Summary of Art Of Manliness Podcast Episode: Boost Testosterone Levels with Dr. Kyle Gillett on The Art of Manliness
Podcast: Art Of Manliness
7 min. read
— Description —
Discover the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for low testosterone Learn how to improve your testosterone levels naturally through sleep, diet, and stress management Explore the benefits and risks of testosterone replacement therapy
Plus, find out which supplements can help optimize your testosterone levels.
Boost Testosterone Levels with Dr. Kyle Gillett on The Art of Manliness
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
Intro
Overlooked Hormones
Understanding Testosterone
Diagnosing Low Testosterone
Symptoms of Low Testosterone
The Effects of Low T
Causes of Low Testosterone
Why Are Testosterone Levels Dropping?
Optimal Levels
How To Fix Low T
Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT)
What Younger Men Can Do To Optimize Hormones
Key Takeaways
- Low testosterone is often best treated if 1) you have symptoms and 2) have a testosterone level below 400
- Testosterone levels can vary depending on the quality of your recent sleep and diet
- Symptoms of low testosterone: depression, anxiety, low libido, erectile dysfunction, low sperm production
- People who are significantly hypogonadal for a long time are at a much higher risk for osteoporosis, neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, and others
- Metabolic syndrome is the most common cause of low testosterone
- Obstructive sleep apnea is the second most common cause of low T
- For most men, an optimal testosterone number is between 500 and as high as you can go naturally
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How to improve T: get better and more sleep, improve your diet, manage stress, drink less alcohol, etc.
- Improving these behaviors will make you more insulin sensitive (which is a good thing)
- Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is an option when the benefits of increasing T outweigh the risks of remaining at low levels of T, and when the patient understands the risks and the benefits of the therapy
- Supplements mentioned by Dr. Kelly Gillett for testosterone optimization: Creatine, L-Carnitine, Calcium D-Glucarate, and Tongkat Ali
Intro
- Dr. Kyle Gillett (IG: @kylegillettmd) is a dual board-certified physician in family medicine and obesity medicine and an expert in optimizing hormone levels to improve overall health. He is also the host of The Gillett Health Podcast. His work can be found at GillettHealth.com.
- In this conversation, Dr. Kyle Gillett and Brett McKay discuss how to optimize your testosterone, symptoms of low T, causes of low T, supplements, TRT, why testosterone levels are dropping, and more
- Check out these Podcast Notes on Kyle’s first conversation with Andrew Huberman
- Host: Brett McKay (@artofmanliness)
Overlooked Hormones
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While testosterone is the most well-known androgen, there are others such as DHEA and DHT
- DHT is vitally important for secondary sexual characteristic development
- Estrogen is important for optimal male health
- Testosterone aromatizes and directly converts to estrogen
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It is best for males to have high levels of estrogen as long as they feel good, according to Dr. Kyle Gillett
- Optimal levels of estrogen reduce the risk of heart attacks
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Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHGP): an androgen-binding globulin that is made in the liver and the testes
- SHGP regulates all the hormones and keeps them stable
- The higher the SHGP, the more stable the level will be
- Men produce a lot of testosterone when they sleep, so SHGP levels are much higher in the morning
- The most common cause for deficient levels of SHGP is insulin resistance, which is often caused by consuming too many calories, carbohydrates, or sugar
Understanding Testosterone
- Total testosterone and free testosterone are the two ways to measure a person’s testosterone
- Total testosterone is the total amount of T whether it is bound or unbound
- Bound testosterone can be attached to albumin or SHGP
- Free testosterone is unbound testosterone
- The free testosterone can be very different in the bloodstream (where it is measured) compared to its levels inside the cell
- Muscle building and athletic performance are typically more correlated with free testosterone
- How you feel is typically more correlated with total testosterone
- Insurance companies and academic studies typically put more weight into total testosterone, partly because free T is often measured inaccurately
- Low testosterone is often best treated if 1) you have symptoms and 2) have a testosterone level below 400
Diagnosing Low Testosterone
- One blood test alone is not sufficient to diagnose low T
- Testosterone levels can vary depending on the quality of your recent sleep and diet
- Dr. Kyle Gillett recommends getting at least two readings
Symptoms of Low Testosterone
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Symptoms of low T vary across systems. Some include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Low libido
- Erectile dysfunction
- Low sperm production
- Low muscle mass is not a symptom that Dr. Gillett looks for
The Effects of Low T
- People who are significantly hypogonadal for a long time are at a much higher risk for osteoporosis, neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, and others
Causes of Low Testosterone
- Metabolic syndrome is the most common cause of low testosterone
- Metabolic syndrome can be caused by excess calories, excess carbohydrates, excess sugar, insulin resistance
- High fasting insulin results in the liver not producing SHGP
- An individual with metabolic syndrome may be producing enough testosterone, but it could be getting metabolized so fast that it is difficult to use
- Obstructive sleep apnea is the second most common cause of low T
- Theoretically, xenoestrogens could be a cause of low T
- Xenoestrogens are things like phthalates, BPAs, and PCBs
- Xenoestrogens bind to various estrogen receptors and can shut down the hormones that lead to testosterone production
- Heat damage can contribute to low T
- It is optimal to keep the testes at 91 or 92 degrees
Why Are Testosterone Levels Dropping?
