How Muscle Influences Aging, Performance, and Longevity with Dr. Eric Fete: Rational Wellness Podcast 417

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Dr. Eric Fete discusses How Muscle Influences Aging, Performance and Longevity with Dr. Ben Weitz.

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Podcast Highlights

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Dr. Eric Fete is an Osteopathic Physician and the founder of PrimeX, a company focused on preventive health, age management, and peak performance. His expertise includes Hormone therapy, Functional Medicine, nutrition, and peptides aimed at improving overall wellness and the prevention of disease. He is a strong advocate for natural health practices over synthetic drugs and surgery. He is certified in Age Management Medicine, Advanced Bio Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy, and Medical Peptide Therapy and is a member of the Seeds Scientific Research and Performance Institute (SSRP). His website is DrEricPrimeX.com

Dr. Ben Weitz is available for Functional Nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.  Dr. Weitz has also successfully helped many patients with managing their weight and improving their athletic performance, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111.

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Podcast Transcript

Dr. Weitz:  Hey, this is Dr. Ben Weitz, host of the Rational Wellness Podcast. I talk to the leading health and nutrition experts and researchers in the field to bring you the latest in cutting edge health information. Subscribe to the Rational Wellness Podcast for weekly updates and to learn more, check out my website, drweitz.com.  Thanks for joining me, and let’s jump into the podcast.

Hello, rational Wellness podcasters. Our topic for today is how Muscle health influences aging, performance, and longevity with Dr. Eric Fete. Dr. Eric Fete is a osteopathic physician founder of Primex, a company focused on preventative health, age management, and peak performance.  His expertise includes hormone therapy, functional medicine. Nutrition and Peptides aiming at improving overall wellness and the prevention of disease. He’s a strong advocate for natural health practices over synthetic drugs and surgery, and he’s certified in Age Management medicine, advanced bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and medical peptide therapy, and he’s a member of the Seeds Scientific Research and Performance Institute, Dr. Fete. Thank you so much for joining us.

Dr. Fete: Hey, thank you, sir. Appreciate you having me on. Very grateful, love listening to your podcast and looking to have some fun and hopefully provide some value to your listeners.

Dr. Weitz: Sounds good. So why don’t you tell us why muscle is so important for longevity, which is for sure something I strongly believe in.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, definitely with your background, if you could definitely speak to that for sure. Um, yeah, so basically I feel it’s often neglected. I think people are starting to come around to the fact of muscle is actually an endocrine organ. I think in the last number of years we’ve thought of fat that way.  We always thought it’s fat is just blah, but it’s actually an endocrine organ as well. Secretes a lot of what we call cytokines or adipokines that actually have an influence on other parts of her body. And muscle is the same way. So in that regard, muscle’s almost, you know, the skin’s probably the largest, but you know, the mar muscle is actually one of the largest endocrine organs in the body.  So, you know, traditionally people think of muscle as, oh, it’s just, you know, I. It’s just for looks, you know, showing off your, your, your guns and whatnot. And, and that one look good in a bathing suit, but it’s actually a lot more than that. So healthy muscle tissues is above and beyond. What’s, what’s more important.  So it’s just not just the muscle itself, how much, but the functionality of it and most people are aware of. You know, obviously movements and being able to perform your activities of daily living, et cetera, of course. But, um, lot, a lot of people are also aware, of course, that it improves, you know, insulin resistance improves your glucose sensitivity by upgrading upregulating those receptors to handle blood sugar.

This has been fairly known, especially obviously as you know, in the bodybuilding space, et cetera. To do what’s called nutrient partitioning to help. So that’s why so many these, you know, the body bills can eat so much, right? You know, they’re, they’re partitioning their, their fuel, they eat into their muscles instead of their fat.

[00:03:00] Um, but muscle also has, you know, an uh, uh, anti-inflammatory effect and one of the newer things, you know, and the number that’s probably been around for some time, but they secrete also, uh, cytokines with or are called mykines. And these mykines have a lot of effects on the body as well. Which have a lot of health benefits and, you know, age management benefits in terms of helping the body to stay strong and young.

And these mild kinds affect every part of the body. They affect the brain, the bones, the liver, the intestines. Um, they have all these funky names, right? You know, um, you know, of course people have heard of like, like Irisin and interleukin six. Uh, they can affect BDNF, which is a brain drive neurotropic factor in the brain.

Um, you know, it’s all these other little, they have all these names, but basically they perform all these health benefits in the body. And that’s why we think that. Everybody knows how good exercise is, right? Why it’s so good for you, but this is one of the reasons, the hidden reasons why. ’cause when you exert yourself, when you perform.

You know, muscular activity, obviously you’re improving your, your nutrient capacity like we were just talking about, but also these secretes, these myokines and these mykines have these, these endocrine like effects, [00:04:00] almost like hormone like effects on the body to do all the things that we’ve known exercise can do.

We know that exercise can reduce inflammation, improve brain health, make your bones stronger, improve your digestion, all these other things. And this might be one of the ways why, kind of like. They’re like little signaling molecules, so not a lot of people talking about muscle as an organ of longevity, uh, above and beyond just aesthetics.  So I, I, that’s kind of why I took it upon myself to kind of do phrase, what I call muscle medicines, can try to get people aware of the, the health benefits of maintaining muscle mass and we can talk about, you know, sarcopenia and, and that as well. But that’s, that’s the big focus.

Dr. Weitz: Yeah, you mentioned the metabolic advantages of having muscle, and so if everybody’s not familiar, one of the important benefits of having good muscle is that the muscle cells.  Take in blood glucose to use for energy, and that helps manage your blood sugar levels and that reduces your risk of diabetes and helps reduce insulin levels. So muscle is very important for [00:05:00] metabolic health and that of course is a big factor in, uh, brain health and hormonal health, et cetera.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, I mean, we all know how bad, you know, what an epidemic insulin resistance diabetes is.  What is it like over 50% of the population is at least insulin resistant. So it’s a huge problem. So even diabetics can utilize exercise to improve their insulin sensitivity, their blood sugar, which of course is gonna reduce their inflammation, improve their metabolic health, and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and all the comorbidities.  So anybody can do it and um, you know, you don’t have to. You know, spend, I always tell you don’t have to spend hours in the gym. You have just a 15 minute workout. You can reap the benefits of it. So, um, but we wanna build muscle and burn the fat because as we get older, unfortunately we get sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle as we age, and then we get.

Fat. We gain fat and it’s the opposite. So we wanna kind of flip the, flip the switch. We wanna burn off that fat bill at that muscle as much as we can while we’re at any age. But certainly the younger you start, the better. So when we get older, we’re not able, we’re not weak and fat and thin. ’cause that’s, that’s not healthy for many reasons we’ll talk about.

