Taking a natural testosterone booster is recommended to any 30-and-up male looking for more energy and stamina.
Testosterone is one of the key hormones for optimal men’s health. In fact, it’s often called the success hormone.
A glimpse into the function of testosterone shows that it maintains lean muscle mass, bone density, and sex drive (1). Unfortunately, testosterone levels in men today are at historic lows (2).
Our research team put together the best testosteorne boosters of 2023:
Rankings
1. Madhouse Labs
Madhouse Labs Warrior Testosterone was quietly released in 2023 and challenged the natural testosterone booster market with an upgraded formula.
Designed to give the 30-and-beyond male more energy and stamina.
3 months of research all of the world.
Tons of tongkat ali. Sprinkle big doses of fenugreek, maca root and boron and finished off with ideal amounts of zinc and magnesium
The verdict? The purest, most effective testosterone booster.
“Every man should be taking this in the morning with their powdered greens”
-BORSTAR Border Patrol agent.
Get the 6 month supply, you’ll get 3 months free.
2. Testogen
With TestoGen you should see the results of boosted testosterone in lots of ways including more lean muscle and motivation, improved libido, sharpened mental performance, and less belly fat around the midsection.
It uses only the best ingredients, and each ingredient has been carefully sourced, measured and combined to give you outstanding results in a completely safe and natural way. No fillers, additives or allergens to worry about either.
3. PrimeMale
PrimeMale can boost your testosterone levels to what they were 10, 20, even 30 years ago — and in weeks, not months. PrimaMale works on the three pathways to boost testosterone: Luteinizing hormone (LH), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and estrogen/prolactin.
It includes a special formulation to not only increase testosterone but also decrease estrogen, the female hormone, for a double effect.It’s also endorsed by Dolph Lundren, which is enough for us.
4. Testofuel
TestoFuel is considered to be a revolutionary, exhaustively researched muscle building supplement with one very focused aim to smash down the barriers to growth by opening your testosterone floodgates.
TestoFuel has been recently formulated using the latest studies and ingredients. Every ingredient is dosed according to clinical studies, which are clearly laid out for you to see.
5. Essential Elements T-hero
To maximize testosterone from multiple pathways, T-hero by Essential elements includes 5 powerful ingredients: ashwaghanda, Shilajit, DIM, yohimbine, and boron. Combined, these ingredients serve to lower cholesterol, boost libido and provide the necessary building blocks to maximize natural testosterone production.
Essential elements also includes Bioperine to maximize the effectiveness and absorption of T-hero.
6. Hunter Test
Hunter Test is a premium supplement that will reverse testosterone decline and reignite your masculinity. Hunter Test purposefully selected each ingredient and carefully calculated every dose to ensure Hunter Test delivers a powerful testosterone boost.
When you choose Hunter, you receive twice the number of testosterone-boosting capsules per month than you do with most competitors. It includes 9 proven ingredients all at clinically effective dosages to meet your specific requirements.
7. Performance Lab SPORT T-Booster
Performance Lab T-Booster emphasizes combating testosterone-hindering hormones such as estrogen and cortisol. It does with two key ingredients: Mucuna pruriens and ashwagandha. These anti-stress adaptogen herbs are clinically shown to balance blood cortisol levels.
They also included the orange extract luteolin. Luteolin is a botanical antioxidant that promotes healthy testosterone levels by blocking the aromatase enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen.
8. Genius Test
Genius test provides two key ingredients, KSM66 and vulvic acid to support testosterone production and reduce cortisol.
It also contains DIM, which supports the conversion of “bad” forms of estrogen into weaker forms that aren’t harmful to the body.
9. Nugenix Total – T
The new-and-improved Nugenix Total-T safely boosts free and total testosterone levels, so you can have more drive and experience better gains in the gym and better performance in the bedroom.
It’s scientifically developed with 8 powerful ingredients, our elite vitality formula helps maximize energy levels, increase lean muscle mass, enhance sexual health, improve overall wellness and restore confidence.
