% of the bodily PS being in neural tissue of the brain, many claims of

phosphatidylserines “nootropic” or brain boosting benefits have been made. Surprisingly enough, there’s a good amount of evidence which suggests that PS supplementation can improve cognitive functions (study, study, study). In fact PS has an FDA granted ‘qualified health claim’ for prevention of cognitive decline in humans.

When it comes to testosterone, PS can improve athletic performance by reducing the exercise induced rise of oxidative stress (study, study, study). Furthermore,

phosphatidylserine supplementation has a dose-dependent cortisol reducing and levels.

testosterone promoting effect in exercising subjects (study, study). In the latter study PS was able to improve the testosterone to cortisol ratio by 180% more in favor of increased T, aka. anabolism.

39. Bromelain

Bromelain is a pineapple extracted blend of ‘proteolytic enzymes’. More specifically, it’s a supplement

containing bunch of enzymes that can break down the peptide chains between amino-acids (proteins), improving

digestion and absorption.

You can get some by eating pineapples, since the stem part is loaded with protelytic

enzymes, but if you’re not a big fan of eating pineapple stems, supplemental bromelain is also available.

Why bromelain for testosterone you ask? This is actually more for the guys who want to do endurance training, since bromelain can preserve T-levels during ‘strenuous’

endurance training, but allow me to quote one of my older articles;

A study from the University of Tasmania by Shing et al. had fifteen young elite cyclists as their test subjects. The subjects were racing in a competitive cycle race for 6 consecutive days, and the researchers divided the participants into two groups. First one consisted of 7 cyclists who received 1,000 mg’s of daily bromelain. The second group consisted of 8 cyclists who received a visually similar placebo pill. During the six days of the cycle race, the researchers took blood samples from the cyclists at days 1, 3, and 6, and they examined these samples for various exercise markers, including testosterone. What they found out was very interesting. As to be expected, the high amount of

endurance exercise significantly reduced blood testosterone levels – however – only in the placebo group. The group receiving 1,000 mg’s of bromelain, noted relatively stable levels of testosterone throughout the 6 days of cycle racing!

Yup, that’s not a typo. 6 consecutive days of elite level cycling with no significant reductions in T levels. The researchers conclude: “Consecutive days of competitive cycling were associated with increased markers of muscle damage and a reduction in circulating testosterone across the race period.

Bromelain supplementation reduced subjective feelings of fatigue and was associated with a trend to maintain testosterone concentration.” Mind you, this study is peer-reviewed, randomized, double-blind, and

placebo-controlled. Not bad results from a gram of meat tenderizer per day I might say…