Dr. Weitz:  So what are some of the most important things to do and mistakes to avoid as you get older to maintaining muscle?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, so I think, you know, most guys, it’s a little bit of an easier conversation. Most guys are familiar with strength training. So number one of course is strength training, some type of resistance exercise.  I mean, cardio is great, it’s fantastic. Um, but it’s not gonna maintain that muscle mass. You definitely have to lift heavy things, right? And it doesn’t have to be, you don’t have to be slamming big deadlifts in the gym. You could do kettlebells, you could do bands, uh, even, even something like, you know, pils or power yoga is something to work.  Those muscle body weight exercises are great. So the biggest thing is strength training. And number two is adequate protein intake. So. Most guys are pretty easy to talk. My, my, I always have sometimes have to sway my female clients about this. ’cause a lot of women still have in their minds those myths, right?

They’re like, oh my gosh, I don’t want to put on muscle, I don’t want to get big. Right. You know, so I’m like, I have to explain that it’s not gonna happen. Right? The most important thing is strength training. Number two is nutrition, adequate protein, and adequate. There’s a whole, that’s a whole conversation of itself.  But the biggest mistake I see is not getting enough protein and not eating a whole food-based diet. You know, avoiding the junk, eating the real food. Um, sleep and recovery are massively important because, you know, you could be training, you could be working out, but if you’re only sleeping five hours a night, or you’re waking up, toss and turn, um, you’re not gonna, you’re not gonna build muscle, at least not very effectively.  So you have to sleep and then you have to recover. You know, stress management is, is big. And you probably see this too. So many of my clients are just, they’re stressed, even though they don’t quote unquote, feel stressed. It’s definitely affecting them. They’re. They have what we call sympathetic dominance, or just excessive cortisol, excessive stress, and it’s wearing ’em down.

They’re, they’re fatigued, they’re having cravings, they’re not sleeping. Sex life is off. So, got, you know, I’m a big, uh, I’m a big superhero. I like superheroes. I’ve always been into superheroes. So like, everybody knows Superman, the big red s right? So I call it the double S on the chest. So sleeping stress is like my, my two like kryptonite, things to attack, right?

So gotta get those down. And then I, obviously, I do a lot of hormone optimization too. So as, as a lot of my clientele are in their, you know, as a. Definitely in forties, fifties and up, you know, we have to monitor hormones ’cause if, uh, there’s a hormone deficiency, that can definitely, uh, lead to some sarcopenia, loss of muscle.  So sometimes that’s a missing [00:08:00] piece. And, uh, whether it’s a nutrient deficiency, uh, or a toxin or maybe some gut inflammation, or quite commonly a hormone deficiency that needs to be addressed as well. So those are, and there’s some other things we can talk about. Those are like the big ones. I see the, the biggest thing to move the needle.

Dr. Weitz: So let’s go into the discussion about hormones and we’re gonna focus mainly on male hormones in this discussion. ’cause those are the hormones that are more related to muscle, correct? Yep. So, um, before we get into the use of testosterone as a supplement. What are some, well, to begin with? How do we test for hormones and what things you look at?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, great question. And, and before we, before I forget too, estrogen, estradiol is very important for, has, uh, some anabolic effect as well as does growth hormone, uh, and some of the other hormones as well. Thyroid, they’re all important, but most people think of testosterone, right? And, uh. A lot of the benefits of testosterone come from its metabolites, specifically like Estrodiol and DHT or dihydrotestosterone has a massive anabolic effect too.  So [00:09:00] for me, when it comes down to testing, I mean, number one is, as with anything, I always look at symptoms, right? Because that’s the most important thing. Whether it’s looking at thyroid health or testosterone or estrogen, what do they have symptoms of? A deficiency. That’s the most important thing. ’cause I, you know, you wanna treat.

The patient, right? Not, not worry about the numbers, but the numbers do come into play. And so I will do a, a serum blood test on, on my patients. I’m concerned about a deficiency is the best, the best way to do it, um, to kind of look at the numbers, so it doesn’t really matter when or what time of day. I mean, classically, you’ll read about getting it done first thing in the morning.

Um, but you know, there is a, a waxing and waning, a circadian rhythm of hormones. So as long as you know when they did it, you can kind of correlate that. Um, but basically a serum blood test is gonna give you the best, best test of all your hormones. Um, there’s things you can look at from metabolites of them.  Things like the Dutch test and salivary salivary testing. They’re good for metabolites, but the, the serum testing is gonna give you the best overall picture of what’s in their blood. Now, it doesn’t necessarily tell what’s in their cells, and I see this a lot. So someone, for example, thyroid’s a good, a good example, they have their [00:10:00] numbers in their screen are normal.  But they still have all the symptoms. Well, they’ve got thyroid in their blood, but it’s just not getting into the cell, so we have to figure out why it’s not getting into the cell. Right. So there’s, they’re still clinically hypothyroid, but even though they’re quote unquote normal on paper, so I see this a lot.

Dr. Weitz: So, okay, so what numbers do you like to look at? So you measure testosterone total and free,

Dr. Fete: correct?

Dr. Weitz: Um, DHEA. You measure estradiol and progesterone.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, my women, I’ll, I’ll measure those as well. Um, what about within. Yeah, I mean you can check in men and, and I do, it’s includes this part of my panel, I’ll look at it as well.  Um, but testosterone, the biggest thing is making sure you get both, like you mentioned, the total and the free. And then you look at the DHG as well to kinda look at those downstream metabolites of testosterone. Right? And the other one that sometimes gets forgotten about is SHBG or sex hormone binding globulin.

That’s important, right? Um, you know, you read and you probably, you know, familiar like from decades ago in the bodybuilding forms are everybody’s talking about, oh my gosh, you gotta. Lower your [00:11:00] SHBG ’cause it’s binding up all that free testosterone. Right? Well that’s kind of a, I mean, yes and no, and it’s kind of false because it actually, when the testosterone is bound to that SHBG, but it still has an effect, it still binds to the receptor and has an uh, a hormonal effect, which is positive.

So, and a lot of studies are indicating that they’ll higher your SHBG, the reduced, you have a reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other things. So you don’t wanna lower it. It’s better to be high. And now can it lower your free testosterone? Yeah. But like I said, it still has an effect. But that being said, you still want both of them optimal.

So my men, you know, the typical range is somewhere, usually anywhere. And they’re all gonna be different from lab to lab, but anywhere from 300 to a thousand, give or take. Um, and again, most of my guys, you want them to be at the, at least the midpoint or upper. But again, that’s where symptoms questionnaire comes in because every guy’s different as you, as you know.

So, um, one guy may be at three 50 or you know, 400 or so and feel great. Yeah, everything’s great, you know, he feels wonderful. Great sex drive, good energy. He’s working out hard. Another guy at four 50 may feel like total crap. Uh, and that’s a lot has to do with epigenetics. Uh, how their [00:12:00] metabolism, their SHP jet levels, and a lot has to do with genetics, right?

They have this something called a, a CAG repeat, or a CAG, repeat on their genetic code. And depending if it’s short or long, that’ll d tell ’em, determine if they need a higher testosterone level or lower testosterone. There’s no real easy way to test for that. So it’s just really, again, coming down to symptoms.

