Tribulus Terrestris For Testosterone?

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(Clinical) Trials and Tribul-ations

In the category of supplements that have enjoyed use as aphrodisiacs, Tribulus terrestris (also called caltrop, goat’s head, gokshura, or puncture vine) has a long history, having seen wide use in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and in Ayurveda.

It’s been used for other purposes too, and has been considered a “general wellness” plant.

So, what does the science say?

Good news: very conclusive evidence!

Bad news: the conclusion is not favorable…

Scientists are known for their careful use of clinical language, and it’s very rare for a study/review to claim something as proven (scientists leave journalists to do that part), and in this case, when it comes to Tribulus’s usefulness as a testosterone-enhancing libido-boosting supplement…

❝analysis of empirical evidence from a comprehensive review of available literature proved this hypothesis wrong❞

~ Drs. Neychev & Mitev

Strong words! You can read it in full here; they do make some concessions along the way (e.g. mentioning unclear or contradictory findings, suggesting that it may have some effect, but by an as-yet unknown mechanism if it does—although some potential effect on nitric oxide levels has been hypothesized, which is reasonable if so, as NO does feature in arousal-signalling), but the general conclusion is “no, this doesn’t have androgen-enhancing properties”:

Pro-sexual and androgen enhancing effects of Tribulus terrestris L.: Fact or Fiction

That’s a review though, what about taking a look at a representative RCT? Here we go:

❝Tribulus terrestris was not more effective than placebo on improving symptoms of erectile dysfunction or serum total testosterone❞

~ Dr. Santos et al.

Read more: Tribulus terrestris versus placebo in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: A prospective, randomized, double-blind study

As a performance-enhancer in sport

We’ll be brief here: it doesn’t seem to work and it may not be safe:

Insights into Supplements with Tribulus Terrestris used by Athletes

From sport, into general wellness?

Finally, a study that finds it may be useful for something!

❝Overall, participants supplemented with TT displayed significant improvements in lipid profile. Inflammatory and hematological biomarkers showed moderate beneficial effects with no significant changes on renal biomarkers. No positive effects were observed on the immune system response. Additionally, no TT-induced toxicity was reported.

In conclusion, there was no clear evidence of the beneficial effects of TT supplementation on muscle damage markers and hormonal behavior.❞

~ Dr. Fernández-Lázaro et al.

Read more: Effects of Tribulus terrestris L. on Sport and Health Biomarkers in Physically Active Adult Males: A Systematic Review

About those lipids…

Animal studies have shown that it may not only improve lipid profiles, but also may partially repair the endothelial dysfunction resulting from hyperlipidemia:

Influence of Tribulus terrestris extract on lipid profile and endothelial structure in developing atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta of rabbits on a high-cholesterol diet

Want to try some?

In the unlikely event that today’s research review has inspired you with an urge to try Tribulus terrestris, here’s an example product on Amazon

If on the other hand you’d like to actually increase testosterone levels, then we suggest:

Topping Up Testosterone? ← a previous main feature did earlier this year

Take care!

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  • Broccoli vs Asparagus – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing broccoli to asparagus, we picked the broccoli.

    Why?

    Both are great! But broccoli does distinguish itself:

    In terms of macros, broccoli has slightly more protein, carbs, and fiber. The two vegetables have the same glycemic index. We’ll call this a slight win for broccoli based mainly on the higher fiber, but it’s not by a huge amount.

    When it comes to vitamins, broccoli has more of vitamins B5, B6, B9, C, K, and choline, whereas asparagus has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and E. This would already be a 6:5 marginal win for broccoli, but it’s worth bearing in mind that broccoli’s margins are greater, especially with broccoli having around 15x the amount of vitamin C. So, a clear win for broccoli, respectable as asparagus may be.

    In the category of minerals, broccoli has more calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while asparagus boasts more copper, iron, and zinc. A 6:3 win for broccoli here.

    Both vegetables also contain generous amounts of antioxidant polyphenols and other beneficial phytochemicals, often a little different from each other, so that’s a case for enjoying both.

    Still, if you’re going to pick just one, we recommend the broccoli!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Take care!

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  • 7 things you can do if you think you sweat too much

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    Sweating is our body’s way of cooling down, a bit like an internal air conditioner.

    When our core temperature rises (because it’s hot outside, or you’re exercising), sweat glands all over our skin release a watery fluid. As that fluid evaporates, it takes heat with it, keeping us from overheating.

