Is It Time To Start Reaping The Benefits Of Supplementing With D-Aspartic Acid?
The benefits of D-Aspartic Acid are not well known, unless you are an athlete. However, everyone can benefit from this amino acid, especially if you are infertile.
Author: Nicola Joyce is a competitive bodybuilder with two world titles at a natural amateur level and is an endurance athlete.
This article is supported with cited references from reputable sources.
LAST UPDATED: April 2019 by Ben.
The Low Down on DAA
D-Aspartic Acid should be in your supplement stack…
Every guy wants to have optimal hormone levels so he can lift heavy, train hard, and build the best body in the gym. In your quest for ultimate hormone balance, have you considered D-Aspartic Acid?
If it’s not in your supplement stack, you’re missing out.
Here’s the low down on D-Aspartic Acid and how it could help you push through to
the next level – in and out of the gym!
What Is D-Aspartic Acid?
Aspartic acid a non-essential amino acid.
It is one of the two acidic amino acids (the other is glutamic acid) which have an important role in your enzyme active centres and help maintain the solubility of proteins.
Aspartic Acid has two forms: L-Aspartate and D-Aspartic Acid. All the known benefits of D-Aspartic Acid are specific to DAA (not Aspartic Acid itself, or L-Aspartate), which is why we’re looking at DAA right now.
Your body naturally has a small amount of D-Aspartic acid (in the pineal and pituitary glands) where it helps manage hormone production.
If you train hard, compete, and/or diet, your body is under more stress than if you just sat around not caring how your body looks.
Stress
It’s good stress, sure. But it’s still perceived as a stress. So your body needs extra help to keep hormone production high and levels balanced.
D-Aspartic Acid helps to regulate how your body synthesis testosterone by maximizing your body’s release of luteinising and gonadotrophin hormones.
Studies have show that D-Aspartic Acid could help male fertility, but healthy men only experience a temporary increase in testosterone by supplementing with it.
A 2015 study on resistance trained men concluded that experienced lifters might need a higher dosage (3-6g) if they want to see a change in basal natural hormonal levels.
Trained or Not?
The study looked at trained men’s serum levels, analyzing for levels of free testosterone, testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, albumin, and estradiol.
The results showed that higher levels of supplementary DAA are more effective in trained lifters than smaller doses. [1]
Let’s look at that temporary increase to see what it means for you and your gym goals.
Testosterone
After the age of about 30, things start happening to our bodies. Sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass), hormonal changes, and a decrease in natural testosterone levels.
Not good news if you want to keep packing on muscle mass well into your 30s, 40s and beyond!
Decreased test levels are linked to increasing body fat, poorer recovery from training, and a much harder time building muscle (and even maintaining the muscle you’ve got!).
Testosterone levels are even linked to sleep, appetite, and motivation to train.
If your natural test levels are low, D-Aspartic Acid could be used to boost levels back up.
Boost
A 2017 systematic review into the effects of DAA on serum testosterone levels concluded that D-Aspartic Acid supplementation can be used as a testosterone booster for infertile men, and as a temporary boost for healthy, trained males.
Yet the review did also state that further clinical trials and a larger body of research is needed before we can draw any solid conclusions on the effects of DAA on testosterone concentrations. [2]
However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore DAA. Not if you want the potential benefits of a natural test boost.
Ask around and you’ll hear plenty of anecdotal positive reviews from guys who train, especially bodybuilders who diet and prep for contest.
Perhaps the best effects of D-Aspartic Acid supplementation are felt when natural test levels dip low for any reason – including self inflicted (like a restricted calorie intake or training peak)?
How Does D-Aspartic Acid Work?
Here’s the science bit. DAA causes a release of hormones in your brain (including growth hormone, luteinising hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone).
DAA might also build up in the testicles (more research is needed on this), where it could lead to a small increase in testosterone.
Furthermore, DAA can elevates your body’s levels of growth hormones, testosterone, growth hormone, and IDF1 (insulin-like growth factor), plus might boost your thyroid hormone production (T4 and T3) which is liked to an increase in metabolic rate.
Health & Strength Benefits Of D-Aspartic Acid
Let’s look at how DAA can benefit you.
Build Muscle
You already know that testosterone improves muscle protein production which helps you build and maintain lean mass.
Supplementing with a quality D-Aspartic Acid tablet or powder can temporarily boost your natural test levels (which could make a significant difference during a diet, or in a crucial training cycle).
Boost Energy Levels
Optimal testosterone means improved energy production, mood, focus, and motivation for training.
It can also mean better quality sleep at night, so you feel more energized for training (and are less likely to reach for comfort foods!).
Limit Cortisol
The hormone cortisol is linked to catabolism (the breakdown of muscle tissue) and an increase in abdominal fat.
Testosterone inhibits your body’s production of cortisol, and DAA could help with that.
Higher Sperm Count
DAA has been linked to significant increases in fertility in men who are struggling with fertility issues.
If that’s you, DAA supplementation could have a huge positive impact on your self-confidence, happiness, and relationship.
Who Should Consider Using D-Aspartic Acid?
It’s pretty clear cut: if you’re male, over 21, and think you have lower-than-normal test levels, you want a natural way to boost anabolic hormones, and you feel like you’re not energized or training or recovering well – DAA could help.
If you’re female, or a guy who’s not yet 21, or if you have problems with hyperthyroidism – forget it! There isn’t enough research into DAA supplementation on female subjects yet, so we can’t advise it.
Ideal dose
Due to the research studies and their conclusions, the best way to supplement with DAA is probable to use it for 2 or 3 weeks, then take a week off. Take it daily, either once a day or (if you take more than 5g) twice a day.
Start with 2-3g a day and see how you tolerate it and what results you get. 6g+ is probably the sweet spot for most trained men.
Try D-Aspartic Acid in powder form (you can mix it with any cold drink, or have it in your pre or post workout if that makes it easier to remember!).
You can also find it in capsule form as part of a proven natural testosterone booster, or consider making your own with a capping kit.
Conclusion
So what’s the deal with DAA?
Clearly if you are new to training, DAA is something you should use.
Even if you are well trained, but you have been hit with injury or illness which could have affected your test levels and have had a break from training, DAA can help you restore your hormone levels.
This way you can get back in to training and start to regain what you may have lost.
Additionally, if you are infertile, DAA is useful to help you increase your testosterone levels.
Therefore, DAA can be a useful addition to many people’s stack. It would be quite difficult to achieve the recommended 3000mg per day from food alone, but supplementation is a cost effective option.
References
[1] Three and six grams supplementation of d-aspartic acid in resistance trained men. Melville GW, Siegler JC, Marshall PW. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015 Apr 1;12:15. doi: 10.1186/s12970-015-0078-7. eCollection 2015. PMID: 25844073
[2] The putative effects of D-Aspartic acid on blood testosterone levels: A systematic review. Roshanzamir F, Safavi SM. Int J Reprod Biomed (Yazd). 2017 Jan;15(1):1-10. Review. PMID: 28280794
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