That’s why, you know, a lot of guys look for that number. You know, it’s, you know, I dunno if it’s like a, I joke with my ma, my men, about this, right? I don’t think it’s just a guy thing. We’re stuck on sports. It’s like, what’s the score, man? Everybody’s like, what’s my number, doc? I’m like, why do you feel, because I don’t really feel, let’s talk about this.

’cause you know, if you tell ’em the number first, then they’re gonna tell you. What they want, what you want to hear kind of thing. Right? You know, so it’s kind of a game we play, but, um, so everybody’s different. But in general, you want to be at least the midpoint or at least the upper third, you know? So most guys start feeling better.  Again, this is arbitrary numbers, you know, 700, 600 to a thousand, but again, everybody’s different.

Dr. Weitz: And then sometimes you have men where the total testosterone is pretty good, but the free is low. So what do you do there?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, and they’re both important. Um, and again, it comes down to symptoms, right? You wanna [00:13:00] optimize both of them and they may, na may need treatment.  If their total is high and they’re free, they’re not getting enough free. ’cause the free is very powerful, has, even though it’s only, you know, one to 3% of the total testosterone, it still has a powerful effect. Now, on the flip side, sometimes it’s the other way around, right? Some guys will have a low total and a higher free, and.  What people don’t, what? What sometimes gets missed is this is a metabolic marker. And why is the free high? It might be high because your SHBG is low. Um, so there’s less to bind it up. And why is SHBG low? Well, commonly because of insulin resistance and it’s not picked up their, in their blood sugar is high.

Maybe their insulin’s okay, but maybe their helo A1C is up, maybe their triglycerides are up, maybe their HDL HDLs down a little bit and their SBGs down. Those are early. Those are like the canaries in the coal mine. Those are early warning signs of Vincent insulin resistance. Attending, you know, pre-diabetes and metabolic risks.  So it’s, that gets missed a lot. Um, so that can sometimes clue me in right away that we need to work on your insulin resistance, even though they don’t have the classic signs. If we nip it early, we can turn that ship around pretty quickly.

Dr. Weitz: So one of the reasons for low free could be insulin resistance.  What are some of the other reasons?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, I mean, medication reactions of course can affect any lab value. So any medications they may be taking, um, there’s, that’s a common one. Um, but the biggest one is, yeah, insulin resistance. You know, if they’re getting a fatty liver, um, they’re becoming pre-diabetic.  They have excessive inflammation in their body going on. Anything that’s could affect the liver, you know, any toxification pathways to inflammation, um, you know, crappy diet. All these things can affect it. But those, of course, we’re looking for all those things. But the biggest one, of course is insulin resistance.

Dr. Weitz: And and, and sometimes SHBG can be a factor too. You were saying it’s not a factor that often.

Dr. Fete: Right. Yeah. And the SH BG is kind of like, uh, kind of the warning sign, right? If it’s, if it’s low, and that could be because of insulin resistance or some other metabolic abnormal. If it’s high, it’s probably okay.  Probably nothing to be worried about. And unless, of course they’re taking a medication, like a lot of women are on birth control pills or estradiol that can raise your SHBG, but like I said, that, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

Dr. Weitz:  But yeah can’t stress raise your SHBG?

Dr. Fete: I’ve never seen that too much.  Really? Okay. Yeah. I imagine anything’s possible, right? But I’ve never seen that directly myself. Okay. Yeah. But stress can, stress can definitely adversely affect all your other hormones. It can crush your testosterone, estrogen, your thyroid, for sure.

Dr. Weitz: What about endocrine disrupting substances?

Dr. Fete: Big time?  Yeah, absolutely. Those are huge. As you know, we live in a very toxic world, right. You know, there’s phthalates and plastics, and we’re bombarded by. You know, EMF and blue light 24 7. We’re sitting in a, in a room with air conditioning and who knows what’s, you know, if there’s mold in the carpet and there’s crap in the food and glyphosate in our water, it’s like we’re bombarded 24-7.  So it’s an uphill battle to live healthy and, uh, toxin free, but it, it can be done.

Dr. Weitz: You ever test for toxins?

Dr. Fete: I do sometimes. Yeah. Um, sometimes I’ll test for toxins. A lot of people will have like, uh, have had some like mold exposure. I have to test for mycotoxins. Um, I’m sure you see this, but I see a lot of gut issues.  Everybody’s got gut issues. 

Dr. Weitz: Yeah. I see a lot of gut issues. Absolutely. Yeah.

Dr. Fete: It’s, you know, for those things we were just talking about, you know, it’s a, it’s rampant, you [00:16:00] know, so, um, gut issues and SIBO and, you know, long haul COVID, actually I’ve been, you know, a lot of people have gut issues from that COVID Really?

And the, yeah, the shots messed up a lot of people’s guts and it’s still lingering, so, yeah. Do you see that a lot too? Yeah, absolutely. I think that kind of gets missed sometimes. A lot of people are so focused on like the lungs and all these other things, but like we’ve, a lot of the studies are showing that these, you know, these, uh, spike proteins and all this stuff kind of hits the gut really hard and cause a lot of long-term damage and inflammation and sets things up for, for future badness.

Dr. Weitz: Yeah, during COVID, we were actually testing, um, COVID, uh, in, in the stool. Yeah. Diagnostic solutions had a COVID test that they could pick it up in the stools, which is an example of the fact that it was having a profound effect on the gut. Definitely nasty stuff, man. For sure.

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Dr. Weitz:  So, um, what about estradiol levels?  What do you like to see in men and is there a level that’s too low or too high? What, what do you like to see?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, there’s, that’s a great question, Ben. There’s a lot of myths about estradiol. A lot of people still talk about again, like, oh, you know, the, the body, you know, the bottom milk form is like, bro, you gotta get your estrogen low, got high estrogen symptoms.  And a lot of that’s just, it’s just not true. You know, it’s just a lot of it, a lot of myths about that. So, as with everything though, anything can be too high or too low, but in general, most of the time it’s better to be on the higher side. You know, our estradiol levels when we were in, you know, our teens and twenties are probably, you know, 75 to a hundred.  Right. Some studies have shown that. So, um, you know, pushing 50, 60, 70 is totally fine and most guys feel better there. There’s a lot of the benefits of testosterone come from like, like I was telling everybody from DHG and from estradiol. When you look at the studies when they break it down, uh, especially things like sex drive, um, fat burning, you know, body composition, that’s from the estradiol.  The whole myth of estradiol is gonna make you gain weight. Exactly that. It’s actually the opposite. When you do an intervention study, like a baseline study versus an intervention, study’s very, very different. So when you do an intervention and women or men, you optimize their estradiol, they actually have improved body comp, improved sexual, you know, function, improved libido.  Um, so most guys are too low because they’re doing things to try to block estrogen, right? Or, uh, they’re taking an astro or some other stuff and they’re, they’re their estrogens, estradiol are coming in super low, five 10. 20. And that’s just too low, you know, so, and you don’t, you don’t necessarily have to do much for that.  If you optimize their testosterone and get ’em off that stuff, they’re gonna, they’re gonna get to where they need to be. Women’s a different story of course, but, um, we may have to give them estradiol, but, uh, it’s actually better to be the, the mid-range to higher side, you know, for, uh, for [00:20:00] health benefits.

