Video summary
The video presents a hierarchical model of hormonal health, often referred to as the Hormone Pyramid, which argues that stress management and cortisol control form the foundational 40% of any solution. According to the speaker, this base is critical because it sits below essential metabolic functions like insulin regulation and thyroid function; if cortisol levels are not managed first, addressing lower-level hormones becomes ineffective. The transcript emphasizes that before one can successfully balance sex hormones or optimize thyroid activity, the body must first handle the stress response, as unchecked cortisol disrupts the entire endocrine system. Consequently, the speaker suggests that for many individuals, particularly those in high-stress environments, the primary focus should be on reducing stress rather than immediately seeking hormonal interventions.
Following the management of stress, the next crucial layer involves diet and insulin management, which together account for another significant portion of the solution. The speaker notes that while patients often claim to eat a "clean" diet, this is frequently insufficient without addressing the underlying impact of cortisol on blood sugar regulation. Once these two major factors—stress and diet—are optimized, attention can shift to thyroid health, which represents the subsequent 20% of the therapeutic approach. For high-functioning individuals who experience severe sleeplessness due to excessive adrenaline production, the speaker describes a specific protocol involving thyroid medication taken at bedtime to help clear out accumulated epinephrine and norepinephrine, allowing for restful sleep. However, this method is presented as specialized for elite clients rather than a standard recommendation for the general population.
The final 10% of the solution involves hormone therapy itself, which the speaker describes as a quick-acting tool that must be used with caution to avoid accumulating in the body and causing damage. A key component of safe hormone use is ensuring proper conjugation and elimination through the liver, a process heavily dependent on glutathione levels. The transcript explains that without adequate glutathione support, hormones cannot be properly processed and excreted via urine, leading to potential toxicity. Therefore, the speaker insists that all patients on hormone therapy must also take glutathione to facilitate this metabolic pathway, ensuring that the body can clear the hormones after they have performed their function rather than allowing them to build up and harm tissues.
Ultimately, the video concludes by warning against the common mistake of seeking immediate estrogen or other sex hormone replacements without first addressing the root causes of imbalance in cortisol, insulin, and thyroid function. The speaker uses the metaphor of "taking out the garbage" to illustrate that simply adding hormones without clearing metabolic waste can lead to serious health risks like breast or endometrial cancer. Instead of relying on conventional patches or untested regimens that ignore individual metabolism and genetics, patients should undergo comprehensive testing to ensure their bodies are capable of safely processing hormones. By following this structured approach from the top of the pyramid down, individuals can achieve true hormonal balance without exposing themselves to unnecessary risks associated with poorly managed hormone therapy.
Read the full video transcript
Did you know that low estrogens is the
last thing left now and there's nothing
else after that? It starts from way up
there from cholesterols to pregnenolone
DHEA to testosterones to all the
different types of other hormones and
then the last thing is the estrogens,
right? And even even the sex hormones
before the sex hormone comes thyroid.
Before the thyroid comes insulin and
before the insulin comes cortisol. So if
you think about the whole pyramid
structure of of the hormone cycles, it's
the 40% of the problem or the solution
is your
stress management or cortisol.
>> Yes.
>> 40% and so that's the first thing that
my my patient tell me of all, well, I'm
trying to do my best I can with the
circumstances but
just let's talk about something else. I
said, "Okay, let's talk about the next
30%." The next 30% is insulin, your
diet.
Well, I eat pretty clean. Let's talk
about something else now, right? I mean,
oh wait a second. 70% of total solution
for the hormone balancing is in your
hands.
>> Cortisol and
>> diet management and stress management,
right? I can help you with either one of
them. I can recommend things but I
that's on you. The next 20% is thyroid
management which I can help do testing
and treating and things like that. We
both keep We make both T4 T3
combinations and we we use thyroid for
different purposes. I have a lot of
high-end clienteles. I have like Fortune
10 CEOs as a patients of mine.
And the number one complaint I get is I
cannot sleep at night time and what I do
for those people, this is not Okay, let
me just disclaimer.