    But sweating can vary from person to person. Some people might just get a little dewy under the arms, others feel like they could fill a swimming pool (maybe not that dramatic, but you get the idea).

    So what’s a normal amount of sweat? And what’s too much?

    ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock

    Why do some people sweat more than others?

    How much you sweat depends on a number of factors including:

    • your age (young kids generally sweat less than adults)
    • your sex (men tend to sweat more than women)
    • how active you are.

    The average person sweats at the rate of 300 millilitres per hour (at 30°C and about 40% humidity). But as you can’t go around measuring the volume of your own sweat (or weighing it), doctors use another measure to gauge the impact of sweating.

    They ask whether sweating interferes with your daily life. Maybe you stop wearing certain clothes because of the sweat stains, or feel embarrassed so don’t go to social events or work.

    If so, this is a medical condition called hyperhidrosis, which affects millions of people worldwide.

    People with this condition most commonly report problematic armpit sweating, as you’d expect. But sweaty hands, feet, scalp and groin can also be an issue.

    Hyperhidrosis can be a symptom of another medical condition, such as an overactive thyroid, fever or menopause.

    But hyperhidrosis can have no obvious cause, and the reasons behind this so-called primary hyperhidrosis are a bit of a mystery. People have normal numbers of sweat glands but researchers think they simply over-produce sweat after triggers such as stress, heat, exercise, tobacco, alcohol and hot spices. There may also be a genetic link.

    OK, I sweat a lot. What can I do?

    1. Antiperspirants

    Antiperspirants, particularly ones with aluminium, are your first line of defence and are formulated to reduce sweating. Deodorants only stop body odour.

    Aluminum chloride hexahydrate, aluminium chloride or the weaker aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex glycinate react with proteins in the sweat glands, forming a plug. This plug temporarily blocks the sweat ducts, reducing the amount of sweat reaching the skin’s surface.

    These products can contain up to 25% aluminium. The higher the percentage the better these products work, but the more they irritate the skin.

    Woman with antiperspirant in one hand, reading the lid in the other
    Make sure you’re buying antiperspirant and not deodorant. Okrasiuk/Shutterstock

    2. Beat the heat

    This might seem obvious, but staying cool can make a big difference. That’s because you have less heat to lose, so the body makes less sweat.

    Avoid super-hot, long showers (you will have more heat to loose), wear loose-fitting clothes made from breathable fabrics such as cotton (this allows any sweat you do produce to evaporate more readily), and carry a little hand fan to help your sweat evaporate.

    When exercising try ice bandanas (ice wrapped in a scarf or cloth, then applied to the body) or wet towels. You can wear these around the neck, head, or wrists to reduce your body temperature.

    Try also to modify the time or place you exercise; try to find cool shade or air-conditioned areas when possible.

    If you have tried these first two steps and your sweating is still affecting your life, talk to your doctor. They can help you figure out the best way to manage it.

    3. Medication

    Some medications can help regulate your sweating. Unfortunately some can also give you side effects such as a dry mouth, blurred vision, stomach pain or constipation. So talk to your doctor about what’s best for you.

    Your GP may also refer you to a dermatologist – a doctor like myself who specialises in skin conditions – who might recommend different treatments, including some of the following.

    4. Botulinum toxin injections

    Botulinum toxin injections are not just used for cosmetic reasons. They have many applications in medicine, including blocking the nerves that control the sweat glands. They do this for many months.

    A dermatologist usually gives the injections. But they’re only subsidised by Medicare in Australia for the armpits and if you have primary hyperhidrosis that hasn’t been controlled by the strongest antiperspirants. These injections are given up to three times a year. It is not subsidised for other conditions, such as an overactive thyroid or for other areas such as the face or hands.

    If you don’t qualify, you can have these injections privately, but it will cost you hundreds of dollars per treatment, which can last up to six months.

    Health worker administering Botox injection to man's armpit
    Injections are available on Medicare in some cases. Satyrenko/Shutterstock

    5. Iontophoresis

    This involves using a device that passes a weak electrical current through water to the skin to reducing sweating in the hands, feet or armpits. Scientists aren’t sure exactly how it works.

    But this is the only way to control sweating of the hands and feet that does not require drugs, surgery or botulinum toxin injections.

    This treatment is not subsidised by Medicare and not all dermatologists provide it. However, you can buy and use your own device, which tends to be cheaper than accessing it privately. You can ask your dermatologist if this is the right option for you.