Dr. Weitz: And does progesterone have benefits for men.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, that’s a little more mixed. Um, I know there’s a lot of people who promote that and like give progesterone for men, especially if they can’t do testosterone for some reason. But there’s been a number of studies showing that… 

Dr. Weitz:  Some of the integrative neurologists will sometimes use it for brain trauma.

Dr. Fete: Yep. TBI. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I think it has some benefit there. Some studies have shown it could be inflammatory to the vasculature, so a lot of times it’s, you know, a little, some, some, uh, studies indicate that like, you know, some of the, the groups I belong to, my mentors have said not to use it. So, but you’re right, like Dr.

Mark Gordon, you know, some other people have used it for TBI, like you said, ’cause of the, their neuroprotective benefits. So I think it’s a mixed bag, but I find that I never really have to give it to men, like as a, as a medication, usually by optimizing other hormones, lifestyle, it kind of self-corrects.

Dr. Weitz:  So what about DHEA?

Dr. Fete:  DHEA is a good one too. I sometimes feel like it’s the forgotten stepchild.  Right?  You know, it’s DHEA and Pregnenolone. People forget about these, but  they’re important too. They have a lot of health benefits. It can improve, you know, immune system function, improve insulin sensitivity, fat loss.  You know, again, it has an anti-inflammatory effect as it helps, and it’s been studied in some of the longevity stu studies.  I think it was at the TAME trial. I forget that there’s a couple trials showing like, you know, combination therapy of like DHEA, growth hormone and all these things that can improve longevity.  And it’s a, even though it’s a hormone sold, it’s a supplement. It’s cheap, you know, it’s so, it’s easy. There’s not much side effects. Um, now the tricky part is like with like say younger women, sometimes they’re a little more sensitive, so they sometimes we can’t dose them very high. We have to go either not even do it or really low because they sometimes will get oily skin or maybe some acne breakout. So, but women that are old perimenopause, menopause definitely give it to ’em. And some patients who have like arthritis, lupus, uh, they actually take big doses of it and it helps them tremendously. There’s actually. If the FDA’s actually proven like a, you know, standardized commercial version of DHA, they have a different name for it to, of course, you know, to promote for like, you know, these arthritic conditions.  So I like DHEA. 

Dr. Weitz:  What kind of, what kind of dosage do they use for that? 

Dr. Fete: I. Um, it depends, you know, so like for my women, most of the time I’m doing like 5, 10, 15 milligrams, but men 25 to 50, uh, sometimes higher, but for like arthritic conditions, we’re talking like 50, a hundred, 200 milligrams. So it could be okay.

Dr. Weitz:  Yeah. Interesting. Yeah.

Dr. Fete:  And they like it. They feel good. They, it’s it helps their joint pain. They can function better. It’s kind of interesting. So, and then, uh, pregna alone, same thing, has some benefits for, like short-term memory has a, it’s a neuroprotective, it reduces inflammation in the brain as well.  So also used in traumatic brain injuries. Um, people that have those cognitive issues and things like that. Some people. And feel like they get a little, give a little mental, mental clarity, you know, during the day they like, they like how they feel on it. Yeah. And it’s easy, it’s cheap and it’s not much side effects.  Some people can’t tolerate it, but most people do just fine on it.

Dr. Weitz: Yeah. The Fahy trial, which was really the first trial that showed a reversal of epigenetic aging, used a combination of DHEA, growth hormone, and Metformin.

Dr. Fete: Metformin. Yep. Yep.  Absolutely. So it’s safe, it’s innocuous, and, and you know, if it provides benefit, you know, why not, you know?  Right. And it’s, and it’s sold as a supplement, which is interesting, right? And so it’s pretty cheap, pretty easy to get.

Dr. Weitz: Right? So let’s talk about testosterone. Uh, when do you prescribe testosterone? Which forms do you like? And then how much do you prescribe?

Dr. Fete: Yeah. So for my men, I’d say the majority of them, it’s probably 60 40, 70 30, doing injectable.   I have the other percentage of doing a a cream, like the commercial stuff is, is kind of worthless. It’s too low. But when we use a compounded cream at a high concentration, it works just as well, if not better than the injectables.  I like the cream, um, because it’s more of a physiological response, right?  It, it kind of maintains stay levels throughout the day. Every day we get a normal. Rise and fall throughout the day. So it mimics that. I like to try to mimic our physiologic patterns as much as possible. So when it’s easy, especially when you apply it to the scrotum, it’s absorbed very well. It’s some that converts into DHT, which, which provides more anabolic effect, uh, libido effect, and so on and so forth.  So very, very beneficial in that regard. [00:24:00] Um, but some of my guys just are like. I’m just too busy. I’m not gonna remember to do a cream every day, or I don’t want to do that. I’d just rather do an injectable. I’m like, fine, we’ll do an injectable. And I like that too. They both work, uh, teach, you know, everybody has a different preference sometimes for whatever reason.

One works versus the other, and vice versa. But injectable, I like subcutaneous. It’s easy. Uh, you don’t have to go into the muscle. It’s less painful. Um, you’re not going to, you know, people worry about damaging the muscle, getting some scar tissue, whether that’s, you know, it’s kind of thing. But I, it’s definitely less painful, easier smaller needle.

So, and it’s kind of a depot effect, right? It absorbs a little bit more slowly. And it’s, uh, and it’s easy to manage and most of my guys are doing anywhere from two, three times a week. Some guys are doing like, almost like microdosing every day to kind of kinda like the cream, like a real low dose every day, which again is probably the most physiologic.

But you know, some guys are like, I’m not, I don’t, almost don’t wanna poke myself every day like a couple. So it comes down to practical points too, you know, but that’s how my men are, my women. Pretty similar. I have a number a lot doing injectable. A lot of women like the cream. They, they just don’t wanna mess with the needles and they just like the cream and, uh, same thing.

They can apply it to their [00:25:00] skin or transvaginal application is fantastic. Just like with scroll application, men absorbs so well and it can help with the vaginal mucosa. Helps with sex drive and orga orgasmic function. Uh, helps with, uh, improving the pH uh, and the vaginal tissues. Helps with hot flashes, night sweats, and all the other benefits that they, they get.  So they like that as well.

