Is Herbal Testosterone Replacement Therapy Effective For Hypogonadism?

Often the diagnosis of low testosterone levels, leads to the next best solution i.e. hormone replacement therapy. In this therapy, the primary male sex hormone, testosterone, is given to the patient in suitable consumable forms (i.e. tablets, creams, gels or pallets).

Hormone replacement therapy or HRT is very beneficial as it helps increase the serum testosterone levels. But there is a catch to HRT; it tends to suppress the production of testosterone that naturally occurs within the body. For this reason, HRT kind of becomes a lifetime thing as once it is started, natural testosterone production gets disrupted and HRT becomes the only means of maintaining the normal levels of testosterone.

Due to this major drawback, most men with reduced testosterone levels don’t opt for HRT. They prefer to naturally stimulate the testosterone production by working on healthy lifestyle modifications, proper dietary intake and adequate supplementation.

However herbal medicine has also something to contribute in this case. Most men often choose herbal testosterone replacement therapy to elevate the levels of testosterone. But is it an alternative to HRT? And does it yield any significant results?

Herbal Supplements For the Management Of Hypogonadism

Herbal supplements are not the ideal substitute of HRT but there are some herbs that have been reported to increase the levels of testosterone. These herbs include:

• Ashwagandha
• Forskolin
• Mucuna pruriens

Studies have revealed that the above listed herbs can elevate the testosterone levels up to 20-80% in majority of the cases, which is good news. This also proves that using herbal supplements on a routine basis can bring about prominent results. However as a solo treatment option, herbal supplements cannot match the results of synthetic HRT that significantly increases the serum testosterone levels.

Elevating testosterone levels without the replacement therapy of synthetic hormone is actually possible but it’s no piece of cake for sure. It is quite challenging to begin with but with adequate exercise, well balanced nutritional diet and a healthy lifestyle, it can become more of a reality.

The bottom line is, herbal testosterone replacement therapy is not sufficient enough on its own to actually replace or even boost the serum testosterone levels up to the desired mark. Whereas, hormone replacement therapy does actually elevate the serum testosterone levels and that is why it is termed as a ‘’replacement therapy’’. But with its drawback, people often choose rather more practical approaches to boost testosterone levels naturally. With that being said, herbal supplements along with lifestyle changes, exercise and proper nutrition make a powerful equation to naturally boost the testosterone levels.

References

• Fogel, T. A. (2014). The Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy on the Human Body
• Nieschlag, E. (2015). Current topics in testosterone replacement of hypogonadal men. Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 29(1), 77-90.
• Lawrence, K. L., Stewart, F., & Larson, B. M. (2017). Approaches to male hypogonadism in primary care. The Nurse Practitioner, 42(2), 32.