Boost your levels of testosterone, the primary hormone behind muscle growth and healthy libido, with these science-supported supplements
Feeling sluggish in the gym? Lacking libido? Struggling to maintain an erection? You might be suffering from low testosterone levels. But don’t despair – you don’t need to turn to injections to reverse the slide. Try taking these three science-supported supplements and supercharge your testosterone levels.
ZINC
Zinc is an essential trace mineral that’s found in hundreds of different enzymes in the body and is vital for general health. It is often marketed as a testosterone booster, but taking zinc supplements doesn’t actually help with this unless your testosterone levels are low because of zinc deficiency.
You may be deficient if you are vegetarian or vegan – it’s found in meat – or if you are very active, because it’s lost through sweating. Getting a blood test with a health professional or GP is the best way to find out if you have any deficiencies you may not know about.
How to take it
The experts at examine.com suggest that sedentary people who do not sweat much and eat enough meat might not need to supplement with zinc at all, but if they do they should limit themselves to 10-20mg a day.
This rises to 15-25mg a day for vegetarians and vegans, while athletes and people who sweat a lot can take 25-30mg a day. Take zinc with meals to prevent potential nausea, and don’t take it alongside large doses of calcium, iron or magnesium, which all compete for absorption.
MAGNESIUM
Like zinc, magnesium is an essential trace element – every cell in your body needs magnesium ions to function. Magnesium plays a big role in muscle function, so contraction and relaxation – as well as energy production like protein synthesis and bone health. It’s also been found to have a positive impact on nervous system regulation too, aiding how our body can calm itself, and has even shown to improve sleep for some people.
You can get magnesium pretty easily through your diet; it’s found naturally in foods as well as supplements, with the best dietary sources being nuts, green leafy vegetables and and all your whole grains like oats, brown rice, quinoa, beans and lentils. It’s also in oily fish like mackerel and salmon – and even dark chocolate!
How to take it
If you’ve had a blood test to show that you’re low in magnesium, you might be recommended a supplement, as if you have a deficiency it can help normalise testosterone levels. However, unless you have a specific reason as to why you’re not getting enough (like an intolerance), it’s usually best to try and get it in through foods first.
If you want to use supplements, the standard dose is 200mg of elemental magnesium once a day, with a maximum dose of 350mg, according to examine.com. As magnesium might have a sedative effect, it’s best taken before bed, and then it may even help with rest. As with zinc, avoid taking it with high doses of calcium or iron.
doses of calcium or iron.
VITAMIN D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin-like compound that plays an essential role in a huge number of biological functions. Vitamin D receptors can be found on sperm cells, and may also play a role in the production of steroid hormones. In a study of men with low vitamin D levels, supplementing with vitamin D over the course of a year led to an increase in testosterone levels.
Vitamin D deficiency is common, especially in people who live in northern latitudes where the skin’s exposure to sunlight is limited. The NHS actually recommends that Brits supplement vitamin D between October and March as we get so little sun! And, the darker your skin, the longer you need to expose yourself to sunlight to synthesise enough vitamin D.
How to take it
Take 2,000-3,000 IU of vitamin D3 with a meal containing fat. You can take it year-round but the advice from examine.com says you should at least take it during the colder, darker months, when you’re least likely to synthesise enough vitamin D from sun exposure.
