My Novastar Labs Total Test Testosterone Booster Review

Ben BA(Hons), PGCert

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My Novastar Labs Total Test Testosterone Booster Review First Look:

Monday means a bit of cycling to get home which is about 7 miles plus gym in my basement at home.

I recently had a water leak from a pipe upstairs in my house which leaked through the ceiling and then decided to create a gushing torrent in to my basement.

It also destroyed one of the wooden stairs on my staircase meaning my foot went through it.

The joys of living in a 100+ year old house.

This leak did not really help my stress levels as I desperately needed a shower before heading to my girlfriends birthday drinks.

Needless to say, I couldn’t have one at home.

Yet before that my 7 mile cycle is going to be impaired by the strong winds racing over from the Atlantic.

Earlier today the sky took a reddish hue from sand that had been whipped up in to the atmosphere to create a dark and doomsday feeling.

So now, I have to take a look in the basement tonight and see what the damage is and whether chest day can resume as per normal.

Hopefully so, because I want to maintain a level of progress and increase my strength.

To do so, I supplement my diet and weight lifting with TestoFuel and I have had some great continued results.

That said, I am always on the look out for something else that can be even more effective, so let’s take a closer look at Novastar Labs’ Total Test.

Ingredients:

Zinc Oxide – This mineral is great for boosting testosterone, it is necessary for reactions in your brain and promotes the production of both testosterone and growth hormone. The amount here is about half of that found in a good ZMA product.

What is strange here is that they use Zinc Oxide, I have looked at some research on rats which would suggest that supplementation of Zinc Oxide can cause immune toxicity.

https://examine.com/supplements/Zinc/

http://www.isca.in/rjrs/archive/v3/i4/3.ISCA-RJRS-2013-531.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16533356

Tongkat Ali – Eurycoma (LongJack) is a pro-fertility agent and aphrodisiac that appears to have a large body of evidence supporting this role and some evidence suggesting it may be an anti-estrogen and pro-erectile agent.

However, there is a lack of evidence for testosterone boosting in humans, although some very limited evidence in animals.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433727/

Maca Root – This Peruvian strain of ginseng is great for lifting libido and mood, however, when it comes to raising testosterone levels it has no effect at all. No significant influences on testosterone in any tested demographic I’m afraid.

https://examine.com/supplements/Maca/

L-Arginine – This is found in many pre workout supplements or products designed to make you more vascular.

L-Arginine opens up the blood vessels and arteries to assist with blood flow, nothing really to do with testosterone but may assist with any impotency issues that are not helping you attain that hot chick in the gym who is 15 years your junior.

However, you will require 5g per day alone!

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-875-larginine.aspx?activeingredientid=875&

Panex Ginseng – This form of Ginseng is the most highly researched. There’s lots of evidence which suggest cognitive function, mood and immunity is increased.

There is evidence for better erections and an increase in testosterone production for infertile men.

https://examine.com/supplements/panax-ginseng/

Eleutherococcus Senticosus (Siberian Ginseng) – Whilst there is evidence that this can actually help treat herpes and reduce the severity of cold and flu, there is very little solid evidence to reliably suggest this helps increase testosterone or increase strength.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/siberian-ginseng

Now we are in to the murky, dark and secretive depths of a proprietary blend.

This means we have no idea of this blend how much of each ingredient is included. Just that traces might be available.

Sarsaparilla – Athletes sometimes use sarsaparilla as a steroid for performance enhancement. Some supplement makers claim that chemicals (sterols) in sarsaparilla can be converted to anabolic steroids like testosterone. But this is a false claim.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-379-sarsaparilla.aspx?activeingredientid=379&activeingredientname=sarsaparilla

Pumpkin Seed – Pumpkin seeds are great for Magnesium which is good for testosterone production.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20352370

Muira Puama – No real scholarly studies or evidence available from reliable sources that would suggest that this stimulates testosterone production.

This may help with improving sexual function when combined with Ginkgo but other than that there’s not much to go on.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-574-muira%20puama.aspx?activeingredientid=574&activeingredientname=muira%20puama

Nettle – Good for reducing inflammation and an enlarged prostate but has no effect on testosterone.

https://examine.com/supplements/stinging-nettle/

Cayenne Pepper – The hot and spicy taste of cayenne pepper comes from capsaicin, a compound found in many hot peppers. Capsaicin is known to boost metabolism, causing the body to produce extra heat and burn more calories for fuel. This is found in our favorite fat burner Instant Knockout.

