Best ingredients for men's hormones

A branded, root-only ashwagandha extract standardized to at least 5% withanolides.

Typical: 300–600 mg

A generic, non-branded ashwagandha root extract standardized to at least 5% withanolides.

Typical: 300–600 mg

The organic selenium form found in Brazil nuts, grains, and selenium yeast, in which selenium replaces sulfur in the amino acid methionine.

Typical: 50–200 mcg

Zinc chelated with picolinic acid, a tryptophan metabolite that is proposed to aid mineral transport across the gut wall.

Typical: 10–25 mg

A lipid-sterol extract of saw palmetto berries, standardized to fatty acids, that is the most widely used botanical in men's prostate and urinary-comfort products.

Typical: 320 mg

A root extract from a Southeast Asian shrub used in men's vitality, stress, and libido formulas.

Typical: 200–400 mg

Boron supplied as a blend of citrate, aspartate, and glycinate complexes, the usual form in bone, joint, and men's-hormone formulas.

Typical: 3–10 mg

A generic seed extract of fenugreek, a legume used both as a spice and in traditional medicine.

Typical: 500–600 mg

Shilajit is a blackish resin that seeps from Himalayan and other mountain rocks, formed from centuries of compressed plant matter.

Typical: 250–500 mg

A fruit and aerial-part extract standardized to steroidal saponins, marketed heavily for testosterone and muscle building.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

Diindolylmethane is the acid-condensation product of indole-3-carbinol, a compound released when cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage are chewed.

Typical: 100–300 mg

Horny goat weed is the common name for several Epimedium species used in traditional Chinese herbalism.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

The D-isomer of aspartic acid, involved in signaling within the hypothalamus and testes.

Typical: 3 g

Nettle root is the underground part of Urtica dioica, distinct from the leaf in both chemistry and use.

Typical: 300–600 mg

A branded fenugreek seed extract standardized to 50% fenusides, a saponin glycoside fraction, developed for men's vitality products.

Typical: 600 mg

Pumpkin seed extract is derived from the seeds of Cucurbita pepo and is rich in phytosterols, tocopherols, and zinc-bearing proteins.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

A seed extract of velvet bean standardized to L-DOPA, the direct precursor of dopamine, used in mood, motivation, and men's vitality formulas.

Typical: 250–500 mg

A complex of zinc with the amino acid L-methionine, best known under the OptiZinc trade name, carrying roughly 21% elemental zinc.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Fadogia agrestis is a Nigerian shrub whose stem has a folk reputation as an aphrodisiac.