вторник, 10 май 2011 г.

Testosterone Info1

For some people, increasing testosterone by supplementing the body's depreciated blood level with natural testosterone is preferable to increasing testosterone using synthetic testosterone.

To increase testosterone naturally is viewed by many as a much safer route over using synthetic testosterone.

Although potential side effects exist with almost every means to boost testosterone this does not mean the majority of people will suffer such side effects. We will first discuss prescriptions and then get into non-prescription methods.

As a side note, there are people who refer to some of these prescription methods as "natural" whereas other people believe natural testosterone has to come from such things as diet, herbs, and non-prescription means to get the body to manufacture more of its own testosterone.

Whatever you happen to believe, we will discuss all of these methods briefly in this article.

Using transdermal systems is now one of the most highly regarded ways to increase testosterone.

Transdermal patches that can be applied to areas of the skin is considered an effective approach to increase testosterone hormone. This is because as much as 92% of men tested for increasing testosterone this way received an adequate level of the hormone.

There are currently two types of patches on the market for increasing testosterone. One is applied to a shaved area of the scrotum. Testoderm is an example of this. The other way to use a patch is to stick it on the torso or appendages. Androderm is an example of this kind of testosterone.

Androderm is applied to the abdomen, lower back, thigh, or upper arm. For greatest effectiveness it should be applied at the same time every evening between 8 p.m. and midnight.

A scrotal patch is defined as non-permeable. Using Androderm to increase testosterone naturally is considered permeable. In effect, this consists of increasing testosterone by having the body absorb the testosterone into the bloodstream through the skin.

Another transdermal way of increasing testosterone is through the use of a testosterone cream. Testosterone cream is becoming more and more popular because it does not irritate the skin as much as patches or the other transdermal testosterone form, testosterone gel.

Testosterone cream is applied once every 24 hours increasing testosterone also through releasing testosterone into the bloodstream. This form of natural testosterone can be spread on different areas of the body including the upper arms, shoulders, thighs, and stomach area. Testosterone cream can only be used in eight week intervals before a break is required.

Transdermal gels are additional forms of testosterone delivery. To increase testosterone using gels apply once daily to the clean dry skin of the upper arms or abdomen. When increasing testosterone with gels it is important to allow them to dry before getting dressed. This form of testosterone must be spread on the body at least six hours before bathing or swimming.

A way to increasing testosterone that is not transdermal is to use injections of testosterone into the skin. This manner of increasing testosterone has a disadvantage: the blood level of testosterone varies with time. The way to deal with this is to administer the shots every two weeks to increase testosterone in as uniform a manner as possible.

Yet another method to increasing testosterone consists of implanting pellets under the skin. These pellets discharge constant time released dosages of natural testosterone increasing testosterone for a period of six months before having to be replaced. This form of boosting testosterone has the advantage of not needing to be fussed over on a daily basis.

An interesting form of boosting testosterone as an indirect method to increase testosterone naturally consists of using an herb called tribulus terrestris

Tribulus terristis has a long history of being used by many different cultures to treat sexual disorders. It does so by increasing a lesser sex hormone known as lutenizing hormone. Lutenizing hormone stimulates the pituitary gland to produce testosterone.

To increase testosterone naturally by using this method takes advantage of the body's own physiological capacity for increasing testosterone. Many athletes and bodybuilders now use tribulus terrestris as a legal way to boost their testosterone levels without having to resort to illegal steroids.

Lastly is diet. Eating certain foods helps the body to increase testosteorne naturally. Some of the best foods to eat are oysters, eggs, beef, garlic, and broccoli.

ways to naturally Increase your testosterone

1. Get more Zinc

Zinc is very important for the production of natural testosterone because Zinc prevents testosterone from being converted into estrogen (the female hormone) by making the enzyme aromatase not work (look at #3 below) plus...

Zinc itself turns estrogen into testosterone and Zinc helps produce healthier sperm and higher sperm counts so actually... Low levels of zinc can cause low testosterone levels.

Foods high in Zinc include oysters (a natural aphrodisiac), liver, seafood, poultry, nuts & seeds or you can supplement with at least 50-to-100mg of Zinc daily

2. Eat more healthy fats

Research has shown that men who ate diets rich in healthy fats like monounsaturated fats & Omega-3 fats had the highest testosterone levels so...

You can naturally raise your testosterone levels by adding more healthy fats by eating more nuts & seeds, fatty fish like salmon & tuna, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, and natural peanut butter and...

Eating a very low-fat diet can actually lead to lowered testosterone levels because your body needs healthy fats in order to produce testosterone but...

This doesn't mean you need to eat a REAL HIGH fat diet - Just make sure at least 20-to-30% of your total daily calories comes from healthy fats.

3. Lose body fat

The more overweight you are or the higher your body fat percentage is = The higher your estrogen levels will be because body fat contains an enzyme called aromatase that converts your 'manly' testosterone into 'womanly' estrogen making your testosterone levels drop so...

Look at these fat burning workouts to lower body fat, reduce estrogen and increase testosterone and...

Try not to Diet or cut too many calories when trying to lose body fat because you don't want your body going into starvation or survival mode which will cause your body to stop making testosterone so whenever you're trying to lose fat & increase testosterone at the same time...

Make sure you focus on losing 1-to-3 pounds of fat a week mainly thru fat loss workouts and a basic diet plan

4. Get rid of excess estrogen

To get rid of excess estrogen that makes you fatter & weaker so your body can naturally produce more testosterone...

* You can eat more RAW cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower because cruciferous vegetables contain a chemical called diindolylmethane (or DIM) that helps your body get rid of excess estrogen and... You can supplement with DIM to flush out excess estrogen or eat these other sources of cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, bok choi, radishes, turnips, collard greens, and kale and...
* You can Eat more fiber to naturally cleanse your body and flush out toxins that cause you to have excess estrogen (like the xenoestrogens from #5 below) - Most fruits & vegetables, nuts & beans are all high in fiber and...
* You can also supplement with Red grape skin extract (resveratrol) to help your liver remove excess estrogen.

5. Try to avoid Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are man-made estrogens that are found in things like pesticides, artificial growth hormones & steroids, air fresheners and plastic containers and these xenoestrogens will increase your levels of the female hormone estrogen while lowering testosterone so...

* Eat more organic fruits & vegetables that are free of pesticides and if you do buy your fruits & vegetables at a regular grocery store... Make sure you wash them to lower your chances of consuming any xenoestrogens and...
* Eat more naturally raised meats instead of eating beef, chicken, pork and even milk that was raised using artificial growth hormones and steroids and...
* Use glass products to store food & water instead of plastic since plastic products tend to produce xenoestrogens that'll get into your water & food especially when heated and... Even some canned foods contain plastic coatings that contain xenoestrogens and...
* Don't use any perfumes, colognes, or air fresheners that have parabens listed as one of the ingredients. Parabens are xenoestrogens.

Please note: It'll be fairly hard for you to 100% completely avoid all xenoestrogens but if you follow the other tips on this page (especially tips #3 & #4) - You'll still be able to naturally increase your testosterone while getting rid of excess estrogen without having to worry so much about trying to avoid xenoestrogens and...

Also note: Since most xenoestrogens accumulate in your body fat - your best defense against xenoestrogens is to lose body fat (look at #3 again)

6. Get at least 6-to-8 hours of Sleep every night

A university of Chicago study showed that men who got little sleep had way lower testosterone levels than men who got 6-to-8 hours of sleep and... According to a University of North Carolina study... Your testosterone levels can drop down by as much as 40 PERCENT when you don't get enough sleep and generally...

Your testosterone levels are 30% higher in the morning than in the evening and this is why you may be more horny in the mornings and as a matter of fact...

A loss of morning erections or loss of sexual desire in the morning could be a sign that your testosterone is declining so you need to get 6-to-8 hours of sleep every night because while you're sleeping...

Your body produces the most testosterone and the better you sleep the more testosterone your body will produce while you sleep so if you're having trouble getting 6-to-8 hours of good quality 'testosterone producing' sleep every night - Look at 33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep

7. Stress Less

When you get stressed out - your body releases a "stress" hormone called cortisol that shuts down testosterone production...
Research led by Population Council endocrinologist Matthew Hardy found that stress hormones like cortisol overpower the enzymes responsible for ensuring that cells in the testes produce testosterone

Cortisol also makes you gain belly fat and you already know from #3 above that the fatter you are = you'll have more estrogen and less testosterone so...

You need to stop worrying about the little things, avoid overtraining, control your temper and look at these ways to lower stress and Being more positive can reduce your stress levels and increase Testosterone...
A recent study found that fans of a losing team had 50 percent lower levels of testosterone after their team lost and fans had up to 100% higher levels of testosterone after their team won.

Taking a natural supplement like Ashwagandha can also help reduce cortisol.

8. Take 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day

Now if you have a hard time avoiding stress - you want to start taking 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day because...

1. Vitamin C has been shown to lower cortisol levels allowing your body to make more Testosterone and like Zinc...
2. Vitamin C reduces the armostase enzyme that converts your Testosterone into Estrogen.

9. Workout like a man

You can force your body to produce a lot of testosterone when you...

* Do Compound exercises that train several large muscle groups like Power Cleans, Squats, Bench presses, Deadlifts, Chin-ups, Dips, and Military presses and you can still do isolation exercises like triceps extensions, bicep curls or chest flyes for definition but if trying to boost your Testosterone and build more muscle quickly - stick with compound exercises and...
* According to a Swedish study... To get the biggest boost in testosterone when you do your compound exercises... Make sure you use heavy weights that will allow you to only do about 3-to-5 reps per set and you want to do about 5-to-8 sets of each compound exercise you do but...
* You also want to limit your workout time on those compound exercises to 1-to-2 hours so just do only 1-to-2 compound exercises followed by a few optional isolation exercises twice a week (Mon. & Thur. for example) and as for burning fat...
* Avoid 'sissy cardio' where you walk or run for long periods of time and start doing Manly Cardio workouts like Hill sprints and intervals 3-to-4 times a week and limit your long duration sissy cardio workouts to only 2 times a week and...
* Make extra sure that you rest harder than you work out because overtraining leads to more cortisol and lower testosterone (see #7 again) and you may need to get 8+ hours of sleep to allow your body to recuperate and produce more testosterone after you workout like a man (see #6 again) and...

10. Try to get Sexually Stimulated as much as possible

If you're not getting sexual stimulated or sexual aroused very much right now (especially if you're over 40)... You can dramatically boost your testosterone levels by getting sexually stimulated more often so basically...

You need to start doing almost anything you can to get a sexually stimulating 'Viagra free' erection and German scientists even found that simply having an erection causes your levels of circulating testosterone to rise significantly and look at how these other 3 studies prove how much your testosterone can rise after getting sexual stimulated...
In a study done by Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna... 10 men viewed a 15 minute pornographic film and the men's testosterone levels increased 100 percent afterwards.

Another study published by Psychoneuroendocrinology used sexually arousing films on 9 males and testosterone levels increased within 10 minutes of sexually arousal.

In a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior... Testosterone was measured every 15 min for 3 hours in 8 men before, during, and after the showing of a sexually explicit movie and there was an average increase of 35% in testosterone so...

Not getting sexual stimulated or aroused for long periods of time can actually decrease your testosterone levels so if you find it hard to get sexually stimulated... You can do all the other 12 things on this page to increase your testosterone which will increase your sex drive or libido making you get sexually stimulated much easier and/or...

You can take a supplement like Horny Goat Weed to make you get sexually stimulated more easier to ramp up your testosterone levels.

11. Make sure you're getting enough Vitamin A, B & E

Vitamins A , B & E (along with Vitamin C & zinc) are all essential in the production of testosterone and not getting enough A, B, & E Vitamins will lead to lower testosterone levels but... If you're eating plenty of fruits & veggies, lean meats and nuts then you shouldn't have to worry too much about supplementing with any extra A, B, & E Vitamins.