- Metabolic syndrome, being overweight, and obstructive sleep apnea are probably the primary causes of falling testosterone levels, according to Dr. Kyle Gillett
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Falling rates may also be caused by “epigenetic drift” or “unnatural selection” where individuals with higher T levels are no longer being selected for as early, and also a lot of individuals are having kids later on in life
- Parents having children in their 30s and 40s have different maternal and paternal hormone profiles compared to earlier in life
- This may be resulting in different hormonal profiles being passed down to offspring
- Theoretically, higher T men would have been more willing to go to the front lines in WWI, WWII, and other wars, which increased the chances of them dying and not passing down their high T hormone profile to offspring
- Theoretically, higher T men tend to take more risk, and doing so may take them out of the gene pool
- Theoretically, lower T men may be doing better in this high-tech world we live in, causing women to choose them as mates and therefore passing lower T profiles down to subsequent generations
Optimal Levels
- For most men, an optimal testosterone number is between 500 and as high as you can go naturally
- Remember to interpret the T measurement in the context of symptoms or lack thereof
- There is little to no benefit to getting your testosterone above 600, according to Dr. Kyle Gillett
How To Fix Low T
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If a pituitary issue does not cause the low T, then Dr. Gilet starts the patient with lifestyle changes: better sleep, diet, less drinking, getting to a healthy weight, reducing stress, etc.
- Improvements in these areas help the patient become more insulin sensitive
- It may take 1-2 months for testosterone to recover through lifestyle changes
- He may also implement medication, such as HCG or a short course of selective estrogen modifiers
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Supplements that help optimize testosterone:
- Creatine (5-10g per day)
- L-Carnitine (for athletic performance and body composition)
- Calcium D-Glucarate (if the patient has high estradiol)
- Tongkat Ali (signals to the testes to ramp up production)
Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT)
- TRT is an option when the benefits of increasing T outweigh the risks of remaining at low levels of T, and when the patient understands the risks and the benefits of the therapy
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Risks of TRT:
- Causes more fluid retention and swelling
- Increased blood clot risk if going into a bulk and consuming alcohol
- “Bad cholesterol” numbers may get worse (watch apo-B)
- TRT in and of itself will not improve health; it is a tool to help you achieve your goals
- TRT may reduce your likelihood of getting diabetes
- Most individuals are on TRT indefinitely once they start, but not everyone
- He estimates that 90% of people who start TRT will remain on it indefinitely
- Most will be able to achieve their previous level of T if they were to come off
What Younger Men Can Do To Optimize Hormones
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Do not do a “huge dirty bulk” in early adolescents
- He does not advise younger men or boys to intentionally put on weight for football, for example
- Putting on too much adipose tissue too young may limit overall growth
- Consume enough fiber
- Establish a reasonable balance between cardiovascular exercise and resistance training
- Low quality and insufficient amount of sleep are one of the primary causes of suboptimal hormone profiles in the youth
- For some, creatine supplementation may make sense
- Reduce exposure to BPAs and phthalates
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Test your water if you live in an area where the risk of contamination is higher
- Dr. Gilet uses mytapscore.com to test his tap water
- Eat whole foods and avoid ultra-processed foods