Women NEED to Know This Before Getting on HRT

Should I be on HRT? This is one of the most frequent questions I'm getting now on a regular basis. And maybe you're one of those people, you're feeling the force of aging coming on, you're feeling your hormones drop, and because of it, you're dealing with issues like loss of libido, brain fog, you know, stubborn weight gain in your belly area, your hips, and yet your labs are coming back normal.

By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly how to determine if you're a good candidate for HRT or if you simply are experiencing a If we address the nutritional deficiencies and if we make slight lifestyle shifts or even use a natural therapy like red light, many of these holistic treatments today can allow you to avoid HRT.

And here's the reality, there might be some side effects for some people, but still, HRT for some people can be a good idea. On today's episode, I'll walk you through exactly how to know that for sure. Welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show.

So in November of 2025, the FDA and Marty Makary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed the black box warning from many menopausal products for hormone replacement therapy. This does not give it a free pass. However, this black box warning was basically to say there is an increased risk of cancer Or can be when you're using hormone replacement therapy.

Now, what happened was is they pooled together a lot of studies and they found overall in most groups of women that was not the case. It didn't increase cancer very much, or it was only minuscule, and maybe a couple groups it was, it was higher.

So they said, listen, we don't, it's, we don't believe it's a big enough risk factor that we should keep this big warning on the box of saying it may cause cancer because it's keeping a lot of women from using it. And listen, I don't necessarily agree or disagree agree with that.

I think for certain women, it's a good idea and it's very helpful if your hormones are absolute rock bottom, your estrogen and progesterone are very low. I think in certain instances, it can be very helpful for women. However, I do want to share this. I know 3 women, 3 in the past year that got on HRT and then were diagnosed with estrogen-based breast cancer within a year or 2 of getting on HRT.

So here's the problem. A lot of women now are like, okay, there's no cancer risk. I can go ahead and do it. Listen, it depends on your demographic. For some women, if it's very low and you're in the right phase of life, it makes sense. But if you're too young or too old in terms of where your hormones are, it actually can increase your risk of certain types of cancer.

And, you know, I had Dr. Mindy Peltz on the show recently, and she brought up an interesting point. In several other areas of the world, including Japan and Sweden, women are using hormone replacement therapy at much lower levels than they are in the United States.

You know, in Japan, what they do first is they opt for natural remedies like black cohosh and purple sweet potatoes in their diet, and then they tend to age much better than here in the US.

If you get on hormone replacement therapy and you don't address the underlying issues of why those hormones are off in the first place, You can end up with another chronic illness or even dying early because you didn't address why your hormones are off. An example of this is men on testosterone. Let's say a man has their testosterone gets very, very low and they decide, I'm going to get on TRT.

Well, let me ask this. Why is their TRT— why is their testosterone low? Well, likely it's because insulin was too high or cortisol was too high. Well, just because now you take testosterone and bring your testosterone up, that doesn't mean you're lowering cortisol or insulin. So let's talk about HRT. And what it's good for.

Hormone replacement therapy uses what we tend to call exogenous or external hormones like estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone to replace what the body isn't producing adequately on its own. Okay? Generally, this, this happens more and more as we age. The most common symptoms it's prescribed to relieve are hot flashes is number one, poor sleep and mood changes.

And also, when it comes to men, lack of motivation, lack of strength, those are there as well. Listen, it's not a longevity cure. It's not a cure at all, but it can give you relief. And so this is where I'll give you an example of when hormone replacement therapy can make sense. Okay, let's say— and I'm going to use one woman and one man as an example.

Let's say you have a woman, and again, her hot flashes are so bad that she's only getting 5 hours of sleep a night, and she's waking up every day and she's exhausted. She just feels totally depleted.

If you can get on HRT and now sleep soundly 8 hours a night, well, even though it's not necessarily healthy to take an outside hormone in that way for a long period of time, because what happens is when you take an exogenous hormone, your body now stops producing it on its own. And we know this is true for men, right?

If a man gets on TRT testosterone, well, they're, you know, they stop producing testosterone. On their own. And this is why they will become infertile, right? So if a man gets on testosterone for that period of time and for a period of time after, they can't reproduce, they're infertile. Okay? So we know that happens with men. The very same thing happens with women.

