19 replies to this topic

[Blackkzeus]

There's a lot of talk on how to increse test on here but I find usually people only recommend herbs, diet, and exercise which are good ways to increase t but they neglect increasing through mental conditioning . Once you understand test and the effect it has on the body you realize it's quite easy to raise it through mental conditioning . Basically test= strength, power. It manifests itself physically And mentally. Physically when test increase you're stronger, faster, duarable( better functioning immune system). In essence you're more resistant to stress. Same goes mentally. Mentally you have more will power, self control, not as emotionally reactive, more focused, confident, less stressed. So if testosterone basically increases power it makes sense that having more control in your life will increase testosterone and you can have more control in your life by doing small things. Like making your bed everyday, only masturbating once a week, going to bed and waking up at a certain time. All these things will instill a sense of control in you and will increase your testosterone. I feel like you could also make huge leaps in gaining test by doing things you normally wouldn't do. Like if you're shy talking to a cute girl or just smiling at them. Also practice doing the right thing. Doing anything that challenges you will raise test. Like meditation for instance. You guys get where I'm going. Having more control in your life will make you feel more powerful and that should increase your test. Sorry for the typos , wrote this on my phone

Edited by Blackkzeus, 17 September 2016 - 05:20 PM.

[gamesguru]

I think this is a case of putting the cart before the horse or confusing the hen and the egg. 

 

The successful person is so because of high T.. he does not increase his T by trying, rather he tries harder because he has more T.  A high T borderline patient may be grossly more "emotionally reactive" than a low T neurotypical.  Furthermore, testosterone is actually a poor indicator of libido and muscularity: a scrawny, contented monk may be high T, while a thick, insatiable schizotype may be under 200 ng/dL.

 

It is worth noting that many of these changes take place during gestation, and are far beyond the therapeutic scope of testosterone replacement therapy or natural enhancement (which typically begins in adulthood).

 

Fetal Testosterone, Socio-Emotional Engagement and Language Development
Brad Farrant, Eugen Mattres, Martha Hickey (2012)

The present study investigated the relations among fetal testosterone, child socio-emotional engagement and language development in a sample of 467 children (235 boys) from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Bioavailable testosterone concentration measured in umbilical cord blood taken at birth was found to be significantly negatively correlated with socio-emotional engagement and vocabulary development for boys but not for girls. Socio-emotional engagement mediated the effect of boys' fetal testosterone levels on their vocabulary development. However, the size of the effects was small, and fetal testosterone and socio-emotional engagement were no longer significant predictors of boys' vocabulary scores after accounting for the effects of other predictors including maternal age and education, parity, and parent–child book reading. It is concluded that further research into these associations is warranted in both typical and atypical development and that this research would profit from including a broader focus on the role that proximal processes such as socio-emotional engagement, joint attention and imitation have in mediating the developmental effects of prenatal factors such as fetal testosterone exposure.

 

Associations of Maternal and Infant Testosterone and Cortisol Levels With Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Infant Socioemotional Problems.
Cho J1, Su X2, Phillips V3, Holditch-Davis D4. (2016)

This study examined the associations of testosterone and cortisol levels with maternal depressive symptoms and infant socioemotional (SE) problems that are influenced by infant gender. A total of 62 mothers and their very-low-birth weight (VLBW) infants were recruited from a neonatal intensive care unit at a tertiary medical center in the southeast United States. Data were collected at three time points (before 40 weeks' postmenstrual age [PMA] and at 3 months and 6 months of age corrected for prematurity). Measures included infant medical record review, maternal interview, biochemical assays of salivary hormone levels in mother-VLBWinfant pairs, and standard questionnaires. Generalized estimating equations with separate analyses for boys and girls showed that maternal testosterone level was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in mothers of boys, whereas infant testosterone level was negatively associated with maternal report of infant SE problems in girls after controlling for characteristics of mothers and infants and number of days post birth of saliva collection. Not surprisingly, the SE problems were positively associated with a number of medical complications. Mothers with more depressive symptoms reported that their infants had more SE problems. Mothers with higher testosterone levels reported that girls, but not boys, had fewer SE problems. In summary, high levels of testosterone could have a protective role for maternal depressive symptoms and infant SE problems. Future research need to be directed toward clinical application of these preliminary results.