10. Iron Brothers
Iron brother’s superior testosterone boosting formula contains the highest quality natural ingredients, Tribulus Terrestris, Tongkat Ali Extract, Maca Root Powder, and Fenugreek.
This is a fast-acting, and very potent vitamin complex to help you reload, get stacked, and safely boost your metabolism and testosterone levels.
How We Rank
Since testosterone boosters are such hot commodities, are ranking system was pretty strict in regards to what we were looking for (and what we weren’t).
For starters, we eliminated almost every company that had a proprietary blend. This is because a lot of the time, those companies use fillers to provide a high margin, low-quality product. Without transparency in how the product was formulated, you can’t evaluate its performance against the best scientific evidence. This is why we ranked Prima Male and Umzu so highly.
Some of the best testosterone boosters out there is a high-quality multivitamin that consists of all the key micronutrients in the most bio-available forms and at clinically effective dosages. That’s why TestoGen ranked so high, it contains a ton of scientifically-backed micronutrients.
Lastly, we looked for companies that went the extra mile and used science-backed ingredients that were a little out of the ordinary like Shilajit.
Benefits
1. D-Aspartic acid is a testosterone booster that increases testosterone levels. According to the research D-aspartic acid works by increasing your natural levels of the follicle-stimulating hormone as well as luteinizing hormone (3).
The reason this is effective because luteinizing hormone upregulates testosterone productive from the Leydig cells in the testes.
Studies, in both animals and humans, illustrate that D-aspartic acid can increase luteinizing hormone and levels of testosterone throughout the body in as few as 12 days (4).
2. The testosterone booster D-aspartic acid increases sperm production. One study had men supplement with D-aspartic acid over 90 days. The men, who started with impaired sperm production, had, on average, their sperm count double (rising from 8.2 million sperm per ml to 16.5 million sperm per ml) (5).
For men with healthy testosterone levels following a resistance training routine D-aspartic acid was not seen to increase testosterone levels (6).
As a result, D-aspartic acid seems to only benefit those men with low testosterone or impaired sexual function.
3. Vitamin D is a testosterone booster that improves sperm quality (7). Specifically, research has uncovered a close direct correlation between low testosterone and vitamin D deficiency. The study continued to show that when subjects increased their time in the sun to increase their vitamin D levels their testosterone levels went up accordingly (8).
To provide more evidence, a year-long study was conducted with 65 men.
The men were split into two groups were one of the groups took 3,300 IU of vitamin D every day while the other group was the control. The group that supplemented with vitamin D doubled their serum level of vitamin D as well as boosted their testosterone levels by 20% (from 10.7 nmol/l to 13.4 nmol/l) (9).
Because vitamin D and testosterone levels are both low in the average man vitamin D supplementation may only improve testosterone levels when men are lacking in vitamin D as well. For example, research on men without vitamin D deficiency shows that after taking vitamin D there is no increase in testosterone (10).
4. Tribulus Terrestris is a testosterone booster that can improve libido. Tribulus Terrestris is primarily studied in animals. That being said, the results illustrate improved sex drive and bolstered levels of testosterone.
In humans, a 90-day research study in men with erectile dysfunction showed that Tribulus supplementation increased qualitative reports of sexual health, quantitatively testosterone was increased by 16% (11).
While there are significant results for increasing testosterone in men with below-average testosterone, there doesn’t seem to be any benefit in healthy individuals with normal testosterone levels (12).
Like other test boosters, Tribulus improves sexual dysfunction and low levels of testosterone but will not increase average testosterone levels to optimal testosterone levels.
5. Fenugreek is a testosterone booster that increases testosterone indirectly by lowering the number of enzymes that convert testosterone into estrogen. The most comprehensive research on fenugreek compared two groups of college men during an eight-week trial.
All the subjects performed resistance training four times a week, however only the experimental group was supplemented with 500 mg of fenugreek per day.
The result was an increase in both free and total testosterone levels. In fact, the control group was seen to experience a minor dip in testosterone. Other effects of fenugreek supplementation in this study were increases in both fat loss and strength compared to the control group (13).
