Do Testosterone Support Supplements Really Work?

Testosterone — a sex hormone found in both men and women — is intrinsically tied to masculinity. It’s the hormone responsible for the masculinization of boys entering puberty, and it’s associated with everything from sexual virility to muscle and strength.1 So it’s no wonder that men suffering from sexual symptoms like erectile dysfunction (ED) or low libido, as well as those dealing with a dropoff in energy or fitness, might consider a testosterone-boosting supplement.2

Unfortunately, as with so many markets hoping to capitalize on male insecurity, there are far too many inferior products out there claiming to solve the problem. Many of these are overpriced and often contain poor ingredients at low doses. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are around a dozen respectable companies producing recommendable testosterone boosters that should provide some effect for most men.

So, do testosterone boosters really work? Yes, some of them do, but they’re in the minority. The best out there contain complex formulas of well-researched ingredients delivered at sufficient doses to make a real difference. We’ll show you how to cut through the noise and find them.

The cool thing about high-quality testosterone supplements is that they can combine ingredients that boost testosterone in different ways.

• Some ingredients signal the body to increase testosterone directly.
• Others signal body parts further down the production chain to produce other hormones or enzymes that, in turn, improve testosterone production.
• Still others can inhibit sex hormone-binding globulin (a kind of protein that grabs onto the majority of circulating testosterone and prevents its use in muscles and other tissue).3

When you can combine all of these mechanisms, you end up with more testosterone production and more free testosterone available for use in the parts of your body where you want it — namely, muscles, sex organs, and other systems impacted most severely by low testosterone.

Now that we've established that testosterone boosters can work if they contain the right ingredients, we have to look at what ingredients out there might actually boost testosterone, and what doses have been successful in studies. There are a few dozen common ingredients that our team has seen in multiple testosterone boosters, but not all of them have the scientific support to justify their presence.

Here’s a quick look at ingredients with scientific research backing their ability to boost testosterone:

If you can find a testosterone booster that contains most or all of these ingredients at or near the doses shown to be effective in clinical research, then there’s a good chance it will work for you.

But as the zinc and ashwagandha sections hinted at, ingredient quantity is only part of the picture. Finer details of an ingredient, beyond quantity, can make a huge difference in effect and safety. For instance, the form of a mineral can effect how much elemental mineral is delivered to you. The potency of a botanical extract, not just its overall quantity, ought to be consistent with what research demonstrates to be safe and effective.

You might come across some testosterone boosters that have many of these ingredients but provide them at much lower doses. And you'll also find supplements that contain impressive quantities of wise botanical extracts that are nonetheless unbranded with no indication of their potency. In such cases, the companies are banking on the hopes that their supplements will have an impact that’s greater than the sum of their parts — or worse, trying to appear more impressive to you than they actually are. There’s no evidence to support the idea that underdosing and over-combining ingredients will result in positive outcomes. It’s better to have a streamlined ingredient list delivering clinically relevant doses with full transparency about their potencies.

With so many testosterone boosters on the market that we’d explicitly recommend you avoid, we’d like to share some common red flags in the testosterone booster market that can help you steer clear of potentially dangerous or ineffective supplements.

Here’s a quick list of red flags:

• Ingredients with too little scientific support: If you can’t find any research on certain ingredients or the available research has only been conducted on animals, you might want to look elsewhere.
• Ingredients with known significant side effect risks: No matter the potential gain, if an ingredient’s side effect profile gives you pause, try something different.
• Overblown health claims: Many companies will promise complete physical transformations or cures for various ailments. The more unbelievable a claim seems, the likelier it is that the supplement is not worth your time or money.

Compared to testosterone supplements, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is both likely to be more effective and likely to have more severe side effects.

For most men, starting with a supplement is a preferable route for starters because:

• It doesn’t involve potentially dangerous prescription drugs
• It doesn’t require that you go to the doctor, submit blood for testosterone testing, or jump through any insurance hoops to get treatment.

That said, men who’ve exhausted their options trying the best testosterone supplements or those who need immediate results to alleviate severe symptoms of hypogonadism might want to try TRT. Replacement therapy often involves intramuscular injections of testosterone cypionate or another form of testosterone. These injections can cause significant spikes and drops in testosterone, however, which can create mood swings and a resurgence of symptoms in the days between shots, especially early in treatment.18 They’re also associated with potentially severe adverse effects, including major cardiovascular complications.19

Transdermal testosterone is an alternative to injections, but there’s always the risk of spreading it to others in the household if you aren’t very careful with it. And exposure to testosterone in women and children can cause undesirable complications like early puberty or hypertrichosis.20

At the end of the day, TRT is a viable path for many men with clinical hypogonadism, but for men whose testosterone levels have taken a natural but subclinical dip, supplementation is the far better choice.

For most men experiencing symptoms related to low testosterone, the best testosterone boosters on the market contain ingredients that can make a genuine difference. There are a lot of inferior options out there, but a few companies combine effective ingredients at clinically relevant doses to improve testosterone levels in as little as eight weeks. If you’re curious to see if they can work for you, they’re likely worth a try.