Hormone Optimization, Peptides & Living Better, Longer with Dr. Julian R. Gershon, Jr.

I treat people all over the world via telemedicine.

Yeah.

I also have an office in Cabo San Lucas, so some people like to take a walk on the beach after their appointment. But it's really fun to see the difference, to have a woman suddenly say, oh my gosh, I slept like a baby. Or even better, I like my husband again. I want him to touch me.

Yeah.

I just got goosebumps. It's amazing what we can put back in a relationship that you didn't know was missing.

Welcome to The Biohack Method. I am Lindsey Burwell. I break down the science, cut the fluff, and give you real tools to optimize your body with peptides, transdermal patches, and root cause biohacking that actually works.

Welcome back to The Biohack Method podcast. I am so excited because I have Dr. Julian Gershon here with me today, and we've already been chatting up all the things, so we're just going to dive right in because, Dr. Julian, I work with a lot of women who are doing so many great things for their health. They are exercising. They're exercising, they're eating healthy, they are genuinely trying. And usually, they're also women who are doing more than anyone they know, yet they don't feel great. They're not losing weight. And what their doctors tell them is, this is just the normal part of aging. So, what I would love for you to go into is why you maybe don't believe that, and just your story and how you got into this work of regenerative medicine. Yeah.

Well, sure, thank you. I could talk about it for a long time. You know, my background is sports medicine. I'm actually board certified in 3 specialties. I was the head team physician at the University of North Texas for 20 years before moving to Aspen, Colorado in 2010 to fulfill a childhood dream. I grew up ski racing. I had wanted to live there since I was a kid, so 12 or 13. Anyways, so, Also, when I turned 50, which is now 23 years ago, my sports medicine buddies founded the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. And at first I laugh about it. In my book, I say this, he's lost his mind. You know, a friend of mine that founded it. But then rolls around the year 2000, I show up at a conference in Las Vegas, and there were already thousands of providers from all over the world there. 23 years ago. So I'll, I'll be there the second week of December this year for the 23rd or 24th time in a row. And it made sense to me. And so I started as a male taking testosterone, you know, and mine was, quote, normal but not optimal. So there's a big difference. So what your, your clients and And friends are being told. To me, it's just almost criminal. It's a shame. 90-plus percent of providers have zero training in hormone therapy or hormone optimization. I even see endocrinologists that are actually pretty clueless when it comes to optimizing hormone levels. And as I talked about in an earlier podcast, Particularly with men, but the same thing happens with women. We are subjected to endocrine disrupting chemicals our whole life. You know, 20 years ago, my average patient was in their 50s. Another decade went by, all of a sudden they're in their 40s. So I'm like, huh, that's interesting. Now the majority of my patients are in their 30s and I have a handful in their 20s.

Mm-hmm.

Why? Because it's an epidemic.

Absolutely.

All of the compounds from plastics to cookware to the chemicals that they shove in foods and send us. That's why processed foods are so bad because they're full of chemicals that destroy the endocrine system. So when I— and I talk to women all the time, I have a number of podcasts on this subject. Normal's not optimal. And when they're told, well, I don't know, you're normal, it's because the doctor doesn't know what else to do. He's never studied optimization. What happens to those women is the Bs come out. They're moody, bitchy, bloaty, and they feel terrible.

Yeah.

