All the rave about testosterone boosters overwhelmed me.
YouTuber's and fitness gurus left, right and centre calming these test boost supplements can help you gain muscle, strength, and endurance like steroids without all the negative effects.
So I decided to give three different supplements a try and see for myself how good they really are.
My Experience
Most of these supplements contain a mixture of various ingredients, such as the following.
The image above is the first testosterone booster I tried; Xellerate test boost. It is on the medium-low priced end of the spectrum, but has tons of reviews.
At the time of using it cost me around 0.11 per capsule.
I tried another medium-low priced supplement; Test Xtreme. It cost me about 0.12 per capsule at the time using. It is another popular testosterone booster, below is an image of the ingredients.
The third testosterone booster I tried was Male Synergy, it was on the more expensive end of the spectrum.
Below is an image of their ingredients.
Let's go back a bit.
Before I purchased any of these supplements, I wanted to know the science behind them, to see if they could even work to increase testosterone levels.
I done some digging around, read a bunch of studies, and found out.
It turns out that some of the ingredients in these supplements can actually increase testosterone, but some are also useless or even contradictory.
Zinc
One of the major ingredients being zinc. It plays an important role in modulating serum testosterone levels in men.
Dietary zinc deficiency was linked to a substantial drop in blood testosterone levels in healthy young males. (1)
The jury is still out on whether or not an increased intake of zinc can increase testosterone levels beyond the natural level.
D-Aspartic Acid
It has for ever been thrown around all over forums that d-aspartic acid increases testosterone levels.
However, the research has been very inconsistent with mixed results, and strangely, some research even indicates that it decreases testosterone. (2)
This is worrying, considering it is included in all three of the testosterone boosters I used.
However, some studies do show an increase in serum testosterone levels.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D supplementation has been found in studies to reduce a protein called Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG).
SHBG in the circulation becomes inactive when free testosterone binds to it; less SHBG implies more accessible testosterone.
Vitamin D supplementation may assist to increase testosterone and free testosterone levels. (3)
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is required for the formation of haemoglobin in red blood cells as well as the activation of the immune system.
It is also needed for the creation of androgens and in higher amounts, may aid in the regulation of hormone production, such as oestrogen.
Anecdotal data suggests that vitamin B6 may boost testosterone levels.
However, clinical results revealed that, although a vitamin B6 deficiency may induce a decrease in testosterone, supplementing with B6 did not result in a significant rise in testosterone above normal levels.
As a result, vitamin B6 is more of a testosterone "supporting" rather than "boosting" component. If you don't have a vitamin B6 deficiency, this substance may have no effect on your testosterone.
Magnesium
Magnesium may aid in the increase of free and total testosterone, as well as the reduction of tiredness and recovery time.
Studies show supplementation with magnesium substantially boosted both free and total testosterone levels. (4)
Magnesium binds to testosterone more efficiently than SHBG, thus it effectively preserves your free testosterone and maintains it accessible.
Selenium
While selenium is required for testosterone synthesis, it is a trace mineral that is usually unneeded to supplement since selenium is readily available elsewhere in the diet.
The daily required dose of selenium is 55 micrograms, and a single brazil nut may contain over 100mcg. Selenium deficiency is uncommon.
It is, nevertheless, a useful addition to these testosterone boosters to meet that criterion.
Fennel Seed
In China, India, Greece, and Egypt, fennel seed was used as a culinary flavouring as well as an ancient medicinal. Fennel seed is marketed as a complete male enhancement supplement.
However, there is no clinical proof to back up these claims, and it does not increase testosterone levels. It may, at most, aid in the improvement of blood flow.
Maca Root
Maca root boosts libido without increasing testosterone or promoting precursor hormones, so if you're looking for a way to increase your libido, Maca root may help.
However, it has nothing to do with systemic hormones.
CoQ10
Co-enzyme Q10 is amazing for health and wellness, it can improve heart health, blood flow, even preventing plaque build up.
When it comes to testosterone, it has mixed results. In fact, CoQ10 may even decrease testosterone. (5)
Fenugreek
In one review in 2020, the researchers found that fenugreek could enhance testosterone production. Another study also found that it may even enhance strength. (6, 7)
Ashwagandha
In one study, the subjects testosterone levels increased by 10-22% after ingesting 5 grams each day for three months. (8)
Another study found that ashwagandha boosts testosterone levels while improving exercise performance, strength, and fat reduction. (9)
Currently, it seems that ashwagandha may aid in the rise of testosterone levels in stressed people, perhaps by lowering cortisol levels.
