Fenugreeks benefits for testosterone - Evidence - Analysis

Fenugreek Testosterone Benefits for Men and Women

Ben BA(Hons), PGCert

Everything you need to know about using fenugreek for test support…

If you take your physique development seriously, you’ll want to do everything in your power to increase natural testosterone levels.

LAST UPDATED: March 2019 by Ben.

Author: Nicola Joyce is a member of the National Union of Journalists plus the Fitness Writers Association.

This article has been written with 12 supporting references.

Contents show

Intro

There are a few natural, herbal options out there that can give your test levels a boost. Have you heard about fenugreek?

Fenugreek (trigonella foenum-graecum) is a natural herb that has been studied for its effects on test levels and libido.

Fenugreek has also raised interest for its effect on insulin release, which is useful post-training when your body is ready to pack on muscle mass.

So, let’s look at how fenugreek works, what the active compounds are, and whether the well-known Testofen is different to regular fenugreek.

Fenugreek: Muscle Mass & Body Fat

Research into fenugreek as a strict test booster does not initially look too promising, but that’s no reason to write fenugreek off completely.

In 2009, a study was conducted on 45 weight-training men.

This particular study found no changes in their insulin, cortisol or leptin, nor for the anabolic hormones free testosterone and estrogen.

Fenugreek Testosterone Study

Yet, the study did find that the subjects decreased their serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels. So we can conclude that fenugreek can result in a decrease in serum DHT levels when compared to a placebo. [1]

Later, in 2010, a study was released.

The researchers gave subjects a daily 500mg fenugreek supplement and observed a 6.57% increase in total testosterone and a 12.26% increase in bioavailable testosterone. [2]

Aromatase

The conclusion was that fenugreek appears to partially inhibit aromatase and 5α-reductase activity.

Not entirely satisfied, scientists wanted to find out more about fenugreek.

Therefore, in 2011, this study gave men (aged 25 to 52) fenugreek extract twice daily for 6 weeks. [3]

The study showed a positive effect on the physiological aspects of libido (sexual drive or desire for sexual activity).

This study, polished in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine in 2011, looked at high doses of fenugreek combined with creatine monohydrate (a supplement you’re bound to already have in your stack!) .

This combination appeared to be as effective as creatine plus 70g dextrose in terms of increasing muscle mass and strength. [4]

If we look a little deeper at the research on fenugreek, we can see that it has some positive effects on body composition, by reducing body fat and helping to increase muscle mass.

The 2010 study mentioned above reported a significant decrease in fat mass (in the fenugreek supplemented group).

And this 2009 study suggests that fenugreek has some positive effects on body composition when combined with weight training. [5]

Fenugreek as a supplement for men

Here’s a round up of the potential benefits for fenugreek or fenugreek extract supplementation for healthy guys who already weight train:

– helps maintain healthy test levels
– inhibits enzymes that break down testosterone
– supports muscle mass
– improves body composition
– supports immune health
– better digestive health
– reduces body fat

How Can Fenugreek Benefit Women and Men?

There are numerous search results and search suggestions regarding women and fenugreek.

In particular, many search results surround the discussion about fenugreek breast milk and breast enlargement.

So, we wanted to see what the truth is regarding fenugreek and benefits for women…

It has to be said, that the studies are looking positive for women, and that it should be included in your diet.

So, let’s run through a few of these benefits, which actually can benefit both men and women in most, but not all cases.

#1 Diabetes

Studies have shown that Fenugreek is an effective way to help manage diabetes as the seeds have demonstrated that they can significantly reduce fasting blood sugar as well as improve glucose tolerance. [6]

#2 Cholesterol

Researchers found that Fenugreek is able to effectively and significantly reduce serum total cholesterol. I addition to this, it was proven that LDL as well as VLDL cholesterol and triglycerides also reduced. [7]

#3 Libido

Scientists were interested to see that there has been recorded increases in libido for those using fenugreek. [8]

#4 Appetite

There have been recorded instances whereby fenugreek has been able to reduce appetite, and thus aid weight management. [9]

#5 Breast Feeding

There’s a lot of discussion regarding the effectiveness of fenugreek to increase milk production, much of it we can overlook due to the information not being of a reputable source.