They don't sleep well, maybe have PMS, heavy periods, lighter periods. And this can be a decade or two Before menopause. And so hormone decline with progesterone and very importantly testosterone. Women need testosterone. You had testosterone, you still have, but had it in levels that, you know, were somewhere around 200 to 300. In men, it's 1,000 plus. But only 1 to 2% of that number is active or bioavailable. So 2 to 4, what we call nanograms. And so what I see all the time, I saw a new patient yesterday morning before I jumped on a flight to come to Scottsdale to do these podcasts today. And hers was, her total was, it said less than 5. In other words, it's zero, it's so low you can't measure it. Free testosterone, 0. 0.0016. She's like, that's pretty much zero, isn't it? I'm like, yeah, exactly. Yeah. And so it defines who we are. Muscle mass, body composition. I can't shake this 5 or 10 pounds. What's going on? He says my thyroid's normal. Well, unfortunately, most doctors only look at thyroid stimulating hormone, and if it's not above 4, you're not gonna get a prescription. But there's something called subclinical hypothyroidism based on the free T3, kind of like free testosterone. It's what performs all the activity and it's what isn't bound to protein. And it's a very small number. So optimizing thyroid function, testosterone, which drives cognitive function. I can't remember anything. I just feel terrible. You know, I don't wanna play with my kids. moody, you know, just a lot of bad things happen. And it's all because of hormone decline. You know, we— I used to say, starting at about age 30, we use 1 to 3% or lose of our hormones yearly. Well, it's more like 1 to 5%. And, and what about the 20-year-olds that feel terrible?

Mm-hmm.

You know, women can't sleep. Maybe they have PMS, migraines. I've seen dramatic changes in women with migraine headaches just from a little bit of progesterone at night, maybe 50 milligrams. Not the same amount you use after menopause, which is 200, 300, 400, whatever it takes to raise the blood levels, but small amounts. And you start sleeping, cortisol declines, growth hormone increases. You maybe make a little more of your own testosterone. But testosterone is like the holy grail for women, both of those 2 hormones. And it can be a decade or 2 before menopause.

Yeah, I think that's so important to talk about because we think, you know, it's gonna be when we're in menopause or perimenopause where we might need that support. Also, you know, I love that you highlighted the observation of it, women coming to you that are younger and younger and younger. And I know I actually had to go through infertility, um, with the— to conceive my second child. And it was all kind of hormone-based. And when I was going through it the first time versus the second time, one, the clinic had like quadrupled. Women were not get— it used to be very rare.

Mm-hmm.

That someone would go through infertility. It almost felt like shameful and kind of like guilty. What's wrong with me now? I, I mean, I, I don't know the exact stat. I bet you it's like 1 in every 2 women are going through some type of infertility, hor— like needing hormones to get pregnant. And it goes back to what you said. It is the world, very modern world we live in, the hyperexposures. you know, the food, it's the products we're using that is touching our skin, getting into our bloodstream, and causing chaos ultimately on our liver, you know? And so I think balancing the hormone optimization and liver health is so critical. Here's what I notice, and I'm curious your thoughts. There's a lot of young women I work with who will go to a hormone doctor, and there, it feels like there's almost like a cookie-cutter approach to getting on testosterone, and then they don't have good results and reactions. They're getting hair everywhere. They're feeling crazy. So do you feel that in this regenerative medicine space, this hormone space, there is a little negligence maybe, and that we— it's not a one-size-fits-all?

Well, it's definitely not one-size-fits-all. And so it's very important. And, and not all providers that do prescribe hormones are trained in hormone optimization. Do they go to academy meetings? Are they— do they go to the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine? Are they board certified through them? Do they go to a group called WorldLink Medical out of Salt Lake City? My mentor, Dr. Neal Rouzier, who has trained more physicians than anyone in the world, and it's all about hormone optimization. And so to just say here, Here's a patch, or take this— not that patches are bad— um, take the hormone patch, the hormone patch, um, and you're fine. If they haven't scheduled you to come back in 4 to 6 weeks for blood levels, yeah, then they're really— Especially with hormones. They're really off. And so we need to know where the progesterone level is, what the free and total testosterone is, because that's what happens long before Menopause. Once you stop having periods and your estradiol drops to 5 or 10 or 0 and your follicle stimulating hormone's 50 and above for a sustained period of time, that's the diagnosis of menopause. Well, what about what happens during perimenopause? Well, you know, it's one month it's here and the next month it's down. And so we want to raise the baseline slightly of all hormones so that you just Feel better, and you don't have those gigantic swings because they happen. But prior to that, it's testosterone, growth hormone, DHEA, progesterone, and from my standpoint, it's not that tough. You know, it's pretty easy. I treat people all over the world via telemedicine. I also have an office in Cabo San Lucas, so some people like to take a walk on the beach after their appointment. But it's really fun. And to see the difference, to have a woman suddenly say, oh my gosh, I slept like a baby, or even better, I like my husband again. I want him to touch me. Yeah. I just got goosebumps. It's amazing what we can put back in a relationship that You didn't know was missing. And the doctors that you trust and rely on, they just don't have all the information.

