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Evidence Based Longevity (EBL)
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Hormonal

Endocrine Support and Hormone Markers

10 entries are commonly sold for this. EBL grades them from A to D on published human trials. This page is a map to those grades, not a substitute for them.

Almost everything sold for hormonal support is graded on a hormone measurement rather than on anything the hormone is supposed to cause. A testosterone number moving is not the same finding as strength, mood or function changing.

Two features of the grading system matter on a page like this. A grade attaches to a use, not to a molecule, so the same compound can carry different letters for different questions. And a grade is capped by the kind of outcome the trials measured: a surrogate marker A lab value or measurement used in place of the outcome that matters, such as LDL cholesterol standing in for heart attacks. Moving a surrogate does not always move the outcome. or a self-reported score cannot reach Grade A under the EBL rubric no matter how well the trial was run.

Every letter below links to its own page, where the trials, the PMIDs PubMed ID: the permanent number the US National Library of Medicine gives a published paper. Each one links to that paper's record on PubMed. and the reasons for the ceiling are set out in full.

Ashwagandha (standardized root extract)

Cortisol reduction and modest testosterone support
B

Graded B for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia)

Testosterone and related hormone measures
C

Graded C for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

DIM (Diindolylmethane)

Estrogen metabolism and related biomarkers
C

Graded C for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

Boron

Bone density and steroid hormone markers
D

Graded D for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

Selenium (Selenomethionine)

Autoimmune thyroiditis (TPO antibodies)
C

Graded C for this use. This entry carries more than one grade; the letter shown is the one for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

Sermorelin (GHRH 1-29)

Growth hormone and IGF-1 response in older adults
D

Graded D for this use: no trial has compared sermorelin with placebo, on hormone levels or on any health outcome.

Grade basis and citations →

Panax Ginseng

Erectile function
C

Graded C for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

Inositol (Myo-inositol)

Insulin resistance and reproductive measures in PCOS
B

Graded B for this use.

Grade basis and citations →

Vitamin D3

Not graded for this use
NG

Graded C for fall prevention and respiratory infection, which are different questions. No separately graded use covers this topic.

Grade basis and citations →

Zinc

Not graded for this use
NG

Graded B for common cold duration and deficiency, which is a different question. No separately graded use covers this topic.

Grade basis and citations →
Grades that do not transfer

2 of the entries above carry a letter earned answering a different question. The grade is real; it is simply not about this topic. EBL does not restate those letters on the badges above, because a badge is read faster than a sentence and a letter next to a name is taken as a verdict about that name. No separately graded use covers hormonal for these:

  • Vitamin D3: graded B for deficiency correction and fracture risk.
  • Zinc: graded B for common cold duration and deficiency.