Further research explores how fenugreek affects sexual function. A total of 60 men between 25 and 60 years of age took either 600 mg of fenugreek or a placebo daily over the course of 6 weeks (14).
Because of supplementation, there was a self-reported increase in strength. The researchers also discovered an 81% increase in libido, a 66% increase in sexual performance, 81% increase in energy, and a 55% increase in general well-being (15).
6. Ginger is a testosterone booster that reduces inflammation (16). Research conducted in mice fed ginger show increases in both testosterone and sexual function. Specifically, one 30-day study of mice shows that ginger significantly increased testosterone and luteinizing hormone (17).
Another study shows that ginger nearly doubled the testosterone levels in mice.
Building upon that study, researchers showed that doubling the amount of ginger given to the mice further increased levels of testosterone (18).
In humans, the research tells a similar tale. One study on 75 infertile men showed that after three months of daily ginger supplementation resulted in a 17% increase in testosterone levels plus levels of luteinizing hormone had nearly doubled (19).
In addition, the study noted several improvements in sperm health such as a 16% increase in sperm count (20).
7. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), is a naturally occurring testosterone booster that can increase testosterone levels by up to 20%. DHEA is part of the anabolic pathway that creates testosterone from cholesterol and controls estrogen levels.
DHEA is unique because it is directly involved in producing testosterone and it has the most extensive research behind it out of all the testosterone boosters on the market.
Many studies show that daily DHEA supplementation increases testosterone 20% more than just a placebo (21, 22, 23). DHEA works so well that it is banned professional sports, so competitive athletes are unable to use DHEA (24).
For those not competing, DHEA supplementation benefits those with low DHEA or low testosterone levels the most.
8. The testosterone booster zinc increases libido. Zinc levels are directly related to testosterone levels in the body, just like vitamin D (25).
Research supports this association finding that when you lower zinc intake in healthy men that levels of testosterone decrease as well (26).
Reversing this association, another study supplemented infertile men with lower or normal levels of testosterone with zinc. As a result, testosterone and sperm count significantly increased for the most part. The outlier was that men with normal levels of testosterone experience no benefit from zinc supplementation (27).
Further research shows that zinc supplementation can reverse the testosterone lowering effects of certain environmental influences. Specifically, elite wrestlers were given a daily zinc supplement during a 4-week high-intensity training routine to reduce the decline in testosterone levels from increased stress (28).
Thus, zinc can increase testosterone levels when you’re low in zinc or testosterone (29).
Plus, zinc can help increase recovery from high-intensity exercise (30).
9. Ashwagandha is a testosterone booster that improves your body’s ability to cope with stress and anxiety (31).
Ashwagandha is classified as an adaptogen. This means that it improves the ability of your body to cope with stress and anxiety (32).
Recently, the effect of a daily 5-gram supplement regime of ashwagandha on sperm quality over three months. After three months testosterone increased by 10-22%. Not only did testosterone increase, but also 14% of the subject’s partners because pregnant (33).
Ashwagandha is much more than a testosterone booster.
Research shows that ashwagandha also increases exercise performance, strength and fat loss (34). Ashwagandha seems to work by boosting testosterone despite environmental stresses over time.
10. Malaysian ginseng is a testosterone booster that enhances libido. Aside from being antimalarial, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and fever-reducing ginseng, or Tongkat Ali, is also seen to provide testosterone boosting benefits by increasing libido, enhancing sports performance, boosting weight loss, stimulating the production of androgen hormones (like testosterone), and reducing fatigue (35).
Specifically, research shows insights that Tongkat Ali can reduce the chance of osteoporosis (36).
It’s not clear if Tongkat Ali works directly to improve bone health or if it promotes testosterone to improve bone health. Honestly, studies of Tongkat Ali on humans are limited with no standard dosage recommended.
11. Pine bark extract is a testosterone booster that helps with erectile dysfunction. Pine bark is seen to lower cholesterol, enhance cardiovascular health, improve blood flow, and possibly reduce symptoms of erectile dysfunction (37).
