All About Tribulus Supplementation
When it comes to enhancements in both muscle mass and athletic performance, testosterone levels have a profound impact on our success. Unfortunately, both bodybuilders and athletes alike turn to illegal substances to elevate their testosterone levels. While these drugs serve their purpose, the performance enhancement comes at the expense of their health. This overwhelming desire to increase testosterone levels has prompted supplement manufactures to put forth hormonal enhancement alternatives. One of these alternatives is a herb known in Latin as tribulus terristis. While the effects of tribulus supplementation come nowhere near the effects of illegal anabolics – studies do indicate increases in testosterone.
How Tribulus Works
Supplementing with tribulus can increase your body's natural production of testosterone
While illegal substances synthetically increase testosterone levels, tribulus works somewhat differently. Tribulus supplementation increases concentrations of lutenizing hormone which regulates testosterone levels. As lutenizing hormone is secreted from the pituitary gland, a signal is sent and testosterone production is increased in the testes. Since this all works within our bodies natural limits, the negative effects are literally non-existent. One of the main complications associated with illegal testosterone enhancement methods is that the synthetic increase causes the body to halt its own testosterone production. As a matter of fact, during a bodybuilders off-cycle, tribulus supplementation is usually utilized as an attempt to once again boost up the bodies natural testosterone levels.
Clinical Studies and the Effectiveness of Tribulus
The effectiveness of tribulus supplementation depends on your testosterone levels prior to taking it
The studies in existence regarding the effects of tribulus on strength and lean mass increases are fairly limited. The most notable and highly publicized studies come by way of a supplement manufacturing company based out of Europe. One of these studies in particular noted a 72% increase in lutenizing hormone and a 40% increase in testosterone. While not to discredit the sources credibility, it is important to keep in mind the companies financial interest in the tribulus product sales. Due to the lack of scientific data, I have personally supplemented with tribulus on a couple of occasions to experience the effects and to form my own non-bias opinion. The first time I supplemented with tribulus was following a cycle of a product called M1T (androstendione) – which is a precursor to testosterone. Following the M1T cycle, I could tell my testosterone levels were below baseline based on decreases in both my strength and sex-drive.
When I started supplementing with tribulus, I noticed a gradual improvement in my testosterone levels. My strength progressively improved and my girlfriend stopped giving me looks of dissatisfaction in the bedroom. I am currently using tribulus but I have not used an androgenic product within the last two years. Because of this, my testosterone levels were that of a 24 year old bodybuilder prior to taking the supplement. So far, I haven’t noticed the strong effects that I noticed the first time. This leads me to believe that the effectiveness of tribulus depends on your testosterone levels prior to ingesting the supplement. However, if your testosterone levels are low due to the progressive decline associated with aging or illegal supplementation, tribulus can be very effective at kick-starting your natural production. Tribulus is also commonly stacked with horny goat weed and maca in sexual enhancement products. The studies involving the effect of tribulus on sexual enhancement are all pretty consistent in the sense that the results are positive. This is another indicator that tribulus can increase testosterone levels – as testosterone is a primary sex hormone.
What To Look For When Buying Tribulus Supplements
With so many companies trying to capitalize on the demand for testosterone enhancers, it comes to no surprise that they have all included a token tribulus product in their supplement line-up. Anytime you have a lot of companies producing a similar product, their lies slight differences in quality that the consumer should be educated about. The following profiles the these variations and gives some insight as to what to look for in a quality product.
Dose: The optimal dose as indicated by the clinical studies is between 750-1500mg a day. However, this often fluctuates depending on the products potency.
Potency: Usually listed in small writing at the side of the bottle is the percentage of steroidal saponins. Basically, the higher the better – with the mark of a good product being 40-45%. The dose guideline given above is based on a product containing 45% steroidal saponins. If these natural saponins are lower, then the total dose needs to be increased to deliver equivalent results. Another factor to consider with regards to potency is the protodioscin content. Protodioscin is the main steroidal saponin that influences the increase in lutenizing hormone and thus, the enhanced testosterone levels. The protodioscin content fluctuates greatly from product to product and is highly dependant on where the tribulus originates from.
Product Orgin: To get the most from your purchase, buy only tribulus from Bulgaria. As a matter of fact, Bulgarian tribulus is the only form that has been proven effective – everything else is pretty much a waste of money. Chinese, Indian and German tribulus comes from a different part of the plant and has a much lower concentration of those ever-important steroidal saponins. Many companies are spiking their non-Bulgarian products with protodioscin but don’t be fooled by the marketing attempts. Stick to high potency Bulgarian tribulus products to get the most for your money. A lot of people I speak with seem to experience positive results with Biotest Tribex.
Tribulus Side Effects
Rather than acting as a testosterone pre-cursor like many androgenic products and illegal drugs, tribulus stimulates the natural production of testosterone. The usage of tribulus will help get your testosterone levels to high-normal, which is still in a safe range that will not cause adverse effects. Most importantly, the natural increase will not cause the body to halt its own testosterone production if you discontinue the product usage. This after-effect is only associated with products that rely on synthetic methods to increase anabolic hormones. The only population segments that should avoid tribulus supplementation are children, pregnant women and men with enlarged prostates. Aside from that, tribulus is a safe product that is definitely worth a try if you feel your testosterone levels could be enhanced.
