How to respond in the pharmacy

When it comes to advising customers asking about testosterone boosters, public health nutritionist Dr Emma Derbyshire from the Health and Food Supplements Information Service (HSIS) says:

“A calm, non-judgemental approach is important. Many customers are looking for reassurance, practical advice or help interpreting conflicting information online, so dismissing concerns or appearing critical can make conversations less effective.”

Dr Derbyshire’s advice for pharmacy counter staff is to acknowledge the customer’s interest while giving balanced, evidence-based information, using simple phrases such as: 

• “A lot of people are asking about these at the moment”
• “Some products are heavily marketed online but the evidence behind them varies”
• “It’s worth looking at the bigger picture of sleep, diet, exercise and overall health too.”

“The evidence for most OTC testosterone boosters is limited,” says Dr Derbyshire. “For example, a major systematic review examining 27 commonly promoted ingredients found that most products did not significantly increase testosterone levels in healthy men.

Evidence for ingredients such as tribulus terrestris, creatine, D-aspartic acid and many herbal extracts was either weak, inconsistent or showed no meaningful benefit.

For zinc, there is evidence that supplementation may improve testosterone levels, but this is amongst men who are deficient to begin with, and more trials are needed to confirm this.”

Dr Derbyshire says it is also helpful to explain that many symptoms linked online to low testosterone, such as tiredness, low mood or reduced gym performance, can have other causes, including stress, poor sleep, low calorie intake, over-training, mental health issues or underlying medical conditions.

“Customers should also be reminded that supplements are not medicines, so they are not designed to treat but to bridge gaps in a diet. Quality, purity and ingredient levels can vary, so customers and pharmacy staff need to look at what is included in an ingredient blend,” she says.