12. Don't overheat your testicles (your balls)

Your testicles need to be 94-to-96 degrees or about 2 degrees cooler than your body temperature to function at it's best and produce the most testosterone so...

If you're wearing tight underwear, tight pants, take long HOT baths or do anything thing else to overheat your testicles... You may inhibit your testosterone production so it's best to wear looser clothes like boxers to prevent overheating your balls and did you also know that...

Carrying around excess fat also overheats your testicles so look at #3 again for how to burn fat.

13. Don't Drink any Alcohol & Don't eat any Grapefruit

Even if you had only 2 drinks a day... Alcohol makes it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen making you have more estrogen & less testosterone which will cause you to become more woman-like by making you loose facial & pubic hair, get man boobs and become impotent and...

Alcohol decrease zinc levels in your body (look at #1 again) an just like alcohol - Grapefruits can also make it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen.

14. Boost Testosterone 40% with D-Aspartate

D-Aspartate is an amino acid that's produced in your pituitary gland and your testicles (or your balls) and it boosts the production of testosterone plus...

D-Aspartate also increases sperm production and the Journal of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology reported that men taking 3 grams of D-Aspartate every morning increased their testosterone by 40%
Look at these to also help increase testosterone...

Testosterone product2

Testosterone Boosters
Testosterone Boosters: Overview

Like their name suggests, testosterone boosters are dietary supplements containing one or more ingredients that support the production, release or activity of the androgenic (masculine) hormone testosterone. There are various reasons why a person might want to boost their testosterone levels, but the majority of testosterone-boosting products are marketed to men, mainly bodybuilders and athletes for the purposes of increasing muscle mass and size, libido and athletic performance – all of which have a very close relationship to testosterone levels.

In men, most testosterone is produced by the testes, with production peaking around age 25 and slowly declining thereafter. At a certain age, the level of testosterone will have declined to a point where increasing it will improve testosterone-dependent aspects of his health such as mood, muscle strength, libido and sexual performance. Prior to that point, when a man is still young and his testosterone levels are naturally elevated, testosterone boosters have very little to offer in terms of sustained increased in strength, muscle mass or other benefits.
Why Boost Testosterone?

Too easily dismissed as just a sex or bodybuilding hormone, testosterone in fact plays a major role in protecting the overall physical and mental health of both sexes. Testosterone supports a staggering range of physical and psychological health factors; mood, libido, mental sharpness, energy level, cardiac health, muscle mass, bone density, immune function, skin health and more. Testosterone was, until fairly recently, marginalized and unjustly tainted by the controversy around artificial hormones used by professional athletes. Many mainstream physicians are now reconsidering natural testosterone replacement therapy for mature patients, largely in response to a desire to preserve quality-of-life and their insistence on a natural approach to doing so.
Testosterone Boosters; What They Can't Do, What They Can Do

Testosterone boosters are nowhere near a viable replacement for prescription testosterone replacement therapies; about the most one can realistically expect is a relatively short-term and modest increase in testosterone levels, after which a product should be discontinued to minimize the disruption of normal hormone function and balance. This is referred to as a post-cycle phase and may require the use of other supplement products.

Still, given testosterone's intimate relationship to muscle size, strength and athletic performance, even a short-term boost in testosterone could be enormously beneficial to a strength trainer, bodybuilder or other type of athlete. The key is timing and leveraging the short-term boosted period to coincide as closely as possible with the event timeframe. Used correctly, testosterone boosters may offer a significant anabolic 'push' that gives competitors or hardcore trainers the edge they may have lost due to age-related testosterone decline.

Unlike the prescription approach, testosterone boosters don't require an expensive doctors visits, injections or patches. They should still be used carefully and not indiscriminately. Although there is the potential for abuse and side-effects, testosterone boosters are very safe products in general and – short of being reckless and disregarding a label's directions - about the biggest risk in using a testosterone booster is the chance that it won't live up to the user's expectations or manufacturer's claims.

Testosterone boosters may include some nutrients that are essential in their own right such as zinc, magnesium or vitamin B6. They very often include herb extracts, especially tribulus, also long jack and nettle root among others.
Testosterone Boosters: Do They Work?

Every multi-ingredient product in this category consists of a proprietary blend of nutrients. This approach to labeling helps makers preserve the uniqueness of their formula since dietary supplements do not enjoy the same types of intellectual property protections as other products. A proprietary blend lists the ingredients in order of most-to-least concentration but doesn't list specific amounts. That makes it very hard to evaluate a product by looking at the ingredients, even if you're familiar with the ingredients. As a result, many customers want to know if a product will work before they purchase it.

Unfortunately, the only way to unequivocally determine how well a testosterone booster works is to obtain a baseline blood testosterone level, and then follow-up tests after using a product. Needless to say, very few customers have access to that kind of regular testing. Filtering out the hearsay and hype from the legitimate products and information can be difficult. For best results, stick with well-known brands and take the products just as directed. Keep your training and diet as consistent as possible while using a testosterone booster and if you do have access to blood tests, get them. The information will give you a useful basis for evaluating the effectiveness of your product.

Testosterone products1

Passion Rx sex pill male, female libido enhancer (0001)

Passion Rx sex pill male, female libido enhancer

Passion Rx ® pills - enhance male and female libido
30 sex pills as capsules
Male and female Libido enhancer
Medical Doctor formulated and trademarked by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D., best selling author of the book Natural Sex Boosters, a review of aphrodisiac libido enhancers from around the world

Passion Rx sex pill is an herbal dietary supplement that promotes female and male sexual health. We also carry another version of this product called Passion Rx with Yohimbe, Both versions are popular but the one with yohimbe works a day or two faster and is more potent and has a higher rate of reorder.

Enhance male and female libido, improve sexual interest, increase sensation, improve blood flow, and enjoy better orgasms. *

These all natural sexual pills are one of the best selling over the counter herbal libido enhancers on the market. Passion Rx sex pill has been sold since 2004 with a high reorder rate.

Popular male performance and female enhancement herbal product developed by world renowned herbal expert Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D., bestselling author of Mind Boosters and .

Special Offer
Buy several sexual enhancement products and get a free book about aphrodisiac herbs and supplements from around the globe. Plus, Free shipping in the US. You will get a bottle of the following: Catuaba, Horny Goat Weed, Mucuna pruriens, Passion Rx with Yohimbe, Rhodiola, Tribulus Terrestris, and Tongkat ali LJ100. Total price is 288.95, You Pay 132.95. See Natural Sex Boosters

Passion Rx pills increase sexual desire, enjoyment, libido, pleasure, stamina, and sexual performance. *

Passion Rx pill or Passion Rx with yohimbe pill?
Some people prefer Passion Rx, others prefer Passion Rx with Yohimbe, and still others like to alternate between the two passion pills since they are different formulations. The one with yohimbe works faster. We also carry Passion Rx with Yohimbe with 8 capsules rather than 30 capsules. We also provide individual herbal sexual enhancers such as yohimbe, tribulus terrestris, tongkat ali, maca, horny goat weed, mucuna pruriens, catuaba, muira puama and others. Some people like to take combination formulas, others prefer to take single herbs.

Note: Please read the possible side effects listed later on this page. Every supplement has potential side effects and it is unreasonable to expect 100 percent benefits with 0 percent negative effects. No herbal sexual formula or impotence medication does that.

About Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Ray-Sahelian, M.D. is widely recognized as the world's leading expert on natural supplements. He has been quoted by Newsweek, AARP, USA Today, and featured several times on CNN, Dateline NBC, CBS and other major TV media. His newsletter, Supplement Research Update, is widely read and quoted by the media.

How quickly does Passion Rx pill work?
Sexual enhancement with Passion Rx improves the more this product is used. This herbal sexual product was formulated to provide gradual enhancement with the fewest side effects. Initially a few people may notice a difference by the third or fourth day, but the majority will clearly notice the benefits towards the end of the first week. After a few days, once the herbs build up in your system, you will notice the sexual enhancement after taking a pill much quicker, sometimes within a few hours.
Note: Some users have mentioned that opening a capsule (by pulling on each side) and letting the contents absorb under the tongue works quicker. Another option is to open a capsule and empty the contents in an ounce or two of water, juice, or soda.
Those with very low sexual desire or weak sexual vitality, or who have a great deal of anxiety and stress repressing their sexuality, may need up to two or three weeks of this passion pill to appreciate the full benefits.
Many men notice spontaneious erections in the mornings or throughout the day, and women are more aroused. This product is formulated for gradual sexual enhancement, not for an immediate effect within an hour or two, although a few people do notice the enhancement quicker than others. Passion Rx is not like Viagra where you take it an hour before activity. It takes several days for the full benefits to be appreciated. However, with regular use, the libido increase is noticed much faster after taking a pill. *
You are likely to notice the sexual benefits even on days that you don't take a capsule. There is often a delayed effect of a day or two or even three days. In fact, we suggest you take Passion Rx every other day or two days on, one day off, as opposed to daily. If you have a prescription impotence drug such as Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis, we don't suggest you take them the same day as the herbal formula. Rather, you can take Passion Rx for 2 days in a row and on the third day you could take the impotence medication by itself an hour or two before sexual activity and not take the herbal product on the third day.

Ingredients in Passion Rx pill:
This libido product is made by a GMP certified manufacturer. There are no hormones or prescription drugs in Passion Rx, only the ingredients listed below. These include:

Ashwagandha, Acetylcarnitine, Catuaba, Cnidium, Choline, Cistanches deserticola, Coleus Forskohlii, Daidzein, Damiana herb, DMAE, Dodder seed, Horny Goat Weed, Jujube, Maca, Mucuna Pruriens, Muira Puama, Passion Flower, Suma, Rehmannia, Rhodiola rosea, Shilajit, Trimethylglycine, Tongkat Ali herbal extract, and Tribulus Terrestris extract.

No daily value has been established for these herbs and nutrients.

Other ingredients in this passion pill: rice flour, gelatin (capsule), magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, and water. Vegetarians and vegans may consider opening the gelatin capsule and only using the contents.

Dairy and gluten free, no soy products.

Suggested Use:
Each person is unique in the dose that leads to optimal sexual arousal, hence a range of dosage options is provided.

Quicker effect
Take a full capsule (see below if you are sensitive to herbs, are female, or are over the age of 50) your very first morning as soon as you get up on an EMPTY stomach, at least 30 minutes before breakfast. Or, you may try opening a capsule and letting it absorb under the tongue. Depending on your response, you may take a capsule the second day or even up to 2 caps if you have not health issues and your doctor approves. Don't take a capsule the third day, but resume on the fourth. From then on you can take more or less depending on your individual response and how aroused you want to be. The longer you wait to eat after you take a Passion Rx capsule, the better this product will work for you since it will give time for the herbs to be absorbed without interference or dilution in the stomach from food.

Slow sexual lift
If you are sensitive to herbs and supplements, are over the age of 50, are under medical care, and wish to proceed slowly, then you can take a capsule every other day or every third day. Using it every other day or every third day may slow the sexual enhancement, but it also reduces any potential side effects. We recommend the slower approach particularly for anyone over the age of 60, with a medical condition, taking medicines, or those who are sensitive to herbs and are prone to shallow sleep or insomnia. If you have major health issues, consult with your doctor regarding the use of this supplement.

Once you notice the results (whether the same day or after a couple of weeks), you may need less in the future since the results accumulate over time or your body becomes more ready to respond to these herbs.

Long term use - For long term libido boost, you may take Passion Rx every third or fourth day. If you have sexual activity only on weekends, consider taking Passion Rx only on Thursday and Friday mornings and skip the rest of the week.