 

Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on adaptive mechanisms: changes in hormone levels and responses to stress after 4 months of practice.
MacLean CR1, Walton KG, Wenneberg SR, Levitsky DK, Mandarino JP, Waziri R, Hillis SL, Schneider RH. (1997)

Stress has been implicated in both somatic and mental disorders. The mechanisms by which stress leads to poor health are largely unknown. However, studies in animals suggest that chronic stress causes high basal cortisol and low cortisol response to acute stressors and that such changes may contribute to disease. Previous studies of the Transcendental Meditation ™ technique as a possible means of countering effects of stress have reported altered levels of several hormones both during the practice and longitudinally after regular practice of this technique. In this prospective, random assignment study, changes in baseline levels and acute responses to laboratory stressors were examined for four hormones-cortisol, growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone and testosterone-before and after 4 months of either the TM technique or a stress education control condition. At pre- and post-test, blood was withdrawn continuously through an indwelling catheter, and plasma or serum samples were frozen for later analysis by radioimmunoassay. The results showed significantly different changes for the two groups, or trends toward significance, for each hormone over the 4 months. In the TM group, but not in the controls, basal cortisol level and average cortisol across the stress session decreased from pre- to post-test. Cortisol responsiveness to stressors, however, increased in the TM group compared to controls. The baselines and/or stress responsiveness for TSH and GH changed in opposite directions for the groups, as did the testosterone baseline. Overall, the cortisol and testosterone results appear to support previous data suggesting that repeated practice of the TM technique reverses effects of chronic stress significant for health. The observed group difference in the change of GH regulation may derive from the cortisol differences, while the TSH results are not related easily to earlier findings on the effects of chronic stress.

[psychejunkie]

Forskolin simply increases Testosterone levels by increasing testicles' cAMP and metabolism.

 

it might be possible to increase Testosterone secretion by meditating/focusing on testicles' blood flow to cause raise in their metabolism and hormonal secretion.

Edited by psychejunkie, 18 September 2016 - 04:25 AM.

[gamesguru]

Are you at all suggesting that raising cAMP is not a good way to raise testosterone?  Caffeine[!] and ginkgo[!] probably work the same way (cAMP or generally enhanced cell metabolism), and I'm just fine with that.

 

I believe that's how ginger (about 15g wet) produces a near 18% increase in serum test levels^[1], via vasodilation.  Specifically by inhibiting NO.

Effects of nitric oxide-related agents on rat testicular function.
Adams ML1, Meyer ER, Sewing BN, Cicero TJ. (1994)

The effects of nitric oxide (NO)-related agents on testicular function were examined in male rats with measurements of serum luteinizing hormone, serum testosterone, testicular interstitial fluid (TIF) testosterone, and TIF volumes. Serum and TIF testosterone levels and luteinizing hormone secretion were significantly decreased by the NO donor, isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), and the NO synthase (NOS) substrate, L-arginine methyl ester, a source for the endogenous production of NO. The effects of ISDN on TIF volumes were inconsistent, but L-arginine methyl ester decreased TIF formation in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, ISDN dose dependently suppressed testosterone secretion stimulated by human chorionic gonadotropin treatment, suggesting that the effects on testosterone secretion were independent of changes in secretion of the endogenous gonadotropin luteinizing hormone. ISDN, L-arginine methyl ester, and the endogenous NOS substrate L-arginine completely blocked testosterone secretion stimulated by the NOS inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (NAME), whereas the relatively inactive NOS substrate, D-arginine, only partially blocked NAME-stimulated testosterone secretion. Hydralazine and nicardipine, two vasodilators that do not exhibit prominent NO-related effects, also blocked basal testosterone secretion and testosterone secretion stimulated by the vasoconstrictor