This is why most women, the risk factor around HRT therapy for women would be most closely tied to breast cancer or something like ovarian cancer, because that's where most estrogen and progesterone are impacted or produced in those areas.

What increases your risk of disease even greater though than turning that tap off is, is not sleeping or having just absolute terrible depression or anxiety or, or mood issues, right?

So if it is destroying your wellbeing, and, and, and by the way, 80%, I believe is the, is the statistic or around that number of the, the amount of women who say that they have menopausal symptoms when they're going through menopause, that it's affecting their quality of life.

So if you get on HRT and it, greatly improves your sleep and quality of life, well, that's going to lower cortisol, that's going to raise melatonin, that's going to have a hormonal impact that's going to actually help your body heal. That's where some of those side effects of HRT can be lessened and the benefits start to outweigh the risks of HRT because you become more action-oriented.

Now, here's the ideal though. The ideal is the first thing you do is go improve your diet, And take the right supplements and do all those right things. And then if you still need it, then you consider HRT. But it shouldn't be the first thing you do in most cases. Now, if you are going to do hormone replacement therapy, it's important that you do bioidentical hormones and not synthetic.

And there is a difference. When we look at bioidentical hormones, they are structurally identical to hormones that the human body naturally produces. Now, you might be familiar with this if you've ever done HRT in the form of a hypothyroid, more natural medication.

There are thyroid meds like Armour Thyroid and Nature-Throid, where what they do is they take— Nature-Throid takes a cow, they take their thyroid, and they extract the T4 and T3. They extract some of those hormones from the animal, and then that is used in the human body.

So that is an example of a way of bioidentical hormones, very similar fashion that can be done with bioidentical hormones for women or for men. And so it's a— there are more natural ways to do it where they are identical to the human body. And these are available at pharmaceutical grade or compounding pharmacies, often better tolerated than a lot of these other prescribed medications.

Now, the synthetic are— they are structurally different from human hormones. These are often older formulations such as conjugated equine estrogens or some progestins and typically comes with more side effects. Okay? Now, I want to say this, bioidentical does not mean safe. A very similar thing happens, as I talked about, your body's getting it externally, it's not going to produce it itself.

And so there's an important— it's important to distinguish that there as well. Now, I want to turn to the Bible for a moment because it's the greatest health book ever written. And I think it brings to light a little bit of our idea around Hormones and aging.

One of the patterns I'm seeing more and more are women in their 20s that are going and starting to get, you know, their lips filled and doing a lot of things that make them look unnatural. And even also in that same way, a lot of women are getting hormones earlier and earlier. Men are getting on testosterone earlier and earlier. And I just want to say this.

Our culture today in the Western world doesn't look at aging the same way that the Bible does, or even a lot of areas in the Eastern part of the world look at it.

When you age, when you see somebody getting that silver hair, it should be distinguished in ways of a sign of wisdom and purpose and knowing that person's entering the phase of their life where they're going to be more of a mentor, where they're going to disciple others, where they're going to pass on their wisdom.

And they sort of moved— it's almost like they've moved on to that point of their life. Okay. Young, you are connected to more vanity. You tend to be more tied to the physical. As you age, you should supersede that and be able to look in the world with a more spiritual lens, with a more eternal, further down the line, be more selfless, add more value to others.

And when you're constantly reflecting on your own appearance, it can be negative. Now listen, You want to feel good. Nobody doesn't like to feel good. In fact, it's hard to disciple others. It's hard to add value to the world when you feel miserable all the time. But I do want to mention there's sort of an identity issue here where, listen, care for your body.

But listen, like, for Chelsea, my wife, like, I really— and any of you that are married in a virtuous marriage, you'll understand this. My attraction to her and love to her at this point doesn't really— is not tied primarily To how Chelsea looks, right? Chelsea could be burned in a fire and have permanent scarring, and I would love her the exact same, right?

And so with that being said, I just think there's also this sort of cultural issue we should talk about with hormone replacement therapy and what we're thinking about. I think the most important idea here is honor God with your body. We should do the best we can to eat in alignment with the way God designed us to eat, to live in tune with nature, right? And so I would say this.