Additional options
We have had many customers tell us that taking a capsule of Prostate Power Rx or Mind Power Rx on the off days supports the libido boosting effects of Passion Rx. You can take Passion Rx one day, Prostate Power Rx or Mind Power Rx the second day, no capsules the third day, and repeat the cycle. Fish oil supplements or eating cold water fish such as salmon or halibut also help maintain sexual health. We prefer, at least initially, you not take other supplements the same day as Passion Rx so that you can tell the effects from this sexual herbal product without interference from other herbs or nutrients.
We also have feedback from customers who tell us that they like to alternate Passion Rx and Passion Rx with yohimbe. For instance, a person can take regular Passion Rx one morning, take Passion Rx with yohimbe the next day, and take nothing the third day, and repeat the cycle.

If You Have a Health Problem
Passion Rx pill has been used by those with mild, stable diabetes, mild hypertension, and on estrogen therapy as long as your doctor approves and the dosage is kept to half of a capsule. We suggest you not take Passion Rx if you have a heart condition, are on strong medicines, or have a serious medical condition or illness. Passion Rx should not to be taken the same day with Prozac, other antidepressants or a medicine used for a heart condition. Discuss with your doctor regarding the use of Passion Rx or combining with other natural supplements or prescription medicines. Although the majority of those taking Passion Rx with medicines may not have a problem, we are concerned that a tiny minority may have unexpected side effects when herbs and potent drugs are combined and thus we want to be extra cautious. If your doctor approves, you may still be able to take Passion Rx but at half or 3/4 of a capsule. Passion Rx has been available to the public since March 2004. No serious side effects have been reported to us.

An alternative to Passion Rx is Prostate Power Rx which is gentler and may be more appropriate for those with a heart condition when one capsule is taken 2 days on, one or two days off.

Potential side effects:
Do not be fooled by websites that claim sexual herbs or natural libodo products have no side effects. They do, but if you use these passion pills wisely, you can get an amazing and wonderful sexual enhancement (more than you could have ever imagined) with minimal untoward reactions.

Negative side effects with Passion Rx (or any supplement or medicine) may occur on high doses. The most common negative side effect when more than onel capsule is taken is shallow sleep, overstimulation and restlessness. Another side effect on high doses could include faster / stronger heart beat which makes Passion Rx not appropriate to those with a heart condition. If you notice increased body temperature, drink a glass of cold water. See bottom of page for more details regarding cautions to keep in mind while using sexual herbs.

Positive side effects -- besides the sexual enhancement -- include sharper vision, more energy, alertness, motivation, along with a mild, peaceful euphoria.

Does Passion Rx boost libido or improve sexuality in everyone?
We cannot guarantee Passion Rx will boost libido or provide a satisfying sexual enhancement for everyone. Even pharmaceutical medicines frequently used by those for sexual health at best only work in up to 60 to 70% of users. There's also the option of Passion Rx with Yohimbe which some people like to alternate with regular Passion Rx, or you can try individual libido herbs by themselves. It's impossible to predict which herb or combination of herbs or libido supplements you will respond to, if at all. There is no blood test or physical exam that can predict to which herbal sexual product will be effective in any particular person.

Note: There is a higher rate of heart disease in men with impotence. All men, particularly older men, with impotence (unless it is clearly diagnosed as psychological impotence in a young person) need a medical evaluation, detailed cardiac assessment, blood pressure measurement, lipid profile and blood sugar test, as well as lifestyle advice regarding weight, diet, proper sleep, smoking cessation, alcohol use, and exercise. Be cautious using sex herbs or any sexual product (natural or prescription impotence drug) if you have thyroid or other endocrine issues, a tendency for high blood pressure or heart rhythm abnormalities. Many of these sex herbs can stimulate heart contraction and if you are prone to heart problems you may have untoward reactions if you take high dosages.

Use with prescription erectile dysfunction drugs
Q. Can I take Passion Rx pill the same day as the impotence drugs Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra?
A. We don't recommend this. We prefer people take Passion Rx the day for two days before the use of Viagra or the other medications used for Impotence such as Cialis and Levitra. Unexpected side effects can sometimes occur when an herbal product is taken with an impotence drug.

Use with SSRI antidepressant drugs
Q. I bought Passion Rx and the bottle indicates not to take with an antidepressant. I bought this libido enhancer product because of the negative libido effects of anti-depressants. I have OCD which is a lifelong condition, so I need to take the anti-depressants daily. What is the impact of taking this herbal formula with anti-depressants?

Q. I am taking Prozac at a low dosage. Can I take this herbal formula since ever since I started on this prescription medication my libido has disappeared.
A. Decreased libido is a potential side effect of SSRIs, which include drugs like sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil) and fluoxetine (Prozac). The antidepressant bupropion has a different mechanism of action from SSRIs, targeting the nervous system chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine rather than serotonin and as such does not reduce sexual performance. If your doctor approves you can try half a capsule of the herbal formula every other day for a week and then adjust the dose up or down. But, as long as the SSRI meds are taken, they are likely to dampen the sexual arousal effect from the herbs. Perhaps your doctor may wish to learn more about natural supplements used for depression such as St. John's wort or SAM-e which do not reduce sex drive. 5-HTP, a serotonin precursor available over the counter to treat depression, also causes low libido.

SSRI drugs include:
citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil, Cipram)
escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex)
fluoxetine (Prozac, Fontex, Seromex, Seronil, Sarafem)
fluvoxamine (Luvox, Fevarin, Faverin)
paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat)
sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral)

Passion Rx supplement Questions *
Q. Can I take Passion Rx the same day as other sexual herbs such as catuaba, maca, mucuna pruriens, muira puama, tongkat ali, tribulus, ashwagandha, or horny goat weed?
A. We suggest you don't since you could feel overstimulated and have insomnia if you take Passion Rx the same day as these herbs. We also suggest you do not take Passion Rx the same day as SAM-e, tyrosine, ginseng, Eyesight Rx, Diet Rx, MultiVit Rx, or Mind Power Rx.

Q. Is Passion Rx appropriate for men and women? Would a woman notice an increase in libido?
A. Yes, many women notice improved libido and sexual enhancement. The majority of neurotransmitters and hormones involved in sexual arousal in men are similar to those in women. These include testosterone, dopamine, nitric oxide, etc.

Q. Some other websites claim that their sexual product can cure impotence. I noticed your web page does not make such claims regarding Passion Rx and impotence. Why is this?
A. Impotence or erectile dysfunction is considered a disease. The FDA does not allow sellers of natural sex supplements to claim that their product can cure impotence. Thus, either the sellers of these products are unaware of FDA rules, or they are aware of these rules but are breaking them. A claim can be mad that a sexual product can increase libido, performance, desire, stamina, or sensation since these are not medical conditions.

Q. Can I take Passion Rx pill if I am on birth control pills?
A. Thus far, we have not had any women on BCPs report to us of any untoward interactions. Please have approval by your doctor.

Q. Can anyone of any age take Passion Rx?
A. We prefer if you are older than age 70 not to take Passion Rx unless you are very healthy and take smaller dosages and have medical approval.

Q. What time of day should I take Passion Rx.
A. We suggest you take it as soon as you get up in the morning and not eat anything for at least 20 minutes to allow the herbs to be absorbed without interference. We also suggest you keep caffeinated drinks to a minimum since you will feel alert and energetic from the Passion Rx and there's no need to take too much caffeine. If you wake up early in the morning and plan to go back to sleep, you can take Passion Rx and go back to bed.

Q. I'm not sure whether Passion Rx or Passion Rx with Yohimbe or single libido herbs will help me . Which one(s) should I try?
A. It is impossible to predict which combination product or single herb you will respond to. There is no blood test or other way to find out except by trial and error. When you do try a sex product or single herb, always start with a low dose and give it a week or two of testing to see if you like it. Don't expect results within hours, they often work best after several days.

Q. Why don't you provide free samples of these passion pills?
A. Our experience tells us that when people are given free samples, they don't make the effort to read and learn how to best use this product. They may casually pop a couple of capsules with dinner and they may not read all the cautions and side effects and not realize they should not be taking it if they have cardiovascular problems or taking several prescription drugs.

Q. Do you offer a money back guarantee?
A. We don't, for three major reasons. One: drug companies do not offer a refund even though their impotence drugs can fail and can have major side effects. Two: there is no pill, either pharmaceutical or herbal that will satisfy all users and be free of side effects. Three: when we used to give refunds, we had instances where people returned a bottle with one or two capsules left in the bottle requesting a full refund and then we noticed a week or two later they would reorder another Passion rx bottle.

Q. Is Passion Rx approved by the FDA?
A. The FDA does not get involved in approving herbal products or passion pills. Any company can market any herbal product they wish as long as the individual herbs and nutrients within the product are approved by the FDA for sale in the USA, and as long as the words on the bottle follow FDA guidelines. Passion Rx confirms to all FDA guidelines.

Q. What effect does Passion Rx have on birth control pills?
A. Passion Rx is not intended to be used every day. After tens of thousands of bottles sold, we have not had even one woman report any problems with Passion Rx in this regard.

Q. Can you tell me the quantities of each ingredient in Passion Rx.
A. It was a difficult decision when marketing Passion Rx to decide whether to list the exact amount of the ingredients and the dosage so that users would know exactly what they were getting, versus the possibility that the successful formula could be copied by other companies and then all the years of trail and error of formulating this product would be lost by revealing the exact formula. In the end Physician Formulas decided to keep it a proprietary formula which the FDA allows companies to do since it recognizes that companies have the right (just like Coca Cola) not to reveal their formula secrets. Hence, we recognize that some users would not buy such a sexual enhancement product if they did not know the exact amount, but it was decided that this was worth the loss of a certain percentage of sales in order to maintain the Passion Rx formula secret and not have other companies copy the formula.

Q. Is Passion Rx an aphrodisiac?
A. It depends how you define aphrodisiac. If an aphrodisiac is an herb or herbal product that enhances sexuality in terms of better libido, enhanced sensation and more sexual pleasure, then Passion Rx could easily be defined as an aphrodisiac herbal product.

Q. I am interested in your Passion Rx formula. I have a mildly low thyroid and have mitral valve prolapse. No other health conditions. Would your supplement be safe?
A. It would not be proper for us to categorically claim that all of our supplements are 100 percent safe. No such supplement exists. However, side effects are very much determined by the dosage. If your doctor approves, you could try a third of a capsule of Passion Rx, or any supplement product (not the same day with other supplements) and see how you feel on this low dosage and base future amounts on your initial response.

Q. Do you have a vegan or vegetarian version of Passion Rx without the gelatin capsule?
A. Not at this time. The capsules are not sealed and can be easily opened by pulling on each side. You could empty the contents in an ounce of water or juice and this could actully be better absorbed than if you took the whole capsule.

Q. Can a breast feeding woman take Passion Rx to increase libido?
A. We have not studied the influence of Passion Rx on breast milk, but we don't have any reason to suspect Passion Rx would have any influence on lactation or that any significant amounts of the herbs would pass through the milk. Also, this natural female and male libido enhancer is often used only about 2 or 3 days a week, and you may consider using half a capsule. We suggest the baby be at least 2 months old and that your doctor approves.

Q. Can I take a yohimbe bark extract supplement the same time as Passion Rx?
A. Passion Rx is potent by itself, and we don't suggest taking additional sexual herbs such as yohimbe or tongkat ali the same day.

Q. I purchased Passion Rx and the results are great. And I could tell the difference (it really works). My question is, I started off with one capsule and thus far I've taken two capsules (two days on and one off). I take Altace 10 mg once a day, and Coreg 25mg twice a day. Though I felt no side effects from the first two pills that I've taken, I just wanted to make sure this is not going to create a problem for me. My plans are to stick with one capsule in the morning, two days on and one off. The reason I am asking is, this is what I plan to do on a "LONG TERM" basis, what are your suggestion. There's so much information out there on the web on various sexual enhancements, but there is none like your site.
A. We prefer people take the least amount of Passion Rx that works for them, and in the least frequency. Once it starts working, you would need less over time. This could be as little as half a capsule every 3 days. Try this small amount first, and if not effective then you can take half a capsule every other day or 2 days on, one day off. Another option is to take a capsule every other day or every three or four days.