Effect of ginger powder supplementation on nitric oxide and C-reactive protein in elderly knee osteoarthritis patients: A 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Naderi Z1, Mozaffari-Khosravi H1, Dehghan A2, Nadjarzadeh A1, Huseini HF3. (2015)

There is limited evidence that ginger ( shēng jiāng) powder consumption can relieve pain and inflammation because of its special phytochemical properties. This study is aimed at investigating the effect of ginger powder supplementation on some inflammatory markers in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. This is a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial with a follow-up period of 3 months that was conducted on 120 outpatients with moderately painful knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomly divided up into two groups: ginger group (GG) or placebo group (PG). Both groups received two identical capsules on a daily basis for 3 months. Each ginger capsule contained 500 mg of ginger powder; the placebo capsules had 500 mg of starch in them. Serum samples were collected prior to and after the intervention and were stored at -70 °C until the end of the study. Serum concentration of nitric oxide (NO) and hs-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of inflammatory markers (i.e., NO and hs-CRP) prior to the intervention. However, after 3 months of supplementation, serum concentration of NO and hs-CRP decreased in the GG. After 12 weeks, the concentration of these markers declined more in the GG than in the PG. Ginger powder supplementation at a dose of 1 g/d can reduce inflammatory markers in patients with knee osteoarthritis, and it thus can be recommended as a suitable supplement for these patients.

watercress may be useful in controlling iNos, which is implicated in everything inflammatory from cancer to herpes outbreaks

Beta-phenylethyl and 8-methylsulphinyloctyl isothiocyanates, constituents of watercress, suppress LPS induced production of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 in RAW 264.7 macrophages.
Rose P1, Won YK, Ong CN, Whiteman M. (2005)

Beta-phenylethyl (PEITC) and 8-methylsulphinyloctyl isothiocyanates (MSO) represent two phytochemical constituents present in watercress Rorripa nasturtium aquaticum, with known chemopreventative properties. In the present investigation, we examined whether PEITC and MSO could modulate the inflammatory response of Raw 264.7 macrophages to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by assessment of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Overproduction of both nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGE) has been associated with numerous pathological conditions including chronic inflammation and cancer. Our results demonstrate that LPS (1 microg/ml approximately 24 h) induced nitrite and prostaglandin E2 (PGE-2) synthesis in Raw 264.7 cells was attenuated by both isothiocyanates (ITCs) in a concentration-dependent manner. Both PEITC and MSO decreased (iNOS) and (COX-2) protein expression levels leading to reduced secretion of both pro-inflammatory mediators. Interestingly, the reduction in both iNOS and COX-2 expression were associated with the inactivation of nuclear factor-kappaB and stabilization of IkappaBalpha. Taken together our data gives further insight into the possible chemopreventative properties of two dietary derived isothiocyanates from watercress.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase in the rat testis: evidence for potential roles in both normal function and inflammation-mediated infertility.
O'Bryan MK1, Schlatt S, Gerdprasert O, Phillips DJ, de Kretser DM, Hedger MP. (2000)