Dr. Weitz: So we also have pellets and now there’s oral testosterone.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, the pellets are, have been popular. Um, back when I had a brick and mortar clinic, I, I did do pellets for a while. Although towards the end, before I left that practice, we were kind of getting away from that. Some people were kind of not liking it anymore.  It was, you know, a slightly invasive procedure. Um, and it’s really not as physiologic, right? You know, you get that big burst, but then over the levels kind of drop over a period of a month or two, and then they don’t feel well. So, you know, the whole point is to be, you know, optimize everything 24 7. So it’s just not a very good.

Pattern for that, right? You’re getting that more artificial up and down, you know, rollercoaster ride of hormones and a lot of patients just don’t like that. Um, so I kind of got away from, I don’t think that’s the best way, but some people love it, you know, if they love it [00:26:00] and it’s working great, you know, have at it.

Yeah, now they have the oral formulation, which is new like Rex, um, which has been, um, pretty effective. I’ve used it a number of patients and I’ve had pretty good results. Um, you know, especially for the younger guys or maybe they’ve, um, my younger guys, I mean, I don’t recommend testosterone will put ’em on something else, but say they want to go on testosterone or they need testosterone, maybe that might be a jumping point, especially if there’s fertility concerns ’cause.  Some of the studies indicate they still maintain a, a good levels of FSH and lh, maybe some better fertility maintenance compared to testosterone. So thus far I’ve had good results. I haven’t had any issues, complications, and it works pretty well.

Dr. Weitz: So, besides, um, hormones, other signaling molecules include peptides, and I know you like to use peptides.  Why don’t you tell us some of the benefits of peptides, some of your favorite peptides, and.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, for sure. So peptides are, like you said, they’re like signaling molecules. They’re, uh, chains of amino acids, um, that are basically, you know, peptides are physiologic, kinda like quo is our body. We make, we make [00:27:00] peptides.  Like insulin is a peptide, right? And that’s been around discover what, the twenties, right. So I always tell people, they ask what it is. I’m like, it’s natural. Our body has like the GLP ones, like ozempic and things. We make our own GLP one in our, in our intestine. Right? So it’s a natural peptide. Pharmacies, of course can now make them in, you know, higher, higher concentrations for beneficial effects.  

So they’re great molecules because they’re very safe. Um, not much downside or side effects, and they’re natural and they’re easy to administer. So there’s a plethora of effects. And man, gosh, there’s so many. Like we were talking before we started corner, there’s so many peptides. Um, it’s just a question of what you wanna use it for.

Um. Again, as signaling molecules, they have a lot of effects on the body. And uh, I’d say some of the more popular ones are like, um, things like the healing peptides. You know, the BPC 1 57, the Thymosin beta, um, GHK, they have a beneficial effects for repairing tissue, damaged tissue, ligaments, tendons, muscles, bones, gut BPCs, great for gut issues, um, you know.

Uh, people have like inflammatory bowel disease or gut dysbiosis or [00:28:00] SIBO or heartburn acid reflux, very beneficial for that. Um, the growth hormone peptides have, have always been, uh, around for a long time. Very popular as well because similar testosterone, we all start losing growth hormone, you know, heck ’cause they’re always our, you know, thirties, uh, and, and it drops so it can stimulate the bite to make its release.

Its more of its own growth hormone and that natural diurnal pattern we get at night. We normally release growth hormone while we sleep. So it’s a nice way to facilitate your body’s. Pumping it out of our own. We, we, we still have it as we get older. We just don’t release it as well from our, from our, from our pituitary gland.  So it’s a nice one. And also for, you know, a lot of anti quote unquote antigen effects, right? Healing of tissues, repair, deeper sleep, improves slow wave sleep, REM sleep.  And it can help with body composition, right? Main maintenance of muscle mass like we’re talking about at the beginning, but

Dr. Weitz: which peptides you like for growth hormone stimulus.

Dr. Fete: Yeah. So, um, the, probably one of the original ones was Smolin, uh, which is still around F fda, A approved, probably not the most powerful one, but it still has an effect. Some people like it. After that, they came up with, uh, what they call the growth hormone, hormone releasing hormone called [00:29:00] CJC, and then a growth hormone releasing peptide called ipamorelin.

Uh, they’re typically given together, although you can use Ipamorelin by itself. That was a great one. But that’s the one they, they kind of. The fda a back in the fall tried to try to get rid of so that we could still, some pharmacies are still compounding, combined with other nutrients, but it’s a little harder to get.

Now. Tessa Molin is probably the most powerful of them. Uh, it’s the most expensive, but it works really, really well. It’s also FDA a approved, and it’s because it’s been used for. Muscle wasting and visceral adiposity. Very, really good at getting rid of that visceral fat, which is very dangerous. Uh, it was, it was used a lot with HIV patients for sarcopenia, so that’s probably the most powerful one.

Uh, but they all work really, really well and they’re a good one to punch with BPC because BPC Upregulates growth hormone receptors in the body, IGF one receptors. So, um, they’re a great combination product. Um. And we were talking about COVID and gut issues. You know, one of the ones I’ve been using, uh, lately too is called Tite.

I dunno if you’ve used that one or heard that one. But, um, that’s great for the gut. Um, a lot of inflammatory bowel issues and all this, the gut stuff. How do

Dr. Weitz: you, how [00:30:00] do you spell that one?

Dr. Fete: Latti? I think it’s L-A-R-O-Z-I. I have, I have to, I have to like spell it slowly. Okay. Razzo Tide R. Yeah. Okay.  L-A-R-A-Z-O-T-I-D-E. And uh, so what it does is when the gut is inflamed, um, it, the, the lining of this, the intestinal wall, as you know, is very thin. It can be become irritated under inflammation and releases a chemical zonulin, right, which is a marker of inflammation. So, uh, LoRa actually improves ZO levels and reduces that inflammation and it heals those tight junctions.  It kind of brings those tight junctions together and uh, makes them. One again. So we, so you don’t get that leaky gut syndrome and it reduces that, uh, zonulin and reduces the inflammation, helps the v the VI heal themselves and to absorb nutrients and, and keep out the toxins. So that’s kind of a cool one.  So many people having gut issues nowadays. It’s a nice, it’s a nice peptide to use for gut health, and especially when you come by with something like BPC orally. Yeah. And BPC helps with leaky gut as well. Definitely. It’s a great one. And it’s nice because that’s one of the few that’s an [00:31:00] oral version. You know, the injectables typically been used for musculoskeletal issues, but the oral BPC is great for the gut.

Dr. Weitz: Yeah, especially for gut. The oral, uh, BPC is really good. I.

Dr. Fete: And if you get it combined with KPV, which is another anti-inflammatory peptide that has kind of a double whammy effect. So those are kind of the more popular ones. You know, there’s, there’s others too that are helpful for like brain health, uh, reducing inflammation in the brain, um, cognitive function, cognitive health, um, you know, different things like that.  There’s, you know, there’s so many peptides. There’s, I. DEXAs and Human ins and you know, the thymus in family clan for anxiety and, uh, you know, mental clarity. So there’s, there’s so many, but, uh, so it kinda depends on the condition of what you’re, but those are kinda the more popular ones.