    6. Surgery

    There is a procedure to cut certain nerves to the hands that stop them sweating. This is highly effective but can cause sweating to occur elsewhere.

    There are also other surgical options, which you can discuss with your doctor.

    7. Microwave therapy

    This is a newer treatment that zaps your sweat glands to destroy them so they can’t work any more. It’s not super common yet, and it is quite painful. It’s available privately in a few centres.

    Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Longans vs Lychees – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing longans to lychees, we picked the lychees.

    Why?

    These two fruits are more closely related than they look from the outside, both being members of the soapberry family. However, there are some differences:

    In terms of macros, longans have more protein while lychees have more carbs, and they are equal on fiber, giving longans the lower glycemic index. They’re both good, but longans nominally take the win on this one.

    When it comes to vitamins, longans have more of vitamins B1, B2, and C, while lychees have more of vitamins B3, B6, B9, E, K, and choline, making for a respectable win for lychees in this category.

    In the category of minerals, longans have more copper and potassium, while lychees have more calcium, iron, manganese phosphorus, and zinc. Thus, a win for lychees here too.

    It’s worth looking at polyphenols too—lychees have around 10x more, which is notable.

    Adding up the categories makes for an overall win for lychees, but by all means enjoy either or both! Diversity is good.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Replacing Sugar: Top 10 Anti-Inflammatory Sweet Foods ← longans and lychees both make the list

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  • Guinness Is Good For You*

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    Guinness Is Good For You*

    *This is our myth-buster edition, so maybe best not take that at face value!

    To this day, writing the words “Guinness is” into Google will autocomplete to “Guinness is good for you”. The ad campaign proclaiming such launched about a hundred years ago, and was based on Guinness as it was when it was launched another hundred years before that.

    Needless to say, none of this was based on modern science.

    Is there any grain of truth?

    Perhaps its strongest health claim, in terms of what stands up to modern scrutiny, is that it does contain some B vitamins. Famously (as it was once given to pregnant women in Ireland on the strength of such) it contains folate (also known as Vitamin B9). How much?

    A 15oz glass of Guinness contains 12.8µg of folate, which is 3.2% of the RDA. In other words, you could get all the folate your body needs by drinking just 32 glasses of Guinness per day.

    With that in mind, you might want to get the non-alcoholic version!

    “I heard you could live on just Guinness and oranges, because it contains everything but vitamin C?”

    The real question is: how long could you live? Otherwise, a facetious answer here could be akin to the “fun fact” that you can drink lava… once.

    Guinness is missing many essential amino acids and fatty acids, several vitamins, and many minerals. Exactly what it’s missing may vary slightly from region to region, as while the broad recipe is the same, some processes add or remove some extra micronutrients.

    As to what you’d die of first, for obvious reasons there have been no studies done on this, but our money would be on liver failure.

    It would also wreak absolute havoc with your kidneys, but kidneys are tricky beasts—you can be down to 10% functionality and unaware that anything’s wrong yet. So we think liver failure would get you first.

    (Need that 0.0% alcohol Guinness link again? Here it is)

    Fun fact: Top contender in the category of “whole food” is actually seaweed (make sure you don’t get too much iodine, though)!

    Or, should we say, top natural contender. Because foods that have been designed by humans to contain everything we need and more for optimized health, such as Huel, do exactly what they say on the tin.

    And in case you’re curious…

    Read: what bare minimum nutrients do you really need, to survive?

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  • Can kimchi really help you lose weight? Hold your pickle. The evidence isn’t looking great

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Fermented foods have become popular in recent years, partly due to their perceived health benefits.

    For instance, there is some evidence eating or drinking fermented foods can improve blood glucose control in people with diabetes. They can lower blood lipid (fats) levels and blood pressure in people with diabetes or obesity. Fermented foods can also improve diarrhoea symptoms.

    But can they help you lose weight, as a recent study suggests? Let’s look at the evidence.

    Remind me, what are fermented foods?

    Fermented foods are ones prepared when microbes (bacteria and/or yeast) ferment (or digest) food components to form new foods. Examples include yoghurt, cheese, kefir, kombucha, wine, beer, sauerkraut and kimchi.

    As a result of fermentation, the food becomes acidic, extending its shelf life (food-spoilage microbes are less likely to grow under these conditions). This makes fermentation one of the earliest forms of food processing.