Focus on aging as slowly as possible in order to do the greatest work for God, for your family, for those unique gifts you've been given. But don't over-obsess about looking perfect and trying to look 30 when you're in your 70s. Do everything you can to honor God's temple, but do it authentically. Okay? Now, I want to walk you through the biggest symptoms that push women to seek HRT.

Hot flashes and night sweats. That is number one. Sleep disruption, mood swings, anxiety and irritability, brain fog. Fatigue is a major issue. Dryness in the body. And I'll get to why that is and how to fix that. Joint aches in the body and then body composition changes, right? For men, the most common things that cause them to seek out TRT and testosterone therapy are low libido.

Erectile dysfunction, fatigue, low drive and low motivation, depressed mood, loss of strength and muscle, increased body fat, poor recovery, and as I mentioned before, a general, like, a less excited outlook on life. It goes back to this. If you're going to get on HRT, you need to follow the direction of a really great doctor who gets you on it and monitors you.

And here's the biggest thing of all. That you're doing the other correct things in combination while doing HRT. Now, here's who needs HRT the most. In most cases, women that are symptomatic in early menopause, and it's typically those women that specifically are having major sleep disruption and major lifestyle disruption. Okay?

If they're being really negatively affected, those are the women that will do the best. And in that case, the benefits of low-dose individualized HRT often outweighs the risk. And again, notice I said low dose there and that you're doing other things to support. And then also women with distressing things like major hot flashes, sexual pain and dryness.

Again, something else that's really disrupting your life and causing probably your cortisol to stay on. Those are the women that will respond best to HRT and have the least side effects. And the men that will do the best with testosterone are men that have confirmed Low testosterone symptoms based on lab findings.

Now, here's the group of people that might benefit, but they require great personalization from a great doctor. Women with bone health concerns when their symptoms are also present, and perimenopausal mood, or perimenopausal women with severe sleep disruption. And then here's who, who really doesn't— don't need HRT. Anyone with mild symptoms. Okay.

If your symptoms are just mildly bothersome, Make lifestyle changes. That'll completely correct it. Though you should not get on HRT if your symptoms are mild and people with normal fluctuations but no life impairment, you do not need HRT. You're much better off taking the right supplements, making dietary changes. Those will get you in the right range very quickly.

And here's who should absolutely avoid or use extreme caution with HRT. Anyone that has current or past Hormone-sensitive cancer. Anyone with a history of VTE or blood clotting. Anyone that has uncontrolled cardiovascular disease. Anyone with active liver disease or major gallbladder issues. And anyone with long-term use purely for prevention, not symptom relief.

Those people, listen, start making those natural holistic changes. It's important just to note this. Listen, HRT, it's not a longevity drug. Don't treat it as such. Treat it as a temporary intervention. That can restore the foundation that creates longevity, right? So, so it's something where you're saying, okay, you know what, it's time for me to get healthy.

It's time for me to change my lifestyle, my eating, do everything I can to support hormonal health. I'm going to do that. And while I do that, or after I do that, if I'm still having some issues, I'm going to get on it for a period of time while I continue to improve my lifestyle, and then I will taper off in the future.

So what I'm going to do now is I'm going to walk you through exactly what to do. To start to fix your hormones naturally, to prevent having to use HRT or TRT, or to get on the lowest dose possible. By the way, if you're finding this video helpful, do me a favor, share it with someone who might benefit from it. Also, I want to say this.

If you want a more in-depth review about my protocol and how I help people heal their hormones, you can go to draxe.com/hormoneclass. That's draxe.com/hormoneclass. If you want to watch it in its entirety, where I really go in-depth in an hour on Exactly how to heal your hormones at the cellular level. All right, let's dive in. Step number 1 is your diet, right? We talk about this all the time.

We have to stabilize blood sugar if you want to prevent needing HRT and TRT. Insulin resistance is the number 1 cause of needing hormone replacement therapy. And you really want to focus on high protein, moderate to high fiber, lots of vegetables, lots of high fiber fruits like berries and pomegranate and apples. And then a small to moderate amount of healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids.

You want to be getting things from, like, walnuts, a little coconut oil here and there. I would avoid doing a lot of high saturated fats or, of course, seed oils. You want to stay away from the bad fats and processed foods and really focus on organic meat and protein sources like eggs and organic protein powder and bone broth. Focus on high fiber foods like vegetables.

