so tribulus terrestris has pretty much been the most popular testosterone-boosting supplement for the past 40 years, and even to this day, it's extremely difficult to find a testosterone-boosting supplement that does not have tribulus in it. Now, most of the current research, as well as a ton of anecdotal reports, seem to indicate that tribulus is fairly reliable at increasing libido. And because of this, most men that end up taking it do assume that tribulus is increasing testosterone. However, the research actually seems to point in a different direction. And so, in today's video, we're going to take a super deep dive into tribulus to see what its effects on hormones are, as well as its other effects on health. So let's go ahead and dive right in. This video is sponsored by Let's Get Checked. Hey, what's up, guys? My name is Zach, and welcome to Nutrition Library, where we take an evidence-based approach to nutrition and supplementation for men.

now when it comes to the research on tribulus, I do want to say right out of the gate that the research is super conflicting. For instance, in this study and in this study in particular, the researchers did in fact find that tribulus could increase testosterone. However, when it comes to these studies, it is extremely important to keep in mind here that both of these studies were in fact performed on hypogenetic infertile men. And so, these two research papers obviously carry some merit for guys that are in fact hypogenetic. However, when it comes to the general population, these two individual studies are somewhat limited in their application. Now, with that being said, when it comes to the research that's been performed in healthy young active men, the research is a whole lot less promising. Now, in this study and in this study where the participants of these studies were young healthy active men, their researchers did find that tribulus did not in fact have any effect.

on any tested hormone parameters, and to be quite frank, this really isn't that surprising. There are a ton of compounds that show a ton of promise in rodents and a ton of promise in infertile men that have absolutely no effect on healthy young men. And so, it's just not super surprising to see that tribulus might have an effect on hypogonadal men but doesn't have any effect on young healthy men. And to be honest, this is another reason why I'm such a huge fan of getting a blood panel done and seeing where your specific hormones are actually at. Without knowing whether or not you're actually hypogonadal or not, it's really impossible to actually implement a proper supplementation and nutrition strategy to optimize your personal hormone profile. Now, if you have yet to get a hormone panel done, I would highly recommend my friends over at Let's Get Checked. A lot of you guys know that I have been recommending them for a while now, but they literally have the most

convenient service on the market. Once you order your test, they send it to your doorstep. You send it back to them, and then within a few days, you have your results through their online portal. And on top of that, you get a free consultation with a practitioner that walks you through your results. It's extremely freaking easy, and so make sure to check out the link that's in the description for 30 off of your test. Now, where the research with tribulus actually gets a whole lot more discouraging is in this study and in this study where the researchers found that even in hypogenetic infertile men, tribulus also had no effect on testosterone levels. Which means that not only does tribulus have no effect in healthy young active men, but even in infertile men, the research is still mixed at best. And furthermore, even in the studies where tribulus did increase testosterone, it was to a very small marginal degree. And so even if you are in the small portion of the population that does respond well to

tribulus. I still wouldn't expect it to have that large of an impact anyways. Now, with all of that being said, I do not think that tribulus is an extremely promising supplement when it comes to increasing testosterone. However, this is not to say that tribulus is completely useless. Even though tribulus doesn't seem to be effective at increasing testosterone, there do seem to be some other relevant health benefits, namely to libido and mood. Now, specifically when it comes to tribulus's effect on libido, I do think it's actually extremely interesting. Namely, one, because all of the research that has been performed on the association between tribulus and libido has shown extremely consistent results. And then the second reason is because of the possible mechanisms of action. Now, the first extremely interesting possible mechanism of action here seems to be that tribulus might actually increase androgen receptor density in the brain. Now, androgen receptors are obviously the receptors that testosterone and DHT bind to.

and so by theoretically increasing the amount of these receptors in the central nervous system, you can theoretically increase the responsiveness of the central nervous system to these hormones, and thereby increase things like mood and libido. And so, I don't think this has been entirely proven yet; however, I do think it is an extremely promising and interesting mechanism of action. Now, the second possible mechanism of action here is that tripolis may also improve cardiovascular health. Now, specifically, tribulus has been shown to protect the heart from damage, but it also appears to have some influence on blood flow and blood pressure to some degree, which obviously is going to kind of help things work down there and thereby also increase libido as well. Now, the third way that tribulus may improve libido is by reducing the perception of stress. Now, this has only been shown to be effective in rodent trials at super high doses; however, it still might be relevant to individuals that are particularly stressed. Stress has an inverse relationship with libido.

and so as stress goes up, libido goes down, and vice versa. And now the mechanisms of action here aren't fully well understood yet. However, there may be some interaction with the tribulus and monoamine oxidase enzymes, which are the enzymes that break down dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. And so theoretically, tribulus might actually inhibit these enzymes, thereby actually increasing the availability of these neurotransmitters, which are going to have a positive effect on stress parameters. Now the fourth mechanism of action here seems to be that tribulus might actually increase DHT levels as well. Now this has only been demonstrated in a singular study and may actually be disproven at some point in the future. However, I do think this is still somewhat promising, even though tribulus might not increase testosterone per se. It may still have some promise as a hormone regulatory supplement just because of the fact that it might actually increase DHT levels to some degree. Now what's interesting here is that tribulus doesn't seem to have any

effect on the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which is the enzyme that actually converts testosterone into DHT. The mechanism of action here isn't fully understood yet either. However, because of the possibility that tribulus might increase DHT, I do still think that tribulus might be somewhat of a promising hormone regulatory supplement still. Now, the last reason that tribulus is such a promising libido-enhancing supplement is because of its general testicular antioxidant capacity. Now, this has only been demonstrated in rodent trials at this point. However, it has been repeatedly shown. And so, even though tribulus might not increase testosterone, it does seem to be somewhat of a testicular protective compound, which is in stark contrast to things like Phodoja Agustus, which actually have detrimental and toxic effects on testicular function. And so, even though tribulus doesn't appear to directly increase testosterone, it does also appear to have some other health properties that may make it worth taking for some individuals. Now, with all things

considered. I don't think that tribulus is a good stand-alone option when it comes to specific supplements to improve hormonal status. However, it might be a good option to kind of stack on top of some other options like ashwagandha and tonkat ali and terkesteron. Again, it doesn't show much promise for increasing testosterone, but because of its effects on both mood and libido and because of its somewhat general protective effects on the testes, again, it might just be simply a good option to stack on to your current stack, whatever that might be. But other than that, guys, that's pretty much all I have for this video. Again, if you are interested in getting a hormone panel done, make sure to check out the description below for 30 off of your test. And if you were looking for a complete guide on supplements that have been shown and proven to increase testosterone, I've got a link down in the description for that as well. But other than that, I will see you guys next time.

Tribulus Terrestris | The Old School Testosterone Booster

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