When most people think of the sort of men who take testosterone supplements, they tend to picture young, fit, guys in their early twenties who are chasing maximum muscle gain.
While this is often the case, there is another major market for testosterone boosters: men over 50 years old. The reason for this is that as men age, their natural testosterone levels begin to drop.
Once this happens, other aspects of your health can be affected. Men with lower testosterone levels tend to sleep less, have higher stress levels, have less muscle mass, and can see an increase in body fat. These factors can all contribute to further losses of testosterone. So, as you can see, maintaining testosterone is crucial as you age.
Because of this, many natural testosterone boosters have come out over the years. Some good, some not so good. In this article we are going to explore what we think is the best natural testosterone booster for men over 50 years old… Performance Lab SPORT T-Booster. We’ll examine its ingredients and benefits and we’ll also look at what else you can do to boost testosterone as you age.
Testosterone and Ageing
Studies have repeatedly shown that as men age, their testosterone levels decline, by around 1% each year from age 30 onwards. I know, that young. So, by the age of 50, you may have already experienced two decades of testosterone loss.
A 1997 study by Morley et al took a look at the testosterone levels of healthy older men and found that between 1980 and 1994 (fourteen years) the average loss of testosterone worked out at 110ng/dl.
The jury is out on whether ageing itself causes the testosterone drop, or whether it’s caused by age-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and obesity.
One study, for instance, showed that T-levels did not decline among healthy older men who had no associated illnesses, though one expert commented that the men in the study were “super selected”. (For which read, rare).
It may be that exercising less, sleeping less, moving less (perhaps through injury or illness), and a lowered sex drive can all lead to a slower metabolism and an increase in body fat. Higher body fat and lowered lean body mass (muscle) can lead to a reduction in testosterone levels. Lower testosterone levels can then cause even more of the above, and it ends up a vicious circle.
Either way, experts agree on one thing – it’s common for testosterone levels to drop as you get older. Men over 50, therefore, would benefit from naturally boosting their testosterone.
So, what are your options?
Boost Your Testosterone Naturally
-If you’re looking to boost your T-levels through exercise, lifting weights, burning excess body fat, and building (or rebuilding) some lean muscle can potentially help to reverse testosterone loss.
-But you’ll also want to improve your sleep, as this can be a major factor in testosterone loss/gain. A 2010 study on ageing in Asian men found that those men who slept less had lower testosterone then their better-rested compatriots. This has been found in many similar studies; less sleep is correlated with less testosterone.
-If you’re looking for a natural sleep supplement to boost the quality of your sleep, you could do worse than choose another Performance Lab product – Performance Lab Sleep. It includes magnesium to calm the nervous system and soothe muscles before sleep; L-tryptophan to boost mood and a natural form of melatonin in Montmorency Tart Cherry. In a market saturated with synthetic forms of melatonin, Performance Lab Sleep is a great, natural choice.
-You’ll also want to consider changing your diet, as studies have shown that diets that are high in fat tend to lead to more testosterone than lower-fat diets. Vegetarian diets are also associated with lower testosterone (probably due to containing no animal fat).
-Finally, there are natural testosterone boosters such as T-Booster from Performance Lab. These natural testosterone boosters are particularly effective for men who have low testosterone rather than men whose testosterone levels are already high.
A natural testosterone booster will contain natural ingredients that can help to raise testosterone directly and indirectly.
Indirect ways to increase testosterone naturally would include reducing stress and cortisol levels, fixing dietary deficiencies, and preventing certain enzymes such as aromatase – that can lower testosterone levels.
Let’s learn more about Performance Lab…
Performance Lab SPORT T-Booster
Performance Lab is a UK-based supplements company that specializes in performance and health-boosting supplements for men and women. Their T-Booster is not specifically aimed at men over 50, indeed, it is often used by young men looking to build muscle as the ingredients will likely work for men of any age.
Men over 50, however, may find certain ingredients in Performance Lab SPORT T-Booster particularly useful, and, as it’s a natural product with a clean formula, it’s not likely to cause any side effects either.