Like berries, pomegranates, and apples, and then get some healthy fats from things like avocado, a little bit of coconut, lots and lots of extra virgin olive oil. And that is the ideal there in terms of the diet to balance insulin. And I also want to say this: food is medicine. You know, for thousands of years in Chinese medicine, they've recommended foods for supporting certain hormones.

For instance, when we look at an avocado, Avocado, they would say, looks like a uterus. Okay? And avocados are high in magnesium, they're high in potassium, and they're high in really unique fatty acids that support hormonal health in women. And so olives, they would say, look like ovaries or maybe the testes in men.

But these are going to support hormones as well, according to ancient forms of medicine. Getting those healthy fats like olives, like avocado, are great for your hormonal health. Step 2, improve your lifestyle by balancing cortisol. Get more morning sunlight, have a consistent sleep-wake cycle, do strength Training, right?

Add that in 2 to 4 days a week, maybe zone cardio or, or, you know, doing cardio 1 day a week, but doing things where you're just moving to lower cortisol. Okay? That is step number 2. Step number 3 is this: use plant-based medicine. Okay? There are herbs that have been used for thousands of years to help lower these symptoms, especially around things like menopause.

And let me go through some of the most beneficial herbs you can have. The number 1 herb that tends to relieve menopausal symptoms by getting at its source is black cohosh.

Japan has such low levels of using HRT as they're using some more plant-based medicine, and black cohosh modulates serotonin and dopamine receptors to ease hot flashes and mood swings and may also support estrogen at the same time. So black cohosh improves estrogen, dopamine, serotonin, lifts your mood, and it's been shown in studies to reduce hot flashes.

Number 2 are red clover or red clover isoflavones. These contain phytoestrogens that bind to estrogen receptors, helping offset declining estradiol. Number 3 is wild yam. Now, this is more for progesterone. These contain something called diosgenin. This is a precursor used even in lab synthesis to create progesterone. So it creates more progesterone activity. In the body.

Now, it's not directly converted to progesterone, but it generally supports progesterone in the body. And so one of the things a lot of women have done for a long time— in fact, I was interviewing Barbara O'Neill. We were in London, England, and I had her on the podcast. If you don't know Barbara O'Neill, you've got to watch this interview.

It's one of the best we've ever done, where she shared with me her story of her literally, because the midwife wasn't there in time, basically delivering her own baby. I mean, she is a Really fun and brilliant woman who has been in the natural medicine space for a long time.

But she had said when women are having hormonal issues, her number one therapy is using wild yam cream to help support progesterone in women during, especially during menopause, and supporting them in that way. Now, number 4 is an herb that Solomon talks about in the Bible. We know is probably used by women like Queen Esther. That herb is called saffron. It is prized in Ayurvedic medicine.

It supports serotonin availability, which declines as estrogen drops. This really helps with mood, anxiety, and libido during your menopausal transition. Now, another one that's famed in Ayurvedic medicine is Shatavari. This is an adaptogenic phytoestrogen-containing herb that supports your FSH and LH balance and your adrenal function.

So it's really, really great for estrogen and for— Your cortisol. And then we have— I want to move into some minerals here. Magnesium. Magnesium supports cortisol regulation and your HPA axis function. It aids in sleep. It reduces anxiety, supports progesterone as well. So magnesium, specifically magnesium glycinate, is tremendous for women going through menopause. And then omega-3 fatty acids.

These are going to reduce inflammation, one of the core root causes of 8 of typically hot flashes or even low testosterone in men and women. Number 8, this one might surprise you. Creatine. This supports brain energy metabolism, which is estrogen dependent and helps preserve muscle mass as testosterone and estrogen both decline. So this is important for both men and women hormonally.

And then vitamin D. Remember, vitamin D is a prohormone. It works synergistically with estrogen to help you maintain bone density and support your mood and overall Estrogen levels. And number 10 are probiotics. You want to support what we call your estrobolome. Okay? This is your gut microbiome's role in estrogen metabolism, helping you maintain healthy hormone levels.

Again, your gut also produces a lot of serotonin. So if you want to keep your hormone levels balanced, probiotics can be critical. And listen, you don't have to take all of these, but think about which one most aligns with these symptoms or issues you're having. Now, I want to talk about some key peptides and bioregulators here next. The first peptide is kisspeptin.

