How to Optimize Testosterone & Estrogen | Episode 15

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2021

⏱️ 122 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, I discuss testosterone and estrogen hormones and how they impact the brain, body, and behavior after puberty. I also discuss how various behaviors such as exercise (resistance and endurance training) and sex or observing sex impact these hormones and their levels. I ask: "what specifically is it about such activities that impact testosterone and estrogen?"; the resounding theme is that when our nervous system is activated in particular ways, it drives our endocrine system and vascular system to activate or repress certain hormone networks in predictable ways. I also discuss peer-reviewed studies and protocols addressing (at a mechanistic level) how light, cold and heat, and respiration (breathing) can positively or negatively impact testosterone and estrogen. We discuss specific supplements and compounds that peer-reviewed studies illustrate can adjust testosterone and estrogen levels by changing their binding to other proteins, raising them directly, or changing other hormones released from the brain and pituitary. I discuss optimization in the normal reference ranges for these hormones, and I discuss pheromones, apnea, menstrual cycles, menopause and andropause. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Maui Nui: https://mauinuivenison.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction (00:05:50) Hormone Optimization (00:07:00) Salutogenesis: A Powerful Way to Conceptualize Health (00:10:03) Estrogen and Testosterone: Sources, Levels and Ratios (00:15:46) The Power of Competition, Plus: Anxiety, Persistence and Dopamine (00:20:58) Testosterone and Libido Pre-Ovulation (00:21:48) Estrogen and Sexual Receptivity; Libido In Males (00:23:10) How Sex Behavior Impacts Testosterone: Observing vs. Actual vs. Abstinence (00:26:46) Testosterone and Prolactin: Sex Seeking vs Pair Bonding (00:27:30) DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone): Effects on Levels/Ratios (00:28:45) Behaviors That Decrease Testosterone (and Cortisol): Parenting and Prolactin (00:31:24) How Illness Impacts Testosterone and Estrogen: Cytokines, e.g., IL-6 (00:33:20) How Exactly Do Behaviors Change Hormones? (00:34:18) Pheromones: Miscarriage, Menstrual Cycles, Puberty Onset, and Mate Recognition (00:43:33) Apnea: A Powerful Bi-Directional Influence On Estrogen and Testosterone (00:47:44) Mouth vs. Nose Breathing and Hormone Levels: Effects Via Sleep and Direct Effects (00:51:11) How Sleep Adjusts Cortisol/Testosterone and Cortisol/Estrogen Ratios (00:53:49) 02:CO2 Ratios, Nasal Breathing During Exercise (00:56:30) Light Viewing Patterns and Hormones: Dopamine, GnRH (00:57:44) Spring Fever: Tyrosinase, Hair Color, Mating Frequency (01:04:39) Specificity of Hormone Effects (01:06:03) Temperature: Cold and Hot Gonads (01:14:10) How To Exercise: Types, Effort Level, Sequencing (01:21:42) Cardio/Endurance vs. Resistance Training (First or Last?) Yes, It Matters (01:24:41) Estrogen and Menopause: Compounds That May Ameliorate/Reverse Symptoms (01:33:18) Nutrients That Optimize The Foundation For Hormones (01:36:00) Opioids as Severe Hormone Disruptors (01:37:23) Testes, Antlers and Ovaries (01:38:50) Creatine and Increasing DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) (01:40:14) Free and Bound Testosterone: SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin), Tongat Ali (01:43:23) Nettles, Prostate, Boron, and Blood Brain Barrier (01:45:27) Hormone Related Cancers: Sometimes Reducing Estrogen and Testosterone Is Optimal (01:47:43) Ecdysteroids: Mimic Mammalian Hormones (01:51:50) Optimizing Brain Hormones: Chorionic Gonadotropin, Fadogia Agrestis (01:57:18) Additional Compounds, Liver Toxicity, Overall Milieu (01:59:17) Summary: And Note About Additional Related Topic Coverage Coming Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:09.0	I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.0	This podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford.
0:19.0	It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public.
0:26.0	Our first sponsor is Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all-in-one vitamin mineral probiotic drink.
0:32.0	I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012, so I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast.
0:37.0	The reason I started taking Athletic Greens and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice a day is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs.
0:45.0	It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have.
0:47.0	In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health.
0:52.0	I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood, and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body.
1:06.0	With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need, and the probiotics to support my microbiome.
1:12.0	If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to AthleticGreens.com slash Huberman and claim a special offer. They'll give you five free travel packs, plus a year supply of vitamin D3K2.
1:22.0	There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health, even if we're getting a lot of sunshine.
1:30.0	Many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3.
1:33.0	And K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body, and so on.
1:42.0	Again, go to AthleticGreens.com slash Huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D3K2.
1:47.0	Today's episode is also brought to us by Inside Tracker.
1:50.0	Inside Tracker is a personalized nutrition platform that analyzes data from your blood and DNA to help you better understand your body and help you reach your health goals.
1:58.0	I am a big fan of getting regular blood work done, and I've been trying to do it as much as I can afford for years.
2:04.0	The reason is that many of the factors that impact our immediate and long-term health can only be discovered from a quality blood test.
2:12.0	With most blood tests in DNA tests, however, you get information back, but not a lot of information about what to do with those numbers.
2:19.0	With Inside Tracker, they give you a lot of specific recommendations as to lifestyle factors, nutrition factors, supplementation factors, things you may want to add to your life, or things you may want to delete from your life in order to bring the numbers into the ranges that are best for your immediate and long-term health.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Scicomm Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Scicomm Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.