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Guest Episode Episode 34

Testosterone Explained (Low T, Muscle Growth, Aging & TRT) | Dr. Ben House

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  1. Dr. Ben House

    People are not getting informed consent. And that's why the TRT discontinuation rates are also bananas, because they aren't being sold the true story. This can be done really, really well. Testosterone can be life-changing if it's needed. It can be absolutely huge. But it can also be done really, really poorly, just like anything else. And in those cases, people are not being told the true story. And really, if testosterone is ever your first line, just from a low testosterone draw, if testosterone is the answer there, I'm walking to the door.

  2. Dr. Andy Galpin

    Yeah.

  3. Dr. Ben House

    It's not as simple as low testosterone, testosterone. There's 120 things that can cause low testosterone. You should be asking, "Why is this low?"

  4. Dr. Andy Galpin

    The science and practice of enhancing human performance for sport, play, and life. Welcome to Perform. I'm Dr. Andy Galpin. I'm a professor and scientist of human performance. And today, I'm talking with Dr. Ben House. Ben is a PhD in nutritional sciences and has spent the last 20 years or so working with high-level performers, almost especially, but not exclusively, in professional sports. He has been one of my absolute top and go-to resources for nutrition and physiology for the better part of two decades now. He brings an unbelievable depth and understanding of both the literature, as well as the practical relevance to that. In this conversation, you're going to learn a ton about testosterone. Everything from what testosterone really is, how it's impacted by aging, how it's impacted by nutrition and other relevant factors. You're going to also learn a ton about some misconceptions and some of the things that are being purported commonly in media and other avenues about what's really going on with testosterone and how we should be thinking about it across our culture.

  5. Dr. Andy Galpin

    So that said, I hope you enjoy our long and detailed conversation with Dr. Ben House. Dr. Ben House, welcome in.

  6. Dr. Ben House

    Thanks for having me.

  7. Dr. Andy Galpin

    So beyond excited to have you here. A lot of areas I want to go into today. You've been in pro sports for a long time. You've been in this entire world of performance and nutrition and science for as long as anybody I know. But I want to start with testosterone. I know you've done a bunch of work lately. You've got a bunch of papers that you've authored and published, and a whole bunch of stuff going on. So if you wouldn't mind, can you just give us everything there ever is to know about testosterone and keep it in 30 seconds?

  8. Dr. Ben House

    Sure. Yeah. It's a male hormone.

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In this episode, my guest is Dr. Ben House, a nutritional scientist who has spent nearly two decades working with elite athletes and professional sports teams.

We take a detailed look at testosterone, what your lab results can and cannot tell you, and why a higher number does not automatically mean better health or more muscle. Ben explains total and free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and how testing methods, sleep, hydration, meals, and the timing of your blood draw can affect the result. We examine research on testosterone and muscle growth, why population averages can obscure individual differences, and how metabolic health complicates the story of testosterone and aging. We also discuss obesity, low energy availability, dietary fat, carbohydrates, micronutrients, and recovering after a calorie deficit. Ben shares his approach to investigating low testosterone, the importance of informed consent before testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and the distinction between restoring normal levels and using higher doses for performance or physique goals. We finish with lessons from professional sports on managing training loads, fueling, sleep, and recovery. This episode is for anyone who wants to better understand hormone testing, support long-term performance, and make more informed decisions about testosterone.

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