Additional side effects and cautions that can occur with high doses of certain sexual herbs, combinations of herbs, or combination of herbs with medicines:
Do not use sex herbs or herbs with a stimulant nature if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart disease (including irregular rhythm), kidney, thyroid or liver disease, seizure disorder or stroke. Do not take sexual herbs with any antidepressant medications or MAO inhibitors, decongestants, diet aids, hormones such as DHEA or pregnenolone, or supplements that have a stimulating effects such as tyrosine, SAM-e, phenylalanine, etc. Consult your doctor before use if you have any health problems or are taking any medications. Discontinue use and consult your doctor if you experience high blood pressure, heart palpitations or rapid heart beat, dizziness, headache, rash, tremors, depression or hallucinations. Other side effects possible with high doses of certain libido boosting herbs may include nervousness, anxiety, mood changes, insomnia, nausea, or skin flushing.

Additional questions regarding Passion Rx and medications:
Q. I'm 76. the impotence medicine Viagra no longer works for me. I take the following prescriptions: Lisinopril, 10mg, Metoprolol, 50mg, Terazosin, 10mg,, Proscar, 5mg, Lovastatin, 40mg. Can I safely take Passion Rx to improve my libido? If your response is to talk to my doctor about it, what do I tell him?
A. We can't recommend Passion Rx to those who are taking several medications for cardiovascular conditions since herbal sex products can raise blood pressure and increase heart rate.

Is it okay to take Passion Rx if a person had a quadruple bypass operation and is taking metoprolol, testosterone shots, Lipitor and Paxil?
We suggest anyone with serious heart disease not to take this product.

Menopause
Can a person take Passion Rx if menopausal?
Yes, a woman who is going through menopause or post menopausal can take Passion Rx.

Hormone and endocrine issues
I am a 43-year-old woman who purchased Passion Rx a while back. I took it for a little while but then stopped because I was concerned about what impact it may have on my particular endocrine condition. I have a benign tumor on my pituitary gland that effects my thyroid (hypo), estrogen (low), progesterone (low) and DHEA (high) production. Over the past two-years since diagnosis I have arrived at a very tenuous balance of thyroid meds, bioidentical estrogen therapy, and an anti-androgen med-- spironolactone, to prevent acne and hair loss. Now that I seemingly have these conditions addressed, I wanted to address the next symptom of my condition -- a low libido. However, I'm concerned that this herbal libido enhancer may stimulate testosterone or other androgens in my body. Can you explain what "systems" for lack of a better word, Passion Rx effects?
This is a good question and we don't have an answer. There are more than a dozen herbs and nutrients in this herbal sexual formula and each one works in different ways. We have not done formal studies in humans to determine what hormone levels or tissues this product influences. It would take hundreds of thousands of dollars to do a thorough human study for several weeks or months to learn the full details on all the physiological, hormonal and neurochemical systems in the body this product may influence. One suggestion, if your doctor approves, is to begin with low dosages of a quarter of a capsule and make small adjustments higher or lower to obtain the libido enhancing benefit you are seeking.

ways to naturally Increase your testosterone

1. Get more Zinc

Zinc is very important for the production of natural testosterone because Zinc prevents testosterone from being converted into estrogen (the female hormone) by making the enzyme aromatase not work (look at #3 below) plus...

Zinc itself turns estrogen into testosterone and Zinc helps produce healthier sperm and higher sperm counts so actually... Low levels of zinc can cause low testosterone levels.

Foods high in Zinc include oysters (a natural aphrodisiac), liver, seafood, poultry, nuts & seeds or you can supplement with at least 50-to-100mg of Zinc daily

2. Eat more healthy fats

Research has shown that men who ate diets rich in healthy fats like monounsaturated fats & Omega-3 fats had the highest testosterone levels so...

You can naturally raise your testosterone levels by adding more healthy fats by eating more nuts & seeds, fatty fish like salmon & tuna, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, and natural peanut butter and...

Eating a very low-fat diet can actually lead to lowered testosterone levels because your body needs healthy fats in order to produce testosterone but...

This doesn't mean you need to eat a REAL HIGH fat diet - Just make sure at least 20-to-30% of your total daily calories comes from healthy fats.

3. Lose body fat

The more overweight you are or the higher your body fat percentage is = The higher your estrogen levels will be because body fat contains an enzyme called aromatase that converts your 'manly' testosterone into 'womanly' estrogen making your testosterone levels drop so...

Look at these fat burning workouts to lower body fat, reduce estrogen and increase testosterone and...

Try not to Diet or cut too many calories when trying to lose body fat because you don't want your body going into starvation or survival mode which will cause your body to stop making testosterone so whenever you're trying to lose fat & increase testosterone at the same time...

Make sure you focus on losing 1-to-3 pounds of fat a week mainly thru fat loss workouts and a basic diet plan

4. Get rid of excess estrogen

To get rid of excess estrogen that makes you fatter & weaker so your body can naturally produce more testosterone...

* You can eat more RAW cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower because cruciferous vegetables contain a chemical called diindolylmethane (or DIM) that helps your body get rid of excess estrogen and... You can supplement with DIM to flush out excess estrogen or eat these other sources of cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, bok choi, radishes, turnips, collard greens, and kale and...
* You can Eat more fiber to naturally cleanse your body and flush out toxins that cause you to have excess estrogen (like the xenoestrogens from #5 below) - Most fruits & vegetables, nuts & beans are all high in fiber and...
* You can also supplement with Red grape skin extract (resveratrol) to help your liver remove excess estrogen.

5. Try to avoid Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are man-made estrogens that are found in things like pesticides, artificial growth hormones & steroids, air fresheners and plastic containers and these xenoestrogens will increase your levels of the female hormone estrogen while lowering testosterone so...

* Eat more organic fruits & vegetables that are free of pesticides and if you do buy your fruits & vegetables at a regular grocery store... Make sure you wash them to lower your chances of consuming any xenoestrogens and...
* Eat more naturally raised meats instead of eating beef, chicken, pork and even milk that was raised using artificial growth hormones and steroids and...
* Use glass products to store food & water instead of plastic since plastic products tend to produce xenoestrogens that'll get into your water & food especially when heated and... Even some canned foods contain plastic coatings that contain xenoestrogens and...
* Don't use any perfumes, colognes, or air fresheners that have parabens listed as one of the ingredients. Parabens are xenoestrogens.

Please note: It'll be fairly hard for you to 100% completely avoid all xenoestrogens but if you follow the other tips on this page (especially tips #3 & #4) - You'll still be able to naturally increase your testosterone while getting rid of excess estrogen without having to worry so much about trying to avoid xenoestrogens and...

Also note: Since most xenoestrogens accumulate in your body fat - your best defense against xenoestrogens is to lose body fat (look at #3 again)

6. Get at least 6-to-8 hours of Sleep every night

A university of Chicago study showed that men who got little sleep had way lower testosterone levels than men who got 6-to-8 hours of sleep and... According to a University of North Carolina study... Your testosterone levels can drop down by as much as 40 PERCENT when you don't get enough sleep and generally...

Your testosterone levels are 30% higher in the morning than in the evening and this is why you may be more horny in the mornings and as a matter of fact...

A loss of morning erections or loss of sexual desire in the morning could be a sign that your testosterone is declining so you need to get 6-to-8 hours of sleep every night because while you're sleeping...

Your body produces the most testosterone and the better you sleep the more testosterone your body will produce while you sleep so if you're having trouble getting 6-to-8 hours of good quality 'testosterone producing' sleep every night - Look at 33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep

7. Stress Less

When you get stressed out - your body releases a "stress" hormone called cortisol that shuts down testosterone production...
Research led by Population Council endocrinologist Matthew Hardy found that stress hormones like cortisol overpower the enzymes responsible for ensuring that cells in the testes produce testosterone

Cortisol also makes you gain belly fat and you already know from #3 above that the fatter you are = you'll have more estrogen and less testosterone so...

You need to stop worrying about the little things, avoid overtraining, control your temper and look at these ways to lower stress and Being more positive can reduce your stress levels and increase Testosterone...
A recent study found that fans of a losing team had 50 percent lower levels of testosterone after their team lost and fans had up to 100% higher levels of testosterone after their team won.

Taking a natural supplement like Ashwagandha can also help reduce cortisol.

8. Take 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day

Now if you have a hard time avoiding stress - you want to start taking 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day because...

1. Vitamin C has been shown to lower cortisol levels allowing your body to make more Testosterone and like Zinc...
2. Vitamin C reduces the armostase enzyme that converts your Testosterone into Estrogen.

9. Workout like a man

You can force your body to produce a lot of testosterone when you...

* Do Compound exercises that train several large muscle groups like Power Cleans, Squats, Bench presses, Deadlifts, Chin-ups, Dips, and Military presses and you can still do isolation exercises like triceps extensions, bicep curls or chest flyes for definition but if trying to boost your Testosterone and build more muscle quickly - stick with compound exercises and...
* According to a Swedish study... To get the biggest boost in testosterone when you do your compound exercises... Make sure you use heavy weights that will allow you to only do about 3-to-5 reps per set and you want to do about 5-to-8 sets of each compound exercise you do but...
* You also want to limit your workout time on those compound exercises to 1-to-2 hours so just do only 1-to-2 compound exercises followed by a few optional isolation exercises twice a week (Mon. & Thur. for example) and as for burning fat...
* Avoid 'sissy cardio' where you walk or run for long periods of time and start doing Manly Cardio workouts like Hill sprints and intervals 3-to-4 times a week and limit your long duration sissy cardio workouts to only 2 times a week and...
* Make extra sure that you rest harder than you work out because overtraining leads to more cortisol and lower testosterone (see #7 again) and you may need to get 8+ hours of sleep to allow your body to recuperate and produce more testosterone after you workout like a man (see #6 again) and...

10. Try to get Sexually Stimulated as much as possible

If you're not getting sexual stimulated or sexual aroused very much right now (especially if you're over 40)... You can dramatically boost your testosterone levels by getting sexually stimulated more often so basically...

You need to start doing almost anything you can to get a sexually stimulating 'Viagra free' erection and German scientists even found that simply having an erection causes your levels of circulating testosterone to rise significantly and look at how these other 3 studies prove how much your testosterone can rise after getting sexual stimulated...
In a study done by Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna... 10 men viewed a 15 minute pornographic film and the men's testosterone levels increased 100 percent afterwards.

Another study published by Psychoneuroendocrinology used sexually arousing films on 9 males and testosterone levels increased within 10 minutes of sexually arousal.

In a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior... Testosterone was measured every 15 min for 3 hours in 8 men before, during, and after the showing of a sexually explicit movie and there was an average increase of 35% in testosterone so...

Not getting sexual stimulated or aroused for long periods of time can actually decrease your testosterone levels so if you find it hard to get sexually stimulated... You can do all the other 12 things on this page to increase your testosterone which will increase your sex drive or libido making you get sexually stimulated much easier and/or...

You can take a supplement like Horny Goat Weed to make you get sexually stimulated more easier to ramp up your testosterone levels.

11. Make sure you're getting enough Vitamin A, B & E

Vitamins A , B & E (along with Vitamin C & zinc) are all essential in the production of testosterone and not getting enough A, B, & E Vitamins will lead to lower testosterone levels but... If you're eating plenty of fruits & veggies, lean meats and nuts then you shouldn't have to worry too much about supplementing with any extra A, B, & E Vitamins.

12. Don't overheat your testicles (your balls)

Your testicles need to be 94-to-96 degrees or about 2 degrees cooler than your body temperature to function at it's best and produce the most testosterone so...

If you're wearing tight underwear, tight pants, take long HOT baths or do anything thing else to overheat your testicles... You may inhibit your testosterone production so it's best to wear looser clothes like boxers to prevent overheating your balls and did you also know that...

Carrying around excess fat also overheats your testicles so look at #3 again for how to burn fat.