Licorice – May have many various uses, the main being to sooth heartburn and inflamed skin, but for the rest there’s really a lack of evidence to deem it useful.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-881-licorice.aspx?activeingredientid=881

Astragalus – Bit of an all-rounder, this antioxidant helps protect the body against various stresses, including physical, mental, or emotional stress.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/astragalus

Avena Sativa (Oat) – This is a type of oat that has been seen to raise luteinzing hormones in the body, which are a precursor to testosterone and growth hormone.

Not a great deal of real, heavy evidence if anything at all but the hallmarks of something good are there. A bit of a gamble. In plenty of T-Boosters that do not work.

Catauba – Used to heighten sexual arousal and treat male sexual performance problems.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-396-catuaba.aspx?activeingredientid=396&activeingredientname=catuaba

Oyster Powder – Research of this mollusc has shown that is aids your body to increase testosterone.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/15/natural-ways-to-boost-your-testosterone/

Orchic Substance – Claimed to help stimulate testosterone in men. However, there is currently no evidence to support this claim.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1014-orchic%20extract.aspx?activeingredientid=1014&activeingredientname=orchic%20extract

Tribulus – Once marveled, now known to have no effect on testosterone levels, by now supplement manufacturers should really let go. Avoid like a medieval plague if you are looking for muscular gainz.

It also failed to provide any benefit hen tested on a bunch of professional Australian rugby players.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17530942

https://examine.com/supplements/Tribulus+terrestris/

Boron – Boron is great for the older lifter or those doing high weight low rep work as it helps to reduce inflammation, something that is found in PrimeMale, which I am a fan of.

Also helps raise testosterone levels.

https://examine.com/supplements/boron/

Dose:

The daily dose is just 2 capsules a day which is not the best dosing strategy.

It is recommended that we have at least 4 tablets spread evenly across the day, as per the best testosterone booster on the market.

This way your body has a constant trickle of the ingredients to work with in order to stimulate testosterone and to ensure that if you get a large hit of ingredients it isn’t wasted if your body doesn’t require them.

A daily serving is an adequate 2273mg. It is not up there with better products such as Prime Male.

Effects & Benefits:

In this testosterone booster supplement 10 ingredients can offer benefit to us to increase athletic performance.

These are in the form of:

Zinc Oxide
L-Arginine
Boron
Panax Ginseng
Pumpkin
Nettle
Cayenne
Astragalus
Oyster
Catauba

However, this isn’t all great news because Boron and Nettle will not directly stimulate testosterone.

Their role is to protect testosterone levels from being affected by rising levels of inflammation. Too much inflammation can also be the cause of chronic disease such as obesity.

L-Arginine opens the blood vessels which is good for transporting oxygen and getting rid of waste products. However, 5000mg of Arginine alone is required to be effective.

Cayenne doesn’t affect testosterone levels. It helps burn fat by raising body heat and the metabolism which you can read more about, here.

Astragalus doesn’t raise or help stimulate testosterone production either, it is an anti-oxidant. This is no bad thing by any stretch of the imagination but I want to be taking a supplement that can increase my testosterone which will increase muscle mass or help my sex drive.

Catauba helps with sexual performance, but not necessarily strength or muscle.

That means, we only have Zinc, Panax Ginseng, Pumpkin and Oyster to help stimulate testosterone.

The problem is, even with Zinc in this form, it can actually increase immune toxicity. This isn’t great news.

Negatives:

A lot of the ingredients in this supplement are hidden within a proprietary blend which is not transparent.

I immediately do not trust a product that consists of a proprietary blend.

Tribulus is included which as been proven not to stimulate any testosterone or improve performance.

There’s also Tongkat Ali, Siberian Ginseng, Maca, Sarsaparilla, Muira, Licorice, Avena Sativa and Orchic which are just not proven to help stimulate testosterone at all.

As already mentioned, the type of Zinc included in this product can cause immune toxicity plus the under-dosed amount of L-Arginine which will offer little benefit below 5000mg.

Cayenne pepper is good for helping you shed fat, however, I want to increase testosterone levels…it seems the inclusion of this is purely to help mimic the effects of higher test levels.

If we look in to this and count the number of ingredients you will discover that only 21% is effective.

That is a dismal hit rate.

My Novastar Labs Total Test Testosterone Booster Review Conclusion:

So, when I get home tonight I will be needing a strong and effective testosterone booster to ensure that I can not only maximize my strength and muscle building potential but also feel better and have a strong libido.

As already mentioned I use TestoFuel which includes 9 effective and proven testosterone boosting ingredients.

This, offers a mere 21% of effective ingredients, however, it gets worse…

This product consists of a secretive proprietary blend. Therefore, some of these ingredients that can offer benefit may only be available in trace amounts, which isn’t going to help us much.

Overall this is not going to give you the results you and I both need.

Take a look at what works to maximize your workouts.