Boron is a rare mineral that’s quickly becoming depleted from our natural habitat. Therefore, it’s much harder to obtain from our diet. This makes supplementation a sensible option for increasing our health, performance, and our testosterone levels.
Apart from increasing testosterone, boron can also heal wounds, retain vitamins and minerals, and reduce oxidative stress while increasing brain activity. To find out more, read my full article on boron here.
Right now, I’ll run through the main benefits boron has on T production, and how this can help you, and your goals.
Table of Contents
How Boron Increases Testosterone?
To understand how boron works, let me quickly explain what the endocrine system is: The endocrine system are glands in your body – some in your throat, your testicles, and even in your brain.
Boron stimulates the activity and production of hormones in these glands, releasing more testosterone in men, along with hormones important for women’s reproductive health.
In summary: boron assists in the production of hormones in the endocrine glands, while allowing for more free-flowing testosterone to reach your muscles. This will promote quicker recovery, greater muscle repair, and better sports performance.
Benefits of Boron For testosterone?
- Improves sexual health
- Preserves vitamin and mineral absorption and retention
- Increases free testosterone throughout the body
- Decreases female sex hormones – estrogen
- Stimulates brain activity
- Helps to maintain strong and healthy bones
How Much Boron To Increase Testosterone?
When using supplements to improve your hormones, finding the right dose is important. By supporting your body’s own T producing mechanism will benefit you more than flooding your body with aggressive doses – which could lead to less testosterone being produced.
1-5 mg per day is the optimum amount of boron to use on a regular basis.
In summary, the studies suggest to me that using 1-5 mg per day is the best option. This is due to the way 10 mg per day has been shown to help increase testosterone after one week’s supplementation. But anything beyond four weeks, for example, will actually create a hormonal imbalance.
Boron Testosterone Studies
The results when using boron show positive signs for those who are concerned with strength, vitality, and mental well-being (full article on boron here). As it not only provides direct hormone stimulation in the testicles, but it also increases mineral and vitamin retention that’s been closely linked to improved sexual health.
Below are some of the studies done on boron and testosterone production:
Boron Increases Steroid Hormones
One study showed that after only 1 weeks supplementation of boron (6 mg a day), a “significant increase” in free testosterone was noted – from 11.83 pg/mL to 15.18 pg/mL. (I)
Furthermore, inflammatory biomarkers linked to tumour growth were reduced thanks to boron supplementation – from 1.55 pg/mL to 0.87 pg/mL. This is important for prostate health as men age.
Furthermore, in the same study, dihydrotestosterone, which is the acting form of the testosterone, along with vitamin D, increased – which further promoted an increased hormonal balance among the participants.
Increased Free Testosterone
In one study after one week of boron supplementation at 10mg daily, the male participants reported an average increase in free testosterone levels of 28.3%. (II)
Why is free testosterone important? This is because bound testosterone improves overall hormone levels, and subsequently the characteristics linked to strength and recovery. However, free testosterone is what directly targets muscle growth and repair – as it enters the muscles.
Therefore, the more free-flowing testosterone you can have, the quicker you’ll recover, and the stronger you’ll become when the taking part in resistance training – or any sport for that matter.
Reduced SHBG
This benefit ties in from the point above: Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is a protein that’s found in the blood, where its main role is to bind sex hormones preventing them from being released throughout the body in the blood. While this may be beneficial in some cases, we actually want more free-flowing T.
Boron helps to release bound testosterone, turning it loose throughout your body. This is why the studies show, that boron raises free testosterone levels as it releases T that might otherwise be trapped.
Reduces Estrogen
Another positive to boron supplementation is the reduction of plasma E2 – which is the major female sex hormone. Therefore, if you can lower E2 and raise free testosterone levels, the stronger and healthier you’ll become. This is due to the way high female sex hormones in men is linked to obesity. (III)
Furthermore, boron also reduces estrogen. After one week’s supplementation of 10 mg per day, serum estradiol levels dropped by 39%. However, another study showed that a continuation of 10mg created a hormonal imbalance – which brings me back to the topic of doses. Using lower amounts at 1mg per day is more beneficial to achieve overall positive results.
Therefore, I suggest you using boron consistently but in much smaller amounts. This is because the body doesn’t like aggressive doses of hormone-producing elements – it runs much better off a ‘drip-feed’ approach.
Sport Nutrition Expert Recommendation?
If you’re anything like me, and you like raising your testosterone while avoiding dangerous methods – then you’ll like boron. It’s a powerful mineral that’s been often overlooked in the world of safe and natural testosterone enhancement supplements.
Just like Ashwagandha and D-Aspartic Acid, boron works to supply your body with the right chemical signals that promote healthy testosterone levels.
For doses, look to consume 1-5 mg per day, ideally within a multi-vitamin. This will further improve your health and performance. This is due to the way boron has been linked to mineral and vitamin delivery and retention.
So, can I recommend boron? In my own trial of using this supplement, I found that my energy levels improved, my strength increased, and my body composition was more defined. This, I assume, was down to the increase of testosterone and the many benefits that come from having higher T levels.
To sum it all up, if you’re serious about regaining your health and vitality (especially as a man) then ‘upping’ your T with boron is a viable option – especially as it’s safe to use when used in the right amounts (1mg a day) along with a balanced lifestyle and diet.
For more info, feel free to comment below or sign up for my free ebook and newsletter – to stay up to date on current supplement research.
References:
(I) Naghii, Mohammad Reza, et al. “Comparative Effects of Daily and Weekly Boron Supplementation on Plasma Steroid Hormones and Proinflammatory Cytokines.” Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology: Organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS), U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2011. (source)
(II) Comparative effects of daily and weekly boron supplementation on plasma steroid hormones and proinflammatory cytokines (source – download pdf)
(III) Pasquali, Renato. “Obesity and Androgens: Facts and Perspectives.” Fertility and Sterility, U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2006. (source)
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