13. Don't Drink any Alcohol & Don't eat any Grapefruit

Even if you had only 2 drinks a day... Alcohol makes it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen making you have more estrogen & less testosterone which will cause you to become more woman-like by making you loose facial & pubic hair, get man boobs and become impotent and...

Alcohol decrease zinc levels in your body (look at #1 again) an just like alcohol - Grapefruits can also make it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen.

14. Boost Testosterone 40% with D-Aspartate

D-Aspartate is an amino acid that's produced in your pituitary gland and your testicles (or your balls) and it boosts the production of testosterone plus...

D-Aspartate also increases sperm production and the Journal of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology reported that men taking 3 grams of D-Aspartate every morning increased their testosterone by 40%
Look at these to also help increase testosterone...

Testosterone Foods

ways to naturally Increase your testosterone

1. Get more Zinc

Zinc is very important for the production of natural testosterone because Zinc prevents testosterone from being converted into estrogen (the female hormone) by making the enzyme aromatase not work (look at #3 below) plus...

Zinc itself turns estrogen into testosterone and Zinc helps produce healthier sperm and higher sperm counts so actually... Low levels of zinc can cause low testosterone levels.

Foods high in Zinc include oysters (a natural aphrodisiac), liver, seafood, poultry, nuts & seeds or you can supplement with at least 50-to-100mg of Zinc daily

2. Eat more healthy fats

Research has shown that men who ate diets rich in healthy fats like monounsaturated fats & Omega-3 fats had the highest testosterone levels so...

You can naturally raise your testosterone levels by adding more healthy fats by eating more nuts & seeds, fatty fish like salmon & tuna, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, and natural peanut butter and...

Eating a very low-fat diet can actually lead to lowered testosterone levels because your body needs healthy fats in order to produce testosterone but...

This doesn't mean you need to eat a REAL HIGH fat diet - Just make sure at least 20-to-30% of your total daily calories comes from healthy fats.

3. Lose body fat

The more overweight you are or the higher your body fat percentage is = The higher your estrogen levels will be because body fat contains an enzyme called aromatase that converts your 'manly' testosterone into 'womanly' estrogen making your testosterone levels drop so...

Look at these fat burning workouts to lower body fat, reduce estrogen and increase testosterone and...

Try not to Diet or cut too many calories when trying to lose body fat because you don't want your body going into starvation or survival mode which will cause your body to stop making testosterone so whenever you're trying to lose fat & increase testosterone at the same time...

Make sure you focus on losing 1-to-3 pounds of fat a week mainly thru fat loss workouts and a basic diet plan

4. Get rid of excess estrogen

To get rid of excess estrogen that makes you fatter & weaker so your body can naturally produce more testosterone...

* You can eat more RAW cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower because cruciferous vegetables contain a chemical called diindolylmethane (or DIM) that helps your body get rid of excess estrogen and... You can supplement with DIM to flush out excess estrogen or eat these other sources of cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, bok choi, radishes, turnips, collard greens, and kale and...
* You can Eat more fiber to naturally cleanse your body and flush out toxins that cause you to have excess estrogen (like the xenoestrogens from #5 below) - Most fruits & vegetables, nuts & beans are all high in fiber and...
* You can also supplement with Red grape skin extract (resveratrol) to help your liver remove excess estrogen.

5. Try to avoid Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are man-made estrogens that are found in things like pesticides, artificial growth hormones & steroids, air fresheners and plastic containers and these xenoestrogens will increase your levels of the female hormone estrogen while lowering testosterone so...

* Eat more organic fruits & vegetables that are free of pesticides and if you do buy your fruits & vegetables at a regular grocery store... Make sure you wash them to lower your chances of consuming any xenoestrogens and...
* Eat more naturally raised meats instead of eating beef, chicken, pork and even milk that was raised using artificial growth hormones and steroids and...
* Use glass products to store food & water instead of plastic since plastic products tend to produce xenoestrogens that'll get into your water & food especially when heated and... Even some canned foods contain plastic coatings that contain xenoestrogens and...
* Don't use any perfumes, colognes, or air fresheners that have parabens listed as one of the ingredients. Parabens are xenoestrogens.

Please note: It'll be fairly hard for you to 100% completely avoid all xenoestrogens but if you follow the other tips on this page (especially tips #3 & #4) - You'll still be able to naturally increase your testosterone while getting rid of excess estrogen without having to worry so much about trying to avoid xenoestrogens and...

Also note: Since most xenoestrogens accumulate in your body fat - your best defense against xenoestrogens is to lose body fat (look at #3 again)

6. Get at least 6-to-8 hours of Sleep every night

A university of Chicago study showed that men who got little sleep had way lower testosterone levels than men who got 6-to-8 hours of sleep and... According to a University of North Carolina study... Your testosterone levels can drop down by as much as 40 PERCENT when you don't get enough sleep and generally...

Your testosterone levels are 30% higher in the morning than in the evening and this is why you may be more horny in the mornings and as a matter of fact...

A loss of morning erections or loss of sexual desire in the morning could be a sign that your testosterone is declining so you need to get 6-to-8 hours of sleep every night because while you're sleeping...

Your body produces the most testosterone and the better you sleep the more testosterone your body will produce while you sleep so if you're having trouble getting 6-to-8 hours of good quality 'testosterone producing' sleep every night - Look at 33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep

7. Stress Less

When you get stressed out - your body releases a "stress" hormone called cortisol that shuts down testosterone production...
Research led by Population Council endocrinologist Matthew Hardy found that stress hormones like cortisol overpower the enzymes responsible for ensuring that cells in the testes produce testosterone

Cortisol also makes you gain belly fat and you already know from #3 above that the fatter you are = you'll have more estrogen and less testosterone so...

You need to stop worrying about the little things, avoid overtraining, control your temper and look at these ways to lower stress and Being more positive can reduce your stress levels and increase Testosterone...
A recent study found that fans of a losing team had 50 percent lower levels of testosterone after their team lost and fans had up to 100% higher levels of testosterone after their team won.

Taking a natural supplement like Ashwagandha can also help reduce cortisol.

8. Take 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day

Now if you have a hard time avoiding stress - you want to start taking 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day because...

1. Vitamin C has been shown to lower cortisol levels allowing your body to make more Testosterone and like Zinc...
2. Vitamin C reduces the armostase enzyme that converts your Testosterone into Estrogen.

9. Workout like a man

You can force your body to produce a lot of testosterone when you...

* Do Compound exercises that train several large muscle groups like Power Cleans, Squats, Bench presses, Deadlifts, Chin-ups, Dips, and Military presses and you can still do isolation exercises like triceps extensions, bicep curls or chest flyes for definition but if trying to boost your Testosterone and build more muscle quickly - stick with compound exercises and...
* According to a Swedish study... To get the biggest boost in testosterone when you do your compound exercises... Make sure you use heavy weights that will allow you to only do about 3-to-5 reps per set and you want to do about 5-to-8 sets of each compound exercise you do but...
* You also want to limit your workout time on those compound exercises to 1-to-2 hours so just do only 1-to-2 compound exercises followed by a few optional isolation exercises twice a week (Mon. & Thur. for example) and as for burning fat...
* Avoid 'sissy cardio' where you walk or run for long periods of time and start doing Manly Cardio workouts like Hill sprints and intervals 3-to-4 times a week and limit your long duration sissy cardio workouts to only 2 times a week and...
* Make extra sure that you rest harder than you work out because overtraining leads to more cortisol and lower testosterone (see #7 again) and you may need to get 8+ hours of sleep to allow your body to recuperate and produce more testosterone after you workout like a man (see #6 again) and...

10. Try to get Sexually Stimulated as much as possible

If you're not getting sexual stimulated or sexual aroused very much right now (especially if you're over 40)... You can dramatically boost your testosterone levels by getting sexually stimulated more often so basically...

You need to start doing almost anything you can to get a sexually stimulating 'Viagra free' erection and German scientists even found that simply having an erection causes your levels of circulating testosterone to rise significantly and look at how these other 3 studies prove how much your testosterone can rise after getting sexual stimulated...
In a study done by Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna... 10 men viewed a 15 minute pornographic film and the men's testosterone levels increased 100 percent afterwards.

Another study published by Psychoneuroendocrinology used sexually arousing films on 9 males and testosterone levels increased within 10 minutes of sexually arousal.

In a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior... Testosterone was measured every 15 min for 3 hours in 8 men before, during, and after the showing of a sexually explicit movie and there was an average increase of 35% in testosterone so...

Not getting sexual stimulated or aroused for long periods of time can actually decrease your testosterone levels so if you find it hard to get sexually stimulated... You can do all the other 12 things on this page to increase your testosterone which will increase your sex drive or libido making you get sexually stimulated much easier and/or...

You can take a supplement like Horny Goat Weed to make you get sexually stimulated more easier to ramp up your testosterone levels.

11. Make sure you're getting enough Vitamin A, B & E

Vitamins A , B & E (along with Vitamin C & zinc) are all essential in the production of testosterone and not getting enough A, B, & E Vitamins will lead to lower testosterone levels but... If you're eating plenty of fruits & veggies, lean meats and nuts then you shouldn't have to worry too much about supplementing with any extra A, B, & E Vitamins.

12. Don't overheat your testicles (your balls)

Your testicles need to be 94-to-96 degrees or about 2 degrees cooler than your body temperature to function at it's best and produce the most testosterone so...

If you're wearing tight underwear, tight pants, take long HOT baths or do anything thing else to overheat your testicles... You may inhibit your testosterone production so it's best to wear looser clothes like boxers to prevent overheating your balls and did you also know that...

Carrying around excess fat also overheats your testicles so look at #3 again for how to burn fat.

13. Don't Drink any Alcohol & Don't eat any Grapefruit

Even if you had only 2 drinks a day... Alcohol makes it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen making you have more estrogen & less testosterone which will cause you to become more woman-like by making you loose facial & pubic hair, get man boobs and become impotent and...

Alcohol decrease zinc levels in your body (look at #1 again) an just like alcohol - Grapefruits can also make it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen.

14. Boost Testosterone 40% with D-Aspartate

D-Aspartate is an amino acid that's produced in your pituitary gland and your testicles (or your balls) and it boosts the production of testosterone plus...

D-Aspartate also increases sperm production and the Journal of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology reported that men taking 3 grams of D-Aspartate every morning increased their testosterone by 40%
Look at these to also help increase testosterone...


About Advance Physician Formulas nutritional supplement company


Advance Physician Formulas, Inc is a nutritional supplement company founded in 2003 with headquarters in Irvine, California, and customer care centers in several locations including Nebraska, Iowa, and California.


Our aim is to provide formulas of the highest quality and effectiveness. All the products under the Advance Physician Formulas label are made in the USA. Our scientific research team is highly specialized to review the latest research on various supplements and herbs. We are proud to carry high quality products from several respected supplement manufacturers and by respected doctors and herbalists including world-renowned medical doctor and best selling author Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D., who formulated several products for us. According to Wikipedia, Dr. Sahelian is one of the most famous medical doctors in the United States. Dr. Sahelian is one of the top respected doctors in the world when it comes to nutritional knowledge. He maintains a highly-praised and widely-visited web site on natural healing and dietary supplements. Dr. Sahelian writes a newsletter for us and we consult with him regarding the latest nutritional and herbal research. He is an independent contractor and not an officer or director of APF. See FACEBOOK page where Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D. writes daily updates regarding secrets of natural healing and click LIKE to connect with the doctor, ask questions, or post comments.


Kerry Hughes, M.Sc., is an Ethnobotanist that is committed to deepening the relationship between plants and people. She is the Founder of EthnoPharm, www.Organo-Leptic.com, and the author of several books on botanicals, including The Incense Bible: Plant Scents that Transcend World Culture, Medicine, and Spirituality. Haworth Press and The Health Professionals Guide to Dietary Supplements, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. We rely on Ms. Hughes to provide us with accurate botanical information.

Since February 2008 an independent lab tests by HPLC raw materials that we purchase to determine accuracy and purity. We are now using this double check method of testing for purity to ensure that the ingredients on the label are what is inside each capsule.

