Taurine – It’s not just for old rats

Here’s an interesting study you can read here.

Taurine enhances the sexual response and mating ability in aged male rats.
Abstract

It has been demonstrated that taurine is abundant in male reproductive organs, and can be biosynthesized by testis, but the taurine concentration will reduce with aging. The levels of serum LH, T, NOS, and NO were found to be obviously increased by taurine supplementation in aged rats in our previous study. In addition, aging will result in a significant decline in sexual response and function, which may be attributed to the androgen deficiency. Furthermore, NO has been proposed as a crucial mediator of penile erection. That makes us hypothesize that there is potential relationship between taurine decline and erection dysfunction in aged males. So the primary aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of taurine on male sexuality in rats. Taurine was offered in water to male aged (20 months old) rats for 110 days. The effects of taurine on the sexual response, mating ability, levels of serum reproductive hormones, and penile NOS and NO levels were investigated. The results showed that taurine can significantly reduce the EL and ML; obviously increase the ERF, MF, IF, and EJF; stimulate the secretion of GnRH, LH, and T; and elevate penis NOS and NO level in aged rats. The results indicated that taurine can enhance the sexual response and mating ability in aged male rats by increasing the level of testosterone and NO, but the exact mechanism of which needs to be further investigated.

Increased testosterone and nitric oxide from Taurine supplementation? That’s amazing!

Taurine can be found in the popular “Red Bull” drinks. I think about 1 gram’s worth per serving.

Taurine is also quite inexpensive. Here’s a good bulk source for it:

Stud Science Part 1 – Eat Like An Alpha Male

In this stud science part 1 – Eat like an alpha male, we address a combination of foods that can turn even a weak “sand in face” beta theta gamma male into a real stud. Sound crazy? Not if you pay attention to science and carefully select the foods you eat. Eating the right combination of foods can make women swarm around you and turn you into a bona fide stud. Here’s how:

First, scientists have discovered that a common food in your refrigerator right now has the capability to make you seem more attractive to the opposite sex. Yes, that’s right! Celery contains chemicals that not only boost your testosterone levels making you more of an alpha male, but also helps you release the right pheromones that make you appear studly.

According to a recent fox news report: celery, which naturally contains a male steroid hormone called androstenene. While widely regarded as “rabbit food,” eating celery supposedly causes your sweat glands to release the pheromone androstenol, which is often used in sprays and colognes as an aphrodisiac to attract women.
You can find the whole report here.

Now, looking like a stud to the ladies will do you no good if you can’t follow through. This is where Celery does double duty. In this blog, we talked about dietary nitrates and nitric oxide. Celery is very high in nitrates. The bacteria in your digestive track converts these nitrate salts into nitric oxide improving the strength of your erections.

To help things along, you should add brown rice to your diet. Recently it was discovered that brown rice increases the production of nitric oxide in the body. I can’t find a scientific study to back up that claim, but what I did find was a japanese study that showed brown rice reducted angiotensin II levels. You can find it here.
New research by Satoru Eguchi, Associate Professor of Physiology, suggests that a component in a layer of tissue surrounding grains of brown rice may work against angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is an endocrine protein and a known culprit in the development of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis
Reducing levels of angiotensin II helps men with erectile dysfunction. Read about it here

Parsley is another interesting addition to the diet to make you more studly. As men get older, their testicles make less testosterone due to inflammation caused by the COX-2 inflammation cascade. Anti-inflammatories could help, but they also block the good chemicals like prostaglandins and could mess up other things over time. Read this from ergo-log.com here.
It explains how a chemical in parsely (and in celery) called apigenin will block inflammation at a lower level and allow your testes to work and make testosterone.

So there you have it in part 1. Eat the foods above everyday and you could be well on your way to studly alpha male dominance over your less informed peers.
You read about it here on tonicquest.com!!

I Love Nutribullet The Best Way To Eat Superfoods

I absolutely love my nutribullet. For those living in isolation who have never heard of it, you can learn about it here . Nutribullet is the best way to eat superfoods. Sometimes I’ll throw my vitamin capsules in there. Pure vitamin C is a good one for this.

It’s basically a blender running at 600 Watts. A new version just came out at 900 Watts which I will get when my current one needs replacing. I use it everyday to make smoothies. I’m not really sure why it’s better than a basic $20 blender, maybe it’s the shape of the container. The marketing hype says it’s “cyclonic action” that blends the contents better than a blender, but I’m not entirely sure about that claim. Nevertheless, it works great, easy to clean and a super way to drink your vegetables with skin, seeds and fiber (unlike traditional juicers). I finder juicers ridiculously hard to clean and feel you lose all the beneficial fiber.