However, there has been studies that show milk production was doubled after administration of fenugreek. [10]

Unfortunately it has not been proven nor is there any supporting evidence to suggest that fenugreek can enhance breast size.

Are There Any Fenugreek Variants?

If you want to add a fenugreek product to your test-booster bodybuilding stack, you could look for the name Testofen.

Testofen is combination of fenugreek extract plus fenuside (a particular ingredient within fenugreek).

Fenuside in Testofen is thought to have the potential to bind to test receptor sites and encourage testosterone-like activity in the body.

There are well over 100 active compounds within fenugreek seeds (including saponins, flavonoids, and alkaloids).

But it seems that fenuside could be the most important compound for boosting testosterone, supporting lean mass gain, and helping to maintain a leaner body composition.

This recent (2016) study into Testofen looked at how the compound could reduce age-related symptoms of androgen decrease.

More over, the study aimed to find out how Fenugreek could increase test levels and improve sexual function.

The study – which was double-blind and randomised – found that both total serum testosterone and free testosterone increased compared to the placebo, and sexual function improved too.

This study gave subjects 600 mg standardised trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract per day. [11]

Fenugreek In Food

As fenugreek is totally natural, you can also use the raw ingredient in food.

Fenugreek seeds can be brewed as a tea, added to bread, pressed into oil, or used in a variety of savoury recipes.

There are plenty of benefits of taking fenugreek this way: as well as getting the active compounds, you will get dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals, and plant micronutrients.

Taking fenugreek orally in this way could be the most effective way to get the benefits of the raw ingredient.

One tablespoon fenugreek seeds has around 3.7mg iron, 21mg magnesium, 32.6 phosphorous, as well as Vitamin B6, copper, and manganese.

How Much Fenugreek Is Required To Boost Testosterone Levels?

If you decide to take a test boost supplement with fenugreek, look for 500–600 milligrams of standardised fenugreek extract on the ingredients list.

You are more likely to see the effects of fenugreek for testosterone boosting if you take it with supplements like magnesium and zinc.

You could either stack these, or choose a test booster supplement that contains all three ingredients in one formula.

Additionally, combining a fenugreek supplement with a multivitamin can support your lean mass, health, and wellbeing.

Fenugreek Side Effects

Final note: there is such a thing as fenugreek allergy, and it appears to be closely linked to the Leguminoseae family, so if you are allergic to chickpeas then you may react badly to fenugreek too.

When used in high doses, fenugreek has the potential to induce abortions, therefore, it is important to not use it during pregnancy. [12]

Conclusion

So what have we learned?

Initially it seemed that fenugreek couldn’t and didn’t bring a great deal of benefit.

However, these theories were then contradicted by further scientific analysis that demonstrated testosterone levels could increase resulting in muscle, strength and libido improvements.

It is considered that fenugreek is an effective aromatase inhibitor.

Furthermore, there’s evidence that fenugreek can also alter and improve body composition, particularly reducing fat mass levels with minimal unwanted side effects.

References

[1] https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss1/13/

[2] https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijsnem.20.6.457

[3] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ptr.3360

[4] https://www.jssm.org/vol10/n2/2/v10n2-2text.php

[5] https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss1/21/

[6] [Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetic patients. Kassaian N, Azadbakht L, Forghani B, Amini M. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2009 Jan;79(1):34-9. doi: 10.1024/0300-9831.79.1.34.]

[7] Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and serum lipids in type I diabetes.Sharma RD,Raghuram TC, Rao NS. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1990 Apr;44(4):301-6.

[8] Influence of a Specialized Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract (Libifem), on Testosterone, Estradiol and Sexual Function in Healthy Menstruating Women, a Randomised Placebo Controlled Study. Rao A, Steels E, Beccaria G, Inder WJ, Vitetta L. Phytother Res. 2015 Aug;29(8):1123-30. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5355. Epub 2015 Apr 24

[9] Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) Tea Drinking Suppresses Subjective Short-term Appetite in Overweight Women. Bae J, Kim J, Choue R, Lim H. Clin Nutr Res. 2015 Jul;4(3):168-74. doi: 10.7762/cnr.2015.4.3.168. Epub 2015 Jul 31.

[10] Turkyılmaz C, et al. The effect of galactagogue herbal tea on breast milk production and short-term catch-up of birth weight in the first week of life. J Altern Complement Med. (2011)

[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26791805