This signals the hypothalamus to release the right amount of hormones, so it improves cellular communication, especially between the brain and the reproductive organs to balance out estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. So that can be a great option there. Another one is epitalon. This is one that's used to help improve your circadian rhythm balance.

And then if you're not recovering as quickly as you want, this happens a lot with men with low testosterone. BC-157, that's known as body protective compound, supports regeneration of the gut lining, repairing your connective tissue, overall recovery, and it's also great for estrogen and progesterone levels.

So those are some of my favorites there when we're looking at peptides you can use to support your body. And then here's number 5, use glandulars. Okay, now glandulars were the original peptide supplements. Okay, these are— organs that support your organs that are not functioning well.

So if you're a woman and you are having issues hormonally, okay, you can do ovary and adrenal and uterus and take those as granulars from animals. And that can naturally support giving your body the nutrients and peptides it needs to create more of those hormones. Or for males, same thing. If you can take adrenals and you can take testes and some of these natural you know, beef liver.

If you can take some of these natural glandulars and organs, they support your hormones. It's following an ancient principle called like supports like. You need building blocks to create the right amount of hormones. Here's what glandulars naturally contain. Number 1, as I talked about, they contain peptides. This helps restore communication between your brain and endocrine organs.

They contain amino acids. These are raw materials that your body needs for hormone synthesis or even detox pathways. And then contain something called nucleotides. These support tissue repair. And cellular regeneration. They also have enzymes and cofactors. Even minerals like zinc and selenium and copper and iron are found in glandulars and organs there as well.

Now, I want to talk about a dietary concept here, and this is really, really eye-opening as we look at both functional medicine, but also the ancient form of medicine and what they taught. And when, when you look at why women get And I'll talk about men next, but why women get a lot of these menopausal symptoms, it'll make sense and what the hormone is doing.

So what the biggest symptoms women get when they're going through menopause are things like hot flashes and dryness. Your body's getting too hot and it's getting too dry. Okay? Did you know that the hormones estrogen and progesterone help cool and moisten your body? They bring coolness and they bring moisture. So you're having hot flashes because now your body doesn't have the hormone that's used.

To cool your body, or, and your body doesn't have the hormone it needs to bring moisture to your body. And that's why you're getting those symptoms. And so there are foods that actually can help you do that. So, so yogurt, by the way, and, and what they would call these in Chinese medicine are typically yin boosting foods. That's Y-I-N, yin boosting foods. These are foods that cool and moisten.

And a lot of times you can help offset the symptoms by eating the right foods. So for instance, yogurt, is both cooling and— think about it, just like you could even put, put it on your skin. Or I know women who have had microbial imbalance and dryness, and they've used that yogurt as a suppository. So, so we know that yogurt, it cools, it moistens. That's an option. Egg yolks, very similar.

They're a very good yin-producing food. They bring moisture, they bring coolness. Salmon or omega-3 fatty acid, they bring moisture, they reduce inflammation. And so women, you could look up yin-producing foods. And understand, hey, here are the foods that are going to support you hormonally. But it's a lot of steamed vegetables. It's things like sweet potatoes and yams.

It's pears, it's berries, it's pomegranates. These foods tend to bring moisture and coolness to the body that are going to support progesterone and estrogen levels. And for men, you want foods that bring energy. You want foods that create more— the body being more anabolic. That's going to be things like grass-fed beef. It's going to be pumpkin seeds. It's going to be organ meats.

It's going to be actually herbs like fenugreek and turmeric. You want foods that cause tissue regeneration and your body to be more anabolic and healing. It's high protein. Those are greatly going to help.

And then what I want to do now is dive into the foods according to medical science today that most boost estrogen, the list that most boost progesterone, and the foods that most boost testosterone as well. Hey guys, I'm here with my good friend, Dr. Dave Jockers. In fact, we've been friends for more than 20 years. He runs the podcast, the Dr. Dave Jockers Functional Nutrition Podcast.

Dr. Dave, tell us a little bit about what your podcast is about.