The nutribullet is the best way to add superfoods like cacao beans, gelatinized maca, goji berry and others to your diet. You can’t do this with a juicer. Load up the plastic container with some vegetables and your choice of superfood with some water, almond or coconut milk and you’re good to go.

I love to add fresh ginger and turmeric. You can get these at your local asian supermarket. I am thankful everyday that I live near several Patel Brothers Supermarkets where you can get many hard to find items like fresh turmeric root and other herbs. You can learn more about Patel Brothers here .

Let’s talk about cacao (chocolate beans). It’s an awesome superfood that you can add to your nutribullet for an extra anti-oxidant and nutritional punch. A great place to get a pound of the stuff is here:

These little crunchy nibs disappear in your smoothie. You can also snack on them (two travel bags are included in the purchase) or add them to salads, nut mixes and yogurt. Cacao increases nitric oxide levels in your body for blood flow and immune system benefits. The good things cacao does to your body are too numerous to mention here, but I bet if you are reading this blog you already know how good for you it is. All i’m saying is put it in your smoothie as a really easy way to add it to your daily regimen.

Sometimes I’ll make a basic smoothie with frozen strawberry, whey protein powder and the cacao nibs. It’s amazingly good!
Enjoy.

Pistachio Nuts Testosterone And Erectile Dysfunction

A study showed that a 3 week “pistachio nut” diet improved erectile function in men and at the same time improved cholesterol and hdl/ldl levels. However, interestingly enough, testosterone levels were lowered.
You can read the study here.

We have shown that 3-week pistachio diet applied to patients with ED resulted in a significant improvement in erectile function parameters (PCDU parameters and IIEF scores) with additional improvement in serum lipid parameters without any side effects. Further studies are needed with increased number of patients and longer follow-up evaluating the relationship between pistachio nuts and ED pathogenesis.

In the study, participants ate about 100 grams of pistachio nuts at lunch for three weeks.
pistachio nuts
Here’s another study that showed pistachio nuts improved endothelial function in humans, you can read by clicking here.

In this trial, we demonstrated that a pistachio diet improved blood glucose level, endothelial function, and some indices of inflammation and oxidative status in healthy young men. These findings are in accordance with the idea that nuts, in particular pistachio nuts, have favorable effects beyond lipid lowering that deserve to be evaluated with prospective follow-up studies.

So man up and eat some nuts everyday!!

Bigger Balls Shinier Hair With….Yogurt!

Here’s an interesting research study.
Scientists researching the effects of yogurt on obesity and weight loss fed two groups of mice a Junk Food Diet and a Regular Diet. Then they gave half the mice in each group extra vanilla yogurt.
The mice eating the yogurt grew bigger testicles, had shinier hair and a “swagger” about them. They mated with more females and got to them faster than their counterparts who did not have yogurt.
What does this mean? The researchers think it was due to the probiotics in the yogurt.
They probably need to do more studies to figure out if yogurt increased testosterone or grew the testicles through some other mechanism.
According to the article:
Reflecting on their unpublished results, Erdman and Alm think that the probiotic microbes in the yogurt help to make the animals leaner and healthier, which indirectly improves sexual machismo.
The findings could have implications for human fertility. In ongoing work, a team led by Harvard nutritional epidemiologist Jorge Chavarro has looked at the association between yogurt intake and semen quality in men. “So far our preliminary findings are consistent with what they see in the mice,” Chavarro says.

Bigger Balls Shinier Hair With….Yogurt!

Raise Testosterone Naturally Through Posture

Believe it or not, there’s a very simple way to raise testosterone naturally and reduce cortisol. You don’t have to ingest anything nor do you have to take any injections! You can raise your testosterone levels by merely assuming a “power pose” for 2 minutes. Power poses are natural postures you assume when you feel dominant or powerful. For example, standing with your fists on your hips or with your arms in the air like a victory pose. The research proves you can boost testosterone by only doing this!
Here’s a awesome video of Amy Cuddy speaking about the research:

If you find yourself hunched over, collapsed or submissive, you’re not only feeling low, your cortisol levels are higher than they should be and your testosterone levels are low! Don’t do it anymore! Straighten up and take up space. As Amy says in the video, “Fake it till you make it!”.
Btw, I didn’t know that you can feel happier by faking a smile too. Very interesting.