In vitro data have indicated that nitric oxide (NO) inhibits Leydig cell testosterone production, suggesting that NO may play a role in the suppression of steroidogenesis and spermatogenic function during inflammation. Consequently, we investigated expression of the inflammation-inducible isoform of NO synthase (iNOS) in the inflamed adult rat testis and the ability of a broad-spectrum inhibitor of NO production, L-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, to prevent Leydig cell dysfunction during inflammation. Unexpectedly, immunohistochemical and mRNA data established that iNOS is expressed constitutively in Leydig cells and in a stage-specific manner in Sertoli, peritubular, and spermatogenic cells in the normal testis. Expression was increased in a dose-dependent manner in all these cell types during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. In noninflamed testes, treatment with the NO synthase inhibitor reduced testicular interstitial fluid formation and testosterone production without any effect on serum LH levels. Administration of the inhibitor did not prevent the suppression of testicular interstitial fluid and testosterone production that occurs within 6 h after LPS treatment. Collectively, these data indicate a novel role for iNOS in autocrine or paracrine regulation of the testicular vasculature, Leydig cell steroidogenesis, and spermatogenesis in the normal testis. The data suggest that increased NO is not the major cause of acute Leydig cell dysfunction in the LPS-treated inflammation model, although a role for NO in this process cannot be excluded, particularly at other time points. Moreover, up-regulation of iNOS may contribute to the seminiferous epithelium damage caused by LPS-induced inflammation.

[zorba990]

One basic element to look at at is retinol. Some multi vitamins and diets are low in this, especially for athletes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm..../pubmed/2916988

"
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989 Jan 31;158(2):400-6.
Effect of retinol and retinoic acid on testosterone production by rat Leydig cells in primary culture.
Chaudhary LR1, Hutson JC, Stocco DM.
Author information
Abstract
Adult rat Leydig cells, purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, were used to determine the effect of retinol and retinoic acid on steroidogenesis. It was found that both retinoic acid and retinol stimulated testosterone production. Although retinol was less potent than retinoic acid, retinol had the greater efficacy. When these retinoids were tested in the presence of a maximal dose of LH, it was found that retinol inhibited LH-stimulated testosterone synthesis whereas retinoic acid had no similar effect. These results demonstrate for the first time that retinol and retinoic acid have a direct effect on Leydig cell steroidogenesis in culture suggesting that retinoids play a role in the maintenance and regulation of Leydig cell function.
PMID: 2916988"

[zorba990]

And some thoughts from Ray Peat forum on the safety of higher doses

https://raypeatforum...igh-doses.3212/

[psychejunkie]

 

Are you at all suggesting that raising cAMP is not a good way to raise testosterone?  Caffeine[!] and ginkgo[!] probably work the same way (cAMP or generally enhanced cell metabolism), and I'm just fine with that.

 

I believe that's how ginger (about 15g wet) produces a near 18% increase in serum test levels^[1], via vasodilation.  Specifically by inhibiting NO. 

 

I did only example something simple and known.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/16129715

 

anyway,

I thought Op wanted to know non-supplemental/drug solution to raising Testosterone levels only by mind-flow or behavior modification!

So I suggested some mind-body meditation on Testicles in order to change blood-flow and metabolism.

Edited by psychejunkie, 19 September 2016 - 04:07 AM.

[Junk Master]

If he did want to know if it was possible to raise testosterone by behavior/mind flow, that's an interesting topic!

 

But probably in the wrong forum?  It's a little like asking about the best behavior/mind flow techniques for raising intelligence, or improving memory.  Interesting, of course, touched on here during numerous occasions; but, aren't we a bit more, well, out there?

 

I mean, this is the forum where people inject serum made from pigs brains, and make their own c60/OO-- buying carbon nano-tubes online.  Not to mention group buys for RC Chems and the proliferation of snorting intranasal insulin bought over the counter at Walmart.

 

Ok.  Rant done.  Carry on.  Lol.

[Heisok]

Blackkzeus this quote from the original post is fallacious, unless you have some sort of evidence. "So if testosterone basically increases power it makes sense that having more control in your life will increase testosterone and you can have more control in your life by doing small things" Because doing something might be due to Testosterone, does not indicate that doing that thing raises Testosterone.

 

Do you have any studies?

 

gamesguru, great comments as usual. In the TM study, Testosterone was not significantly moved one way or another in the meditation group, if I read that part of the study correctly. I wonder if some of the other types of actions sugested by the O.P. could be stress inducing, and perhaps raise some hormones. Not sure if that makes sense.

