For decades, supplement researchers have sought the "holy grail" of all-natural testosterone support and increase. The benefits afforded by increased T-levels represent every manifestation of male power and potency--strength, vitality, aggression, and libido. In effect, maximized T-levels are the foundation stone of manhood.Athletes have long recognized the paramount role that maximized endogenous testosterone plays in the optimization of physique and performance. Unfortunately, for far too long, the solutions available to them have been limited or non-existent. Merely augmenting levels of testosterone through artificial means (as with injections or gel applications of synthetic testosterone) has the disastrous effect of inhibiting or shutting down the body's own secretion of this essential male hormone. In extreme cases, this condition can be long-lasting or even permanent. Synthetics are also associated with numerous other undesirable side effects.The key, then, lies in supporting and facilitating the body's own production of testosterone, so as to achieve consistently high and maintainable T-levels, through all-natural mechanisms of action. This science has been a long time coming to fruition. The identification and isolation of key active ingredients and their extraction, purification, and standardization have presented insurmountable challenges to all but the most skilled and dedicated research teams. Recent breakthroughs made by one team in particular have now resulted in the first true clinical-grade, all-natural technology of testosterone maximization. This is a development of critical importance to all men, and we're about to investigate this scientific leap forward in great detail here. But first, let's take a look at the basic facts of testosterone, manhood and performance.
Testosterone: The All-Important Male Hormone
Testosterone is an androgenic/anabolic hormone that is derived from cholesterol and secreted by the testes and adrenal cortex (in small amounts) in males. A normal healthy young man produces about 7 mg per day, of which less than 5% is derived from adrenal secretions. Testosterone in the blood is largely bound to plasma proteins with only 2-5% present as bioavailable free-testosterone. Testosterone levels peak between 25 and 30 years of age and decrease by 1-2% per year thereafter. In healthy aging, the amount of testosterone produced gradually decreases to about 50%; however, many environmental factors can prematurely lower the amount of free-testosterone (even in young men). A few common testosterone-lowering factors include work stress, alcohol consumption, and poor sleep and dietary habits.
Total testosterone in males (depending on which study you look at) ranges between 270-1100 ng/dl and free testosterone declines naturally with age: 20-40yrs =15.0-40.0 pg/ml, 41-60yrs= 13-35 pg/ml, 61-80yrs= 12-28 pg/ml. The only way to really know if your levels are acceptable or normal is to visit your physician for a physical examination and blood test. However, common symptoms of low testosterone are low libido and erectile dysfunction, declining energy levels, depression, and, in extreme cases, hot flashes. If you are experiencing any or all of these symptoms, then see your physician for blood work.For the bodybuilder, recreational athlete, or even average Joe, keeping testosterone levels elevated should be of primary importance. After all, it is primarily responsible for maintaining male sex characteristics and, as such, plays a key role in stimulating protein synthesis and muscle growth, especially in response to weight training. Beyond its potent muscle building effects, testosterone stimulates sex drive, sperm production and maturation, aggression, appetite, physical vigor, and sense of well-being.Over the past several years, research suggests that testosterone levels in North American men are declining, a result of inactivity, increased body fat, and/or high levels of psychological stress. Although you may be in good shape, you are not immune from one or more environmental factors that lower bioavailable free-testosterone. In fit individuals, dieting, intense training, and age (if you are over 30) significantly impacts free-testosterone levels. Because of its profound effects on strength, protein synthesis, recovery, appetite stimulation, energy, and aggression, the need for testosterone optimization in weight-trained athletes cannot be overstated. Hence the current epidemic of illegal and unhealthy anabolic steroid use in amateur and professional sports.
Protodioscin: The Ultimate Natural Solution
No other hormone in the body regulates mood, strength, and muscularity like testosterone does. Studies have shown that even small elevations in testosterone for short periods of time can have profound effects on body mass, bench press strength, and anaerobic power. However, studies illustrating this generally use synthetic testosterone injections. Fortunately for those who do not want to risk their health or eligibility in regulated sports, supplement research has led to the development of natural testosterone boosters.Since the prohormone ban, supplement scientists have worked day and night to find compounds that naturally optimize testosterone production and bioavailability. Natural testosterone boosters have been around for centuries, but their primary use was to increase virility. Today it is well known that the most potent natural testosterone boosting compounds are botanical extracts called steroidal saponins. To bodybuilders, the most important saponin is protodioscin, which (when administered in high concentration) promotes the greatest anabolic effects.And here is where the story gets complicated. Once researchers isolated an all-natural saponin that functions as a precursor or trigger to increases in total and free testosterone, there should have been rejoicing across the land. Synthetic steroids should have been relegated to the trash bin of history, and men everywhere should have been grateful to benefit from a highly effective mechanism that served to up-regulate their own bodies' natural production of testosterone.
Unfortunately, it didn't happen quite that way, certainly not right away. The reasons for this have more to do with the vagaries of the marketplace than with the rigors of scientific investigation. First it should be noted that Big Pharma has shown little interest in a botanical source of protodioscin that (thus far, at least) has resisted being synthesized and patentable. So nutritional supplement researchers have been on their own in this area of investigation.Secondly, and much more importantly, there's a lot more to supplement science than simply identifying a mechanism of action and putting it in a bottle. In the case of protodioscin, the herbal extracts that served as its source varied widely in quality from geographic region to region. After a long quest, scientists found that the most potent protodioscin could be derived from a plant native to Bulgaria. And then there was the matter of extraction and standardization. To achieve a true clinical-grade extract of protodioscin from its plant-based source required a level of refinement and processing far beyond the capabilities of virtually every supplement manufacturer in existence. Indeed, so rigorous was the extraction process that more than 20,000 pounds of raw plant material had to be subjected to many complex and expensive extraction steps to yield a few pounds of clinical-grade bio-active protodioscin. Predictably, most manufacturers simply refused to acknowledge the difficulty and expense required to produce an effective, all-natural, protodioscin-based T-booster. Instead, they jammed raw, indifferently sourced plant extract into a bottle, hyped the "new science," and hoped no one would notice the difference. But athletes who recognize and demand results, DID notice the difference. Today, most of those disreputable supplement companies are gone.
But the science itself, the technology of protodioscin-supported testosterone increase, was validated then and it is even more validated today as exciting new research continues to emerge. What was required was one company to invest in the major research and development undertaking to create a truly bio-active high-potency protodioscin-containing product. That company was ProSource, and the product is AndroTest. While the process was highly complex and costly, the end result represents one of the most exciting developments our industry has ever seen. In fact, I can say that this protodioscin innovation is hands down the most significant breakthrough in natural testosterone enhancement I've seen in all my years as a supplement researcher.