Make Your Own Chinese Spring Wine Tonic

The chinese are well known for making tonics for drinking and for applying to injuries. Anyone who has practiced chinese martial arts is familiar with ‘dit da jow’ or ‘hit medicine’. Dit da jow is usually a secret combination of herbs soaked in alcohol for several months to years and applied to injuries to speed up healing.

Taken internally, the tonics are often called ‘Spring Wine’. You can make your own chinese tonic spring wine with just a little bit of money and lots of time! I believe these home brews are much more powerful than anything you can buy in a bottle or pill at an herb shop.

I love to drink Shou Wu Chih and decided to make my own a few months ago. I bought a bottle in a chinatown herb shop and asked the owner to make up a batch of the raw herbs so I can soak them in rice wine and enjoy a fresh powerful home made batch. I had to buy 4 bottles of the highest percentage alcohol (38%) rice wine at the liquor store around the corner. When I got home, I added a bit of Rou Cong Gong, baji tian, du zhong and American Ginseng to add some kick to it. I tried a bit the other day to see how it was progressing and it was powerful! First of all, I slept like a baby after drinking a few shots. It was so strong, I had to mix some raw honey in there to make it palatable. Also, I have to say that this stuff increases nitric oxide production in the body. After a few days on this, my thinking was clearer, I easily felt 10 years younger. It makes you feel strong and powerful. So now I have a gallon of this stuff to work through! I didn’t measure my testosterone levels, but if I had to go by physical indicators, this stuff boosts testosterone levels!!

So, not stopping there, I found a great recipe for another batch here. This site has a jpg you can print out with the formula. It costs $15 in the united states to make up this batch (plus the alcohol). The owner remarked that this was a great formula and was really impressed that came in the store with it. However, I wanted to kick it up a few more notches. I added deer anter glue, korean ginseng, shou wu (fo ti) and goji berries. The blogger, happyhomemaker88 also had the same idea to add goji berries but complained they soaked up a bit of the wine.

The herbalist was impressed with my knowledge of chinese herbs and confirmed those were good additions. I wanted to do even more but was told “enough”..it was strong enough! Now I have to let this stuff soak a few months. I’ll try an early taste in 2-3 months and give a good 6 months.

Better Ejaculate Volume Sperm and Testosterone with Soy Lecithin

I was shopping at Vitamin Shoppe the other day and decided to pick up a jar of Soy Lecithin Granules because of the choline content of lecithin.

You can get it on amazon here:

What a surprise when I found out that lecithin can improve ejaculate volume, sperm and fertility! In addition it can also improve testosterone levels! These studies were conducted in rabbits, but nevertheless are extremely interesting. You can read it here.
Here’s the abstract:
A total of 28 adult V-line rabbits were fed ad libitum a control diet or a diet supplemented with 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% soybean lecithin (SL) for 12 weeks. Bucks that received 0.5%, 1.0% or 1.5% dietary SL had a higher ejaculate volume, mass motility, sperm concentration, total sperm output and total motile sperm. Dietary SL reduced the percentage of dead sperm and increased the normal sperm, and this concurred with an increase in blood testosterone concentration. Blood and seminal plasma total lipid, acid phosphatase and seminal plasma alkaline phosphatase were significantly increased because of inclusion of SL. Interestingly, SL reduced blood and seminal plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances while increasing blood and seminal plasma glutathione content, glutathione S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity. Conception rate and litter size at birth and weaning were also significantly improved. Practically, it could be suggested that SL is a suitable supplement for improving semen quality, antioxidant status, reproductive traits and the economic efficiency of V-line rabbit bucks and 1% is an adequate concentration.

Low Carb For Faster Weightloss

Low Carb diets are making a huge comeback after news that an Atkins style diet can burn up to 300 calories a day more than a low fat diet! However, there’s a catch–researchers are saying inflammation markers and cortisol could increase. A good compromise? They recommend a low glycemic diet instead. It won’t burn as much extra calories as a really low carb diet, but you won’t have as much cortisol and inflammation.
Check out this newstory here.