Yeah.

So you kind of have to do your homework. You have to be a student, as I tell people, study this, you know, research it, listen to some other podcasts.

I love what you said. You know, it's balancing hormones is important for longevity, But it's how you start feeling and showing up and how it shifts your relationships.

Absolutely.

That's the gift, right? And I talk about that all the time. And it's like having your clothes fit better, having more energy feels really good, but how you start showing up in your life and can love and receive love and really be in your fullest authentic expression to share your gifts. I mean, it's like, that's the gift. You know, that's really the miracle of it all. So what is your, view on where regenerative medicine is going? You've had this, you know, decades of experience. You've seen probably so many evolutions and shifts. Where do you think this is going?

Well, it's becoming mainstream, you know, because you, people like you, patients who've experienced it, are driving it. They're asking more questions for their providers. Their doctors are tired of not having the answer. It's like, All right, I gotta check this out.

Yeah.

There's numerous organizations that are now teaching really the right way to do things and teaching physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, how to help women to feel better, how to access this and really get your life back.

Yeah, and not take the excuse of, oh, you're just, it's part of aging. 'Cause as you age, life is just going downhill. behind you. And you think opposite of that, right? You think—

Absolutely.

It's only up from here.

My motto is to help you live better, longer.

Yes.

My number's 120.

Yes.

I'm 73.

Get some snaps for that.

I feel pretty good.

I love that. So what about for people who are listening that are like, okay, but what is regenerative medicine? Or what all options are there outside of hormone replacement therapy?

Well, there's a lot. You know, and, and so from stem cell harvesting, exosome therapy, regenerative orthopedics, I do a lot. I've done over 1,200 joint injections, rotator cuffs, knees, hips, shoulders, damaged cartilage, you name it. And we're able to stop inflammation in its tracks and stimulate the natural healing process and actually grow back cartilage. Wow. But we have the whole world of peptides. I'm writing another book. It will be out by the end of October. I won't share the title yet, but it's about the craziness of peptides right now because it's crazy.

It's the Wild West.

Yeah. People are, you know, calling in or they'll call me, call the office, come tell me, hey, I saw, you know, like My son-in-law refers a lot of people. He's nuts about peptides, but we do it the right way. And so somebody, you know, I take the call or we set up a little telemedicine visit and they're just, I'm ready, I want to get on peptides. I'm like, oh really? Which one? The deer in the headlights.

They're like, there's more than one. I just want the peptide.

Which one do you mean? And I say, you know, there's 20 or 30 that we use. Yeah. And so let's get some comprehensive blood work. Let's look at everything from complete thyroid function, free and total testosterone, growth hormone. Because what I see is a lot of people just buying stuff online and say, oh yeah, I'm on tesamorelin or ipamorelin or serramorelin, or those are peptides to stimulate growth hormone production. I'm like, oh good, what's your level? Well, I don't know. What do you mean, what's my level? Did anybody test it? Were you already at 200 when you started and now you're at 400 and you're gonna grow a big, you know, knot on your forehead or something crazy? No, we need to know where it is because there's a target range of where you were at about 20, 200 to 250.

Mm-hmm.

And so I see people all the time have no clue. And also depending on where that number is, is like, All right, I think you only need it 3 days a week, or Monday through Friday, or every day. We'll treat this for 90 days, take 2 weeks to a month off, and do it again.

What are some of your favorite peptides?

Well, and again, it depends. We use a lot for— to stimulate growth hormone production.

So that would be like CJC, ipamorelin, tesamorelin?

