T-Hero is a dietary supplement sold by a brand called Essential Elements that’s used to naturally increase testosterone (T) levels. The brand claims that their supplement has “traditional herbs with modern elements” and that the supplement “[promotes] the body’s ability to create proper levels of testosterone.”

But does T-Hero contain ingredients proven to increase T levels? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Can it cause side effects? And what was our Product Tester's experience trying T-Hero for a month?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in T-Hero to give our take on whether or not the supplement is likely to be effective, and whether or not it's healthy.

We’ll also discuss the risk of side effects, feature our Product Tester's honest experience using the supplement for a month, and compare T-Hero to other popular T-boosting supplements to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Contains active ingredients which support testosterone
• Contains one ingredient with a documented anti-androgenic effect
• We do not currently recommend T-Hero

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in T-Hero are shown below:

Ashwagandha extract is a promising herbal ingredient for testosterone support.

A clinical trial published in the American Journal of Men’s Health found that ashwagandha at a lower dose than in T-Hero increased testosterone levels in participants by 15%.

Shilajit has also been clinically shown to increase T levels, but our concern about this ingredient is its sourcing.

It’s harvested as a resin and can be high in heavy metals.

We only recommend using shilajit supplements if the manufacturer supplies third-party testing proving the shilajit to be low in contaminants, and we can’t find any evidence that T-Hero publishes this type of testing.

Diindolylmethane is a strange choice for a testosterone supplement in our opinion.

We can’t find any clinical studies proving it to increase or support testosterone, and we found two clinical trials (source 1, source 2) which found it to have an anti-androgenic effect.

Androgens are male sex hormones, and testosterone is the primary androgen, so an ingredient with an anti-androgenic effect is probably not a great choice for a T supplement.

Boron is a mineral that is clinically shown to increase T, but the 5 milligram (mg) dose in T-Hero may be underdosed.

A 2011 clinical trial reported that 11.6 mg of boron increased T levels by over 25%, but we can’t locate any studies proving this ingredient effective at the dose in this supplement.

BioPerine is typically used to enhance the absorption of other active ingredients in a formulation, and not to directly increase T levels.

The inactive ingredients in T-Hero (listed as "Other ingredients" on the Supplement Facts panel) should be safe and non-toxic.

Overall, we consider T-Hero potentially effective for naturally increasing T levels.

We do not currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of diindolylmethane, and due to our general concerns over shilajit purity.

We Tested T-Hero

One of our product testers named Matt Donnelly tested T-Hero for a month. Here's his experience:

I had no issues with the packaging. It was easy to open and consume. The capsules seem a little larger than a typical supplement capsule.

There was no notable taste.

I didn’t experience any improvements attributable to testosterone increase after taking T-Hero for about a month. I didn't notice any positive changes.

I experienced mild side effects that almost got me to stop taking the supplement during my test.

When I first started taking this,  it gave me a little bit of a stomach ache and a headache.

There were no other effects or major side effects to note.

Overall, I would rate T-Hero 0/10, and I do not plan to purchase this supplement in the future.

Does T-Hero Cause Side Effects?

T-Hero doesn’t appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, which makes it challenging to say for certain whether or not the supplement causes side effects.

However, we can make an educated guess based on its ingredients.

Ashwagandha extract can cause liver injury when taken at high doses, according to a medical review published in the Liver International journal.

We do not consider the dose in T-Hero to be particularly high, and similar doses have been proven safe in clinical trials.

However, consumers planning to take this supplement continuously over long periods of time should speak with their doctor about this risk.

This supplement previously contained an active ingredient called yohimbine which could cause severe side effects, as we documented in our Hydroxycut review article, but Essential Elements has since removed this ingredient from their formulation.

Overall, we do not consider T-Hero likely to cause side effects in healthy adults.

It contains well-studied botanical ingredients at doses that should be safe.

There is currently no reference to side effects on the T-Hero website.

T-Hero vs. Popular T-Boosters

Here's how T-Hero compares to other popular T-boosting supplements in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

Roman Testosterone Support

Contains an inactive ingredient which is clinically shown to have negative health effects in humans.

T-Hero wins from a healthiness perspective.

Winner: T-Hero

Weider Prime

Similar potential efficacy, because this supplement contains some research-backed active ingredients for increasing T, as we documented in our Weider Prime testosterone support reviews article.

Weider Prime gets the slight edge because it's free from diindolylmethane.

Winner: Weider Prime

Ageless Male

Contains a mineral at a much higher dose than its Daily Value (DV), which may be unsafe long-term.

T-Hero has a safer formulation.

Winner: T-Hero

Our Testosterone Support Picks

MBG Vitamin D3 Potency+ is our top value testosterone support pick.

Vitamin D3 supplementation has been clinically shown to increase total testosterone levels by over 25%.

Performance Lab Magnesium is our top mineral testosterone support pick.

Magnesium is a mineral that is clinically shown to increase free and total testosterone in athletes and in sedentary individuals.

Both of the products recommended in this section are free of ingredients that we consider unhealthy.

T-Hero Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Effective formulation
• Several research-backed active ingredients
• Fair price
• Positive Google reviews
• Unlikely to cause side effects
• Company removed yohimbine from its formulation

Cons:

• Shilajit is often high in contaminants
• No shilajit testing published
• Doesn't appear to have been clinically studied
• Contains an anti-androgen
• Mediocre Facebook reviews

Conclusion

T-Hero is a decently formulated supplement that we consider to be somewhat likely to increase T levels.

It contains an effective dose of ashwagandha extract, an effective dose of shilajit extract and a potentially effective boron dose based on our review of existing clinical research.

However, it also contains an ingredient clinically shown to have an anti-androgenic effect.

This supplement is free of any unhealthy inactive ingredients like artificial flavors or dyes.

Our only concern about this formulation is that shilajit can be high in heavy metals like lead due to its sourcing, and T-Hero doesn’t appear to publish any testing data proving their shilajit is pure. 

Our Product Tester tried T-Hero for a month and claimed that it caused no beneficial effects, and that it caused mild side effects like headache.

We consider T-Hero to be a healthier option than Roman Testosterone Support and Ageless Male, but a slightly less effective option than Weider Prime.