Tribulis Terrestris is promoted as a testosterone booster. Tribulus allegedly works by increasing your body's production of Luteinizing hormone (LH). LH, in turn signals the body to release more testosterone.
Tribulis does seem to have a cult following, and I know people personally who swear they notice better strength, better workouts, slight increases in muscle mass and... uhh, er, um...."a hardening of the physique" - if you know what I mean.
With claims like "bigger muscles AND a better sex life" it's no wonder that men are running to GNC to snatch this stuff up. But don't get too excited yet... You should research this a little more before you jump to conclusions.
Tribulis Terrestris is an herb (a plant). As you surely know, many chemicals occur naturally in plants which have medicinal or drug like effects on the body: For example there's THC in Marijuana, caffeine in the coffee bean, ephedrine in Ma Huang, or Yohimbine in the Yohimbe plant. These, of course, are all drugs and drugs definitely effect the body, therefore, it's not out of the question that an herb in it's natural form might have something in it that could affect anabolic hormones like testosterone.
Herbal supplements often contain varying amounts of active ingredients. However, the only way you know if what's on the label is in the bottle is if it says "standardized extract." For example; in one popular thermogenic "fat burning" product, it lists 335 mg of Ma Huang, standardized to 6%, which equals 20mg of the active ingredient ephedrine. It also contains 910 mg of Guarana, which standardized to 22%, yields 200 mgs. of caffeine.
If a product is not standardized to an effective potency of the active ingredient, it is basically worthless. So one question is; if Tribulis contains active ingredients that increase testosterone, how do you know if there is enough of that ingredient to have any impact? Another question is, "If you notice some effect, how do you know it's not due to a change in your diet, your training, or whether it's only a placebo effect?"
Here's why I tend to remain skeptical: Whenever a supplement company releases a new product, The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has their eyes on it with a magnifying glass. So does the pharmaceutical industry. If any "natural" or "herbal" product really had a major effect on the body, the FDA would swoop down on it like a hawk and investigate immediately. If it panned out and really did have a drug like effect, it would be pulled off the shelves in a second!
Here's an example: a supplement called Triax was released 3 or 4 years ago by a company called Syntrax. Man, this product really worked! It worked a little bit too well! People were shedding pounds and sweating bullets on the stuff. Made the FDA go "hmmmmm." So the FDA looked closely at it and it turns out that Triax contains Tiratricol- which is really not a "supplement" at all, but a thyroid drug! Triax immediately got yanked.
Also keep in mind that the powerful multi billion dollar pharmaceutical industry would LOVE to find a product being sold over the counter that really had drug like effects, and lobby to have it classified as a drug. Why? So they could quadruple the price and sell it by prescription only (with some fancy new drug-like name, of course.. like "Tribulestrical.")
Most people won't listen to me and they'll keep on buying "steroid-like" supplements, but if you'll heed my advice, I might be able to save you from wasting hundreds or even thousands of dollars on products that could never possibly build any muscle:
You see, supplements are food! Steroids are drugs! There's a huge difference between the two. Supplements cannot and never will have drug-like effects. Any claims to the contrary are pure marketing hype!
After scouring the web, I found almost no impartial information on Tribulis. Nearly every site I visited that had info on Tribulis was also selling it. And 100% of those sites promoted the product by making emotionally charged claims of improved libido, potency, etc. etc.
I did find a brief quote by Patrick Arnold, a biochemist who is considered one of the world's top experts on pro-hormones. In Muscle Monthly, Patrick wrote:
"Tribulus Terrestris has never been shown, except for one dubious unpublished study by the Bulgarian manufacturer, to raise testosterone. And I have known several places that have stated they were doing studies on TT. Funny thing is, I never did hear of the results, except for one, and in that one they did not find any effects on testosterone. TT may have effects on neurotransmission in the brain (much more likely) that effect energy levels and libido."The closest thing to a supplement with drug-like effects is the ephedra-caffeine-aspirin stack, and as we now know, this is a powerful central nervous system stimulant, so like all real drugs - it is not without side effects. Any real drug is going to have undesirable side effects.
I assert that food and training - done properly - are better than drugs because there are no side effects and the results are permanent, (as long as you stay on your regimen).
Supplements will never amount to anything more than food - and all the best supplements like whey protein, meal replacements, multi vitamins, flaxseed oil, etc are really nothing more than powdered food or food derivative.
Even after I explained all this to a couple of my friends, they still swear by Tribulis for it's reputed aphrodisiac qualities. I won't say it's impossible that Tribulus might enhance your performance in some areas - but will it increase muscle mass and enhance your performance in the gym? Not likely!
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, freelance writer, success coach and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom's inspiring and informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's "Burn The Fat" e-book, click here: www.burnthefat.com.