Hello,
I studied hundreds of scientific articles, hundreds of body builder forum discussions, and hundreds of personal anecdotes then personally took these supplements myself to understand them better than even those selling them. It would take time to compile a full article of all the scientific articles and other information on the Internet, so I am compiling an easy to follow Quick Reference Guide. You can Google search any product for adverse reactions, side effects, what they do and they change people say they notice by just google the name of the herbal. You can even use "Google Scholar" by google searching,"Google Scholar." Then in that there are science articles to read with lots of information if you can reason scientifically. I have read hundreds of them to research these, you should research each suppliment yourslf .
As men go older than 30 years old, their testosterone begins to decline. Traditional medicine will put them on steroids like body builders, and everyone knows this is not good because it shrinks the boys(testicles). Traditional steroids signal your brain to stop producing natural testosterone and sperm, which can lead to permanent atrophy, less sex drive, less desire to have sex, and less chance of having kids. This is not good in anyway. It is good to have more testosterone, but bad to shrink the boys. Thankfully there is another way.
The herbal way is to use naturally occurring gonadotropin signalling herbs. These trick your brain into not down regulating your boys downstairs. It makes you produce produce more naturally. Instead of shrinking long term, they grow long term. So you get the desired effect of more testosterone for muscle mass, breathing health, mild grade euphoria, and a sense of awareness of your surroundings and control(good for poker reads). Also, bigger berries downstairs is like bonus, and medically a positive thing.
So without further ado, let me explain the crib notes on this quick reference guide.
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The herbals and vitamins we'll look into are:
0) Protein: Make sure you're getting enough protein. An older person needs 50 protein, body builders up to like 300 or so grams of protein. If you're active and exercising, you'll know the difference if you have adequete protein or not, for your body will be wanting to flex and hulk out when you have it, or feel week otherwise.
1)
Get Tribulus now on Wallmart.com and start growing downstairs and raise libido (Regulates the brain to produce more gonadotropins).
2)
Get ZMA (zinc/magnesium/vitamin b6) on Wallmart.com
zinc 10-20 mg a day, taken not within 2 hours of dairy or copper.
Zinc helps immune system and production of stuff downstairs. Zinc raises your immune system. Everyone should be taking 20-30 mg zinc, men and women.
Magnesium is a non dependent sleep aid like Melatonin but unlike the popular but sinister Melatonin, Magnesium doesn't shut down your bodies ability to sleep if you don't take it.
Balance ZMA with some calcium since there's a magnesium/calcium balance.
Take ZMA before bed.
3)
Copper balance with Zinc or ZMA
1 mg a day, taken not within 2 hours of zinc. If you take too much copper, you get estrogenic effects which fights against testosterone. If you take too little copper, you'll get a weird headache and not think properly until you have enough. I find 1 mg copper to 40 mg zinc is the right ratio. Take 2 hours apart from each other. Don't take Zinc within 2 hours of calcium.
4)
Buy Vitafusion now on Wallmart.com. This is a vitamin. It has folate and boron which help you. You take two a day. It counts for 8 mg of your zinc. So don't take it near copper or calcium like within two hours.
5) Yellow yams- This food acts as an aramatose inhibitor. So you can have higher testosterone capacities before it gets sent to estrogen[e2].
Remember, when first taking any new herbal, don't take the full dose. Take just a nibble to make sure you're not allergic, or have side effects.
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1) Tribulus: You want to take 1000 mg by morning and 1000 mg by night and this is safe. If you raise the dose to double or more, you run the risk of your body over producing testosterone and then transferring it to estrogen. Estrogen can lead to man boobs, and long term unchecked moobs leads to even impotency. So the temptation is to take more trib once you feel how good it makes you feel, but unless you have an estrogen blocker, you don't want to be going to 4000-8000 mg a day. One guy took hundreds of thousands of mg once(like 10 bottles of 1 month supplies), and had either liver or kidney issues. Other than that there isn't a lot of negatives reported. Check the Webmd on how it affects blood sugar.
2) Zinc: Zinc is your traditional aphrodisiac because it promotes testicular function and T production. Ever hear claims that clams and shellfish are aphrodisiacs? It is true. This is because they're high in zinc. Zinc is tame, everyone gets some in some degree. There is 8 mg in 2 Mens Vitafusions, so you can take another 30 mg via supplements. The important thing to know is that Zinc competes for binding sites with copper. So if you take zinc, take copper too or your brain will temporarily operate like an old man. Space coppper and zinc 2 hours apart or they bind in your belly and give you a headache. Also do not take zinc within 2 hours of dairy. 40 mg is the recommended maximum by the FDA. Some body builders take more than 40mg, but I haven't pushed the envelope since you need to balance it with copper.
3) Copper: Copper alone is not good for male health, in fact it has mild estrogenic properties if too much is taken. You do not want to take too much copper because of the estrogenicness of it, and that it competes with binding sites for zinc which can lessen testicular function. If you take too much copper, the body disposes of it by mechanisms no well documented, I assume the liver. If you do not take enough copper, you'll get weird feeling headaches, your cognitive level will be impaired, and your back and nerves will send mild pains like you're out of joint. It is very easy to determine if your copper is too low and theres no lasting problem to be temporarily deficient in them. I find that for 40 mg of zinc [30mg zinc supplements + 8 mg zinc vitafusions], I take 1 mg copper a day.
4) Boron/Folate/Vitafusion: I have seen conflicting data on Boron alone, but some is okay, and it comes in the Mens Vitafusion at Walmart. Folate is like Zinc, helps produce the testicular product. Vitafusion has all kinds of good vitamins in it. If you take vitamin d, back off it, as it comes in Vitafusion too. 2 Vitafusion Men's gummies a day. Same rules as zinc, not near copper/calcium.