While there is little research on pine bark extract thus far, there is research of pine bark extract paired with L-arginine.
These studies illustrate positive effects on both testosterone and erectile dysfunction, however, more studies are needed (38).
12. L-arginine is a testosterone booster that increases overall blood flow to combat symptoms of low testosterone. L-arginine is used to increase blood flow by stimulating endothelial production of nitric oxide, which may help with erectile dysfunction(39). As a result, L-arginine doesn’t increase testosterone per se, but it does improve the symptoms of low testosterone, most notably erectile dysfunction (40).
13. Garlic is a testosterone booster that increases overall health and testosterone in animals. Specifically, garlic is seen to improve the symptoms of hardened arteries, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer prevention, and a weak immune system (41).
In animals, research shows that mice fed garlic cloves had higher levels of testosterone. Unfortunately, there are no human trials have been done on the effect of garlic and testosterone levels.
14. Basella alba is a testosterone booster that increases testosterone levels. Unfortunately, there are no trials in humans thus far, but there are studies in animals. Research in mice shows that both fresh and dry leaf basella alba extracts increase testosterone levels (42).
15. The testosterone booster chrysin is a flavonoid extract that can improve sperm motility. Chrysin is available in both tea or supplement form, which may limit its effect in the body.
The limited research of chrysin in animals show increases in sperm motility, sperm concentration, and testosterone levels (43). However, because chrysin is not very well absorbed you may not experience the full benefit chrysin (44).
16. Vitamin D is a testosterone booster that can improve testosterone levels. A 2010 study found a direct correlation between low testosterone and low vitamin D levels (45).
Another 2011 study showed a 20% increase in testosterone levels when vitamin D levels doubled (46).
17. Tribulus Terrestris is a testosterone booster that may help with sex drive and improve sperm health, as well as increase testosterone in men with impaired sexual function. A 2012 study showed increased testosterone levels by 16% in men with erectile dysfunction taking Tribulus (47).
18. The testosterone booster fenugreek can boost testosterone levels and sexual function in both deficient and healthy men. A 2011 study showed that 600 mg of fenugreek daily for 6 weeks could improve various aspects of sexual function (including libido, performance, and energy) as well as the quality of life. (48).
19. Ginger is a testosterone booster that may increase testosterone levels and sperm count in infertile men. In one human study, after three months of taking daily ginger supplements, 75 infertile men had nearly doubled their luteinizing hormone levels, improved sperm count by 16% and experienced a 17% increase in testosterone levels (49).
Other rat studies show promising effects as well. In one study, ginger helped to nearly double testosterone in rats (50).
Another rat study showed that more ginger resulted in more testosterone (51).
Although it is still early days in the research on ginger and testosterone, these are still some promising results.
20. The testosterone booster zinc may be effective for boosting testosterone in those with low zinc or testosterone levels, or those who are currently in stressful training. An older 1981 study found significant benefits of zinc supplementation in men with low levels of testosterone. However, in men with normal testosterone, no significant benefits were noticed (52).
One 1996 study showed a strong correlation between zinc levels and men’s testosterone levels. Not only did zinc supplements in zinc-deficient men increase testosterone levels, but restricting zinc intake from foods lowered testosterone levels in healthy men (53).
Taking zinc also appears to be helpful if you struggle to recover from high-intensity exercise. A 2006 study involving elite wrestlers showed that 4-week zinc supplementation prevented a significant inhibition of both thyroid hormones and testosterone concentrations (54).
21. Ashwagandha is a testosterone booster that may help increase testosterone levels, while also improving sexual function and body composition. Cortisol plays a detrimental role in testosterone production. The higher the cortisol levels, the lower the testosterone. Ashwagandha is an adaptogen that works by reducing cortisol levels in the body. One study showed a 10-22% increase in testosterone levels in men who received 5 grams of ashwagandha per day (55).