Some of the products formulated by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D. for Advance Physician Formulas, Inc:

* Diet Rx ® for appetite suppression
* Eyesight Rx ® for healthy vision
* Good Night Rx ® for a good night's sleep
* Joint Power Rx ® for joint health
* Mind Power Rx ® for mental enhancement
* MultiVit Rx for more energy and vitality
* Passion Rx ® for improved sexual pleasure and stamina
* Prostate Power Rx ® for prostate health
* 5-HTP 50 mg
* Acai 500 mg
* Acetyl-l-Carnitine 300 mg
* Alpha Lipoic Acid R 50 mg
* Ashwagandha 500 mg
* Beta Sitosterol complex 350 mg
* Choline 500 mg
* CMO 400 mg
* CoQ10 30 mg
* CoQ10 50 mg
* CoQ10 100 mg
* DMAE 350 mg
* Fish Oils, Wild
* Graviola 500 mg
* Horny Goat Weed 400 mg
* Kava 100 mg
* LJ100 Tongkat Ali extract 25 mg
* Maca 500 mg
* Mangosteen 500 mg
* Mucuna Pruriens extract 200 mg
* Saw Palmetto extract 320 mg
* Serrapeptase 20,000 units
* Tongkat Ali 200 mg
* Tribulus terrestris extract 400 mg

Please consult with your health care provider regarding the use of supplements, particularly if you have a health condition or taking prescription medicines. Even natural remedies can have serious side effects in combination with other drugs or underlying conditions.

In addition to these top quality products, we alo carry other brands such as Source Naturals, Enzymatic Therapy, Natrol, and several others.

We do not sell supplements which we believe have no merit or are potentially dangerous. For instance we do not sell:

Human growth hormone products
High doses of hormones such as DHEA and pregnenolone. We think high doses have unpleasant side effects.
Certain weight loss supplements such as carb blockers or supposed cortisol blockers. They either don't work well or have too many side effects.
We don't sell penis enlargement pills or breast enlargement creams and pills -- advertised through infomercials or internet spam -- that have little or no scientific backing.

We have a list of supplements that are appropriate for vegetarians (see the link on the home page).

Although we are not perfect, we make every effort to be reliable and trustworthy, and we try to provide as good customer service as we can. Our phone and email customer representatives are polite, respectul, and friendly, and we ask that you communicate with them in a similar way.

Please consult with your health care provider before you take supplements just to make sure they do not interefere with your current medicines or health conditions.

Where are our products made?
All of our products are made by independent manufacturers located in the USA. Our primary manufacturer is NPA/NSF GMP and ISO 9001:2000 registered custom formulator, contract manufacturer. It operates a state-of-the-art FDA CGMP facility on more than 90,000 square feet in Santa Fe Springs, California.

Q. I did see in the FAQ section that all products made by your company are made in the USA. However, I did want clarification on the actual source of ingredients themselves used in making the final products. Are all the ingredients in your products also from the USA, and is there any quality assurance testing done to assure the purity of the ingredients?
A. Every supplement seller in this country uses herbs from all over the world because most herbs are only grown in sufficient quantities in other countries and therefore there is no way to use only US grown herbs for all supplements. For instance, maca only grows in sufficient quantities in the Andes mountains. Some fruits like acai need a tropical environment to grow in adequate amounts. We use raw materials as much as we can made in the USA. All ingredients, whether grown or made in the USA or overseas are subjected to analysis and testing. This is a FDA requirement.

Q. If I order ANY product off of your site can I feel assured that it's MANUFACTURING is done in the USA?
A. All products with the Advance Physician Formulas and Club Natural labels are made in the USA and we have very good reason to believe that all the other products that we buy wholesale to sell retail, from companies such as NOW Foods, Source Naturals, Natrol, and Nature’s Way, are also made in the USA. However, this does not mean that the raw material, or the herbal ingredients, are all grown in the USA. There are many herbs that only grow well, or in sufficient quantities, in other parts of the world, such as South America, Africa, and Asia.

Q. I like your web site very much, but I would like it even more if you listed what kind of medical conditions the different herbs and vitamins and supplements can treat so the consumers can have a better idea what products to buy to naturally remedy their health problems.
A. The FDA does not allow sellers of dietary supplements to make any claims that their products prevent, treat, or cure any medical illnesses. For instance, we cannot make any claims that a particular herbal product treats or cures diabetes, hypertension or prostate enlargement.

Email received regarding our research team
Q. Are all of your products formulated by physicians? Who is on your scientific research team? We are a non-profit consumer group in Washington DC specializing in food, nutrition, and dietary supplements.
A. Above you will see about 30 or so products that are formulated by medical doctor Ray Sahelian, M.D. who has a bachelors of Science degree in nutrition. He is also the author of several books. Dr. Sahelian was one of the founders of the company but he is now an independent contractor for us and formulates products. We rely mostly on him for his honest evaluation. Dr. Sahelian consults with many of his colleagues whose opinion he values, friends and colleagues from medical school and residency, herbalists, nutritionists, naturopathic doctors, other health care professionals, and academics he has befriended over the years. We also have a few individuals who we consult with who have a bachelors or masters degree in nutrition or chemistry or physiology. They do Medline searches regarding new research on supplements. These individuals also test different herbal extracts on themselves and we get personal feedback on the effects of these herbs in varying dosages to see what their benefits and side effects would be. The pure raw ingredients are obtained from raw material suppliers usually in 10 gram samples and various amounts are measured and taken on an empty stomach in the morning for several days.

Q. If I give you a list of my symptoms, can you recommend supplements for me?
A. Sorry but supplement companies are not allowed by the FDA to diagnose or treat. This is the role of a health care provider who does a full medical history, physical exam, and appropriate studies.

Quality of products
Q. With all the information I am reading about the quality and contamination of foods and vitamins made overseas, my family & I are very worried about obtaining a quality source of American Made vitamins and herbal supplements. Can you give me information about your supplying sources?
A. Our products are made by a GMP certified and a FDA visited laboratory. The raw ingredients that we obtain are from high quality sources. We check the certificates of analysis. Beginning in February 2008, all raw materials purchased are being HPLC tested. Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D., one of the most respected medical doctors in the world, reviews the certificates of analysis and the HPLC test results.
You will not be able to find any company that can honestly guarantee their products to be 100 pure and accurate at all times. This is just not humanly possible. Even major pharmaceutical companies cannot guarantee that their products are pure 100 percent of the time. There is always the possibility of an error occurring.

Q. I am considering ordering MultiVit-Rx and other products, but could not find any info about where the ingredients come from. Like many consumers, I am leery of ingredients coming from anywhere in Asia except Japan, am OK with US-made ingredients, and am OK with European-made ingredients. Can you provide me any info about where the ingredients in your products come from?
A. The majority of the ingredients come from the US, but there are some from foreign countries, but they are checked for purity by HPLC test on entry. It is doubtful you will find any company that exlusively has all their ingredients from the US since not all herbs are grown for commercial purposes in the US, and not all ingredients are made in the US in sufficient quantities.

Q. I am interested in purchasing your Yohimbe, tongkat ali, horny goat weed, and tribulus products. I know I can purchase these just about anywhere with a wide variety of prices. But, I am interested in the purest high quality that will produce results.
How do your products rank in quality versus other products?
A. Our products are made by a FDA reviewed and GMP certified facility located in Orange County, California, and the certificates of analysis are reviewed by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D. We have no idea of how others do it. The only 100 percent sure way for a consumer to know the quality of a product they buy is by sending it themselves to an independent lab, but almost all consumers do not have the interest or the funds to do this with every product they buy.

Product storage
Q. I was wondering if your herbal products (in particular Passion Rx and Passion Rx with Yohimbe) are sensitive to their storage environment after opening. Generally I keep them in cool dry places but occasionally they are subject to room temperature increases when the a/c shuts off. Please advise as I didn't notice this info on the bottles or come across it on your web site.
A. In general, herbs are very hardy and can last for years or even decades in varying room temperatures without any problems. Vitamins are more sensitive and have a shorter shelf life of a couple of years and they are better stored in a cool and dry place. Minerals can last for a very, very long time without much changes. Fish oils and probiotics should be refrigerated.

Advance Physician Formulas has no association with any company named Physician Formula or Physicians Formulas. We also have no association with any web site named Physician Formula or Physicians Formulas. Physician Formula dot com is not a site associated with us, nor is Physician Formula dot net. This also applies to Physicians Formulas dot com and Physicians Formulas dot net.

Capsules, gelcaps, softgels, tablets and tablet pills
My brother said that he read that supplements, herbal, vitamin, etc. combinations (like many of your products) are more potent with softgels than in capsule or tablet form. He says capsule and tablet forms are way less potent than softgels. Is this true?
Stomach acid can break down the gelatin of capsules and breakdown other components of tablets or other pill forms. Therefore, for practical purposes, and unless someone has very poor stomach and intestinal function, there should not be a major difference in absorption between different forms.

Feedback from customers
We receive daily feedback from customers by email and phone and almost all are positive. Here is one example.

Your products, in my opinion are one of, if not the best quality and most reasonably priced supplements on the market! I have dedicated thousands of hours of my personal time researching supplements since day one of the inception of the world wide web. Scams is abundant in cyberspace! One has to do their home work prior to purchasing any supplements, along with their protocol of prescribed medicationsand health history. You have my utmost trust! Dr. Sahelian is a man and a doctor of integrity, honesty and a genuine concern for all people!

Thanks for your honesty and responsible behavior on your website and in your newsletters. Very rare indeed especially when the comments are coming from a company that sells the products they are discussing. I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever read anything from a supplements related company that wasn’t somewhat cluttered with their bias and desire to sell their products. You would be the exception. Thank You.

Hi, just wanted to say thanks for great service, and feel free to use this note as a testamonial. Good advice and no 'hard-sell' = A+ !

I am fully aware of the fact that the FDA prevents you from recommending any given product to a person seeking a medical or pseudo-medical solution for their own personal physical problem and that one must consult with a physician to question the benefits of taking any supplement, especially if a person is currently taking prescription medicines. Many firms produce informational research articles about products that contain certain herbal components or derivatives, my example would be the effects of pomegranate or blueberry. They do not prescribe their use, but they do cite research that has been or is being conducted by universities / medical schools or other medical research institutes (e.g. NIH). Does your company do the same? I realize I am in charge of my body and its state of health. This is a complex issue. I do, however, look for research articles and/or warnings about which herbs interact with organs of the body and their potential to affect the operation of the complex biological system called a human. A good personal example would be the fact that I take Lipitor and Plavix. I would want to be aware of any herbal component that might act with a synergistic effect in either case. I would at least expect a warning more than the generic “Ask your medical doctor……before taking this item.� Surely there is some research that points to the dangers of certain herbal components with prescription medicines. Perhaps, you (a generic you) could provide websites that provide that type of research data for the use of your customers. Even doctors (Primary Care Physicians or specialist) do not know all of the inherent risks involved. Some doctors do not even recognize the effectiveness of herbal medicines. I have run into this attitude for more than 20 years. I do like your website and do see the value in your products. I, too, look for quality and/or a pharmaceutical grade product.
There are many good sites on the internet that review research done with natural supplements, herbs, vitamins, and hormones. One such site is maintained by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D. There are several academic centers that have natural health information, along with several government maintained sites. Some of these are listed at the bottom of each page of our site.

Testosterone Strong man

I’ve been writing about the benefits of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) for years. Not only does BHRT help alleviate the symptoms associated with menopause (and the male version of hormone decline, called andropause), but it also offers many other significant health benefits as well.

Whether you’re a man or a woman, there’s excellent scientific evidence that BHRT will substantially reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive decline. Other research has proven that BHRT significantly lessens risk of heart and blood vessel disease, osteoporosis, and (in non-smoking women) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It has also been proven to significantly reduce deaths from all causes in men (it’s very likely it will reduce all-cause mortality for women, too, though it hasn’t been proven just yet).

