Boron For Test-Boosting

For men, it's ALL about boosting testosterone levels.

After all, testosterone is a critical hormone for boosting muscle growth, increasing muscle strength, and decreasing body fat. And that's just what it can do for you in the gym. Don't forget how much it can also do for you in the bedroom. Testosterone is very critical for your sex drive and performance. So, anything you can do to naturally increase testosterone is important. But it's not all about just your total testosterone levels. Sure, total testosterone is very important, but you also want to have high free testosterone levels.

In the body, testosterone binds to a carrier protein in the blood called sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). While on the one hand, SHBG helps testosterone stay in the blood longer, it also prevents it from binding with androgen receptors in the muscle cells where it instigates muscle growth. The more testosterone that is free from SHBG, the more testosterone there is to encourage muscle growth. Researchers from Iran may have discovered a simple and cheap way to boost your free testosterone levels.

The researchers had healthy men take 10 mg of boron, the trace mineral, every day for one week. They reported in a 2011 issue of The Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology that just six hours after taking the first 10 mg boron pill, the men's SHBG levels dropped. So did their CRP (C-reactive protein) levels (a protein associated with inflammation in the body and the negative health consequences that come with it, such as heart disease) and TNF-alpha (a cytokine that is also associated with inflammation and negative health outcomes such as heart disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity). After one week of taking boron not only were the men's SHBG levels much lower, as were their CRP and TNF-alpha levels, but so were their estrogen levels AND their free testosterone levels were significantly higher.

How to Get Boron

I've long recommended supplementing with 9-12 mg of boron daily with meals, and now boron is included in two of my products: Alpha X and Vita JYM. Alpha X delivers 10 mg via two daily servings, and Vita JYM contains 3 mg of boron to make sure you're getting adequate amounts.

Reference:

Naghii, M. R., et al.  Comparative effects of daily and weekly boron supplementation on plasma steroid hormones and proinflammatory cytokines. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2011 Jan;25(1):54-8

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