Effect of DHEA

I have taken 25 mg DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) for the last 4 days daily in the morning. No other supplements were taken. 

Positive effects:

• Increased good mood
• Increased ability to fantasize romance
• Reduced anxiety
• Reduced stuttering
• Reduced sleepiness post lunch

Negative effects:

• Mild nausea - only on the first day. From second day onwards, no nausea was observed.
• Mild headache - started in the afternoon and persisted into late night. Headache decreased in intensity with 12 mg zinc gluconate and half tablet stresstabs intake.

Neutral effects:

• No change in libido
• No change in erection
• No change in focus or concentration
• No change in energy

Effect of Turmeric

I was taking turmeric powder since the scientific literature indicated that it can increase testosterone and inhibit aromatase enzyme. I took it for around 1 week. I took around 500 mg to 1 g of turmeric powder mixed with dosa flour or mixed with egg omlette. I took one time in the morning sometimes and both in morning and dinner sometimes.

Positive effects:
1. Generally good mood
2. Slightly increased focus and concentration
3. Slightly reduced stuttering
4. Early morning erections are rock solid
5. Slightly improved libido and motivation

Negative effects:
1. Increased sweating
2. Slightly increased agitated mood
3. Tightness in the chest - this effect was very significant and caused great discomfort to me. The chest muscles seem to be not relaxing and contracting like before. The chest tightness combined with muscle pain in hand caused great distress.
4. When I took turmeric two times a day (at breakfast and dinner), it caused severe left sided headache (serotonin deficiency). The headache persisted for almost two days. It did not subside after taking 650 mg paracetamol. It went away only after I stopped taking turmeric.

Possible mechanism:
Turmeric might have increased cortisol. This increased cortisol might have caused decreased serotonin. The exact mechanism needs to be studied further.

Turmeric compounds might have increased acetylcholine levels by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase enzyme and activating choline acetyl transferase enzyme.

References:
Combined administration of curcumin and gallic acid inhibits gallic acid-induced suppression of steroidogenesis, sperm output, antioxidant defenses and inflammatory responsive genes.

Inhibitory effect of curcuminoids on acetylcholinesterase activity and attenuation of scopolamine-induced amnesia may explain medicinal use of turmeric in Alzheimer's disease

Update on 18 Feb 2018:

I used to develop the same chest pain (exactly the pain the sternum and adjacent rib muscles). It does not pain normally. It pains sometimes whenever I turn my body and whenever I press the sternum ribs. Otherwise, it doesn't give any pain during walking or climbing stairs or even during exercise in elliptical trainer.

Recently also, I cooked a curry with some turmeric in it. After two times consumption of that curry, I got that pain again. Now, I am taking the following supplements:

Blackmore Multivitamin + Minerals - 1 tablet in morning
Thiamine mononitrate - 25 mg in morning and 25 mg in night
Blackmore Vitamin D3 - 1000 mcg - 1 capsule in morning
L-Tryptophan 500 mg - 1 capsule in night

Also, I consumed 2-3 eggs (enriched with organic selenium) per day. No other non-vegetarian food was consumed during these days. Within two days, the pain subsided. Is it due to selenium or tryptophan?

Effect of Olive oil

I used olive oil (labelled as "suitable for frying, sauteing") for cooking for last one week. I used this olive oil two times daily (morning and night) for making dosa (1 tablespoon each time). I observed the following things.

1. Increased sense of feeling coldness and not sweating - significant reduction in sweating
2. Slightly decreased sense of body pains and inflammation
3. Generally good mood
4. Reduced libido

References:

1. Oleic acid inhibits cholesteryl esterase and cholesterol utilization for testosterone synthesis in mouse Leydig cells. Metabolism. 1996 Mar;45(3):293-9. PubMed Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8606634

2.  Oleic acid increases hepatic sex hormone binding globulin production in men. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2014 Apr;58(4):760-7. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201300304. PubMed Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24142580

My hormone levels

These are my hormone levels tested in the last 10 years. Very important data indeed!