Easy way to boost testosterone

Want an easy way to boost testosterone levels? You don’t need to take any pills or injections. Simply add resistance training to your regular routine.
Check out this this study.
Here’s the abstract:

RESULTS:

The intra-groups comparison for testosterone and hGH revealed a significant increase in 80%-6RM and 80%-12RM. Cortisol levels was significantly higher in 80%-12RM and T:C ratio in 80% 6 RM when compared Pre and Post values. Inter-groups comparison showed higher hGH and cortisol levels and lower T:C ratio for 80% 12 RM. There was no statistically significant different between 80%-6RM and 80%-12RM for testosterone.
CONCLUSION:

The present study confirms that the volume of resistance training can be an important factor in the modulation of acute hormonal responses.

There are many studies like this that show an immediate surge in testosterone levels after weight training. Many people recommend squats as the best one to do. The muscles impacted by a squat can total up to 2/3 of your total muscle mass. Start low and build up gradually. There is no rush and you don’t want to hurt yourself. By starting low and building up gradually, your tendons and joints will be able to support you when you start hitting the heavy weights.
Get started today!

Real Cinnamon and Honey

Many people are mixing cinnamon with honey for health benefits, weight loss, acne, hair growth and arthritis. A google search of “honey and cinnamon” brings up the same post about the benefits of this combination. It’s almost comical the way so many websites repost the same exact post. Cinnamon has made the news recently for its ability to reduce blood sugar and as a powerful antioxidant. However, be really careful with cinnamon. I found out there is a “real cinnamon” and then a similar substance that tastes like cinnamon called ‘Cassia’. Cassia is what most of us in America think is cinnamon. It’s not. What’s worse is that Cassia contains high amounts of Coumarin, which is toxic to our livers and kidneys. Taking too much cassia, thinking you’re doing something good for the body, can actually kill you!! It’s rat poison!
I found a site that shows a picture of the two and how to tell the difference at this link.
Cassia is dark and thick like a tree bark. It looks like one thick hollow tube. Real cinnamon looks like rolls of paper. It’s very ‘cigar’ like. Real cinnamon comes from Ceylon and is sometimes called ‘Ceylon Cinnamon’. I found out that most Mexican Cinnamon is imported from Ceylon. Saigon Cinnamon, Chinese Cinnamon and most unmarked Cinnamon in the supermarket is really Cassia–the ‘bad stuff’.
Be careful!

Onions Triple Testosterone Levels?

I heard onions could triple testosterone levels and found this article at the ergo log.
Tonight I tried to juice an onion. If you’re thinking of trying onion juice be prepared for an experience. I juiced some beets and carrots then threw in the onion. It took about 10 minutes for my eyes to stop tearing. The juice didn’t taste too bad because the beets are delicious and sweet. However, the after taste of the onion juice is a little hard to take. I’m not sure I can do this with any regularity.

Topical Onion juice has reportedly helped hair growth, so there must be a nitric oxide effect from the juice.

Let me know if anyone one of you try it.

Beautiful Thinking is important

It’s important to be aware of your habitual thoughts. Images in the mind can trigger a cocktail of chemicals into your bloodstream. As mentioned in the e-book, ‘Beautiful Thinking’, some women will release oxytocin if they think about a hungry and crying baby. It triggers an instinct to nurse. Growth hormone release has been linked with positive emotions. The other day, I realized that the opposite must also be true. If we imagine bad things happening (the typical worry wort) we must be flooding our systems with bad chemicals. If we become addicted to imagining the worst outcome or brooding over what happened or what could have happened, it’s like having a diet heavy in junk food..or worse. We depress our immune systems with chronic bad thoughts.
How simple it is to simply choose to have some positive thoughts..daydream! It will extend your life. Create happy thoughts like you would take vitamins. Our bodies create the chemicals and tonics we need. We don’t have to get substances from the outside. The Beautiful Thinking ebook may seem very simple or very obvious, however it’s probably the single most important thing you can do for great health and to stay young.
Do we really need to age or are we ‘hypnotized’ into believing we have to get old a certain way? Interesting thoughts to ponder. In the meantime, take some time to send your cells and organs some beautiful mental images.

Vitamin D3 Testosterone Booster

Vitamin D3
I found out that Vitamin D3 is actually not a vitamin per se, but a hormone!
Wikipedia has alot of great things to say about this important substance.
Scientists are finding that we need a lot more vitamin D3 than previously estimated. People are taking 4,6,8,10000 or more units daily. Some estimates indicate we make up to 20000 units when exposed to UVB rays from the sun for a 1/2 hour or more.
If you live in the north and/or don’t get much sun, you need to include this in your supplement portfolio.