Herbals to not use as a dude though marketted for, but can help ladies' libidos and body building:
The following supplements have had many women claim their secondary sex characteristics(Chest and Bootay size) increased signficantly. Also, not all women get affected.
1)
Panax Ginseng-This stuff feels really really good in a funky way. People have said it is good for training and sex drive for years... but the scientific studies say it triggers a whole host of estrogenic hormonal activity. On paper, men want to stay away from estrogenic hormonal activity for it may develop female secondary sex characteristics like breasts and buns. The thing is convincing your female lady folk to take the dive on these.
2)
Black maca- Touted as a testosterone booster, but actually raises female hormones significantly. If Fenugreek is bad, this is way worse. This Black maca will induce feminine secondary characteristics like chest and butt growth. It also gives the immediate rush down stairs, then you have mild grade impotence for a few days as you have all kinda of estrogen mimics in your body. If I had a girlfriend, I'd let her have a go at this stuff. Many women say it gave them several extra cup sizes anecdotally. I believe it, as I felt "effects" after one 10,000 mg pills, but they died down after a week.
3)
Damiana Leaf-Touted as an aphrodisiac that helps testosterone, it does as says. The problem is that it also has very mild estrogenic properties. You'll get trippy dreams, and it is a sleep aid. This stuff is pretty interesting, but you start being able to just "feel" when excess estrogen is in your system. It is interesting, and didn't have a bad experience, but I don't want to long term this stuff, there isn't enough details in science journals. You should not operate heavy machinery or drive within so many hours of taking this since it may intoxicate you or even hallucinate in some people. Marijuana ethusiasts often try and enjoy this leaf for it is totally legal and can make you feel good.
4)
Fenugreek-Falsely touted as a testosterone booster online, is actually a prolactin booster which makes women lactate easier. On dudes, you'll notice moob development and temporary mild grade erection dysfunction after an extreme feeling down south. It also makes your body odor smell like maple syrup so anyone in the know can tell you're on it. It is a joke, stay away from this. Women may want to try it for chest development.
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In conclusion:
Everyone's body is different. This is what works for me. Science journals back it up. There is no long term studies on these supplements, but also no major cases of them causing people any major issues. Read Web Md and such for side effects especially related to blood sugar. Be sure to not ever take a full dose of a pill at first, just nibble to make sure you're not allergic for a few hours then take a half dose or less the first day.
Other supplements of note for men are:
Omega 3 fish oil, but this has too much vitamin d in for me. With Vitafusion and one other thing, I have too much vitamin d and get vitamindtosis.
I'm looking into others I read up on also, but I am in a real good place now. If you start taking too many pills, it can tax the liver. I hope this guide helps you. Once you get on a good level of testosterone and the boys feeling good, to me, the results now far outweigh the minor unknown risks that haven't been even discovered yet.
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Other General Tips
If you elevate your testosterone very high, which is easy to do if you take more than the recommended dosage of Tribulus, excess testosterone is turned into estrogen. You will want to have a myriad of estrogen inhibitors and avoid injesting estrogenic compounds. This will lead to a higher testosterone maximum.
Eat Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage and Broccoli often for they inhibit estrogen. For the same reason, women who want their bust developed should avoid these.
Males should Avoid strawberries for they cause estrogenetic responses: Avoid peaches. Also avoid flaxseeds. Avoid oranges.Also avoid sesame seeds. Avoid apricots. Avoid strawberries. Avoid some dried fruits.
If you're a lady, go for the strawberries etc, but stray from the Cauliflower.
I found it easy to add fruits and vegetables into my diet by buying apple sauce and bannanas. Bananas are good for your downstairs health. Apple sauce doesn't generally have pesticides that apples have and is easy to eat.
Avoid Xenoestrogens such as microwaving your food with plastic or certain shampoos and body washes. Avoid anything with fragrance. Google for Xenoestrogens to learn more.
Random dangers:
Gynecomastia- Aka man boobs. If you use use your herbals to boost your testosterone too much, and you have belly fat, often excess t gets changed into estrogen and estradiol. You can see this one coming soon enough to avoid it generally. Your chest gets puffed up, nips swollen. Sometimes the cremaster rides up too much if your estradiol is high. Yellow yams help vs this, but also talk to your doctor about Clomid.
Night Priapism- This one is a killer if not checked. If you use your herbals to the extreme, you might have priapism all night long. Erections over 4 hours start damaging your stuff so you make get erectile dysfunction. The solution is just to take less herbals, dial it down to a sane level, maybe not before bed. Also if that doesn't work, set your alarm to every 3 hours until you fix it. This is a real killer if unchecked, but you can do preventative measures to make sure it does not become a long term problem.
Arcomelagy/Gigantism: These supplements feed your body's natural production of Human Growth Hormone. Measure your hands from wrist to middle finger, and feet with a tape measure. If you're an adult and you start growing, consult a medical professional.
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Enemies of Testosterone:
Lack of sleep lowers testosterone.
Stress lowers testosterone.
Tight briefs lower testosterone. If you want to max testosterone, throw out all your briefs, and get loose fitting boxers. When your man stuff moves around down there, that is fine. Briefs cause too much warming.
Cigarettes shrink your testicles and reduce your enjoyment of sex even if you haven't noticed. If you're under 21, your final life time length of your penis can be permanently shortened by 1-3 inches by not reaching full development. Smoke or vape niccotine when you're a kid and you too can be the proud owner of a small dick. Women ask your dates if they're a rebel and smoked underage for a laugh