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How Effective is Fenugreek Seed for Boosting Testosterone
There are a lot of guys I know including myself who have used steroids from time to time. Depending on the kinds of steroids you have used it may have affected your testosterone production.
If you use any sort of testosterone derivative for a long time it can cause your body to stop producing testosterone on its own. This can be a problem, not only will it take time for testosterone levels to return in the meantime it can cause a series of annoying side effects.
The biggest problem is poor sex drive, erection quality, and less strength.
I know from personal experience waiting for testosterone levels to come back on their own takes time. However, there are natural things you can do to help speed up the process.
Taking Fenugreek seed may be one of them, in a previous article, I have discussed the benefits of taking minerals like Zinc and natural herbs like Tribulus Terrestris to help increase testosterone, however, Fenugreek seed is an herb that is not as popular.
If you think you might have heard about Fenugreek before you probably have, it is found in many testosterone and sports supplements. The question is can it be effective at raising testosterone.
In this article, I will cover the benefits of Fenugreek seed and see if, in fact, this herb offers the benefits some claim.
What is Fenugreek?
Fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum) have been used in ayurvedic medicines for centuries.
Fenugreek is an annual plant that can be found in India, France, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Morocco.
Fenugreek is used for cooking in many cultures including Egyptian, Turkish, and Indian cuisine.
The nutrient value in Fenugreek is considerably high 100 grams has approximately 323 calories of that 58% are carbohydrates, 23% protein, and 6% fat. It also has 8% of RDA of fiber, B vitamins, manganese, and iron.
Fenugreek Studies
Testosterone deficiency has become a major problem in many countries, this has led to more and more studies on how to naturally boost testosterone levels, there have been a couple of studies done recently on the effect that Fenugreek can have on increasing both strength and testosterone.
Human studies
One study was performed on 49 1 men who practiced strength or resistance training, half of the men were given 500mg capsules containing Fenugreek, the other half a placebo.
The subjects were supervised and did resistance training 4 days a week splitting upper and lower body workouts for a total of 8 weeks.
Not only did the subjects show an increase in overall strength there was also a substantial increase in free testosterone levels.
The results showed an increase of free testosterone of 4 (p = 0.018) and after week week 8 (p = 0.027)
Animal Studies
Animal studies have shown that Fenugreek does possess anabolic properties, one such study performed on lab rats showed that it increased swimming time to exhaustion after 5 weeks of giving the rats Fenugreek.
The study performed in male rats showed that after 4 weeks that Galactomannan supplementation (an extract of fenugreek seed) helped increase weight and muscle strength in the rats when compared to the control subjects (placebo).
The most recent study on Fenugreek
This study 2 was done on the effect of Testofen which is Trigonella foenum-graecum a (Fenugreek extract) and mineral formulation.
The study was done on 60 healthy males between the ages of 25-52, none of them suffered from erectile dysfunction, the subjects were randomized with an oral dose two tablets a day (600 mg of Testofen) or placebo for 6 weeks.
What the study found was that the subjects who were given Testofen showed an increase in sex drive. This included an increase in sexual arousal and orgasm.
The study also showed the men taking Testofen felt stronger and with more energy, however, there seemed to be no difference in mood or sleep.
The ultimate result of the study showed that Testofen (fenugreek extract) had a positive effect on increasing sex drive as well as maintains healthy testosterone levels.
So how does Fenugreek work
The results from the studies show that Fenugreek may help increase testosterone in a couple of ways.
1.- By blocking 5-alpha-reductase, this is responsible for converting testosterone into (DHT) Dihydrotestosterone by blocking it.
2.- Acts as an aromatize inhibitor, this helps keep estrogen levels low and under control which frees up more testosterone.
Does Fenugreek seed boost testosterone?
The fact is that most of the positive clinical studies that have been done on humans show that it can help increase sex drive and strength and to some degree, it can help slightly increase free testosterone levels.
Other benefits from taking Fenugreek show that it can help reduce body fat, which is probably one of the reasons it is found in many testosterone boosting supplements.
Is Fenugreek harmful?
Fenugreek is consumed by millions of people around the world, it is used for cooking and can be found in many popular dietary supplements. Unless used in excess there should be no concern for health risks or side effects.
Conclusion
From what we see in studies Fenugreek seems to have more of an effect on boosting sex drive and strength than it does on increasing testosterone levels. So, taking Fenugreek by itself will probably have only a small effect on boosting testosterone.
