As our readers have grown to trust us more and more at the Great Green Wall, I’ve been getting some questions about specific ingredients. For instance, after reading all about how Fenugreek has proven T-Boosting capabilities, someone recently wrote in asking, “Does Fenugreek have any other benefits for men?”
The short answer is “Yes!” But of course you know by now that I’m dedicated to the proof and the research. So let’s tackle this traditional herb, one study at a time, to see what other health outcomes can be improved in men with Fenugreek.
key findings
What is Fenugreek?
Fenugreek is technically in the pea family, and its scientific name is Trigonella foenum-graecum, which both reflects its association with traditional Greek medicine, and its trifoliate leaves.
Although used in cooking around the world, claims of medicinal properties have only been recently investigated by mainstream scientific communities. Which is a shame. The studies that have been conducted haven’t garnered the approval of, for instance, US Government libraries, but the evidence is strong nonetheless.
What Can Fenugreek Do for Men?
Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let’s turn to how Fenugreek may or may not improve Men’s Health. We’ll take it one benefit at a time, but some of them are part of positive feedback loops. For instance, as we’ll see later, Fenugreek helps Testosterone, which helps us stay active, which helps our Testosterone even further. Okay, let’s dive in.
Testosterone
Because we spent a lot of time researching an article on this topic (which was well-written, if I don’t say so), I won’t spend too much time on it here. The highlights, though, are worth repeating.
Fenugreek has been shown in extensive studies to reduce Aromatase, the process where our bodies convert our T into Estrogen. In one study, for instance, men taking Fenugreek for only 8 weeks had a 12% Testosterone increase. In addition to that, the average body fat percentage of the men dropped 2 points.
That alone may be enough for some men to start taking Fenugreek, but the good reasons just keep on coming.
Creatine
Anyone who’s been in the supplement game for long enough knows how important Creatine is. When researchers were able to isolate it and produce it as a supplement, it changed the sports nutrition world forever. Journals everywhere started confirming what athletes had already discovered–Creatine makes us more explosive, stronger, and faster.
But how does it work? Without going into the weeds too much, but essential it helps us regenerate ATP (adenosine triphosphate) after each muscle contraction. Thus we get cellular energy faster between reps. Because sugar is the basic metabolic vehicle for most nutrients, Creatine is usually taken with some form of glucose. But researchers have found that Fenugreek is the best carrier of Creatine into our cells. That not only means you get the Creatine hit faster, but you get it without adding sugar to your diet.
And Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in your body. That means you don’t need to take a Creatine supplement for Fenugreek to work. Simply taking Fenugreek will advance your body’s natural Creatine/ATP reaction.
Blood Sugar Control
A lot of men are aware that some of our health outcomes are worse than for women, but some of us may not know just how much worse off we are. For instance, the rate of Type II Diabetes in men is almost 15%! That’s more than 1 in 7 men, and side by side with women, our risk is more than 50% higher.
Which should make Fenugreek an attractive supplement for men. That’s because Fenugreek has been touted by Diabetes foundations for use by both Diabetes I and II patients.
This recommendation comes from multiple studies like this one that showed a straightforward Fenugreek seed reduces blood sugar, even in Diabetic people. And in non-Diabetic people, it can even prevent the development of the disease by controlling insulin resistance.
Fat Loss
Here we see our first real example of positive feedback loops. Well, really, two of them. The first is that by increasing our Testosterone and muscle performance, Fenugreek can help men stay more active and more fit, thus reducing our body fat.
But it turns out that Fenugreek doesn’t stop there in helping men trim their bellies. It turns out that partly due to its fiber and insulin control, Fenugreek can actually keep us from eating fat! That’s not a typo. In a clinical study, male participants reduced daily fat intake by almost 18%, and the results took just 14 days.
For men, this has more than just cosmetic benefits. Heart disease and obesity heavily affect men’s lifespans–and a supplement that can actively help us curb fat can go a long way toward mitigating those risks.
Inflammation Control
While joint issues like Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) affect women more than men, we shouldn’t ignore it altogether. After all, as we mentioned above, issues related to inactivity and obesity, like heart disease, kills up to 1 in 4 men. And let’s be real, gentlemen: if our knees are creaking, and we can’t form a grip, we’re not likely to go for a run or lift any weights.
So the fact that Fenugreek has been seen to reduce inflammation associated with RA shouldn’t be ignored. And if it can impact RA symptoms, there’s room to explore its use in easing nearly every other occurrence of joint pain and swelling.
Anti-aging
The last benefit we’ll explore is Anti-Aging. And this one owes almost exclusively to the positive feedback loops we’ve discussed. Because the fact is that the best way to keep "young" is to stay physically active.
And men, this is more than just “feeling” young, or “looking” young. This is about how young our cells, muscles, bones, and internal organs actually behave. Because in America alone men die six years earlier than women. Our lifestyle choices can greatly impact that statistic.
So if Fenugreek can keep our T-Levels up, our muscle fibers firing, and our blood sugar and fat levels down, then there’s ever reason to believe it may very well help us turn back the clock on our mortal health risks.
Final Word
Even though Fenugreek is a known, powerful T-Booster, the other fantastic benefits to male health really aren’t getting the attention they deserve. While I do applaud that the majority of high-rated Testosterone supplements included it in their formula, it really does so much more than boost our hormone levels that it’s worth considering as an addition to your routine in its own right.