My Strategy to Raise SHBG

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Can you suggest any improvements, or any comments regarding this plan? most of these ideas i got from r/LowSHBG.

  • I have a low shbg at 14, my E2 is also at 14.
  • Starting TRT & HCG this week. concerned about how effective it will be because of my shbg.

This is my plan to try and increase my SHBG on my next set of labs hopefully. Even if it doesn’t, these will be good lifestyle changes.

  1. Taking 500mg of berberine and 150mg milk thistle before each meal.
  • berberine reduces insulin resistance which has been shown to be correlated with decreased shbg
  • milk thistle for liver health
  1. Reduce carbohydrates with high GI. no more white rice. Whole grain.
  1. olive oil in morning shake
  1. Psylium husk and spinach in morning shake for fiber
  • fiber intake positively correlated with SHBG increase
  1. I am hoping with an increase in E2 since mine is low, once i start TRT will slightly increase SHBG as well, or at least offset the SHBG decrease from TRT.
2

I will report back here with my results after my next set of blood work. Any input and comments appreciated.

3

I see you have done a lot of homework and I wish you the best on trying them out.
It has been my experience that the only thing that moves your SHGB is your T dose.
small frequent shots if your SHGB is low and big once a week shots if your SHGB is high.
Only blood test will tell you if something is working.
Best of luck on your TRT journey I’ve been injecting for over 3 years now.

4

The only thing you can do when SHBG is low is smaller daily injections, eat healthy, lead a healthy lifestyle and improve insulin levels.

Free T3 speeds up every cell in the body including the liver production of SHBG. Any increase in SHBG is going to be small.

5

These raise SHBG:

Keto

Intermittent Fasting

Almonds, Pistachios (some report no effect from these)

Lisinopril raised my SHBG by 15-20 points alone. Obviously this isn’t a healthy option, but good info.

If I remember more ill add.

This might lower your SHBG if anything.

6

Frequent shots do not raise SHBG correct? they just get around the fact that you have low shbg by injecting more frequently?

7

Thanks! looks like there is some evidence for these items. have you tried keto, intermittent fasting or those nuts? what type of increase did you see?

8

Excess androgens lowers SHBG, so smaller more frequent injections can minimize impact on SHBG in some cases. When I went from injections twice weekly to smaller injections EOD, SHBG increased from 16-> 22. Higher than my SHBG after only 4 weeks on TRT which means it increased to nearly levels seen before I went on TRT.

1 Like
9

The following makes it more likely for a person to develop low SHBG levels:

  • obesity
  • insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
  • hypothyroidism
  • Cushing syndrome
  • nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
  • acromegaly (too much growth hormone)
  • androgen steroid use
10

ok two things.

i have high shbg and have a high carb diet (380 ish grams) because it says it lowers shbg.

i eat with olive oil

the fiber one was a study done with high fiber intake BUT low fat intake (wut?)

i eat cashews because its not the same as almonds. but i do eat peanut butter (shit)

i read a lot of people eliminating almonds to lower shbg but failed.

its possible this might be genetic

11

Olive oil is suppose to increase SHBG.

Who doesn’t.

This is more for collateral damage. Its not like cutting out almonds is going to solve your high shbg. More like, if you have higher shbg already, (like some people do, including myself) it would be prudent to avoid these things that have been shown in some studies to show an increase in SHBG.

I was eating almonds everyday. I don’t eat them at all anymore, not a big deal. Not too sure how it affected my SHBG, probably wouldn’t hurt to have a few, but its easier to just modify my diet.

12

yeah i need to cut out olive oil. did not know it could lead to high shbg. peanuts in general (yes pb too) could increase shbg

people say to eat macademia or brazil

not even a high carb diet could decrease my shbg. i eliminated everything except olive oil and 1 serving of pb. and olive oil is not even a serving and use it to stir fry (losing cals from it). dang i remember when i started eating pb. i had 3-4 servings daily.

the fiber one is really something i wanted to try since i eat 50 grams daily but tbh the study seems weird to me so i haven’t try it. i love veggies fruits and oats too much

13

Can someone explain why we want to raise SHBG? I thought that it lowers free test. Is there at reason? Is it to bind estrogen?

Or do you want to bind injected test to stabilize levels with fewer injections

14

Only if you are very low @mertdawg Then it is really hard to dial in your TRT, fluctuating free hormones.