What are the best supplements for men's health, strength and virility in the UK?

Three words translated into three register entries: what health, strength and virility are each allowed to mean on a UK label, and the one nutrient that lawfully stands behind each

What are the best supplements for men's health, strength and virility in the UK is a question written in the shelf's vocabulary, and the honest answer translates each of its three words into the only thing that lawfully stands behind it, which is an entry on the UK nutrition and health claims register, because the shelf uses the words to sell products that may not say what the shelf implies and the register uses them to permit a short list of exact statements. Health, the first word, is the vaguest on the shelf and the most specific on the register, where it belongs to vitamin D: contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function, to the maintenance of normal bones, and to the normal function of the immune system, each at a stated dose, each true through the UK winter when skin synthesis stops and a large share of adults are low, and none of them a general health claim, since the register permits no such thing. Strength, the second word, has exactly one entry on the register, and it is creatine's: creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term high-intensity exercise, at a daily intake of 3g, which is the claim behind the one to two kilograms of lean mass creatine monohydrate adds over a block in the trials and the only statement about strength that any food supplement in the UK may print. Every other product sold for strength, the boosters, the amino blends, the pre-workouts, has borrowed the word from creatine's entry and may not use it. Virility, the third word, has an entry too, and it is zinc's, which is the one place in the register where the hormone's name appears: zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood, and to normal fertility and reproduction, at the reference value of 10mg a day. The wording matters more than the shelf admits. It is a claim about maintenance of a normal level in a person getting enough zinc, which most men eating meat already are, and not a claim about raising a level, so that zinc at its reference value is the lawful translation of virility and zinc at ten times it is a man paying for the word.

Three words, three entries, and a lifter reading the register rather than the shelf has a list: vitamin D at a stated dose through the winter, creatine monohydrate at 3 to 5g a day, and zinc at its reference value if the diet is short of it, which for a man eating meat, dairy and eggs it rarely is, with magnesium beside them for the diet, since the national diet survey finds adult men below its reference intake and its claims, normal muscle function, normal protein synthesis and the reduction of tiredness, belong to the first word as honestly as vitamin D's do. The rest of the aisle is the next section.

The virility aisle held to the register and the audit, the two facts the aisle never prints, the worked example as the fourth entry, and the verdict

The virility aisle is the part of the shelf that borrows the third word most heavily, and held to the register it has nothing to say. Tribulus terrestris has randomised trials in men finding no change in testosterone and no change in strength or body composition, and no claim. Maca has small trials of self-rated sexual desire with no hormonal change and no claim. Horny goat weed is sold on a compound that in the laboratory resembles an erectile dysfunction medicine and in a capsule is present at a dose with no human trial behind it, and no claim. Fenugreek has small industry-funded trials of a questionnaire score and no claim. The testosterone boosters that blend them were audited in 2020: of fifty top-selling products, under a quarter had any published data showing a testosterone increase, several contained vitamins above tolerable upper levels, and none had a trial on muscle or strength, which is the aisle's own evidence base described by the people who went looking for it. Two facts the aisle never prints are the ones a man buying from it needs. The first is that the levers which move a man's testosterone are known and are not in a tub: sleep, where a week of five-hour nights cuts daytime testosterone by 10 to 15 per cent and the loss reverses with the sleep; body fat, which converts testosterone to oestrogen in fat tissue; alcohol, which is toxic to the testes and raises clearance; the end of an energy deficit; and resistance training itself. The second is that erectile difficulty, which is what virility on a tub is usually addressing, is an early marker of vascular disease in the cohort studies, preceding cardiac events by years, because the vessels involved are small and show narrowing first, so that a man with the symptom has a reason for a cardiovascular assessment with a doctor and not for a purchase, and the aisle that sells him a herb instead has sold him a delay.