    Fermentation also leads to new nutrients being made. Beneficial microbes (probiotics) digest nutrients and components in the food to produce new bioactive components (postbiotics). These postbiotics are thought to contribute to the health benefits of the fermented foods, alongside the health benefits of the bacteria themselves.

    What does the evidence say?

    A study published last week has provided some preliminary evidence eating kimchi – the popular Korean fermented food – is associated with a lower risk of obesity in some instances. But there were mixed results.

    The South Korean study involved 115,726 men and women aged 40-69 who reported how much kimchi they’d eaten over the previous year. The study was funded by the World Institute of Kimchi, which specialises in researching the country’s national dish.

    Eating one to three servings of any type of kimchi a day was associated with a lower risk of obesity in men.

    Men who ate more than three serves a day of cabbage kimchi (baechu) were less likely to have obesity and abdominal obesity (excess fat deposits around their middle). And women who ate two to three serves a day of baechu were less likely to have obesity and abdominal obesity.

    Eating more radish kimchi (kkakdugi) was associated with less abdominal obesity in both men and women.

    However, people who ate five or more serves of any type of kimchi weighed more, had a larger waist sizes and were more likely to be obese.

    The study had limitations. The authors acknowledged the questionnaire they used may make it difficult to say exactly how much kimchi people actually ate.

    The study also relied on people to report past eating habits. This may make it hard for them to accurately recall what they ate.

    This study design can also only tell us if something is linked (kimchi and obesity), not if one thing causes another (if kimchi causes weight loss). So it is important to look at experimental studies where researchers make changes to people’s diets then look at the results.

    How about evidence from experimental trials?

    There have been several experimental studies looking at how much weight people lose after eating various types of fermented foods. Other studies looked at markers or measures of appetite, but not weight loss.

    One study showed the stomach of men who drank 1.4 litres of fermented milk during a meal took longer to empty (compared to those who drank the same quantity of whole milk). This is related to feeling fuller for longer, potentially having less appetite for more food.

    Another study showed drinking 200 millilitres of kefir (a small glass) reduced participants’ appetite after the meal, but only when the meal contained quickly-digested foods likely to make blood glucose levels rise rapidly. This study did not measure changes in weight.

    Kefir in jar, with kefir grains on wood spoon
    Kefir, a fermented milk drink, reduced people’s appetite.
    Ildi Papp/Shutterstock

    Another study looked at Indonesian young women with obesity. Eating tempeh (a fermented soybean product) led to changes in an appetite hormone. But this did not impact their appetite or whether they felt full. Weight was not measured in this study.

    A study in South Korea asked people to eat about 70g a day of chungkookjang (fermented soybean). There were improvements in some measures of obesity, including percentage body fat, lean body mass, waist-to-hip ratio and waist circumference in women. However there were no changes in weight for men or women.

    A systematic review of all studies that looked at the impact of fermented foods on satiety (feeling full) showed no effect.

    What should I do?

    The evidence so far is very weak to support or recommend fermented foods for weight loss. These experimental studies have been short in length, and many did not report weight changes.

    To date, most of the studies have used different fermented foods, so it is difficult to generalise across them all.

    Nevertheless, fermented foods are still useful as part of a healthy, varied and balanced diet, particularly if you enjoy them. They are rich in healthy bacteria, and nutrients.

    Are there downsides?

    Some fermented foods, such as kimchi and sauerkraut, have added salt. The latest kimchi study said the average amount of kimchi South Koreans eat provides about 490mg of salt a day. For an Australian, this would represent about 50% of the suggested dietary target for optimal health.

    Eating too much salt increases your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. The Conversation

    Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down – by Haemin Sunim

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    First, what this one’s not about: noticing raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

    That’s great too, though. This writer particularly loves the cute faces of baby jumping spiders. Sounds unlikely, but have you seen them?

    What it’s rather about: noticing what’s between your ears, and paying closer attention to that, so that we can go about our business more mindfully.

    This is, fundamentally, a book about living a happier life, whatever the potentially crazy circumstances of the hustle and bustle around us. Not because of disinterest; quite the opposite. Sunim bids us ask the question of ourselves, what are we really doing and why?

    The writing style is very light and easy, while being heavy-hitting in terms of the ideas it brings. Little wonder that this one is so highly-rated on Amazon, with more than 5,000 ratings.

    Bottom line: if sometimes you feel like the world is a little hectic and all that is around you is out of your control, this is a great book for you.

    Click here to check out The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, and live life on your own terms!

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