Yeah, absolutely. We, we dive deep on functional nutrition, really how to personalize your nutrition plan for better energy, mental clarity, better hormone balance. And we talk a lot about cellular health, mitochondrial function, cell membrane. We do a deep dive on every major nutrition topic and natural health topic. So everything you need right there at your fingertips.

Dr. Jocker's Functional Nutrition Podcast.

I wanna encourage you, run out and listen to the Dr. Jocker Show. Again, I'm a big fan of it. I think you will be as well. So I wanna walk you through the top 10 progesterone-boosting foods in ranking order. Remember, progesterone is so key hormonally, especially for women, as we talk about balancing out mood, just feeling steady and stable hormonally.

Of course, it's important for reproduction, a lot of things. But let's dive into progesterone. Number 1 are pasture-raised eggs. Cholesterol is the backbone of progesterone synthesis and many, many steroid-based hormones. So again, pasture-raised eggs are number 1.

Unique fact, duck eggs are probably even better for some women because the egg yolks of ducks are even larger and more nutrient-dense, rich in vitamin B6, which is really important for progesterone. Number 2 are pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin seeds are high in the mineral zinc, which is going to support tissue regeneration, healing, gut health, but specifically also boosts and supports progesterone production. Number 3 is grass-fed beef. Grass-fed beef is also high in zinc. It's a good source of cholesterol, some good saturated fat. Now, you don't want to go real fatty. You want to go more lean.

Think filet mignon or 90/10 or 97/7. Ground beef, but grass-fed beef is going to have some ALA, like omega-3 fatty acids. It's going to have some CLA. These are good omegas and minerals that can support progesterone levels. And number 4, one of my favorites are sweet potatoes and yams.

In fact, we know in Chinese medicine, they will take yam cream and rub that on the body, and that can support progesterone levels and ovulation. And part of it is also it's very high in beta-carotene, very nourishing to progesterone levels. Number 5 is spinach. Spinach is really high in magnesium, and spinach, especially when steamed, is one of the most nutrient-dense foods out there today.

And its magnesium levels can lower cortisol, which in turn actually helps progesterone. It's also high in folate, which is really important for hormone signaling. Number 6 food that supports progesterone are avocados. Avocados are loaded with monounsaturated fat, which supports hormone production. Also, Really great levels of magnesium and potassium there as well.

Number 7 is wild-caught fish like salmon, high in omega-3s. When you reduce inflammation, that stops the blockage of progesterone creation or keeps as much progesterone from becoming cortisol. So, so really great there as well. And then number 8 are walnuts. Again, omega-3 fatty acids are important. Number 9 are bananas. This brings moisture to the body, high in B6 as well.

You'll notice a pattern here. Vitamin B6 and magnesium are really important. And for progesterone. By the way, as well, if you are a woman that is looking to get pregnant, one of the biggest reasons why women get morning sickness is due to a vitamin B6 plus magnesium deficiency. And then a lot of times that's carried throughout their life, and that'll later on cause menopausal issues.

So you really want to address B6 issues and magnesium issues. And that's why— Avocados and banana and some of the foods we've talked about are so healing to progesterone. And number 10, dark meat, chicken, high in B vitamins, also a little bit more healthy fats in there that are great for progesterone levels. Now, let's talk about the top 10 estrogen-supporting foods. Okay?

We know estrogen is important for fertility. It's important for bringing moisture to the body, important for bringing coolness to the body. It is a key hormone for slowing the aging process in women. And you can eat food that in cases can help you do a lower dose of hormone replacement therapy or not do it at all because these foods support estrogen in the body.

The number 1 food for doing so are flaxseeds or flax meal. These are really high in something called lignan content, which have a phytoestrogen effect on the body. Number 2, fermented organic soy like tempeh, like miso, like natto. Great options there. These contain isoflavones that have been shown in studies to actually help reduce menopausal symptoms.

So if you're just going to pick 2 foods to support estrogen in the body, organic soy and flaxseeds are the best. Number 3, sesame seeds. These were actually used for female hormones throughout Ayurvedic medicine. They contain lignans very similar to flaxseeds that support these estrogen receptor sites. Number 4 are chickpeas. These are mild phytoestrogens as well.

