+ 19 Natural routes to lowering SHBG
Free testosterone is what does the work when we are looking to build mass, so it makes sense that we would want to have as much free-testosterone available in our bodies. Unfortunately most of our testosterone is bound up by albumin and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). The level of albumin is pretty much fixed within our bodies with very little fluctuation in its levels so there is not much we can do about that. However, SHBG can vary widely so as the SHBG goes up, the percentage of free testosterone decreases and vice versa, as SHBG goes down, the percentage of free testosterone goes up. So the bottom line here is that SHBG can vary widely within our body and it has tremendous control over our free testosterone and we should do whatever we can to lower it to help maximize our gains. (Maybe I should have put this in my Maximizing Your Gains Series.)
When we are on cycle there are many steroids that help to lower SHBG. Proviron, winnie and Tbol are the ones that popped into my mind right away. But what can we do when we are off cycle to help keep our SHBG as low as possible and the gains coming? Here are some natural routes that you can employ to achieve this that won't shut you down.
Natural routes to lowering SHBG:
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Fish oil. Get in your omega's. Besides the other wealth of benefits it provides, fish oil has been shown to increase LH and decrease SHBG. Shoot for a minimum of 6g/day.
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Magnesium. Increases free test and lowers SHBG. Should be getting in 1g/d.
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Zinc. Shown to decrease SHBG. Should be getting 40mg/d in your diet.
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Lower fiber diet. Higher fiber diets can lead to a reduction in test levels and an increase in SHBG.
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Vitamin D. The bare minimum is 3500IU's. I would at least double that.
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Boron. You should be getting at least 10mg/d.
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Higher carb diet. You need to be eating plenty of carbs. Higher carb intake has been shown to increase T levels and lower SHBG, cortisol and estro.
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DHEA. You should be getting at least 50mg/d
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Many prescription drugs increase SHBG. The most common ones are sedatives, antihypertensiaves, tranquilizers. So know what you are taking and be aware that they may be increasing your SHBG levels.
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Stay away from alcohol. Alcohol consumption increases SHBG.
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Tongkat Ali. 250mg taken 3x/daily
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Avena Sativa. 1g/d split up into 3 doses.
REF:
Magnesium effect on testosterone–SHBG association studied by a novel molecular chromatography approach. L. Excoffon, Y.C. Guillaume, M.C. Woronoff-Lemsi, C. André
Bio Trace Elem Res. 2011 Apr;140(1):18-23. doi: 10.1007/s12011-010-8676-3. Epub 2010 Mar 30. Effects of magnesium supplementation on testosterone levels of athletes and sedentary subjects at rest and after exhaustion. Cinar V1, Polat Y, Baltaci AK, Mogulkoc R.
Structure/function analyses of human sex hormone-binding globulin: effects of zinc on steroid-binding specificity. Geoffrey L Hammonda, George V Avvakumova, Yves A Mullerb
Am J Clin Nutr. 1996 Dec;64(6):850-5. Effects of dietary fat and fiber on plasma and urine androgens and estrogens in men: a controlled feeding study. Dorgan JF1, Judd JT, Longcope C, Brown C, Schatzkin A, Clevidence BA, Campbell WS, Nair PP, Franz C, Kahle L, Taylor PR.
Horm Metab Res. 2011 Mar;43(3):223-5. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1269854. Epub 2010 Dec 10. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on testosterone levels in men. Pilz S1, Frisch S, Koertke H, Kuhn J, Dreier J, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Wehr E, Zittermann A.
J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2011 Jan;25(1):54-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2010.10.001. Epub 2010 Dec 3. Comparative effects of daily and weekly boron supplementation on plasma steroid hormones and proinflammatory cytokines. Naghii MR1, Mofid M, Asgari AR, Hedayati M, Daneshpour MS.
Diet-hormone interactions: Protein/carbohydrate ratio alters reciprocally the plasma levels of testosterone and cortisol and their respective binding globulins in man. Karl E. Anderson, M.D., William Rosner, M.D., M.S. Khan, Ph.D., Maria I. New, M.D., Songya Pang, M.D., Paul S. Wissel, M.D., Attallah Kappas, M.D.