 

Junk Master, you have a point, but Longecity is also a place where some breathe concentrated Oxygen, stand at their desk during work, shine little lights directly on their head and into their eyes,  and on and on. All ideas are generally taken seriously, with evidence that is. I am not knocking any of the the things I mentioned just above.

 

All just my opinion.

Edited by Heisok, 20 September 2016 - 01:33 AM.

[Blackkzeus]

JUSt simply standing in empowering positions raises testosterone, so why wouldn't what I suggest raise it as well?

[PeaceAndProsperity]

JUSt simply standing in empowering positions raises testosterone, so why wouldn't what I suggest raise it as well?

I use to think this way as well but now it's clear that it's just not true, and if it's true then it's true only in the smallest sense that in a few seconds or minutes there is an insignificant increase in androgens.

Yes, prisoners and gang members all seem to be unusually buff and dominating compared to their genetic predisposition in terms of hormone production, so this suggests that exerting intimidation and facing the constant threat of it may positively impact androgen production. Also, we all know that after we've won a fight against someone we do feel more masculine and other signs of heightened androgens.

 

But there's a reason that some violent men use testosterone injections and that's because they know that deluding themselves into thinking there's nothing to be afraid of when fighting others just doesn't work. Self-delusion does not raise hormone production to fix the issue of low hormone output. They need to supplement with it.

[Heisok]

RatherBeUnknown,

 

your thought changing "I use to think this way as well but now it's clear that it's just not true, and if it's true then it's true only in the smallest sense that in a few seconds or minutes there is an insignificant increase in androgens." seems to also be reflected in research.

 

A 2010 Study by Carney, Cuddy and Yap showed lower Cortisol, and higher Testosterone.

A 2014 study by Ranehill, Draber et al. showed no effect whatsoever on Hormones. The first outcome is a topic of a very popular Ted talk by Amy Cuddy. Could this popular video  be why the belief is held by some? Furthermore, according to a big think article original scientific findings are cited over 10 times more often than rebuttals.

 

" Assessing the Robustness of Power Posing: No Effect on Hormones and Risk Tolerance in a Large Sample of
Men and Women
Eva Ranehill, Anna Dreber , Magnus Johannesson,Susanne
Leiberg, Sunhae Sul and Roberto A. Weber
Department of Economics, University of Zurich; Department of Economics, Stockholm School of
Economics; and  Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College

"In a growing body of research, psychologists have studied how physical expression influences psychological processes
(see Riskind & Gotay, 1982; Stepper & Strack, 1993, for early contributions to this literature).
A recent strand of literature within this field has focused on how physical postures that express power and dominance (power poses) influence psychological
and physiological processes, as well as decision making (e.g., Carney, Cuddy, & Yap, 2010; Cesario & McDonald, 2013; Yap, Wazlawek,
Lucas, Cuddy, & Carney, 2013). Carney et al. found that power posing affected levels of hormones such as testosterone and cortisol, financial risk taking,
and self-reported feelings of power in a sample of 42 participants (randomly assigned to hold poses suggesting either high or low power).

We conducted a conceptual replication study with a similar methodology as that employed by Carney et al. but using a substantially larger sample (n= 200) and
a design in which the experimenter was blind to condition. Our statistical power to detect an effect of the magnitude reported by Carney et al. was more than 95%
(see the Supplemental Material available online). In addition to the three outcome measures that Carney et al. used, we also studied two more behavioral tasks (risk taking in the loss
domain and willingness to compete).

Consistent with the findings of Carney et  al., our results showed a significant effect of power posing on
self-reported feelings of power. However, we found no significant effect of power posing on hormonal levels or in any of the three behavioral tasks."

 

The big think article indicates that power posing is a waste of time, but this is not what the rebuttal study showed. The Ranehill, Draber et al. study did demonstrate a feeling benefit.

 

Here is a link to the big think article: http://bigthink.com/...r-years-to-come

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Heisok, 20 September 2016 - 03:27 PM.