The Ingredients
Ashwagandha (300mg)
Ashwagandha is an herb that has been used in traditional Indian medicine for centuries. It has been shown to boost testosterone in infertile men (who have very low testosterone levels), but is mainly used to lower stress, anxiety, and cortisol (the stress hormone). High cortisol levels can affect sleep quality and can directly lower testosterone, so taking ashwagandha can help to prevent this. It can also boost libido as well as mood, while one study found that it had a positive effect on the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
D-Aspartic Acid Calcium Chelate (300mg)
D-Aspartic Acid is an amino acid that plays a crucial role in the regulation of testosterone. Studies have shown that D-Aspartic Acid can help to increase testosterone levels by stimulating luteinizing hormone production, with one study demonstrating a 42% improvement in testosterone (or reversing 42 years’ worth of losses) in 12 days.
This is therefore a particularly useful ingredient for men aged 50 and over, not least because the results have been seen to last longer in men suffering from infertility, or men with naturally low levels of testosterone, as many older men are prone to have.
Where D-AA also stands out is in its effects on fertility. Sperm count, sperm quality, seminal motility, and male fertility are all increased when D-AA is taken as a supplement.
Mucuna Pruriens (150mg)
Another ingredient that has been shown to increase testosterone, improve mood, lower cortisol, and improve sperm quality/fertility.
Luteolin (30mg)
This ingredient is an antioxidant found in oranges and it can help to inhibit an enzyme known as aromatase. This is important because aromatase converts testosterone into estrogen, meaning that a man with high levels of aromatase will see a marked reduction in their testosterone levels. As we age, our aromatase levels often increase (due to weight gain), making aromatase-inhibitors effective testosterone boosting ingredients.
Zinc (15mg)
There are many benefits associated with zinc supplementation. A reduction in depression is one of the most well documented. However, zinc can also help to increase testosterone in men who are deficient in zinc (usually through exercise but can also be due to diet or illness. There is also some suggestion that we are less able to absorb zinc as we age). Zinc may also help to increase fertility and sperm count.
Magnesium (25mg)
While zinc deficiency is not that common, magnesium deficiency is the second most common deficiency in the Western world. The main benefit of magnesium supplementation is the effect that it has on sleep quality. As we know, the more sleep you have the higher your testosterone levels are. A 2010 study by Nielsen, Johnson & Zeng found that taking magnesium led to an increase in sleep quality in adults over 51 years of age.
Boron (3mg)
A dietary mineral that appears to increase testosterone in both men and women, though more research would be ideal.
Vitamin D (1000IU)
The most common deficiency in developed countries is a vitamin D deficiency and studies have found that taking vitamin D can help to increase testosterone levels in men who were previously deficient.
Vitamin K1 (20mcg) & Vitamin K2 (5mcg)
Vitamin K may help to increase testosterone production by limiting Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), a regulator protein that connects testosterone and estrogen and limits their effectiveness. The less SHBG there is, the more effective your testosterone is going to be.
Vitamin K has also been associated with age-related testosterone loss. Studies have shown that a vitamin K deficiency reduces testosterone production and supplementation of MK-4, a form of vitamin K2, in rats led to a 58% increase in blood testosterone and 88% increases in testes over five weeks. The study concluded: “MK-4… supplementation could reverse the downregulation of testosterone production in elders.”
As you can see, Performance Lab T-Booster contains a number of ingredients that will help to prevent testosterone loss as you age. These ingredients will also help you to sleep better, will help to lower your stress and cortisol levels, and improve your libido and fertility.
Performance Lab Combos
Performance Lab T-Booster is a fantastic supplement in its own right, but the beauty of the Performance Lab range is that they are all designed to suit each other.
You may want to consider combining Performance Lab T-Booster with Performance Lab Whole-Food Multi for Men, a nature-identical multivitamin. This will ensure you are not deficient in any crucial vitamins or minerals, which could be beneficial to your testosterone levels.
Final Thoughts
Many men feel that once they hit 50 it is almost inevitable that there will be a decline in their testosterone levels, and that this will ultimately lead to a loss in strength and muscle mass. This doesn’t have to be the case. Provided that you exercise regularly, sleep well, eat a sensible diet, and look to naturally boost your testosterone levels, you will find that your body can defy age.
A testosterone booster is a great choice for any man who is trying to maintain or even increase their testosterone levels. It will help men to sleep better, exercise better, and it will combine seamlessly with a testosterone-boosting diet. Combined with Performance Lab Sleep, you will get a fantastic, all-round testosterone booster that should make a huge difference in every aspect of your life.
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