My favorite would be tesamorelin with ipamorelin. That combination works the best. I also use sermorelin. But we need to know where the number is. And then women love one, and whoever came up with the name Glo.

Oh, yep, yep.

Well, I love Glo. I personally take Clo, which is Glo plus KPV. KPV is extremely anti-inflammatory.

I will pause. I love KPV. I think, I mean, 'cause inflammation really is just, we've all got it. And I have seen crazy results in my health from KPV. Yeah. Very passionate about that one.

Yeah. Well, I love it. And so, you know, last week I just— I go to— I was in Miami 2 weeks ago at an intensive annual hormone summit. Then last Thursday I left, went to Cancun to do another peptide certification all day Friday and a stem cell conference on Saturday. I've been peptide certified for— I don't even know when— 6 or 7 years. But there's so many new ones I wanted to see, and I picked up a lot. To use immediately in my office.

Okay, what are some of the newer peptides coming out? I'm dying to know.

Well, there's a lot, and again, it depends what we're doing. I think things to stimulate mitochondrial function is a big deal because we're exposed to so many endocrine disruptors that our mitochondria are just bombarded. If you're old enough to take a statin, I would first find the trash and throw them away. But if not, they wipe out CoQ10 levels. They're not conducive to high levels of energy. There's— that's a whole nother argument that we'll maybe talk about another time. Yeah. But—

So like a MOTS-c 2.0 or something similar?

Solo MOTS-c. I take that 3 days a week. I take C-Max, which is more for cognitive function, every morning. It's 5 units, a tiny dose. NAD+, 2 to 3 times a week. SS31, I just ordered. I haven't started it yet.

Yeah, I've been hearing about that one.

That's great. Another one called Selank can also affect mitochondrial function and energy levels. And so there's quite a few, you know, I feel like a pincushion. I do 4 injections in the mornings. And so, you know, it's But you've never felt

better, right? I feel pretty good.

I feel pretty darn good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think that, that's, you know, to kind of land the plane, that's the most important thing for people who are listening. Don't let getting older be the reason why you don't feel good and it's just all downhill from here and the best is over, cuz it's not. And you're evidence of this, the work that you're doing, your story, your transformation. I can feel your vitality from here and So, I wanna empower anyone listening that you can feel like the best is yet to come. And there's so many great experts, and there's so many great therapies, and there's so much great information to really step into that, and to find someone that can support you along that journey, and do the testing, right, is so important. So, tell my audience, if they're like super intrigued, they wanna learn from you, they wanna read your book, where can they find you?

Well, sure, thank you. You know, it's pretty easy. You just go to aspen-regenerativemedicine.com, And you can contact us there. I do telemedicine consults with people literally all over the world. We can send you to a LabCorp or Quest anywhere in America. Let your insurance cover the labs. If not, we have a big discount program with Access Labs in Miami. And then we talk about it. Takes about a week to get the results back, and then 30 minutes to an hour, whatever it takes to. Go through all the symptoms, how we're feeling, and hey, here's what the numbers say. These don't lie. This is why this or that is going on. Read my book. It's a bestseller on Amazon, Beyond the Fountain of Youth. And then that's also the name of my podcast on YouTube, Beyond the Fountain of Youth Podcast. And so I love helping Men and women, you know, regain their health, regain vitality, change their relationships. It's—

So powerful. I love that.

Yeah.

Well, thank you all for joining this amazing episode. We are doing something fun this month. For each episode that drops, if you subscribe and leave a comment, we are choosing a winner every single week to get any patch protocol of their choice. So if you had an aha moment, something that inspired you, something that you learned you're going to take away, drop it in the comments, and you might be one of those that win a patch protocol. So thank you for joining, and we will see you next week.

That's it for today's episode of The Biohack Method. If this lit something up in you, do me a favor, share it, tag me @lindseburwellness, and drop a review. Ready to dive deeper? Head to the show notes for peptides, patches, and programs that are changing the game for high-performing women like you.