Is Tongkat Ali a Useful Supplement? by Jerry Brainum 2/26

 

Among the most sought-after food supplements are those that can boost testosterone levels. Most people in bodybuilding or resistance training know that testosterone has anabolic effects on muscle. That's why anabolic steroid use is so pervasive in bodybuilding and sports. Other studies have shown that men with naturally higher testosterone levels achieve faster gains in muscle size and strength. While there is no doubt that testosterone or anabolic steroids, which are synthetic, modified versions of testosterone, help to build larger muscles and even help to reduce body fat, many are reluctant to use testosterone or anabolic steroids because of the fear of side effects. Possible side effects associated with testosterone and anabolic steroids can range from acne and male pattern baldness to cardiovascular disease and liver pathology. As with any drug, the degree of side effects depends on how much of the drugs are used and the length of time they are used. And while serious side effects related to testosterone or anabolic steroid usage are relatively rare, many people don't want to risk their health by using them.

This reluctance to use testosterone and anabolic steroid drugs led to the development of a category of supplements called "testosterone boosters." These supplements could raise testosterone levels without the risks imposed by using anabolic steroids or testosterone itself. The first testosterone booster to appear on the supplement market was itself a natural hormone produced in the body, dehydroepiandrosterone or DHEA. DHEA is an adrenal steroid produced in larger amounts in the body than any other steroid hormone. "Steroid" is derived from a cholesterol precursor, which makes testosterone, estrogen, and cortisol steroids. The original DHEA supplement was first sold in the early 1980s and was promoted as a testosterone booster. That made sense, since DHEA is involved in the pathway by which the body converts cholesterol into testosterone. However, several problems soon emerged with DHEA supplements. DHEA was produced from a Mexican yam, which was also the source of the original versions of both testosterone and estrogen. The yams contained a substance, diosgenin, that could be converted into testosterone. However, the body couldn't do that, so commercial DHEA was derived from Mexican Yams. However, as the popularity of DHEA increased, unscrupulous supplement vendors began selling products labeled as DHEA that contained only Mexican yams, with no active DHEA. That deception eventually caught the attention of the watchdog Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which removed DHEA from sale in the late 80s.

But as the saying goes, "You can't keep a good hormone down," DHEA came back with the passage of the 1994 Food and Supplement Act, which allowed natural substances to be sold as supplements without the prior testing that drugs must undergo. The newer forms of DHEA were far more pure than the original Mexican Yam versions. While they were popular among those seeking a way to boost testosterone levels, most of the time, the hoped-for increases . . .