Kratom is the modern age herbal alternative to many drugs. Being relatively new in the health industry, the research to support it is still undergoing. Many scientists endorse kratom effect on testosterone by it’s working.
Kratom has a combination of over 25 different alkaloids. The bioactive compounds are responsible for giving the amazing benefits which the whole world is running after. These advantages include recreational, medicinal, health benefits, and professional aid.
Kratom of Southeast Asia
Kratom or Mitragyna speciosa is the tree from fertile lands of Southeast Asia. Its leaves have a surprisingly high psychoactive effect which is very desirable for the users. It has an opioid-like effect that provides benefits like stimulation, energy boost to sedation, and euphoria. It is also a natural analgesic agent.
Unlike many other plants, Kratom shows different results on different amounts of use. It indicates that it is highly dosage sensitivity and requires care for its administration. The long-term history of Kratom suggests that it is safe and effective for humans. The natives of tropical forests were aware of its potential, for which Kratom was modern traditional medicine.
Kratom and testosterone
Kratom is one of the leading plants which is ruling the world these days. It is not very long ago when the whole world and Kratom came across each other. For a person who wants some fantastic everyday help to a patient of chronic pain, Kratom has something for everyone. The benefits were initially for the victims of chronic pain, inflammation, and physical injuries. For now, the ongoing studies suggest the new effects of the leaves of Kratom. One such fact is that it has links with testosterone boosters and balance.
Natural levels of testosterone
Testosterone is the primary anabolic and sex hormone in males. It is responsible for developing the masculine features of every man. It is also responsible for the functionality of reproduction which has further links with the development of sexual characters, muscles, bones, and mass.
Testosterone secretes naturally by the testicles of males. In humans, both male and female can produce testosterone. In females, this testosterone is produced in ovaries, and an increase is usually disastrous. Males have a significantly higher amount of testosterone which is necessarily required by their bodies, as a part of natural growth.
Reasons to drop testosterone level
A small degree of testosterone initiates many health damages such as male hypogonadism and even a certain type of cancer in men. It is a common practice for testosterone levels to decrease with age. When in older ages, the testosterone being in moderate amounts reduces the sexual potential but also the body development at large.
The reduction in testosterone levels is mainly due to aging, weak health parameters, pituitary gland tumors, HIV, and radiation treatment. It also includes chemotherapy, which is a part of cancer treatment.
Why take testosterone supplements?
Testosterone which is androgens are responsible for playing a lead role in protein synthesis. It is the process in which new cells and tissues are formed. It suggests the role of testosterone to be anabolic that includes; muscle mass, strength, bone density, maturation, development of sex organs, hair growth and secondary sex characteristics.
For this reason, taking testosterone supplements to increase the level is a common practice among health-oriented people. These supplements are available in the market by many brand names.
An impact of these supplements suggests that they are often misleading and are not necessary for the health.
Working of Kratom in the body
There is not much information on how Kratom increases testosterone production. Kratom has more than 40 compounds in it, which are mainly indole alkaloids. These include mitragynine, seven hydroxy mitragynine, and many others.
Mitragynine is present at levels of 1-6%, and 7-hydroxymitrayine is between 0.01-0.04%in Kratom leaf. These amounts may fluctuate with a strain to strain.
Other compounds include raubasine, rhynchophylline, and corynanthidine and others. The alkaloids of Kratom have an affinity for the opioid receptors of the body. They are present in the brain that is why the majority of the benefits by Kratom are related to brain and brain activities.
Some significant benefits which Kratom produces are as follows.
- Analgesia
- Energy booster
- Stress and anxiety relief
- Addiction recovery
- Sedation and euphoria
- Cognitive powers enhancer
- Immunity booster
Does Kratom affect testosterone production?
The benefits of Kratom are more likely to be more accessible. There are only minor side effects that show up in the case of mismanagement in Kratom dosage. These include;
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stress
- Insomnia
- Increased urination
- Dizziness
- Itching and rash
- Dry mouth
- Constipation
A less common side effect is that Kratom may reduce the testosterone levels. Usually, the users who try Kratom for testosterone boost are very less. Still, this issue needs awareness.
