Fancy a 300 ng/dl increase in test levels?

How about doing it in a few weeks, and mostly naturally at that? No steroids, no needles for life, no forgetting meds and feeling crap as a result...

I have noticed a number of people of various ages who clearly have lower than average total test levels that seem to be seeking out TRT over the past while. For some who feel terrible TRT can of course seem like a magic pill... but it really is not. So, I thought I would share some thoughts on lifestyle changes that might be worthy of investigation in advance of pursuing a medical route.

It is fact that diet/lifestyle is one of the primary factors that influences our testosterone production and plasma t test levels. Therefore it is logical to reflect on our lifestyle to see if there are changes we could investigate and/or implement that might help. Here are two dietary routes and 1 medical option that are now proven to raise testosterone levels naturally, so to speak. They could result in you seeing a 300+ng/dl increase in your currently below optimal t test levels.... yep 300 ng/dl!

1. Herbs

Withania somnifera also known as Indian Ginseng is a perennial herb that grows across Asia, throughout the middle an far east. As is often typical of these things, it's use has been documented across age old texts. However, in recent times it has been studied in a clinical environment.

The results of consumption of 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice daily, coupled with resistance training for 8 weeks (versus a placebo group) in 18-50 year olds are:
Almost double the strength increase over a placebo group (26kg versus 46kg)
Arm/bicep measurement increase 5.3cm versus 8.5cm
Total Testosteone increase of 18ng/dl versus the ashwagandha induced t testosterone increase of 96.2 ng/dl)!!!

2. Ketogenic Diet

Jacob Wilson and his crew compared the western diet to the ketogenic diet using isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (same level of calories and same amount of protein) across 11 weeks in college students participating in weight training. The results are interesting...
As you can imagine, Lean Mass went up with the KD and WD, however lean mass kept increasing beyond week 10 in the KD group
Fat mass dropped more in the KD to -3.6kg
Strength and endurance increased the same across both the KD and WD
Most importantly, T test decreased by -36ng/dl in the WD group BUT increased by 118ng/dl in the KD group

4. Sildenafil Treatment

This is going to be controversial for some poor naysaying souls. So rather than discuss it, i will simply link to 2 studies proving efficacy. One study can help design an optimal dose and schedule for treatment (circa 30 days)

5. Oleuropein Food Supplementation

Oleuropein, a compound that is naturally found in olive oil has been shown to improve protein synthesis and has been show to massively increase serum testosterone levels in rats. The health benefits of diets that contain Oleuropein have been known for years (mediterranean diet). However, recently enough, researchers have isolated Oleuropein and shown it to increase testosterone in rats fed a very high protein diet by 250%. So, anything with proven ability for lypolisis, improved nitrogen retention/protein synthesis and a significant bump in testosterone is perhaps needs immediate consideration for both PCT and post-PCT therapies.

Something different- Free testosterone booster Tongkat Ali

Tongkat Ali, short and sweet, will boost free testosterone and liberate it from SHBG. As free testosterone is where the rubber meets the road, this should be a staple for EVERYONE, but especially those with low testosterone, high shbg, or are low-normal. It should be used on-cycle, post-cycle, and off cycle.

Look, let's be honest... these things might not help everybody. For example... if you have a complete primary failure then its off to the TRT Shop with you. However... low-normal people, ypu need to sit up and pay attention, because if there is a chance, isn't it better to try this (or similar avenues) rather than pursue TRT for life? These are merely 2 of the many things we could all look at to help improve test levels naturally, and indirectly to vastly improve our quality of life. It doesn't mean they are for everyone, doesnt mean they are permanent choices (unlike lifelong TRT) nor does it mean they are the only options. But, they are worthy of investigation given that they are proven, natural and both universally accessible and legal.

References

The Effects of Ketogenic Dieting on Body Composition, Strength, Power, and Hormonal Profiles in Resistance Training Males. Jacob M. Wilson, Ryan P. Lowery, Michael D. Roberts, Matthew H. Sharp, Jordan M. Joy, Kevin A. Shields, Jeremy Partl, Jeff S. Volek, Dominic D'Agostino. J Strength Cond Res. 2017 Apr 7 Published online 2017 Apr 7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001935

Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial. Sachin Wankhede, Deepak Langade, Kedar Joshi, Shymal R. Sinha, and Sauvik Bhattacharyya. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015; 12: 43. Published online 2015 Nov 25. doi: 10.1186/s12970-015-0104-9

Chronic treatment with sildenafil stimulates Leydig cell and testosterone secretion. Saraiva et al, 2009

Sildenafil increases serum testosterone levels by a direct action on the testes. Spitzer et al, 2013

LINKS:

Keto:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jordan_Joy/publication/316047203_Th......

Herb:
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12970-015-0104-9?site...

Sildenafil Treatment.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2741156/#!po=50.0000
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00131.x/full

Oleuropein Food Supplementation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5392257/pdf/oncotarget-08-1...
http://www.ergo-log.com/oleuropein-boosts-testosterone-lowers-cortisol-s...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955286312001581?via%... (full article on BookSC)

Tongkat Ali - FREE TESTOSTERONE booster
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669033/pdf/1550-2783-10-28...