Eur J Appl Physiol, 2013 Jul, 113(7):1783-92, "Effect of acute DHEA administration on free testosterone in middle-aged and young men following high-intensity interval training.
Br J Sports Med, 2003, 37(5), "THE ERGOGENIC EFFECTS OF EURYCOMA LONGIFOLIA JACK: A PILOT STUDY"
Schmidt K, Geckeler K. Pharmacotherapy with avena sativa – a double blind study. Int J Clin Pharmacol Biopharm. 1976 Oct;14(3):214-6.
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Alphamale500Great post Makwa! Tbol is a good method that I like to use.
My bad, didn't realize how old this is.
FENZguyYust thought will bump it up! as this is really good post!
Stinging nettle root is shown to bind with SHBG better then test which would increase free levels. Just learned of this so thought I would add it.
Edit: I see I’m late to the party with this info:/
Makwa, thanks for this fantastic post.
Does it matter what type of Boron one takes? I see supplements with either -
Area-1255I think they both are about equal.
Stinging nettle
Stinging nettle will also help with the prostate and lower DHT conversion.
Alphamale500Stinging Nettle is a good supp like you said. Saw Palmetto berry extract(min 85% fatty acids), Pygeum extract, Pumpkin seed oil and Lycopene are also great for controlling DHT and therefore promoting prostate health as well. I use one supp that contains all of these ingredients, called Saw Palmetto Complex.
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Edit: Didn't realize how old this is, lol.
What dose do you recommend?
500mgs in the morning. I feel so important being ask that jk. I work in a supplement chain part time. And all I do is read about this stuff. Hope it helps bro.
Have all supps except magnesium its better alone then with calcium and zinc right
Alphamale500Magnesium and Zinc are good to take together, but without the Calcium. The best, most absorbable forms of Magnesium are Magnesium citrate and Magnesium glycinate. If you're gonna buy some, I'd go with the glycinate form.
Edit: Didn't realize how old this is.
From what I have seen zinc and magnesium are best taken on an empty stomach and without Ca or dairy.
Citrate right?
I have zinc and magnesium aspartate
really good info, man I learn a lot just from following your post....keep them coming
Another awesome post man. This is fantastic information for guys on and off gear. Keep it coming!
I don't have the bandwidth at this time to be very active on this board. I will say I have looked forward to reading your interesting and thought provoking posts that have been stimulating discussion. I'm sure there are more than a few who've silently appreciated your contributions.
Awesome just posted a topic on asking how to do this it right under yours. Hope you don't mind I tagged it to my post. Thanks
No problem. That what the post is there for so people can use it.
Thanks again. I really thought this post would get a lots of hits I mean maybe most people just think they can take as much as they want to get to their goals or my they don't understand what shbg does to their bodies. maybe the title should be how to get the most out of your test cycle or something. I would much rather not inject high does of test to raise my free test. I would rather inject smaller doses and add some vitamins or proviron or masteron to my cycle to get the free test up for better results. High doses can cause to many problems Especially when your older. Just my opinion though I guess.
Thanks for the great post again mak! You've been dropping some knowledge bombs latley added as a favorite +1
RustyhookerWritten reports like this is what eroids is all about
Protein factory unleashed... Blood work showed almost 1% increase in free test which is pretty good for natty supp
1% increase of free test of your total test ?
I think I went from 1.6 to 2.4 % of total test so 1% of total test
What about nettle root?
I looked into it but I couldn't find any real conclusive evidence for or against it. The other compounds were pretty cut and dry as far as their shbg lowering capacity. Stinging nettle would be worth a try though. I'll look into it some more and see what I can dig up. I'm sure there are some others. As I come across them I'll add them to the post.
Man you are killing it with the good forum posts lately bro. +++
Currently taking Zinc, Magnesium, Boron, Vitamin D3 and DIM Energy levels seem to be up, should have a better feel after using for a month. Here's my post as well that's jn correlation with yours.
https://www.eroids.com/forum/training-nutrition-diet/supplements/reduce-...
Wasn't getting a lot of views in the diet and nutrition section. Go figure lol. We need more posts like these. Talking compounds gets monotonous. That's why I've enjoyed your posts lately.