Kratom addiction is a result of long-term, irregularly high Kratom dose. It often leads to serious health injuries, and low testosterone is one of them.
The opioid-like properties of Kratom make the body realize it like the synthetic opioid. For the last users, the harms of building tolerance also have the chance of a reduction in testosterone.
Role of opioid in testosterone production
Kratom has working mode as that of an opioid. WebMD suggests that Opioids are a kind of narcotic substances which we use for pain control. The effects of these substances are serious in the case of an incorrect usage.
National Institute on Drug Abuse explains opioids to be as;
“Opioids are a group of drugs that include heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, and others.”
The scientific evidence
Research by Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine of The University of Texas suggests the same results. The study concluded that the use of opioids for a long term treatment initiates androgen deficiency. As described before, androgen deficiency is mainly due to low testosterone levels.
Another study of the collaboration of many institutes showed similar results. Science Direct has published this review which indicates that testosterone suppression is common in opioid users.
A total number of 2769 participants (800 opiate users and 1969 controls) were a part of this study as subject matter.
Ten cross-sectional and seven cohort studies made the researcher believe that testosterone was reduced by 50% in men using opioids, for both illicit or therapeutic use.
This result was only common among men and not in women. It also suggested that using a pain killer 5 increases the chances to get testosterone deficiency by 5%. For the long term use, the risk is even more.
These two types of research are by synthetic opioids. There is no direct study on Kratom which shows its effect on testosterone. That is why there is no exact answer to the damage or damages caused by Kratom relevant to testosterone production.
Effect on other hormones
Kratom doesn’t involve in any hormonal activity. The potential of it is mainly opioid-like, and it has no link with any hormonal disruption. The reason why Kratom is usually paired with testosterone has no evidence to prove it.
Other than testosterone, Kratom usually doesn’t interrupt in the activity of any hormone.
The only risk factor is the last dose for the long term of use. It is not something exceptional for Kratom, rather all other chemicals and herbal drugs have the same risks with treatment and usage time.
For the users, who are worried about any possible effects of Kratom leading to hormonal imbalance, there is no such thing. The risks are manageable with sincere and natural efforts of usage care.
Is Kratom damaging for the health?
Kratom has no link to increase testosterone or any other hormone, but this has nothing to do with other effects of Kratom. The chemical composition of Kratom is ideal for some particular properties which are by far the best benefits of Kratom. There is no study that tells that Kratom is not beneficial for health.
The reason that it has no effect on a hormonal boost is that it is not pharmacologically designed for it. Kratom is safe to use if a user is consuming it for the right reason. It will not harm a user, who is not taking it for a hormonal booster.
How to avoid the risk of addiction?
As many of the readers may notice, all the negativity linked with Kratom is only with high amounts long-term use and Kratom addiction. There is no reason that it can go wrong for a casual user.
The alkaloids of Kratom are potent. The effects which it shows is not common with all other plants. It’s an obvious thing to expect these alkaloids to go negative if the user mishandles them.
The risk of maximum health problems is under control with the accuracy of dosage, careful administration and a proper design of Kratom use. Also, it is dependent upon the strain that anyone is using. Some of the Kratom strains are highly influential, whereas rest are mild.
The point to remember is that the risks are only linked with the higher, potent strains which always come with the dosage instructions for the user. All these factors suggest that Kratom itself is not damaging. Neither it has links with Kratom boost.
The scientific research does not support the myth of increasing testosterone with Kratom use. Therefore, all users should take care before making a decision of using the high amount of Kratom for long.
Natural testosterone boost
Instead of Kratom, there are many other herbs that have a direct role in increasing testosterone. For those users who don’t want to use testosterone supplements, these herbs are valuable support. Most of such herbs are side effect free.
However, the last dose and long term use will initiate unwanted effects. This condition is same for Kratom and all other plants. It initiates the requirement of balance in all herbal alternatives that a user take.