They're also good for gut support. They've got A lot of good fiber there as well. So chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are there. Number 5 are lentils. Now, part of the reason why lentils are so effective at balancing out estrogen is they support estrogen recycling. So if you have too much bad estrogen, they can support that, but they— getting rid of it.

But they also support your body in recycling and creating more estrogen on its own. Number 6 are pomegranates. These may increase estradiol levels through antioxidant protection of the ovaries. We know pomegranates were actually prized in Roman culture also for supporting reproductive health in men and women. Number 7 are dried apricots. These have natural phytoestrogens as well.

Number 8 are berries, especially strawberries. But remember this, only organic berries, especially strawberries, are some of the most sprayed crops with pesticides and herbicides. So if you— so that creates a whole nother problem, right? So if you're gonna buy Produce like berries, you want to make sure they're organic, but again, they can be great for estrogen in women.

And then sprouts like alfalfa sprouts and broccoli sprouts. These have really, really great content for phytoestrogens. And here's one, red clover. You can do this as a tea or do it as sprouts. These also support menopausal symptoms. All right, now let's go through the top 10 foods that support testosterone. Number 1, grass-fed red meat.

Could be beef, could be bison, could be elk, could be venison. But red meat is high in zinc, it's high in cholesterol, it's high in creatine, it's high in the nutrients you need to build muscle, become more anabolic. That's going to support growth hormone and testosterone. So number 1, grass-fed meat. Number 2 are egg yolks, eating the whole egg.

Now, I do want to mention here, you also need to be careful not to do too much saturated fat, right? You can have too much of a good thing, but you do want some because cholesterol is the building block of testosterone. So literally, if you didn't have cholesterol, your body could not make testosterone. That's why it's so important.

This is why statin drugs, by the way, are so bad for men, is they literally totally wipe out your testosterone levels. Number 3, wild fish like salmon and tuna, high in vitamin D, high in omega-3 fatty acids. Wild salmon also high in astaxanthin. These are antioxidants that support the body. These improve testosterone. Number 4, one of the best foods are pumpkin seeds.

These are high in zinc, which is critical for testosterone production. Another unique fact here, pumpkin seeds also, in a way, with higher zinc, it blocks something in the body called DHT. That's dihydrotestosterone. When that gets too high, that'll cause male baldness. Okay, so pumpkin seeds are a remedy that have been used a long time for that.

One thing I do with a lot of men that I take care of, I put together a dietary plan for them that includes a lot of these foods, and I will sometimes have them buy Sprouted pumpkin seed butter, even on amazon.com.

Do a tablespoon of that in a morning superfood smoothie with a scoop of bone broth protein, a scoop of either plant or animal protein, scoop of pumpkin seed butter, and then something like water or coconut milk or some berries there. And it's a great testosterone-boosting smoothie there in the morning. Number 5, raw local honey or Manuka honey.

Honey contains boron, which increases your free testosterone by lowering something called sex hormone binding globulin. That's SHBG. By the way, when I'm doing clinical testing on both men and women, we do a really advanced blood panel in my clinic here, and we will test for all of these hormones.

And this is something I look for, not just testosterone, but what is the free testosterone levels in men? And, and one thing that I can do, sometimes I'll see a man has good testosterone levels, But their free testosterone level is low. Well, that's because this sex hormone binding compound will bind to your testosterone, and it's sort of like a taxi.

If you jump in a taxi and it never lets you get out, that's what happens. And so there are ways to open the door and then let all the testosterone go free in the body. So a lot of men, you have good testosterone, you don't have good free testosterone. And boron and zinc And vitamin D, when used together, now allow your free testosterone to go up.

And so sometimes it's just getting the right blood work and figuring that out. But again, boron, which is found in high levels in honey, can be great. Now listen, you don't want to go overboard for insulin resistance reasons, but doing 1 or 2 teaspoons a day is all you need to lower those SHBG levels. So that's another great thing there.

Number 6, Pomegranates.

These are also great for men for supporting testosterone levels because ellagic acid supports mitochondrial function and increases nitric oxide in the blood, which also lowers blood pressure. Great for heart health, but in addition, boosts testosterone. Number 7 is garlic, also great for heart health, lowers cortisol, indirectly boosts testosterone. And then number 8, extra virgin olive oil.