Ref range

22-Sep-05

24-Jan-06

26-Jul-10

5-Jan-12

24-Nov-12

20-Sep-13

7-Jan-14

5-Aug-14

24-Jan-15

21-Feb-15

26-Jul-15

TSH

0.30 – 5.5 µIU/mL

4.28 µIU/mL

1.71 µIU/mL

2.99 µIU/mL

1.90 µIU/mL

1.07 µIU/mL

1.66 µIU/mL

Total T3

60 – 200 ng/dL

114 ng/dL

Total T4

4.5 – 12 µg/dL

8 µg/dL

64 - 167 nmol/L

102.96 nmol/L

99.2 nmol/L

Free T3

1.7 – 4.2 pg/mL

3.07 pg/mL

3.80 pg/mL

3.43 pg/mL

3.5 - 6.5 pmol/L

4.72 pmol/L

5.05 pmol/L

5.1 pmol/L

Free T4

0.70 – 1.80 ng/dL

1.06 ng/dL

1.10 ng/dL

1.01 ng/dL

11.5 - 22.7 pmol/L

13.64 pmol/L

15.75 pmol/L

16.43 pmol/L

16.0 pmol/L

18.3 pmol/L

FSH

Male: 2 - 10 µIU/mL

4.95 mIU/mL

5.0 µIU/mL

4.77 µIU/mL

5.08 µIU/mL

LH

Male (ICSH): 2 - 15 µIU/mL

1.93 mIU/mL

5.0 µIU/mL

3.4 µIU/mL

3.85 µIU/mL

3.66 µIU/mL

Prolactin

Males: 2 - 18 ng/mL

8.9 ng/mL

4.65 ng/mL

Testosterone Total

2.41 - 8.27 ng/mL

3.37 ng/mL

6.25 ng/mL

4.30 ng/mL

241 - 827 ng/dL

567.01 ng/dL

260.22 ng/dL

Estradiol E2

Male: 0 - 39.8 pg/mL

59.83 pg/mL

32.80 pg/mL

DHEA

1.8 - 12.5 ng/mL

4.66 ng/mL

DHEA Sulphate

120 - 520 μg/dL

181.4 μg/dL

SHBG

17.3 - 65.8 nmol/L

35.9 nmol/L

34

Parathyroid hormone

1.5 - 7.6 pmol/L

2.2 pmol/L

Cortisol

AM: 4.3 - 22.4 µg/dL

PM: 3.1 - 16.7 µg/dL

18.5 µg/dL @ 1:58 PM

IGF-1

109.00 - 284.00 ng/mL

131 ng/mL

Vitamin D3

Sufficiency: 31 - 100 Insufficiency: 20 - 30 Deficiency: < 20 Toxicity: > 100 ng/mL

13 ng/mL

27.82 ng/mL

It appears that the thyroid function improved over the years. Also, the testosterone and LH levels improved over the years but decreased in the last two and half years.

Testosterone boosters

1. Olive oil
2. Coconut oil
3. Ashwagandha extract


References:

1. Influence of Commercial Dietary Oils on Lipid Composition and Testosterone Production in Interstitial Cells Isolated from Rat Testis. Lipids, 2009, Volume 44, Issue 4, pp 345-357. PMID:19130109

2. Withania somnifera improves semen quality by regulating reproductive hormone levels and oxidative stress in seminal plasma of infertile males. Fertil Steril. 2010 Aug;94(3):989-96. PMID:19501822

Agents that decrease SHBG and increase testosterone

The following things may increase testosterone levels by decreasing SHBG levels.

1. Boron
2. Carbohydrate rich diet
3. Vitamin D
4. Fish oil
5. Magnesium
6. Zinc


Source:

http://anabolicmen.com/10-ways-lower-shbg-boost-free-testosterone/