Dr. Weitz: So for men who have low testosterone or low libido, who don’t want to take exogenous testosterone, can you use peptides?

Are there other supplements that are beneficial?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, for sure. Um, a lot of studies are showing that, especially if they have a deficient, you know, if they’re starting to drop their growth hormone, as you know, it starts pretty young. There’s been some studies showing we just by [00:32:00] optimizing their growth hormone, maybe with these growth hormone peptides, um, you could stimulate, uh, the gona to increase testosterone production.  ’cause if a two tear is kind of the master master gland, right, you optimize your growth hormone, IGF one in the liver and it affects everything. So by optimizing that a lot, some studies are showing you could. Turn that around just by doing that. Um, interesting. And of course there’s tons of, you know, supplements out there, been around forever, right?

And they’re kind of a questionable benefit and they might be able to help with some people, you know, the toca, ALIS, ALIS, the, you know, all those ashwagandha, so on and so forth. Herbal stuff, maybe some benefit, but if it’s young guy, he’s pre clearly deficient clinically and on a laboratory test, you know, I definitely, especially if they’re.  Younger and they’re below 40. I definitely would steer them away from testosterone because of the effects on their fertility. Um, might wanna do something like HCG or uh, Clomid or en clomophine, which can all stimulate the body to make its own testosterone and maintain fertility. And they all work really, really well.  HCG is a little more. Hard to get. Now it’s a lot more expensive, but it’s still available. Um, but I use a, I’ve used it many times. I’ve used Clomid many [00:33:00] times with great success. Um, and it’s a great way to go. And of course now with the Kaiser Rex, that might be another option. I still would probably start them on one of the other ones first and save Kaiser Rex for if they, if they don’t, if it stops working or you know, they wanna switch it up, at least they know.

Or maybe even just talk to ’em about fertility issues. Maybe have ’em do some sper banking if that’s the case. Just to, just to cover the base. Make sure, ’cause some guys are like. Now I’m never having kids. But you, you, you know, you know how that goes. 10 years later, they change your mind like, oh, I wanna have kids now.  So what can we do? Okay. Well, so there’s ways to, there’s ways to reverse that sometimes, but, uh, it’s easier to avoid in the first place.

Dr. Weitz: Right? So one of the side effects that can occur with taking testosterone is you can see an increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin and red blood cell production. So how do you manage that?

Dr. Fete: You can, yeah. You get what’s called a secondary erythrocytosis, and this is another one of the things that I see all the time online. Everybody still talk. Even the doctors will say, that’s polycythemia and it’s not. It’s a, that’s a polycythemia is a, a blood dis blood issue, a blood dyscrasia where all the blood cells are affected.  The platelets, the white blood [00:34:00] cells are red blood cells, so. The erythrocytosis just from testosterone is just the red blood cells. The white blood cells are normal, platelets are normal, and it’s kind of, and and really the erythrocytosis is normal. A lot of people like it ’cause they have better oxygen carrying capacity, better lung capacity, which is why, you know, live athletes do it.  Right. They can like look at Lance Armstrong. Right. You know? Right, right. Yeah. Course he was, don’t eat paja and all that other stuff too. But, um, but it helps and, and really it’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be. You think it, how many thousands of people live it al to in Denver and Nepal and, you know, Himalayas and all these things, and they’ve got blood counts.

They’re hemoglobin hematocrits are super high and they’re doing just fine. They’re not donating blood, they’re not dropping dead of heart attacks and stroke. They’re, they’re living smokers. Same thing. You know, they’re all okay. Um, so this, it’s kind of a myth that you gotta donate blood and do all this kind of stuff.  And actually some of the newer studies are showing that blood donation, if you do it too much, can actually backfire and actually make some problems. So I don’t really find I have to do that if they, their blood counts do go up too much, a little bit. All we had to do is just adjust it. 

Dr. Weitz:  So what do you consider the highest level of say, hematocrit that you’re comfortable with?

Dr. Fete: I’d say most of my guys are like, you know, high end hemoglobin of 18, 19 hematocrit of, you know, maybe 54, somewhere in that range. I think if you’re there below, you’re fine. Um, and again, I, I don’t think, I’ve never seen a lot of the studies don’t even show anything at that level or even above it really happening, but unless you’re way above it.  But I think that’s kind of my comfort level. It’s, it’s, uh, that’s what the studies have shown. Uh, and again, if they’re creeping up there, I’ll just lower the dose a little bit and they, and they won’t feel any different and their blood counts will come down. They’ll be just fine. It’s the easiest way to deal with it.

Dr. Weitz:  Since, since I mentioned one of the side effects to testosterone, what about some of the worries about testosterone, possibly increasing the risk of prostate issues?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, thank, thank goodness that myth has been put to bed, although it’s gonna take a lot of, to people still talk about that. Um, as fortunately it’s been completely disproven.  Um, no risk of prostate cancer. Increasing is the bottom line. If anything, you’ll have a better outcome and a reduced risk overall. People that have prostate cancer, you know, one in seven men are gonna have [00:36:00] prostate cancer at some point. And the lower your testosterone level, the worse outcome you’re gonna have.

And if you, it’s gonna be more aggressive. So. It’s better to have an optimal testosterone level and you’re gonna have a better outcome even if you have prostate cancer. Um, yeah. I think

Dr. Weitz: one of the reasons why that concern comes out is because men with metastatic prostate cancer are often put on therapy to reduce testosterone.  

Dr. Fete: They do. They do. But um, what’s happening is, uh, it’s still, you know, they still have problems down the road and there’s what’s called the, uh, it’s basically that threshold theory, you know, the, uh, the saturation effect is what it’s called. So once the testosterone gets above 200, 2 50, it doesn’t matter.  You could go way higher and will it grow? Will it feed that cancer? So you get to 200, 2 50. Yeah. But at that point above that, it doesn’t do anything. Um, and those guys, when they go on androgen deprivation therapy, yeah, we’ll help temporarily. But they’re gonna be miserable. They’re gonna get osteoporosis, heart of cardiovascular disease, they’re gonna feel terrible, and they’re gonna die more likely of cardiovascular disease, which is the number one killer of men.

Um, and they’re not, they’re gonna die with their prostate cancer or, you know, not, not [00:37:00] because of it. So, and now a lot of people are actually treating prostate cancer with estradiol and, and treating with testosterone. You look at Dr. Abraham Mayhem, Morgentaler, well known urologist out in Harvard, and he’s putting men on testosterone all the time, and they’re doing fantastic.  So it’s the people are actually using it to treat cancers now, so. That ship is finally turned, but those mist still abound that it’s gonna cause cancer.

Dr. Weitz: And then what about the, uh, alleged, uh, worry about the fact that testosterone could increase cardiovascular risk? I know one thing I’ve seen in some men on testosterone is their HDL levels tend to drop.