This plan doesn't work for average
people. Doesn't work for me. But these
are for very high network individuals.
They are actually burned off the
cortisols and they're 100% working on
adrenaline.
>> Yes.
>> All the time. They're adrenaline
junkies. They are they're managing like
thousands and thousands of people and
they're running companies that that
shapes the world. And they can't fall
asleep because they got too much
adrenaline.
Guess what? I use thyroid to push
adrenaline out of the system at bedtime
and
in 10 minutes they falling asleep.
Literally just like that, right? But if
you But you and I know you give thyroid
to any individual at bedtime, they will
be so chest palpitations
>> Okay, I can pause one second because
years and years ago I've been on
hypothyroid and been on thyroid
medication for years and I just
intuitively found that I love taking it
at bedtime. I did not know why and I
have no side effects. I sleep great.
>> [laughter]
>> Oh, you're one of those junkies.
>> I'm probably one of those junkies. I
never I I mean, of course that makes
sense with the pathways, but um I did
not and it's a very uh quick release T4
um solution. So it's actually even more
likely to cause palpitations for the
average person, but not for me.
>> [laughter]
>> But not for you. See, the thing is there
there's a lot of a lot of doctors as a
clients of mine that do the same thing,
too, because they're research group
They're they're they're researchers.
They're they're working 24/7 most of the
time. They wake up at 3:00 in the
morning and they're writing notes down
because they just had a dream of
something going on, right? And I I give
it to those clientele today, which is T3
at bedtime. I said, "What?" I said,
"Yeah, yeah, you need some thyroid at
bedtime because you had the you had you
had too much too much epinephrine
norepinephrine kicking in your body and
things like that. And so
>> Amazing.
>> Who's medication for this purpose is and
of course the last 10% of the solutions
is hormones.
Keep in mind the hormones is a quick
acting. Goes in, gets the job done and
get out. If the If you cannot get out of
the system the hormones are actually
causing damage to the body.
>> Yeah.
>> That's why sometimes continuous form of
hormones is actually not good for you.
Having hormone-free period, having uh
not to use uh patches or long-term
pellets and things like that. Having
having having some breaks here and there
sometimes is good for you. Uh and so
hormone therapy has been very uh it's
it's one of those things that you can
try and it's not going to kill you, so
you can try different different avenues.
See what works for each and every
individual. But here's the thing.
Hormones also needs to be conjugated,
which is a CYP2B1 is the enzyme pathway
that needs to conjugate these hormones
and get it off the liver out. And you
just pee it out. That's why you do urine
tests which to measure hormone levels
sometimes is because some of these
hormones have to be conjugated to get to
be released. The conjugation happens
from glutathione.
>> Yes. Yes.
>> So all my patients on hormones are
glutathione as a combination. So gets a
job in, gets a job done. Glutathione
conjugates, gets rid of it to more than
next dose.
>> Brilliant. Brilliant, brilliant,
brilliant. I just want to repeat for
those listening out there. You said we
need to start with the cortisol stress
hormone stress management, then we need
to go to diet and insulin management,
and then we need to make sure thyroid is
optimized before we get to that bottom
10% which is the hormones. And so many
women who don't know any better are
going to these little hormone pop-up
clinics on the corner and they're like
give me estrogen and they don't feel
well and they wonder why, right? So this
is so critical. Now the other thing
you've said that I want to emphasize for
our listeners that I think is so
important is I talk about it as taking
out the garbage, which means I'm giving
you estrogen. However, if you're not
taking out the garbage, we're in big
trouble. And the kinds of things like
breast cancer, endometrial cancer, those
are not risks if you're taking out the
garbage and we look at those two
hydroxy, four hydroxy, 16 hydroxy ratios
and they're healthy. So I'm always
looking at how that person that I'm
putting on the hormone. So the average
doc who maybe doesn't know any better
and only has, you know, conventional
estradiol or patch at their disposal and
isn't really testing. I think is doing a
disservice because so many women who've
either had breast cancer like myself or
who are worried about those kinds of
things, the worry is not the hormone.
It's the metabolism and the genetics
around that.