It may also improve body composition, exercise performance, and reduce fat.
What Were My Results?
After doing some intense research for a few days, I took the plunge, bought one bottle of each supplement and tried them out.
I took the recommended dosages of each supplement for 1 month each. I had a break of 2 weeks between trying each new supplement. I also followed the same workout and diet routine throughout.
I began with Xellerates testosterone booster. I outline the results of supplementation below. Note that I averaged the weight over the first and last three days to account for weight fluctuation.
Before I continue, I would like to say that I have no affiliation with any of these companies and have no reason to sell any of these supplements specifically.
Although I am documenting my results from these testosterone boosters honestly, there are affiliate links so I will make a commission but this does not affect you or my reviews in any way.
Xellerate Test Boost
Weight: +3 lbs from beginning. There wasn't any noticeable increase in size.
Strength: My strength stayed mostly the same, I got slightly stronger but it seemed to be normal progression.
Definition: There was no noticeable change in definition.
Overall, I had slightly higher energy levels, but this could be due to placebo. I gained 3 lbs but with no or minimal change in progression of strength.
Test Xtreme
Weight: +2 lbs from beginning. Like the previous supplement, there wasn't any noticeable change.
Strength: Like before, my strength stayed essentially on track with my normal rate of progression.
Definition: There was no noticeable change in definition, or very little.
Similarly to Xellerate's testosterone booster, I had slightly increased energy and what felt to be a slight recovery boost. But this could also be a placebo.
Male Synergy
Weight: +5 lbs from beginning. There seemed to be a trend for an increase compared to the previous two rates of weight gain.
Strength: My strength was also increasing at a slightly faster rate than usual, not massively but statistically significant.
Definition: One noticeable difference was my stomach went down slightly and I felt slightly leaner.
Male Synergy seems to have had the biggest effect on me so out of the three. Xellerate Test Boost seemed to be statistically better than Text Xtreme but nothing major, with Male Synergy I gained an extra 2lbs and noticed a strength increase.
Further Reading
References
This section contains links to research, studies, and sources of information for this article, as well as authors, contributors, etc. All sources, along with the article and facts, are subjected to a series of quality, reliability, and relevance checks.
Real Muscle primarily uses high-quality sources, such as peer-reviewed publications, to back up the information in our articles. To understand more about how we fact-check and keep our information accurate, dependable, and trustworthy, read more about us.
This evidence and experience based analysis of testosterone booster supplements features 9 references, listed below.
1. Prasad AS, Mantzoros CS, Beck FW, Hess JW, Brewer GJ. Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults. Nutrition. (1996, May) (Comparative Study) ✔
2. Melville, G.W., Siegler, J.C. & Marshall, P.W. Three and six grams supplementation of d-aspartic acid in resistance trained men. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. (2015) ✔
3. Pilz S, Frisch S, Koertke H, Kuhn J, Dreier J, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Wehr E, Zittermann A. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on testosterone levels in men. Horm Metab Res. (2011, Mar) (Randomised Controlled Trial) ✔
4. Cinar V, Polat Y, Baltaci AK, Mogulkoc R. Effects of magnesium supplementation on testosterone levels of athletes and sedentary subjects at rest and after exhaustion. Biol Trace Elem Res. (2011, Apr) (Controlled Clinical Trial) ✔
5. Safarinejad MR. Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 on semen parameters, sperm function and reproductive hormones in infertile men. J Urol. (2009, Jul) (Randomised Controlled Trial) ✔
6. Mansoori A, Hosseini S, Zilaee M, Hormoznejad R, Fathi M. Effect of fenugreek extract supplement on testosterone levels in male: A meta-analysis of clinical trials. Phytother Res. (2020, Jul) (Review) ✔
7. Steels E, Rao A, Vitetta L. Physiological aspects of male libido enhanced by standardized Trigonella foenum-graecum extract and mineral formulation. Phytother Res. (2011, Sep) (Randomised Controlled Trial) ✔
8. Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, Rajender S, Shankhwar SN, Singh V, Dalela D. Withania somnifera Improves Semen Quality in Stress-Related Male Fertility. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. (2009, Sep 29) ✔
9. Wankhede S, Langade D, Joshi K, Sinha SR, Bhattacharyya S. Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. (2015, Nov 25) (Randomised Controlled Trial) ✔
✔ Citations with a tick indicate the information is from a trusted source.
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