Another “perk” of BHRT is that it slows the progression of aging, including age-related changes in appearance. Women using BHRT for five to 10 years appear significantly younger than women of the same age who haven’t used BHRT. Wrinkling is less, and skin elasticity is better for much longer. Both women and men using BHRT frequently report improved libido and sex life, too.

And over the last 25 or more years, I’ve heard from hundreds of women and men using BHRT that they’re feeling better mentally, they’re more cheerful, they remember things better, and they have more “get up and go.” As helpful as BHRT is, though, there are a few cautions. For maximum safety, it’s always best to “Copy Nature,” using the exact molecular duplicates of human hormones, in the same quantities normally in bodies, taken into our bodies the right way (for example, swallowing estrogens is actually dangerous), and following Nature’s timing.

But even that isn’t enough: There are still some potential problems with BHRT. Most of them can be easily corrected if you’re monitoring your hormone levels regularly and working with a physician skilled and knowledgeable in both natural medicine and BHRT. But it’s important to know what to look out for. So this month, let’s go over some of the most common BHRT problems, and how you and your doctor can find them and fix them, using entirely natural means.

Why your estrogen treatment “failed” and what you can do about it

You’ve heard about all of the wonderful benefits of BHRT and how it can help women feel better—sometimes almost immediately. But when you tried it, it didn’t work very well for you. So your doctor increased the dose, but it still didn’t seem to help. If this situation sounds familiar, it’s very likely your body is retaining too little estrogen—“kicking out” most of it right away through your kidneys and bowels. This problem—technically called estrogen “hyperexcretion”—can be confirmed if there are higher than usual amounts of estrogens in a urine specimen collected for 24 hours, while estrogens in the blood (serum estrogens) are low-normal or low, and symptoms of low estrogen continue.

Why does this happen? Well, there’s no way to know for certain, but there are a few theories. This problem seems to occur more in women who previously took horse urine estrogen (Premarin®), birth control pills, or who have had high exposure to one or more environmental estrogens. Fortunately, there is something you can do about it. A decade or so ago, I found that estrogen hyperexcretion can always be corrected with very low doses—just 500 micrograms (or less) per day—of the essential element cobalt.1 These low quantities are safe, as diet surveys from around the world have found that dietary cobalt intake ranges from 10 to 600 micrograms daily.

Symptom relief usually starts within two to three weeks, and symptoms are completely corrected within two to four months. Of course, even if you’re feeling better, you should confirm that the problem has been solved by doing a follow-up 24 hour urine test. If your urine test comes back showing that your estrogen levels have diminished into the expectable range, you can likely stop taking cobalt (and, in most cases, there’s no need to resume taking it). Cobalt also helps normalize hyperexcretion of other hormones, such as testosterone and cortisol, but these situations are much more rare than estrogen hyperexcretion. What is more common with testosterone is the next potential BHRT problem on our list…

Attention men: What you should do if your testosterone “stops working”?

Here’s another common scenario—this one for the men: You’ve seen a doctor familiar with BHRT, had your testosterone and free testosterone tested, and started on a transdermal or (preferably) a transmucosal prescription testosterone crème.

Initially, you could really feel a difference. You felt stronger, and more motivated to get things done. Your libido definitely improved. But in just a few weeks, the effect wore off substantially, maybe even entirely. What happened? Is your body getting rid of (hyper-excreting) too much testosterone? While this is possible, as I mentioned above, testosterone hyperexcretion is rare. Much more likely, this initial response and then decline is due to another problem, called hyper-aromatization. Hyper-aromatization occurs when the body makes too much estrogen out of testosterone. Since this topic was covered in detail in the September 2009 issue of Nutrition & Healing, I’ll just re-cap it briefly here (you can download and view the September issue for free by visiting www.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on to the Archives).

You’re more likely to have hyper-aromatization of testosterone if you’re significantly overweight or if you have

* Type 2 diabetes (or if it runs in your family)
* High cholesterol
* High triglycerides
* Skin tags (little flaps of skin that stick out from the surface, usually on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin area)
* High blood pressure

If any of these conditions apply to you, check with a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional and natural medicine (as well as BHRT), and have insulin resistance testing done.2 Insulin resistance is a sign that you’re at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, and it’s almost always found when hyper-aromatization of testosterone is present.

In other words, if you’re a man using testosterone and your body is transforming that testosterone into too much estrogen, it’s very likely that you’re “on the way” to type 2 diabetes! And though there’s no outright proof, it appears very likely that the high insulin levels associated with insulin resistance are at least part of the cause of this problem, and possibly the entire cause. So it makes sense that reversing hyper-aromatization and preventing (or improving) type 2 diabetes go hand-in-hand. Getting insulin resistance under control with diet and exercise will eventually reverse hyper-aromatization of testosterone, but it can take a minimum of several months or even a year or two.
Dr. Wright's Tahoma Clinic - Seattle, WA

Learn More About Dr. Wright and the Tahoma Clinic - Seattle, WA

In the meantime, there are two safe, natural botanical “Band-Aids” which will slow down the hyper-aromatization in the short term, while you’re working on the permanent solution. One is Myomin, a combination of four Chinese botanicals. The other is the flavonoid chrysin. (Chrysin comes in both tablet/capsule form and a liposomal spray—the spray is much more effective.) Both of these supplements are also available from natural food stores, compounding pharmacies, and the Tahoma Clinic Dispensary. Of course, there are patent medicines which suppress hyper-aromatization, too. But they have many possible adverse effects, and should only be used if nothing else works.

4 ways to keep tabs on your cancer risk

There’s one more precaution to keep in mind with BHRT, and this one is definitely the biggest. I’m referring to cancer risk. But before you get worried, keep in mind that BHRT can actually help you decrease your risk of this dreaded disease. The key is to keep an eye on some very specific risk factors.

Let’s start with the factors women need to know about.

There are four main markers to consider. First on the list is the estrogen quotient, or EQ. The estrogen quotient (EQ) is determined by dividing the total estriol by the sum of estrone and estradiol. (In mathematical terms it looks like this: EQ = E3 / E1 + E2). An EQ that is greater than one indicates a lower risk of estrogen-related cancer.3 And in order to have an EQ that’s greater than one, your urine test needs to show more estriol than etrone and estradiol.4

One thing to keep in mind: The EQ cannot be determined from blood testing, since the half-life of estriol in the blood is very short.5 Unfortunately, conventional physicians unaware of this fact often claim that estriol is only secreted and found during pregnancy, which definitely isn’t the case. To get an accurate estriol measurement and to determine your EQ, you’ll need to do a urine test that measures urine samples collected over a 24-hour period.

The second cancer risk factor is one you may recognize if you’ve been reading Nutrition & Healing for awhile—the “2/16” ratio. Like the EQ, testing your 2/16 ratio can also be done with a 24-hour urine test. The 2/16 ratio looks at the amount of 2-hydroxyestrogens in your body in relation to the amount of 16-alpha-hydroxyestrogens. “16ahydroxyestrogens” are pro-carcinogens, but the “2” type are not, so it’s safer to have significantly more “2” than “16a.” However, you don’t want too much more “2” than “16a,” since that’s been shown to be associated with excess osteoporosis risk. As is so often the case, correct balance is the key! The last cancer risk factors women using BHRT need to keep an eye on are estrone and 4-hydroxyestrone.

Estrone and 4-hydroxyestrone are individual estrogen metabolites. If either one is elevated, it is associated with increased cancer risk. So even though every woman has some level of each, you want as little as possible. By contrast, 2-methoxyestradiol is an extremely potent anti-carcinogen, and you want as much of this estrogen as you can get! (For complete details and references concerning 2-methoxyestradiol, see the February 2008 issue of Nutrition & Healing.)

Again, a 24-hour urine test can tell you if your levels of estrone or 4-hydroxyestrone are elevated. If they are—or if testing shows any of these markers point to increased risk, there are steps you can take to reverse it.

Easy strategies for keeping cancer risk as low as possible

Let’s start with the EQ. If your EQ is less than one, you can almost always boost your estriol production with either iodine or iodide. (For the technically inclined, iodine and iodide induce the pathway from estrone → 16a hydroxyestrone → estriol, E1 → 16aOHE1 → E3). Six to eight drops of Lugol’s iodine daily (equivalent to three to four tablets of Iodoral or capsules of i-Throid) or four to six drops of SSKI daily for 30 to 60 days will usually bring an EQ back up to greater than one. After your EQ is normalized, continue taking two drops of Lugol’s iodine daily (or one Iodoral or i-Throid tablet or capsule daily), not only to support your EQ, but also to significantly reduce your breast cancer risk. Just make sure to have your thyroid function tested periodically if you exceed this amount of iodine long-term. And it’s not a good idea to use SSKI for long-term maintenance, since it’s not “balanced” with both iodide and iodine. SSKI is available by prescription (through compounding pharmacies) and over-the-counter as “Tri-Quench” from natural food stores and the Tahoma Dispensary. Lugol’s iodine is available only by prescription, but Iodoral tablets and i-Throid capsules contain exactly the same amount of iodine and iodide as Lugol’s and both are available from all three sources listed above.

Boost your protection with Brussels sprouts

If your 2/16 ratio is too low, you can often bring it into the normal range simply by eating more vegetables from the Brassica family (also known as cruciferous or mustard family vegetables). Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, mustard greens, and kale are all good options. These foods contain natural substances which shift more estrone towards 2-hydroxyestrone and away from 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone. Flaxseed and soy also help this metabolic shift.

Supplemental indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and di-indolylmethane (DIM) can also raise the 2/16 ratio. But it is possible to “overdose” on I3C or DIM. In some people, more than a little of these supplements can shift so much estrone away from 16-alphahydroxyestrone that not enough estriol is produced to maintain a healthy EQ. In that case, you need to reduce your dose of DIMor I3C. (And just to put your mind at ease, an abnormally elevated 2/16 ratio is quite rare except in cases of I3C or DIM excess.)

The simple switch that makes a big difference

One of the most common causes of high estrone (E1) is oral supplementation of DHEA: If you’re taking oral DHEA by swallowing a capsule, the DHEA will frequently show up as high E1 on the 24-hour urine test. But if you switch your DHEA supplement to a transdermal or transmucosal crème (which is Nature’s preferred delivery route), this effect almost always vanishes. (And, even better, DHEA is much more effective this way.)

Specific supplements to consider

Since 4-hydroxyestrone is the most potent estrogenic carcinogen (and precursor of carcinogens), you definitely want as little of it as possible. And the best solution for lowering an elevated 4-hydroxyestrone level is to use “methyl-group-donating” supplements to raise levels of the very potent anti-carcinogenic estrogen metabolite, 2-methoxyestradiol. As 2-methoxyestradiol goes up, 4-nydroxyestrone usually goes down. These supplements include the methylcobalamin form of vitamin B12, the methylfolate form of folate/folic acid, S-adnosylmethionine (SAMe), betaine, and glutathione.

Follow-up testing—usually in two to three months—will tell you if these or any of the other risk factors have been favorably affected.

Men: The ratios you need to balance for ultimate prostate protection

Now that we’ve covered increased cancer risk factors—and solutions—for women, let’s talk about similar factors for men using BHRT. The most recent “mainstream” research indicates that low testosterone levels increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer. As natural medicine doctors have been pointing out for decades, prostate cancer increases with declining tesosterone levels (andropause). And estrogens may increase by up to 40 percent in men’s bodies during andropause. So suspicion is increasing that estrogens may be related to prostate cancer to a significant degree.

One specific area of estrogen-andprostate-cancer research involves low 2/16 ratios in men. Even when the level of each individual estrogen is within the normal range, if they’re out of balance, there’s increased cancer risk. As noted above, increasing consumption of Brassica vegetables and flaxseed can also increase the male 2/16 ratio (though it’s likely best for men to avoid regular soy consumption because of its plant estrogen content). And research done right here in Seattle found that men who eat Brassica vegetables four times a week have 40 percent less risk of prostate cancer. DIM and I3C can be used if dietary changes aren’t sufficient to do the job.

