@shreddedsages's testosterone supplement claims, fact-checked

Nathan Sages posted a video claiming there are only a few supplements you need for testosterone optimization, dismissing "test booster" stacks as unnecessary. While his general approach has merit, his specific recommendations lack nuance about what actually works for testosterone support.

What does this video actually claim?

Sages argues that most supplement "stacks" for testosterone are unnecessary marketing gimmicks. He suggests focusing only on supplements that address actual nutritional deficiencies rather than chasing proprietary "test boosters."

The video promotes a back-to-basics approach where you supplement only what you can't get from food. This philosophy isn't wrong, but Sages doesn't specify which supplements he's actually recommending, making his advice frustratingly vague.

He's clearly trying to sell coaching services with the "message me 'Test'" call-to-action, which colors the educational value of his content.

Do basic supplements actually affect testosterone?

The research on fundamental nutrients and testosterone is actually pretty solid for specific deficiencies. Zinc supplementation can meaningfully impact testosterone levels, but only if you're deficient to begin with.

Prasad et al. (1996) found that zinc-deficient men given 30mg daily for 20 weeks increased testosterone from 8.3 nmol/L to 16.0 nmol/L. That's nearly doubling levels, but these were severely deficient subjects.

Vitamin D shows similar patterns. Pilz et al. (2011) demonstrated that 3,332 IU daily vitamin D3 for one year increased testosterone by about 25% in deficient men. Again, the key word is deficient.

Magnesium supplementation (10mg/kg daily) increased both free and total testosterone in athletes according to Cinar et al. (2011), but the effect was modest and study quality was limited.

What's wrong with testosterone "booster" stacks?

Sages is right that most commercial testosterone boosters are overpriced nonsense. The supplement industry loves combining barely-effective ingredients into expensive proprietary blends.

Take D-aspartic acid, a popular stack ingredient. Melville et al. (2015) found that 6g daily actually decreased testosterone by 10% in resistance-trained men after 90 days. That's the opposite of what companies claim.

Fenugreek, another common booster ingredient, showed modest benefits in Poole et al. (2010) but the effect size was small and the study population was limited. Most "testosterone support" supplements combine these weak ingredients and charge premium prices.

The real problem isn't that these ingredients are dangerous, it's that they don't work well enough to justify their cost.

What should you actually know about testosterone supplements?

If you're going to supplement for testosterone support, get blood work first. You can't fix a deficiency you haven't identified, and you can't measure progress without baseline numbers.

The only supplements with decent evidence are vitamin D (if you're below 30 ng/mL), zinc (if dietary intake is poor), and possibly magnesium for active individuals. Everything else is speculation.

For most men with clinically low testosterone (below 300 ng/dL), supplements won't cut it anyway. The Testosterone Trials (Snyder et al., 2016) showed that actual testosterone therapy increases levels by 200-300 ng/dL, not the 50-100 ng/dL you might see from zinc.

Sages isn't wrong about focusing on basics, but he's oversimplifying a complex topic to sell coaching services.