[gamesguru]

Re: "there's a reason violent men inject test", Yeah it's mostly because they get in fights and test makes you stronger (within weeks).  Having that insurance marker does wonders for your confidence (e.g. bulletproof vest).

 

As for the power posing, anything from yoga, to diet, to standing at work may have a placebo effect... never underestimate the power of the mind, especially when it belongs to a homeopathic housefrau sipping coffee from bed to re-runs of Supernatural.

[Junk Master]

BTW the reason prisoners act like they have higher test is that most do, and it's probably a contributing factor to why they are in jail.  Here's just one of numerous studies on women prisoners--

 

https://www.scienced...70927110900.htm

 

 

Gross oversimplification, of course.

 

I think this quote from http://www.scientifi...cause-violence/ is hilarious--

 

"It has been suggested that the antisocial behaviors related to high testosterone are a function of the manner by which dominance is maintained in these groups," says Robert Josephs of the University of Texas at Austin. In other words, if researchers were to study other groups of folks, say the rich and famous, they might discover that testosterone is connected not to violence, but to who drives the biggest SUV or has the nicest lawn. As Josephs put it: "Perhaps slipping a shiv into your neighbor's back might play in the penitentiary, but it probably won't earn you any status points in Grosse Pointe."

 

 

[gamesguru]

Dude omg, forget Gross Point.  It's a tiny boat-village where coffee costs $7 and the girls (who still live with their parents) are more stuck up than in Seattle.

 

But I don't see the connection between earning and anti-social behavior.  There's a difference between having a nice house, rubbing it in, being an overall cold, stuck up jerk... and having a nice house, but being a pleasant gent, not making a big deal of your wealth, inviting others frequently, being charismatic, brotherly, etc.  Both guys are high motivation, high T, one just happens to be a materialistic twat.

[Junk Master]

Gamesguru, 

 

That's kind of the point of the satire, no? Shanking someone in Grosse Point doesn't translate into an increase in social status v. in prison, and it turns out that high T individuals aren't necessarily more violent, just more motivated to achieve that status.

[psychejunkie]

Now that our minds can cause placebo-effects, why don't we use it for our own benefits?

I know placebo-effect is not the real deal, but it works people!

simply meditating on your balls and believing on Testosterone raise, would increase your Testosterone secretion.

 

about the prisoners,

its again the matter of "which came first, chicken or the egg?" problem.

do they became criminals due to their high level of androgen or the opposite? 

[gamesguru]

Maybe violence and anti-social behavior are independent of androgen levels, like they are of financial status.  Also, the placebo effect only works as long as you remain faithful, and I'm a very doubtful guy.  Prefer to go with the ginger and ginkgo and all that laboratory-confirmed mumbo jumbo.

[Wagner83]

What about neurotransmitters, family and life experiences for behaviour? Pretty sure these would play a part it's not only about who's got the highest T.

[Heisok]

In regards to power posing effecting Testosterone. It looks like it got worse for the power pose researchers. Aside from the lack of replication of the Carney, Cuddy and Yap results,  Apparently they appear to have purposely and inadvertently effected the data.  P-Hacking for one. This is from the letter that co-author Dana R. Carney posted as part of her C.V. on the U.C. Berkeley web site. The link is at the top. It is a short 2 page letter.

 

http://faculty.haas....arney/vita.html

 

"My position on “Power Poses”
Regarding: Carney, Cuddy & Yap (2010).
Reasonable people, whom I respect, may disagree. However since early 2015 the evidence has been mounting
suggesting there is unlikely any embodied effect of nonverbal expansiveness (vs. contractiveness)—i.e.., “power poses”
on internal or psychological outcomes. As evidence has come in over these past 2+ years, my views have updated
to reflect the evidence. As such, I do not believe that “power pose” effects are real."
 

The following is a link to an article discussing the issue:

http://nymag.com/sci...s-are-real.html

 

Edited by Heisok, 10 October 2016 - 12:36 AM.