The second risk factor men taking BHRT need to be aware of is a low androstanediol/DHT ratio (A/D ratio).

You’ve probably heard of DHT and the potential problems it can cause. But you may not have heard about androstandiol. This substance is what testosterone eventually metabolizes into, “stopping off” as DHT along the way. But unlike DHT, androstanediol is anti-carcinogenic.

According to one logical (but as yet unproven) theory published in the New England Journal ofMedicine, the reason there were fewer cancers overall but a higher percentage of significantly more aggressive cancers among men taking finasteride (a patentmedicine which supresses DHT) in the placebo-controlled “Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial” is that finasteride suppresses androstanediol even more than DHT.6 This would create an unfavorable A/D ratio, with less of the anti-carcinogenic androstanediol and more of the pro-carcinogenic DHT—a situation parallel to an unfavorable 2/16 ratio. Because of this relationship, measurement of DHT alone is not as likely to be as accurate an indicator of cancer risk as the androsterone/DHT (A/D) ratio.

I work with many men who’ve been told that they have “too much DHT” without having their androstanediol measured, which gives them a likely-unnecessary cancer risk scare. Some of these men are told they “must” take finasteride or another similar patent medication, to lower the risk of prostate cancer—again, without any measurement of androstanediol to see what their A/D ratio is. When I ask men to have both these testosterone metabolites measured, the very large majority—with the notable exception of a few men taking the patent medicine finasteride and other patent medications with similar actions—have had an A/D ratio considerably greater than one, which indicates that they actually have less cancer risk, not more Although the value of the A/D ratio is not “scientifically proven,” it’s every bit as logical as the 2/16 ratio, and so far there is no argument against this theory.

So what advice can I give for sure about testosterone and DHT? Never take any action based on measurements of just one testosterone metabolite—DHT—alone. Always have androstanediol measured, too, look at the A/D ratio, and discuss the meaning of all of the data with a physician skilled and knowledgeable in bio-identical hormone replacement. – JVW

Thanks to Leah Alvarado-Paz, ND, Terra Sowinski, ND, and Ronald Steriti, ND, PhD for their contributions to this article.
ways to naturally Increase your testosterone

1. Get more Zinc

Zinc is very important for the production of natural testosterone because Zinc prevents testosterone from being converted into estrogen (the female hormone) by making the enzyme aromatase not work (look at #3 below) plus...

Zinc itself turns estrogen into testosterone and Zinc helps produce healthier sperm and higher sperm counts so actually... Low levels of zinc can cause low testosterone levels.

Foods high in Zinc include oysters (a natural aphrodisiac), liver, seafood, poultry, nuts & seeds or you can supplement with at least 50-to-100mg of Zinc daily

2. Eat more healthy fats

Research has shown that men who ate diets rich in healthy fats like monounsaturated fats & Omega-3 fats had the highest testosterone levels so...

You can naturally raise your testosterone levels by adding more healthy fats by eating more nuts & seeds, fatty fish like salmon & tuna, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, and natural peanut butter and...

Eating a very low-fat diet can actually lead to lowered testosterone levels because your body needs healthy fats in order to produce testosterone but...

This doesn't mean you need to eat a REAL HIGH fat diet - Just make sure at least 20-to-30% of your total daily calories comes from healthy fats.

3. Lose body fat

The more overweight you are or the higher your body fat percentage is = The higher your estrogen levels will be because body fat contains an enzyme called aromatase that converts your 'manly' testosterone into 'womanly' estrogen making your testosterone levels drop so...

Look at these fat burning workouts to lower body fat, reduce estrogen and increase testosterone and...

Try not to Diet or cut too many calories when trying to lose body fat because you don't want your body going into starvation or survival mode which will cause your body to stop making testosterone so whenever you're trying to lose fat & increase testosterone at the same time...

Make sure you focus on losing 1-to-3 pounds of fat a week mainly thru fat loss workouts and a basic diet plan

4. Get rid of excess estrogen

To get rid of excess estrogen that makes you fatter & weaker so your body can naturally produce more testosterone...

* You can eat more RAW cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower because cruciferous vegetables contain a chemical called diindolylmethane (or DIM) that helps your body get rid of excess estrogen and... You can supplement with DIM to flush out excess estrogen or eat these other sources of cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, bok choi, radishes, turnips, collard greens, and kale and...
* You can Eat more fiber to naturally cleanse your body and flush out toxins that cause you to have excess estrogen (like the xenoestrogens from #5 below) - Most fruits & vegetables, nuts & beans are all high in fiber and...
* You can also supplement with Red grape skin extract (resveratrol) to help your liver remove excess estrogen.

5. Try to avoid Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are man-made estrogens that are found in things like pesticides, artificial growth hormones & steroids, air fresheners and plastic containers and these xenoestrogens will increase your levels of the female hormone estrogen while lowering testosterone so...

* Eat more organic fruits & vegetables that are free of pesticides and if you do buy your fruits & vegetables at a regular grocery store... Make sure you wash them to lower your chances of consuming any xenoestrogens and...
* Eat more naturally raised meats instead of eating beef, chicken, pork and even milk that was raised using artificial growth hormones and steroids and...
* Use glass products to store food & water instead of plastic since plastic products tend to produce xenoestrogens that'll get into your water & food especially when heated and... Even some canned foods contain plastic coatings that contain xenoestrogens and...
* Don't use any perfumes, colognes, or air fresheners that have parabens listed as one of the ingredients. Parabens are xenoestrogens.

Please note: It'll be fairly hard for you to 100% completely avoid all xenoestrogens but if you follow the other tips on this page (especially tips #3 & #4) - You'll still be able to naturally increase your testosterone while getting rid of excess estrogen without having to worry so much about trying to avoid xenoestrogens and...

Also note: Since most xenoestrogens accumulate in your body fat - your best defense against xenoestrogens is to lose body fat (look at #3 again)

6. Get at least 6-to-8 hours of Sleep every night

A university of Chicago study showed that men who got little sleep had way lower testosterone levels than men who got 6-to-8 hours of sleep and... According to a University of North Carolina study... Your testosterone levels can drop down by as much as 40 PERCENT when you don't get enough sleep and generally...

Your testosterone levels are 30% higher in the morning than in the evening and this is why you may be more horny in the mornings and as a matter of fact...

A loss of morning erections or loss of sexual desire in the morning could be a sign that your testosterone is declining so you need to get 6-to-8 hours of sleep every night because while you're sleeping...

Your body produces the most testosterone and the better you sleep the more testosterone your body will produce while you sleep so if you're having trouble getting 6-to-8 hours of good quality 'testosterone producing' sleep every night - Look at 33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep

7. Stress Less

When you get stressed out - your body releases a "stress" hormone called cortisol that shuts down testosterone production...
Research led by Population Council endocrinologist Matthew Hardy found that stress hormones like cortisol overpower the enzymes responsible for ensuring that cells in the testes produce testosterone

Cortisol also makes you gain belly fat and you already know from #3 above that the fatter you are = you'll have more estrogen and less testosterone so...

You need to stop worrying about the little things, avoid overtraining, control your temper and look at these ways to lower stress and Being more positive can reduce your stress levels and increase Testosterone...
A recent study found that fans of a losing team had 50 percent lower levels of testosterone after their team lost and fans had up to 100% higher levels of testosterone after their team won.

Taking a natural supplement like Ashwagandha can also help reduce cortisol.

8. Take 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day

Now if you have a hard time avoiding stress - you want to start taking 1000-to-1500mg of Vitamin C per day because...

1. Vitamin C has been shown to lower cortisol levels allowing your body to make more Testosterone and like Zinc...
2. Vitamin C reduces the armostase enzyme that converts your Testosterone into Estrogen.

9. Workout like a man

You can force your body to produce a lot of testosterone when you...

* Do Compound exercises that train several large muscle groups like Power Cleans, Squats, Bench presses, Deadlifts, Chin-ups, Dips, and Military presses and you can still do isolation exercises like triceps extensions, bicep curls or chest flyes for definition but if trying to boost your Testosterone and build more muscle quickly - stick with compound exercises and...
* According to a Swedish study... To get the biggest boost in testosterone when you do your compound exercises... Make sure you use heavy weights that will allow you to only do about 3-to-5 reps per set and you want to do about 5-to-8 sets of each compound exercise you do but...
* You also want to limit your workout time on those compound exercises to 1-to-2 hours so just do only 1-to-2 compound exercises followed by a few optional isolation exercises twice a week (Mon. & Thur. for example) and as for burning fat...
* Avoid 'sissy cardio' where you walk or run for long periods of time and start doing Manly Cardio workouts like Hill sprints and intervals 3-to-4 times a week and limit your long duration sissy cardio workouts to only 2 times a week and...
* Make extra sure that you rest harder than you work out because overtraining leads to more cortisol and lower testosterone (see #7 again) and you may need to get 8+ hours of sleep to allow your body to recuperate and produce more testosterone after you workout like a man (see #6 again) and...

10. Try to get Sexually Stimulated as much as possible

If you're not getting sexual stimulated or sexual aroused very much right now (especially if you're over 40)... You can dramatically boost your testosterone levels by getting sexually stimulated more often so basically...

You need to start doing almost anything you can to get a sexually stimulating 'Viagra free' erection and German scientists even found that simply having an erection causes your levels of circulating testosterone to rise significantly and look at how these other 3 studies prove how much your testosterone can rise after getting sexual stimulated...
In a study done by Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna... 10 men viewed a 15 minute pornographic film and the men's testosterone levels increased 100 percent afterwards.

Another study published by Psychoneuroendocrinology used sexually arousing films on 9 males and testosterone levels increased within 10 minutes of sexually arousal.

In a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior... Testosterone was measured every 15 min for 3 hours in 8 men before, during, and after the showing of a sexually explicit movie and there was an average increase of 35% in testosterone so...

Not getting sexual stimulated or aroused for long periods of time can actually decrease your testosterone levels so if you find it hard to get sexually stimulated... You can do all the other 12 things on this page to increase your testosterone which will increase your sex drive or libido making you get sexually stimulated much easier and/or...

You can take a supplement like Horny Goat Weed to make you get sexually stimulated more easier to ramp up your testosterone levels.

11. Make sure you're getting enough Vitamin A, B & E

Vitamins A , B & E (along with Vitamin C & zinc) are all essential in the production of testosterone and not getting enough A, B, & E Vitamins will lead to lower testosterone levels but... If you're eating plenty of fruits & veggies, lean meats and nuts then you shouldn't have to worry too much about supplementing with any extra A, B, & E Vitamins.

12. Don't overheat your testicles (your balls)

Your testicles need to be 94-to-96 degrees or about 2 degrees cooler than your body temperature to function at it's best and produce the most testosterone so...

If you're wearing tight underwear, tight pants, take long HOT baths or do anything thing else to overheat your testicles... You may inhibit your testosterone production so it's best to wear looser clothes like boxers to prevent overheating your balls and did you also know that...

Carrying around excess fat also overheats your testicles so look at #3 again for how to burn fat.

13. Don't Drink any Alcohol & Don't eat any Grapefruit

Even if you had only 2 drinks a day... Alcohol makes it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen making you have more estrogen & less testosterone which will cause you to become more woman-like by making you loose facial & pubic hair, get man boobs and become impotent and...

Alcohol decrease zinc levels in your body (look at #1 again) an just like alcohol - Grapefruits can also make it hard for your liver to breakdown estrogen.

14. Boost Testosterone 40% with D-Aspartate

D-Aspartate is an amino acid that's produced in your pituitary gland and your testicles (or your balls) and it boosts the production of testosterone plus...

D-Aspartate also increases sperm production and the Journal of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology reported that men taking 3 grams of D-Aspartate every morning increased their testosterone by 40%
Look at these to also help increase testosterone...