Dr. Fete: Yeah, same thing. I, I think that’s kind of been kind of disproven at this point too. I think that there’s no increased risk of anything. And if anything, long term they’re gonna do better because they’re gonna reduce their visceral fat, reduce their inflammation, improve their metabolic markers, um, improve ejection fractions, improve their cardiovascular function.  And a lot of men actually lower their blood pressure, um, now with injectable. Yeah, sometimes in the first year or so, they can get a slight dip in their HDL, but it tends to recover and come back to normal, especially if they’re paying attention to lifestyle, [00:38:00] diet, et cetera. Um, the cream not as much, has to have less, less of an effect on the HL but again, usually it’s more of a temporary thing.

Dr. Weitz: Okay. Um, what, what, what is some of the other strategies for promoting longevity besides, uh, hormones? I.

Dr. Fete: Yeah. So I think, um, I think you and I probably agree, you know, talk a lot about, you know, lifestyle. I think that’s still the biggest mover. Yeah. You know, and everybody wants the quick fix in America, right?  We want that magic pill. But you know, you gotta do the basics. You know, you gotta sleep, you gotta eat right, you gotta exercise and move daily. Uh, and that’s sometimes that’s the hardest thing, right? ’cause it takes work on everybody’s part. But I think that is the most important thing. I’m really big on, uh, natural lifestyle and definitely more on like circadian rhythms, uh, quantum biology aspect.

You look at the science of that and you’re like, you know, getting out and looking at the sun every day, getting your feet in the grass, you know, trying to get outside as much as you can away from the wifi. Get your sun, get the sun on your skin. And constant movement. You look at the long-lived societies, they’re the ones that are constantly moving.

They’re outside all day. They have a sense of community. They’re interacting with other people. They’re not sitting there on their [00:39:00] phones by themselves all day long, right? We’re meant to be outside. We’re meant to be moving. So I really try to encourage as much as possible, and I know it’s, you know, we all work.

We have to do stuff, but we can all take breaks and get out and move. So for me, you know, um, really kind of getting back to our roots. I love to blend. I love to blend the new. With the old, you know, trying to get back to the, that ancestral wisdom, right? Of again, community, getting outside, going for hikes in nature, getting the sun on your skin as much as possible, and moving our body, you know, again, going back to muscle medicine, really, and again, we don’t have to throw heavy weights around, but getting out, lifting things, flipping tires, you know, hiking, just being active, using our bodies, that’s what we’re meant to do.

I think that’s, you know. People kind of forget about that. They kind of think that they can hit the gym hard for an hour and just sit on their butt all day and just, and take a shot and not eat right. And they’re like, no, I’m gonna, I’m gonna make you eat right. I’m gonna make you move. And these are foundational.

You just can’t not do that. You know, the peptides are great, the hormones are great, but they are definitely, you know, I hate to say ancillary, but they’re secondary to the lifestyle aspect. You, you definitely have to do those things first.

Dr. Weitz: Are there any medications or [00:40:00] supplements that you think can move the needle in terms of longevity?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, there’s a lot, you know, and, uh, I think there’s some that have been just, you know, known about and there’s some that are kind of like, you know, on the, on the debate table right now. Right. You know, so, you know, we were talking earlier about like things like Metformin and DHA growth hormone, I think pretty well shown.  Um, you know, the other things a little more controversial, like rapamycin, uh, kind of a big anti-aging molecule has been talked about. And I think there’s, you have to be more careful with that. I think it definitely has some benefits, but it has to be the right person and then it might be at the right time and maybe cycling in and out with a, and I like it with like my, similar to peptides.  I think I rotate things in and out. You know, sometimes I’ll put somebody, do, do

Dr. Weitz: you take rapamycin? Have you taken it? I.

Dr. Fete: I have myself, I’m not taking it right now. I, I did it for maybe a month, uh, and then once or twice a year I did that. But I have not done it since. So I think if you’re older, if you’ve got some other metabolic issues, some inflammatory issues, I think there’s some benefit there.  Maybe short term, maybe rotating in and out of your, your regimen, but I don’t think you should be doing all year round, and especially if you’re younger, I don’t think [00:41:00] there’s any need for that.

Dr. Weitz: Right. So what about any, what about any of the supplements for longevity? You know, some of the more popular ones are NMN and Nicotinomide Riboside, which are NAD precursors, right.

Dr. Fete:  Yes, I mean, some of the foundational ones are still applicable, right? You know, good old vitamin K, optimizing your vitamin D with sun exposure. Um, you know, things like that. You know, magnesium is huge. You know, we’re all deficient. Magnesium and has so many functions in the body.  Urolithin A is a cool substance to optimize mitochondrial health, which has been been discovered of late.  Yeah, and NAD optimization is good too. I think the NR, NMN, they have their role, but sometimes I think they’re overused. And if you’ve got some inflammation or some other, some other process going, your body, you can actually make things worse.  So, may not be the best strategy, but I think this, the precursors, like you said, are probably a safe way to go. But some studies indicate you can even just take niacinamide and still get a lot of beneficial effects and it’s cheaper. Um, and the other one is one MNA, I don’t know if you’re familiar with that one, but that I’m not familiar with that.  What is that? So there’s a supplement called one MNA. So. Part of the whole on the biologic cycle and the biophysiology of, of, uh, NAD production, that’s where these NMRs or NR and NMS come in. It’s the, uh, the salvage pathway, that kind of resynthesis of your nas, right? But one of the byproducts of that is called, so, you know, um.

Is, uh, it goes through this process, but this one, MNA, is a pro, is a, a derivative of that. And again, you wanna balance, right? We all want, you can’t take too much of a supplement or too little. So by any, by taking N-R-N-M-N you can do that, but sometimes you might be forcing that pathway to do more than what it should.  So one MNA actually kind of has, its almost like a. Like an adrenal adaptogen, right? If it’s low, it brings it up. If it’s high, it brings it down. So it kind of makes the body balance itself out so you don’t have any excessive, uh, metabolites. So it’s a nice way, and it’ll boost your own. It’ll raise your NAD on its own and keep it balanced in a natural way.  So it’s a, it’s a newer one. Uh, and I, if, if somebody’s got some issues, uh, with their, you [00:43:00] know, uh, concerns about cardiovascular health, inflammation, I think that’s a good one. Uh, instead of the, or the NSNs and nrs, you know, but. If people are doing pretty well, metabolically lab’s normal, it’s, it’s not a bad supplement to take either.

Dr. Weitz: Right. Uh, Omega-3 is always beneficial. 

Dr. Fete: Yeah. Omega threes for sure. Um, you know, and then, um. ’cause we need those for our cell membranes. Uh, plasm mogens have been discovered. Dr. Good. Now, I dunno if you’re familiar with his work or not, but, uh, he’s got some interesting products called, you know, we lose, there’s a, uh, you know, part of our cell membrane is these plasm mogen, and we lose those as we age as well.  Um, so Plasm Mogen deficiency is similar to omega threes. It’s part of that makes the, the, the linings of all our cells and our tissues, especially around our nerves. Um, so that’s another interesting, um, I, I’ve heard about ’em. I haven’t tried ’em though. Yeah. So those are some other, some cutting, some newer kind of things too.  So I think, yeah, I think of the basics of the ones we talked about. You know, keep it simple. There’s a million supplements you could take. Right. You know? Yeah. There’s, [00:44:00] you can go overboard, I think. But I think most people, yeah. 