Pumpkin Seed Powder — What?

I found an interesting tonic in a local supermarket. It was a bag of pumpkin seed powder. Since it was only about $1.20, I decided to throw it in the basket and try it out. To my surprise, it tasted delicious. It’s a taste that’s hard to describe, obviously nutty like peanut butter, but oddly foreign. It’s dark green in color too. Weird but good.
I always knew pumpkin seeds had the reputation for boosting testosterone and libido (commonly thought to be because of it’s high zinc content) but I was surprised to find that there is much research regarding pumpkin seeds and urinary incontinence and for a healthy prostrate. The bladder control is due to pumpkin seed being able to boost nitric oxide levels. Read this:
rabbits and pumpkin seeds.
Try this stuff out and let me know what you think!

Zinc — Deep Sleep and Long Dreams

Want to have some long and intense dreams? Take this stuff:
Optizinc.

OptiZinc for Vivid Dreams
OptiZinc for Vivid Dreams
.
This supplement is crazy.
First of all, I can’t say enough good things about Zinc. This mineral is a must have in every person’s tonic arsenal. I’ll write more about great skin, energy, male performance and recovery in future posts. But for now, take 1 or 2 tablets before sleep and you will not only sleep deeply, but will have the most vivid and long dreams you’ve ever had. I feel like I’m dreaming for hours. You’ll awake refreshed..not like you’ve been tossing and turning all night either.
I’ve taken other forms of zinc, and they are all good. Especially the liquid ones. However, optizinc (which is a supposedly highly absorbable version of zinc) is the one that affects me the most in the sleeping and dreaming department.

It’s simply AMAZING!

Resveratrol — Say Yes to more testosterone

So Resveratrol has gotten a lot of good press in recent years. If you’ve been buried under a rock or just came out of a coma and don’t know what it is, it’s a substance found in red wine and peanuts that supposedly can switch on your longevity genes and counteract the bad effects of a high fat high calorie diet. You heard of calorie restriction? This stuff is suppose to mimic all the good effects without the dieting.

Read this because I don’t feel like rehashing the same information over and over. Suffice to say, this stuff has great potential. Unfortunately, it’s crazy expensive too.
I found a good source of a highly pure powder at this place: purebulk.com.

98% pure resveratrol
98% pure resveratrol

You’ll find 50% and 98% pure powders. The 50% powders are cheaper but taste pretty bad and are brown in color. The 98% pure powders are expensive, but are white in color and the taste is mild.

I can’t say it’s tasteless, but you can swig it down with some Orange Juice or water.

I have to say I feel pretty good on this stuff. I’ve been taking about 300 mg of it 2 times a day. I think it’s an obvious choice for a tonic because it can not only slow down aging, but it helps increase testosterone levels by blocking estrogen production. It also helps keep your arteries flexible and clear by enhancing nitric oxide production.

I’d like to find some better deals for this stuff. Please let me know if you know a good source for 98% resveratrol and I’ll post it here.

Shark Liver Update! Watch that cholesterol.

So, I had been taking Shark Liver Oil religiously since October. You can read about it here:
My Shark Oil Post.
After a routine physical last week, boy was I in for a surprise. I was expecting my usual great lipid profile. My cholesterol has been around 200 for the last few years, but with good HDL, low Triglycerides and very low of the bad LDL. However, this time, my LDL almost doubled from last year. The only supplements that were significantly different from other years was the Shark Liver Oil and tocotrienols. The tocotrienols, btw, I feel has contributed to significantly thicker and shinier hair (but more on that in another post). I really don’t think the tocotrienols have contributed to this problem. However, the shark liver oil is not looking too good. Check this study out:
Shark Liver Raises Cholesterol in Hamsters.

Aaargh!! this is horrible. It states: “supplementations of Squalene (SQ) and Shark Liver Oil (SLO) in diets caused significant accumulation of SQ in the liver and adipose tissue. The present results suggest that SQ and SLO are hypercholesterolemic at least in hamsters. Caution has to be taken when SQ or SLO are routinely consumed as health supplements.”

Watch out with this one. To be fair, my HDL was still high and my triglycerides were still low. I’ll test again in 6 months and report on what I find out. For now, I think Shark Liver Oil is not on the recommended list. Until we know more about cholesterol levels and the ratios of the different types of cholesterol and inflammation, be careful.