22. Boron is a testosterone booster can increase testosterone in healthy males. Boron is a rare trace mineral and a somewhat uncommon as a supplemental micronutrient. A 60-day study involving 13 men showed a 29.5% increase in free testosterone levels after taking 6mg of boron daily (56).
23. The testosterone booster shilajit can increase testosterone levels, promote healthy semen production, and slightly boost hemoglobin levels. Shilajit contains more than 85 different minerals in its ionic form (bound to fulvic acid). It’s a dark rocky substance that is collected from deep in the Himalayas and has had some impressive testosterone benefits. A 2010 study showed that 200mg/day of shilajit over 30 months resulted in 23% more testosterone, 61% more sperm, 9% more FSH, and 37% better sperm quality (57).
24. The testosterone booster mucuna pruriens can increase sperm volume, boost testosterone, boost dopamine, decrease prolactin levels and activate androgen receptors. Mucuna pruriens is an Indian bean-like climbing herb and is widely used in Ayurveda (Indian herbal medicine). There are various studies that show the benefit of M. pruriens on testosterone levels.
A 3-month study in 2009 showed a 27-38% increase in testosterone when subjects took 5g/day of M. pruriens powder. Sperm quality also rose and prolactin levels were decreased by up to 32% (58).
Another study with 180 infertile men resulted in a 38% increase in testosterone levels (59).
A 2010 study showed that M. pr improved sperm volume by 688% and reduced cortisol by 110% (60).
25. Tongkat Ali is a potential testosterone booster for men with low testosterone, and men who are battling with moderate stress. A 2012 study involving men with low testosterone showed a 46% increase in total testosterone when researchers gave these men 200 mg of a standardized water-soluble extract of Tongkat Ali for 30 days (61).
Another 2013 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition showed a 37% increase in testosterone, a 16%, 15%, 12% and 11% decrease in cortisol, confusion, anger, and tension respectively (62).
Dosages
The fruit, leaf, and root of Tribulus can be used to make teas, tablets, and capsules. There is no standard dose, however, doses under 1,500 mg are regarded as safe (68).
Tongkat ali is seen to be safe up to 600 milligrams, with no damage seen on organs or blood profiles (69).
D-Aspartic acid is effective and safe in doses of 2–3 grams for those who are deficient in testosterone (70).
The best source of Vitamin D is increased sun exposure. If sun exposure is not a viable option for you, you can consume 3,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily (71).
500 mg of fenugreek per day is both safe and effective to improve sexual function and boost testosterone (72).
Several studies have found that 50-100 mg of DHEA per day can boost testosterone levels by up to 20% when compared to a placebo (73).
The suggested dosage for pine bark extract is 200 to 300 mg (74).
The safe dosage for L-arginine has not been established. Research shows that doses between 400 and 6,000 mg are safe and effective (61). 5 grams of L-arginine daily for 6 weeks is seen to treat erectile dysfunction (75).
The recommended zinc dosage is 5 to 10 mg for maintenance levels of testosterone (76). Increase zinc levels to 25 to 45 mg if you suffer from low levels of testosterone.
Garlic can be taken in supplement form, with the odor neutralized, or taken fresh as 2 to 4 cloves.
Chrysin supplements range from 500 mg to 900 mg (77).
Boron should be able to increase testosterone levels (without becoming toxic) when consumed at a dose in between 3-25 mg/day.
How long does it take for testosterone boosters to work? It takes a few weeks at minimum for the effects to kick in. Insulin sensitivity may improve within a few days, but effects on glycemic control become evident only after 3–12 months. Changes in fat mass, lean body mass, and muscle strength occur within 12–16 weeks, stabilize at 6–12 months, but can marginally continue over the years. Effects on inflammation occur within 3–12 weeks.
Recap
To be a healthy man, optimal testosterone levels are crucial to help you be lean, muscular, and perform your best.
Most of the test boosting supplements out there will only have noticeable effects only if you have fertility issues low levels of testosterone or suffer from stress.
Many of these supplements do work for healthy men too, but there are limited studies in these populations.
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