Essentials: Tools for Hormone Optimization in Males | Dr. Kyle Gillett

“It also has a unique effect. Well, not too unique because Tadalafil actually has this effect as well, is that it increases the density of the androgen receptor in the cytoplasm of your cells. So even if your androgen receptor sensitivity doesn't change, and even if your testosterone does not change, you will have more testosterone binding to that increased number of receptors.”

“that a number of men or i should say a number of physicians prescribing low-dose Tadalafil also known as Cialis to their male patients so in dosage ranges of like 2.5 milligrams to 5 milligrams per day but not for erectile dysfunction but rather for improving prostate health and presumably they get sort of a boost in terms of blood flow”

“to your patients and of what age? Tadalafil is a very underrated medication the age would kind of depend on the indication. So Tadalafil is also a blood pressure medication it can very slightly decrease blood pressure especially at higher doses.”

“One other benefit or other use of Tadalafil is that it increases the density of the androgen receptor, similarly to L-carnitine. So, that's an interesting benefit. Another benefit is that if you give it to people with nocturia, which is urinating at night in general, it will cut the episodes in half.”

“Along with that, I would put L-Carnitine.”

“it's probably a lot of L-carnitine. How much should people take per day? Usually I recommend for oral L-carnitine, between 1,000 milligrams and up to four or 5,000 milligrams. So one to four, maybe even five grams.”

“Is it true that I can offset any negative effects of alpha-GPC? That is, N-L-carnitine that I take by ingesting garlic? Is that right? There's a compound in garlic called allicin. I believe it's A-L-L-I-C-I-N.”

“So what other supplement-based tools can people consider? Another one we can loop in with creatine is Betaine. Some people are non-responders to creatine, so you can increase that to 10 grams, or you can use its cousin, Betaine, to help with amino acid synthesis and shunting of energy.”

“if they're a creatine non-responder? One to three grams. Per day? Yeah. Several versions of creatine have Betaine mixed in because it helps with the processing of methionine and homocysteine. So if somebody is already taking creatine and likes it and responds to it, and I'll raise my hand, such as myself, would adding Betaine help, or is it redundant with creatine?”

“you will have more testosterone binding to that increased number of receptors. Does one need to cycle L-carnitine, creatine, Betaine? No reason to cycle any of those. What other supplements can one use to try and improve hormone profiles?”

“We can talk about things that affect the steroidogenesis cascade. So we could touch on Tongkat Ali. I know we've talked about that a little bit before. Yeah, but I'm guessing a number of people probably haven't heard that conversation. Also known as LongJack, and that upregulates several different enzymes in the steroidogenesis cascade.”

“But Tongkat helps with the conversion of multiple key steps where you synthesize testosterone. Another, think of it as like a coenzyme or a cofactor, an upregulator of these steps is insulin and IGF-1.”

“What sorts of dosages of Tongkat do you recommend to your patients? Anywhere from 300 to 1200 milligrams a day. With Tongkat, you need to be careful with the standardization because, and if you're thinking about a general Tongkat supplement, which is byfar the most well-studied, then you're looking at the Eurycomanone content”

“Is that right? There's a compound in garlic called allicin. I believe it's A-L-L-I-C-I-N. It's also part of the scientific name, the genus of types of garlic. And this can help decrease the conversion to TMAO.”

“and then just optimizing your gut microbiome can decrease conversion. So not too much. Not everyone needs allicin, but it's something that you should certainly consider if you were on a high dose. I'm going to continue to take the 600 milligrams of garlic every time I take my L-carnitine,”

“in even their teenage years and their 20s. You mentioned the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, and there is mythology out there that creatine can increase hair loss. I'm guessing because there's at least one study showing that creatine can increase DHT, dihydrotestosterone, and DHT is one of the primary hormones that can promote male pattern baldness.”

“Betaine, do you recall what dosage people typically would take if they're a creatine non-responder? One to three grams. Per day? Yeah. Several versions of creatine have Betaine mixed in because it helps with the processing of methionine and homocysteine.”

“And your gut microbiota determine how much that happens. Is it true that I can offset any negative effects of alpha-GPC? That is, N-L-carnitine that I take by ingesting garlic? Is that right? There's a compound in garlic called allicin.”

“I believe it's A-L-L-I-C-I-N. It's also part of the scientific name, the genus of types of garlic. And this can help decrease the conversion to TMAO. Berberine actually slightly decreases the conversion to TMAO as well, probably through alteration of the gut microbiome, and then just optimizing your gut microbiome can decrease conversion.”

“Many people that have just a bit of predisposition, they can use things that are topical antiandrogens. Ketoconazole is one of them. Caffeine is actually another one. Wait, you have to explain how this works.”

“enough to be clinically significant. Usually caffeine is put into formulations with other things like ketoconazole that are also weak antiandrogens. Of note, spironolactone can be prescribed topically, but it is absorbed. Systemically, because the size of the molecule. So unless your doctor specifically prescribes that for you, especially as a male, do not use topical spironolactone.”

“every time I take my L-carnitine, but I'm going to skip the berberine because berberine gives me brutal headaches and it makes me crave carbohydrates because it drops my blood sugar. It has many other effects, including the dawn phenomenon, where it drops your blood sugar when you're sleeping and you can't even realize it.”

“some tissues, but not other receptors in other tissues. For example, Clomid can inhibit receptors that are in the eye and it can cause visual changes, blurry vision, especially at higher doses.”

“high in soils in Greece and Turkey. So eating dates or raisins that are from those areas potentially have more boron. Boron also might be one of the reasons why the reference range for testosterone is much higher in those countries than other countries.”

“therapy or take exogenous DHEA or anything like that? We could talk about Fadogia next. Fadogia is interesting because it's a genus of plants. Fadogia agrestis is one of them. There's many others that are very interesting. That species is likely the most well-studied, and it will increase LH.”

“we talked about before, DHT receptors being on the scalp and causing beard growth on the face. Is it the case that a number of people taking things like Propecia and other things to block the DHT or disrupt the DHT pathway are going to experience diminished sex drive, diminished kind of motivation and general vigor?”

“high in soils in Greece and Turkey. So eating dates or raisins that are from those areas potentially have more boron. Boron also might be one of the reasons why the reference range for testosterone is much higher in those countries than other countries.”

“enough to be clinically significant. Usually caffeine is put into formulations with other things like ketoconazole that are also weak antiandrogens. Of note, spironolactone can be prescribed topically, but it is absorbed. Systemically, because the size of the molecule. So unless your doctor specifically prescribes that for you, especially as a male, do not use topical spironolactone.”

“So unless your doctor specifically prescribes that for you, especially as a male, do not use topical spironolactone. Topical finasteride is also a smaller molecule. So it is also systemically absorbed, but it is not extremely well systemically absorbed. If you take topical finasteride, then usually your systemic DHT will decrease by about 30 percent.”

“what other sorts of nutrients are important during development? You want to have adequate vitamin D. Vitamin D helps with testosterone. Testosterone production helps, again, with bone mineralization and stature. After an age of about 25, and there's not a strict cutoff, but up to about an age of 25, optimizing your growth hormone and IGF-1 helps with bone density and bone growth.”

“the testosterone molecule and limiting the amount of so-called free testosterone that's available to have its impact on cells. Okay, so vitamin D3, I'm guessing you're talking about vitamin D3 specifically when you say vitamin D, and then boron 5 to 12 milligrams per day, right? And then what are some of the other things to optimize testosterone that are in supplement form?”

Also filed under Vitamin D

“there a dose dependence there it significantly does there is a dose dependence in general i would not recommend more than uh three to four you know standard drinks uh one huge glass of wine is probably”