Wes Lapp's 157% Testosterone Surge from NAD+ (???)
Age 44 - Total Testosterone 523 Free testosterone 11.0 Estradiol 29.6
Age 50 -Total Testosterone 635 Free testosterone 10.6 Estradiol 23.1
I am very healthy and fit and have put off supplementing with Testosterone as I was a competitive freediver and it is a banned substance, so I have never done any testosterone supplementing.
Age 53 -Total Testosterone 825 Free testosterone 16.7 Estradiol 49.9
This was a huge surprise!! I talked to the LEF blood work people and they were impressed too, and they added a 50mg/day Zinc supplement to help limit the Estradiol.
All these tests were done by Life Extension and the 50 and 53 both in Oct and Sep, so both in the Fall, and I follow a routine where I don't exercise for 2 days ahead of the tests so think the results are very accurate (for only having three data points).
The change I made to my supplement protocol was adding NAD+ and adding about 2mg of Frozen Douglas Fir tips (I harvest the Fir tips myself, I don't know if you can buy them) to my daily smoothies. I wasn't doing this on purpose for Testosterone, I liked the way the Fir tips tasted and thought the Organic Limes I was using in the smoothies were expensive and the Fir tips were free. The NAD+ I added to my supplements as it was advised by Life Extension (LEF), back then I did about a $200/month supplement protocol, all from LEF so did all the regular things, CoQ10, Fish Oil Vit D, Curcumin and more. I initially added 2 pills each of the NAD+ LEF product that had 100mg per pill so was taking 200mg total NAD+ for about 18 months. Then LEF switched to 250mg/pill formula so I took 2 of those so total 500 mg/day. I had read in a muscle building forum in doing research of NAD+ that they had to do 500 mg/day to have much affect. NAD+ was more expensive back then, so this was a big topic, how much to take. I don't life weights or anything, I was just searching for any dosing recommendations. I take all my supplements in the morning except the NAD+ I take one in the AM and one before bed. It doesn't seem to bother my sleep at all. Later on, doing research on the Douglas Fir Tips, and similar Blue Spruce Oil extract, I learned there is a Free Testosterone Booster chemical in both of these. I have for the last 10 years done a pretty basic intermittent fasting routine where I eat mainly from 9am till 7pm so have 14 hours off food. I follow this a bit more rigorously now then I did 10 years ago so this may have had some affect as well, though it hasn't changed that much.
Hope this helps - Cheers - Wes Lapp
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This reversal of what would be an age related decline in testosterone is very interesting Wes. I would certainly like to achieve a similar result. My last labs showed:
Age 69, no meds, typical LEF supplements
Total testosterone 647 ng/dL Free testosterone 8.8 pg/mL
SHBG 56.1 nmol/L
Total Estrogens 72 pg/mL
Progesterone 0.3 ng/mL
Estradiol 37.2 pg/mL
DHEA Sulfate 113.5 ug/dL (I don't take any DHEA supplements)
DHT 40 ng/dL
Tests were by LabCorp through LEF.
I think SHBG is keeping my free T down, so if you have had positive effects from the fir tip supplement, I would certainly like to try that as a possibility. Also, would appreciate any commentary or suggestions on modulating these hormone ratios from all here.
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Dorian Gray I am male and age 68, I had labs done through LEF in August 2019. I take 25mg of pregnenolone daily (plus a large assortment of other supplements but no other hormones). Pregnenolone is a precursor to DHEA and other hormones. I would like the free testosterone to be higher.
Free testosterone 5.9 (low) pg/mL
Total testosterone. 710 ng/dL
DHEA Sulfate 50.6 ug/dL
Estradiol. 32.3 pg/mL
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David Hanson I am not taking NAD+ or any of its precursors yet.
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David Hanson David, do you take a DHEA supplement? Have SBHG tested? You may have similar as mine where SBHG limits free T despite rather good Total T for our age. I know some men that have taken testosterone patches or injections with total T at similar levels and this boosted the free T significantly. My research has shown that there is no known way to affect SBHG to limit binding to free it up. At you levels, I do not recommend testosterone therapy.
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Dorian,
To clarify, the Douglas Fir Tips I take are not a pill/supplement. I actually pick them from Douglas Fir trees in the spring time and freeze them for use during the whole year. To collect them, wait till the light green tips come out and start to spread out and still have the brown covering on at the tip. This only lasts 1-2 days each year for each tree so you need to pay attention. I take about 2g/day. I have read about Blue Spruce Extract though as a rule only take commercial supplements from Life Extension due to supporting their research and quality control and free phone help. The new Life Extension NAD+ formulation "Optimized NAD+ Cell Regenerator™ and Resveratrol" has 300mg/pill and I take 2/day of these, one in the AM and one in the PM. Good luck and hope this helps - Cheers - Wes Lapp
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Thanks for the descriptive info, Wes. You must live in an area where such trees are close by. I think I might have to midnight raid my local Christmas tree farm or something. It would be interesting to do a chemical analysis of the fir tips to see what phytonutrients they contain. What lead you to suspect that they may have had some benefit?
Also, I will now add your dosage of NAD to my regimen.
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Dorian,
I have always eaten the fir tips when they are in season (when they are very light green) when in the woods, I would casually nibble on them since I was a boy. I live near Mt Hood in Oregon now and do different trail runs where the fir tips are good for 2-3 months per year due to vatiations in altitude so have had a wider time during the year to sample them. The native americans here ate the fir tips too. One spring I just got the idea to pick them and try and freeze them, I know people harvest blue spruce tips for different things, tinctures and beer flavor etc. It wasn't till after my test results came back that I researched them more and found the research links to testosterone benefits and more detailed accounts of the native americans using them.
Cheers Wes
