On April 9, Dr. Moshe Shifrine was awarded a patent for the medicinal qualities of the truffle mushroom in TAroma™.

Thanks to a product invented by microbiologist Moshe Shifrine, Ph.D., I have learned a lot about testosterone in the last few months–including the likelihood that I have more now than when I met him, but more about that later.

Back in December I interviewed  Dr. Shifrine about a new product he had brought to market called TAroma ™. In a little atomizer, truffle molecules are suspended in grain alcohol. The truffle molecules contain testosterone, and an individual inhales those  molecules from a little spritz on the wrist. The theory is that in those of receptive age (the very elderly may not respond) the body will proceed to produce its own testosterone and other hormones as well. By verifying this fact and based on the resulting health benefits, Dr. Shifrine secured his patent.

We all  know that hormones are important to well-being. They keep us lively, youthful, energetic, and attractive to one another. When they decline in middle age, there are all sorts of sad side effects: loss of  libido and erectile dysfunction in men and hot flashes, night sweats, and sleeplessness among women.  Both may suffer depression and mood swings. As well, there are less obvious problems afoot, including loss of bone and muscle mass. What I didn’t know until I met Dr. Shifrine is that research has begun to suggest a connection between decline in testosterone and the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.

I also didn’t know that women have testosterone, although at our peek we produce only 1/20th of the amount men do. In the background paper on his invention, Dr. Shifrine explains that young men produce about 6 milligrams of testosterone per day, and healthy women  produce 0.3 milligrams per day.

The Black Diamond Truffle

The development of  TAroma™ has been a 27-year journey for Dr. Shifrine, who left his career as a professor of microbiology to try to grow the black truffle commercially. He was fascinated by the extraordinary properties of the fungus, including its unusual fragrance and the taste that enraptures. Alexandre Dumas wrote that it was impossible to define the nature of  the truffle, and when it was itself interrogated, it answered simply “Eat us and praise the Lord.”

However, in all the years of his research, Dr. Shifrine discovered that the truffle contains testosterone, which may be key to its hallowed reputation. With TAroma™ on the market, he hopes to attract an investment that will enable him to continue researching its many potential benefits. In addition to mitigating the side effects of aging through hormone depletion, testosterone olfaction may also be useful in preventing depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease as well as Alzheimers.

Long interested in ways to enhance health naturally, I was intrigued by Dr. Shifrine’s findings and decided to do my own personal research. I ordered a two-month supply at Taroma™ online. (There is a special site for menopause issues.) I wasn’t having any health problems but did feel benefits, including more energy both intellectual and physical and what I would call greater emotional sensitivity. I haven’t been tested, but maybe a higher testosterone level accounts for my new combativeness on the subject of climate change. (See previous post.) It is probably also a benefit in building muscle and bone mass at the gym. If I start getting hairy, I’ll suspend the regimen.

This product brings up the subject of how each of us approaches health, and I committed long ago to optimize mine in the hope of going the distance in good form. A healthy diet, exercise, and an interest in alternative medicine have all been very helpful, and so far, so good. I’m fit and taking no prescriptions. It seems that when you commit to health, opportunities to enhance it continually come up, and I recognized Dr. Shifrine’s product as such.

Coincidences often sharpen the focus on an interest, and just recently a number of articles have appeared about the dangers in supplementing testosterone through pharmaceuticals. In that case, a man is ingesting the hormone instead of trying to stimulate the development of his own through TAroma™.

I looked up the  potential side effects of testosterone as a drug, and they are pretty scary: nausea, vomiting, headache, oily skin, hair loss, acne, mood changes, trouble sleeping, symptoms of liver disease, and edema that could lead to heart failure. Brother. Pharmaceuticals can be so powerful for ill as well as good.

Everybody has to make their own decisions, of  course, but my experience with the effect of  TAroma™ has been very pleasant. It makes me think  that Dr. Shifrine has provided an important option for those with relevant health issues. The most likely candidates in that group are those whose imaginations will be stimulated by all the ways  in which the homely little black truffle has enchanted humanity for thousands of years. The mind is such a powerful thing, especially when it opens. And maybe the truffle has a new message through TAroma™: “Sniff us and praise the Lord.”

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