Optimizing Testosterone: Top 4 Insights from Huberman Lab

From the famed Humberman lab podcast comes an extensive chat with hormone expert Dr. Kyle Gillett about testosterone and the crucial role that it (and other hormones) play in our bodily functions. Every human is essentially a bag of chemical reactions controlled, monitored, and adjusted by hormones. Our metabolism, mood, and reproductive health are all modulated by hormones.

Here, we delve into key insights from this extensive podcast, where I also offer some of my knowledge and research. We aim to have you walk away with an appreciation for hormones, including testosterone, and what you can do to optimize them in your body.

Insight #1: Impact of Lifestyle Factors

Lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, and sleep profoundly influence hormonal balance. The control of hormones over the human body is most pronounced at puberty. These changes can be interrupted or even altered by various factors. One factor is early childhood and adolescent obesity. Fat in the body can become leptin-resistant, which results in the pituitary gland causing an increased production of testosterone and estrogen. When this happens early in life, it results in physiological changes that can affect hormone levels, including testosterone, for the rest of one’s life. This is one reason that at a young age, “dirty bulking” (or weight gain done quickly to attempt to build muscle) during adolescence should be avoided.

At age 18 and onward, everyone should have their bloodwork completed twice yearly. Major health issues, hormone imbalances, and valuable insight can be gained from this data. If you are not completing labwork every six months, you can benefit from doing so at any age, especially under the guidance of an astute medical practitioner.

Consistency is vital with exercise when balancing testosterone and other hormones. The benefits of exercise on the brain are profound. However, the benefits of hormone optimization are equally pronounced. Vigorous exercise should be limited to one hour or less, not more than three times weekly. This should be combined with two to three other exercise sessions on moderately difficult but not vigorous days. Finishing a workout with some reserve is beneficial to complete the day's activities. Jogging at least once weekly for 45 minutes substantially improves blood profiles.

Insight #2: Impact of Environmental Factors

Men should optimize diet, exercise, and sleep throughout their lifespan. Vitamin D is crucial and fat-soluble, meaning the body holds onto it. Vitamin D is essential for hormones, mood, and immune function. One of the best ways to prevent cancer is to ensure you have the upper range of Vitamin D in your labs. Boron, a mineral in soils depleted due to modern farming, is another supplement that optimizes hormone balance.

Caloric restriction is not an optimal method of weight loss, nor is it beneficial for testosterone production. It directly lowers testosterone levels in your body. Intermittent fasting, while focusing on unprocessed foods and healthy fats, is one of the more proven ways to lose weight and balance testosterone levels. Becoming lean before building bulk is also ideal, as it will allow you to boost your testosterone levels over time naturally.

Sleep needs to be high quality. You can have nights where sleep is deprived here and there, but resetting and sticking to a strict sleep routine and schedule while ensuring you hone (and protect) your circadian rhythm is vital.

Stress management is an essential part of hormone optimization as well. Working on mindfulness, getting sunlight, attending social events, and simply having time to open yourself up to others emotionally helps lower cortisol levels. Behavioral changes come first, followed by nutritional and physical changes, and then supplementation to enhance the modern male.

“Behavioral changes come first, followed by nutritional and physical changes, and then supplementation to enhance the modern male.”

Insight #3: The Dopamine Wave Pool & Libido

Dopamine released in the brain causes feelings of pleasure, motivation, and gratification. The “Dopamine Wave Pool” refers to a phenomenon where dopamine release is increased so much that when it dissipates, it results in a dopamine crash. This scenario, if it occurs often, can cause a crash of a man’s libido as well. Excessive self-pleasure and pornography can cause such a crash that real-world interactions are not enough to stimulate sexual gratification. Intimacy with a partner that involves physical, sexual, and dopamine release is essential for hormone regulation and optimization. While testosterone supplementation and optimization through natural means can increase your libido, fostering a practice of healthy real-world relationships over virtual (and inappropriate encounters) works to balance dopamine release, hormone stabilization, and fulfilling gratification.

Insight #4: Risks and Benefits of Testosterone Replacement

Maintaining healthy testosterone and estrogen levels throughout a male’s lifetime is paramount. Younger people who take testosterone can limit growth and fertility. While men in their 20s can (and do) take testosterone, this must be monitored closely by a healthcare practitioner. Essentially, it is safer to start a male on testosterone who is in his late 20s than in his early 20s.

Testosterone supplementation is an effective tool for health optimization. Other supplements, such as creatinine, betaine, L-carnitine, and Allicin, are beneficial. A hormone in the body called SHBG can attach to testosterone in the body and make it unusable. This lowers Total Testosterone. Monitoring SHBG is essential to a man’s overall Free Testosterone (a portion of the Total Testosterone in the body that is unbound and available for use). Dr. Gillett mentions the amount of free testosterone in the body compared to total testosterone should have a ratio of about 2%. This ideal ratio can be extended to 3% or more if done closely and correctly.

Increasing testosterone with Fadogia Agresti can be beneficial. It increases Leutinizing Hormone (LH) in the body, which tells the testicles to make more testosterone. Dosing of 300-1200 mg or higher (ideally every other day to limit potential toxicity) for one month with a one-week break between each cycle can help to raise testosterone levels safely.

The use of Peptides is also another way in which a man’s health can be optimized. If done carefully and competently, a whole new toolbox is opened. We’ll investigate this in future blog posts, so stay tuned.

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Beyond lifestyle variables, limiting environmental impact, and honing natural supplementation, testosterone treatment is the basis of any male optimization program. The key is personalization. A cookie-cutter approach to health optimization and testosterone regulation is not ideal. Working with a skilled health practitioner who collaborates closely with you and who has your best interest in mind is crucial. That’s what we do at Lucidity Men’s Clinic, and we encourage you to Contact Us to begin your optimized health journey.