Men, When you're using an oil at home, it should be olive oil pretty much every single time. As a secondary oil, you could do a little bit of coconut oil or some avocado oil. Those are number 2 and 3. But extra virgin olive oil is the oil you should use for everything for the most part. Number 9, Brazil nuts.

These are high in selenium, which is critical for creating testosterone and for sperm health. And number 10 is spinach, especially steamed greens like spinach or Or kale as well. But steaming it is going to help unlock more of the magnesium, which is going to increase your free testosterone as well. So those are the top 10 foods that are going to help boost your testosterone production.

All right, so to close out, what I wanted to do is answer your most frequently asked questions rapid-fire. These are questions that we had people asking on Instagram, on social media there, and we've had them on YouTube as well. So on his Instagram and YouTube, When I've done episodes or talked about hormones, you all have asked questions.

And so I want to be able to answer some of those questions directly now. So here is one. Why did everyone get scared of HRT?

Okay, again, a big driver— we talked about this— was in the early 2000s, there was interpretation by the WHI, Women's Health Institute, plus broad labeling that was based on doing hormonal therapy from synthetic hormones of a combination of estrogen and progesterone that was linked to cancer, in fact, doubling your risk of cancer.

But today we now know that if you're only using estrogen and if it's— if you're the right demographic and it's done with bioidentical, it's much safer than it was historically. Next question. Will HRT make me dependent forever? You know, here's what I would say. I mean, not likely, but it's possible. Um, yeah, let me say this.

It's not likely if simultaneously you're doing things to get to the root cause. Okay? You are doing everything you can to change your diet and do supplements, then, then you're going to become reliant. But if you're taking HRT and not doing anything to improve your levels on your own, then, then yeah, I think that most likely you will become dependent, and that's not ideal.

Next question, does HRT cause cancer? Not in most cases, but listen, it's very individual dependent.

If you are not taking it within that 10-year window, uh, of, of going through menopause, if you're taking it too early or too late, or you're one of the demographics we talked about, like a history of hormone-based cancer or blood clotting or some of those other issues, then yes, it can increase your risk.

But listen, if you're the exact right person demographic and you're doing these other healthy things I talked about, the risk is very, very low according to the study. And that's why they removed that black box warning. Another question, will HRT make me gain weight? Well, the reality is often the opposite happens, especially if your sleep improves.

Listen, one of the biggest reasons why women, when they're going through menopause, gain is their sleep suffers. And when your sleep suffers, cortisol gets too high, and then that causes you to store body fat. Okay? So it's important to note. So listen, if you get on HRT and you're doing the right lifestyle things and you're the right demographic, no, typically you will not gain weight.

In fact, if you're doing the other correct things, you'll typically lose weight. So here's the conclusion. Here's the thing to know, the takeaway. HRT is not the enemy, but it's also not the foundation. Your hormones reflect deeper factors like Like your nutritional status and your stress levels and your sleep and a number of things.

And while it can be life-changing for some, and I do recommend it for some secondarily after you've already changed your lifestyle, I do think that, again, you need to understand the risks. But for some of you, it does make sense to do. The goal is to, again, first build a strong foundation. You're eating the right foods, you've addressed your nutritional deficiencies.

And then, and only then, if you still need it, then you find a really good practitioner that can help you get you on the right dose for the right period of time and then transition you off at the right time as well. And if you do that, then HRT can be a great tool to supplement you as you're going through these hormonal changes. Well, I wanna say thank you so much for watching the show today.

And remember, you know what? There are so many people today who don't know the truth about how to heal their hormones. And one of the greatest things you could do is share this episode, because I think about my mom growing up. My mom had no idea how to balance her hormones, and it wasn't until I shared with her, or I think about other people.

I wish somebody would have told her this or shared an episode of a podcast or something, which I guess they didn't have podcasts the first time, but now we do. And so I just wish we would have been educated earlier on and we would have known the side effects and we would have known the truth about how to heal our hormones naturally. Millions of women today and men dealing with hormonal issues.

So I just want to say thank you, all of you. Think about who's the one person you could text this to or you could share with that it would really improve their life. So I, I want to say thank you for doing that. And then also subscribing is the number one thing you can do to support the show. So I just wanted to say thank you for subscribing here and supporting the show as well.

I can't wait to see you on the next episode.