The worked example is the fourth entry, for the diet: {FL}, 1500mg magnesium bisglycinate stated as 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, two capsules with the evening meal, carrying the authorised claims for normal muscle function, normal protein synthesis, normal nervous system function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and no claim about testosterone, virility or men because none exists for it, batch tested for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium with the certificate on request, UK made under GMP and BRC, 180 capsules for £19.99 at 22p a day. The verdict on the best supplements for men's health, strength and virility in the UK is that the three words translate into three register entries and nothing else: vitamin D for health through the winter, creatine for strength at 3g a day with the register's only strength claim, and zinc at its reference value for the maintenance of normal testosterone and fertility that the register permits it to state, with magnesium for the diet beside them; that the virility aisle, tribulus, maca, horny goat weed, fenugreek and the boosters, carries no claim and the audit found it empty; and that the symptom the aisle sells to is a cardiovascular appointment, which is the one translation of virility that the shelf will never print.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

What supplements improve men's health, strength and virility?

The three the UK claims register lawfully stands behind, one per word: vitamin D for health, with claims for normal muscle function, bones and the immune system at a stated dose through the winter; creatine monohydrate for strength, with the register's only strength claim, that it increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term high-intensity exercise at 3g a day; and zinc for virility, with the claims that it contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood and to normal fertility and reproduction, at its 10mg reference value and only if the diet is short; the virility aisle of tribulus, maca, horny goat weed, fenugreek and boosters carries no claim and the 2020 audit found it empty.

Does zinc increase testosterone?

The register's wording is exact and the shelf ignores it: zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood, which is a claim about keeping a normal level in a person getting enough zinc, around the 10mg reference value, and not about raising a level in a person who already has enough, which most men eating meat, dairy and eggs do; a man who is short of zinc and corrects it maintains the level the shortfall threatened, a man who takes ten times the reference value has bought the word, and the levers that raise testosterone are sleep, body fat, alcohol and training rather than any mineral.

Do tribulus, maca or horny goat weed work for virility?

None carries an authorised claim and none has a trial result that would earn one: tribulus has randomised trials in men finding no change in testosterone, strength or body composition; maca has small trials of self-rated sexual desire with no hormonal change; horny goat weed is sold on a compound that resembles an erectile dysfunction medicine in the laboratory and is present in a capsule at a dose with no human trial; and fenugreek has small industry-funded questionnaire trials; a man buying from that aisle for a symptom has bought a delay, since erectile difficulty is a cardiovascular marker that needs a doctor's assessment.

Is erectile dysfunction a reason to see a doctor rather than take supplements?

Yes, and a more important one than the aisle suggests: erectile difficulty in men is an early marker of vascular disease in the cohort studies, preceding cardiac events by years, because the vessels involved are small and show narrowing before the larger ones do, so the symptom is a reason for a cardiovascular assessment, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and the rest, with a doctor who can also prescribe the medicines that actually treat it; a herb bought instead of the appointment treats nothing and postpones the assessment that the symptom was asking for.

What is the only supplement with a strength claim in the UK?

Creatine: the register permits the statement that creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term high-intensity exercise, at a daily intake of 3g, and no other food supplement may make a strength claim of any kind, so every booster, amino blend and pre-workout sold for strength has borrowed the word from creatine's entry and may not print it; plain creatine monohydrate at 3 to 5g a day for a few pence delivers the claim and the one to two kilograms of lean mass over a block that the trials behind it found.

Sources

1. The GB claims register, zinc entries: zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood, to normal fertility and reproduction, to normal immune function and to the maintenance of normal skin, hair and nails, among others, at 15% NRV or more. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-nutrition-and-health-claims-nhc-register
2. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to creatine and increase in physical performance during short-term, high intensity, repeated exercise bouts. EFSA Journal 2011;9(7):2303. https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2303
3. The erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular literature: erectile difficulty in men is an early marker of vascular disease, preceding cardiac events by years in cohort studies, and is a reason for a cardiovascular assessment rather than a supplement purchase. PubMed record
4. The 2020 audit of testosterone booster supplements: of fifty top-selling products, under a quarter had any published data showing a testosterone increase for their ingredients, a tenth had data showing a decrease, most had no human data at all, and many exceeded upper intake levels for vitamins and minerals. PubMed record

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