Dr. Weitz: We even now have plant peptides.

Dr. Fete: Right, right. 

Dr. Weitz:  There’s one called Peptide Strong that I’ve been using on some of the patients.  Yep. Seems to help a little bit.

Dr. Fete: I’ve been using that one as well. That’s an interesting product, Peptistrong. Uh, I think I, I think it has some good data behind it. Um, you know, for Atropin, there’s all these cool things for muscle health. I’ve been using my, you know, some since, uh, occasionally myself.  But yeah, so it’s kind of, it’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next year with all these new products and combinations and, uh, different, different, I think people are starting to catch on to peptides and. Um, like you said, plant molecules, different things like that. So a lot of cool stuff that, that can be done for sure.  But I think start with the basics and kind of build from there. And, and like supplements, peptides again, rotate things in and out. You don’t, you could take 30 supplements a day. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing. Maybe do something for a few months and rotate and do something different.  That’s kind of what I try to do with myself and my patients, otherwise you go crazy taking all these things.

Dr. Weitz: Yeah. I take, I take about 30 supplements twice a day. Uh, what, what’s your favorite book on longevity?

Dr. Fete: Ooh, on longevity. That’s a good one.

Dr. Weitz:  I mean there’s a lot that have been written. We got Peter Atia, we got Mark Hyman. We have, you know, so many people have written books on longevity.

Dr. Fete: I know There’s a good one.  There’s a lot of good ones. Jack Cruz had an interesting book. It’s not really about longevity, but his book, his, I don’t know if you read any of his stuff, his pretty, I haven’t, um, you know, like, is it Peter Attia? Um, Dr. Goods got an interesting, not really about longevity.  Ben Bickman wrote a book about, you know, why we get sick and it has a lot to do with insulin and things like that.  So, you know, my, one of my mentors, Dr. Rouzier has written a book, Dr. Seeds has written some books. I don’t know, there’s so many out there and so many topics is the problem. There’s so many different areas to go, so many rabbit holes to go down, you know?

Dr. Weitz: Yeah. Alright, great. How about you? Um, uh, how, how about final thoughts, uh, and how, what are you, what, what is your contact information?

Dr. Fete: Yeah. No, I appreciate you having me on. I think the biggest thing is just, you know, try to [00:46:00] keep, you know, for me, I try to keep things simple. It’s easy with information overload nowadays and everybody’s googling everything. I think it’s, it’s easy to go down, like we said, so many rabbit holes. I think just really trying to focus on the basics and I want people to kind of remember, like I said, remember the roots saying, kind of get back to.  Our body’s natural rhythms. You know, I am, like I said, try to get outside, embrace nature, you know, embrace community. Uh, communicate with people face to face. You know, lift heavy things, move every day. You know, get your sleep, eat real food. You know, it doesn’t have to, you don’t have to go on a diet, just eat food if it has a label box bag, or can probably shouldn’t eat it, right?

Um, we all have to live a little bit. We all have to cheat. You know, I, everybody knows I like my chocolate, my bourbon, so, you know, we gotta cheat a little bit, but at the same time, try to, you know, eat, eat well most of the time. And then. And then work with a, and please. I always tell people like work with a, you know, a clinician who knows what they’re doing.

I see a lot of people just doing stuff on their own, buying everything online and the black market. And so you have to be really careful. You don’t know what you’re getting. So work with someone, uh, a good, uh, you know, clinician who knows what they’re doing, who’s trained, and who can guide them. Again, not that we know everything, but we can definitely guide them along the way and I want them to take, you know, to take adv, take control of their own health, be their own advocate, right. You know, do double check everything, but work with the, work with multiple docs, clinicians, et cetera. And, uh, so they, so they get some coaching along the way, and I’m happy. 

Dr. Weitz:  Do you recommend physicians who’ve been trained by A4M or IFM or certain, is there a way for somebody to know when they find somebody who’s good?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, I think as someone who’s been certified by a well-known, reputable organization, you know, like, you know, guys like you, you know, you’re very knowledgeable about all these topics. You’ve, you’ve got all the certifications, you know, you know your stuff and you’ve been trained and certified, done a ton of education.  Um, so those, that organizations you mentioned, you know, especially the IFM is great. I for hormones, I’m a big fan of World Link Medical. Dr. Neil EYs been around for decades. He’s probably one of the, the wizards of the hormone space, um, very different from A four M, but he’s, his is all data science based, so I like World Link Medical, um, peptide societies.

Again, I was with, International Peptides Society and they changed, and Dr. Cs took over SSRP and now the, uh, International Peptide Society is being run by a different group now. Um, and I’ve, I’m familiar with them as well, so, yeah. So, you know, whether it’s, you know. Just someone who knows what they’re talking about, who’s actually spending time with patients has been certified.  Someone like yourself or myself or someone like that, I just don’t want the, uh, internet guru with no medical training. And, and again, they’re well-meaning a lot of ’em know their stuff. Right, right. Um, but you just have to be careful, that’s all. So I just want people to get their best help. 

Dr. Weitz:  So how can people contact you?

Dr. Fete: Yeah, so Dr. Eric primex.com is my, is my company, uh, my website.  I’ve got a ton of free stuff on there in my YouTube channel, Dr. Eric Primex. I’ve got tons of free content, free videos, free eBooks on my website and, 

Dr. Weitz:  And what’s the exact website?

Dr. Fete: So Dr. Eric Primax, so D-R-E-R-I-C-P-R-I-M-E-X.com.

Dr. Weitz: Cool.

Dr. Fete: Great.  And, check us out on social media. Again, I’m posting stuff every day, a lot of free videos, trainings, you know, all kind of stuff. I just like to help people and teach and, and talk. I could, I love talking shop, so if I can, uh, you know. Share or help anybody, just let me know. Happy to help.

Dr. Weitz:  Sounds good. Thank you so much, Dr. Fete.

Dr. Fete: Thank you, sir. Appreciate you being on.

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Dr. Weitz:  Thank you for making it all the way through this episode of the Rational Wellness Podcast. For those of you who enjoy listening to the Rational Wellness Podcast, I would very much appreciate it if you could go to Apple Podcast or Spotify and give us a five star ratings and review.  As you may know, I continue to accept a limited number of new patients per month for functional medicine. If you would like help overcoming a gut or other chronic health condition, and want to prevent chronic problems, and want to promote longevity. Please call my Santa Monica Weitz Sports chiropractic and nutrition office at 310-395-3111 and we can set you up for a consultation for functional medicine, and I will talk to everybody next week.