5 Reasons Why Strong Men Are Falling Apart
Five Factors Most Doctors Miss or Misunderstand
Every day in my practice, I see men in their prime struggling with exhaustion, extra weight, depression, anxiety, and lack of motivation. These aren't lazy men. These aren't undisciplined men. These are hard-working professionals, entrepreneurs, and fathers who are doing everything they've been told to do by society.
Many of these men are doing exactly what I outline in my daily routine and my gear guide, two of my top posts on how to live a long, healthy life.
And they're still falling apart.
I wanted to walk you through what I find most impactful for men’s health. This is the basic game-plan I follow for each man who comes to the practice, specifically if they’re struggling with any combination of the following:
Low libido/erectile dysfunction
Poor performance at/in:
Work
Bed
Athletics
Difficulty with relationships
Lack of empathy
Excessive emotionality
Uncertainty
Emotional extremes (falling into or out of love or hate quickly)
Depression
Anxiety
GI issues (autoimmune, allergic, inflammatory, or otherwise)
Skin issues (psoriasis, eczema, acne, and more)
No matter where you get your care, I strongly recommend that whoever you work with has a strong grasp of all of these fundamental elements of men’s health.
If you’re a man over 40 and are in relatively good health (you don’t have a serious health issue you’re trying to resolve) and are just looking to get into shape, then you should check out Jim Laird’s online community, Vitality Brotherhood. Jim trained me for over a year and is the best strength and conditioning coach I know.
Here's how I tackle this in my practice, including what I recommend to men in general and how I personalize it to each case, depending on their problems.
1. Nutritional Deficiencies: The Foundation is Crumbling
We need a nutrient-dense diet to be healthy. Modern diets are nutritionally deficient due to agricultural practices and processing methods that remove nutrients from food. Our food is also loaded with toxins that act as “anti-nutrients.” These toxins increase our need for many critical nutrients in our diet, like zinc and vitamin B-6.
Yes, I recommend nutritional supplements, but we start by optimizing your diet.
If you want to learn more about this, check out my million-in-one meal plan:
What I recommend to every man
Eat a nutrient-dense diet with (almost) every meal including:
Green vegetables
Lean meats, particularly red meat
Root vegetables
Nuts and seeds
I must make special mention of red meat.
Red meat is our number one source of zinc, next to certain seeds, most notably pumpkin seeds.
Testosterone has a synergistic relationship with testosterone.
Cholesterol feeds all sex-steroid hormone synthesis, which means you need cholesterol for optimal levels of key hormones for men’s health, including testosterone, DHEA, and vitamin D. This is why I believe optimal cholesterol levels are well above the “normal” range most doctors recommend.
How I personalize this in my practice
We take the guesswork out with comprehensive nutritional testing and create personalized supplementation protocols. Instead of throwing supplements at the wall, we identify exactly what YOUR body needs.
We also iterate these protocols every three to four months. You are not the same today, you will not be the same tomorrow, and you will never truly be the same again as you are in this exact moment. For that reason, we can’t give you a supplement protocol that works for you for more than three months, four at the most. This is why I check labs quarterly when we’re focusing on making significant, durable progress toward a goal, and then annually once we’ve reached a phase of maintenance (we’ve achieved our goals).
We do this with a combination of tests, but most notably the hair tissue mineral analysis, plus a handful of blood nutrient markers.
2. Toxic Exposures: Silent Killers
It’s no secret that we are living in a toxic environment. Heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum and its derivatives, and food additives are just a few of the ubiquitous chemicals that are poisoning modern men.
We see elevated levels of toxic heavy metals and more in men all the time in my practice. It’s no surprise that they are struggling with their health when they are inundated with toxins that disrupt their physiology.
We see high levels of aluminum, copper, mercury, and more in my practice on a daily basis.
What I recommend to (almost) every man
Blood-letting (yes, you read that correctly- learn more here)
How I personalize this in my practice
We perform detailed toxic exposure assessments and create personalized detox protocols based on your specific toxic burden. This isn't about random cleanses - it's about systematic detoxification based on data. The more targeted our approach, the better the results. Personalization unlocks better and better outcomes.
3. Hormone and Neurotransmitters: The Control System Chaos
There are three hormones that men often need to adjust to look and feel their best. They are thyroid hormone, DHEA, and testosterone. I should mention that estrogen, cortisol, and more are relevant to hormonal optimization, but for the most part thyroid hormone, DHEA, and testosterone are what I prescribe to men. And yes, there is a place for prescribing these medications, because many men will struggle with their health until we prescribe them the proper doses of these life-saving, life-giving hormones.
There are things that can help to optimize hormones without lab tests or prescriptions, however.
What I recommend to every man
Get plenty of direct sunlight
How I personalize this in my practice
We offer targeted hormone replacement with prescriptions, plus specific herbs and supplements to optimize performance. This is about optimizing your entire hormone and neurotransmitter system, not just suppressing symptoms.
We test, in all men, the following:
DHEA-S
Thyroid hormone (a full panel)
Cortisol
Sex hormone binding globulin
Minerals and nutrients vital to hormone and neurotransmitter synthesis
Personalized hormone replacement and nutritional supplementation are two of the most powerful things we do at my practice.
If you want to learn more about the modern roots of the low testosterone epidemic, I recorded a webinar a few years ago with my friend Jim Laird on this topic.
Watch my webinar on the roots of low testosterone.
4. Lack of Exercise: The Movement Crisis
Men need to move. Everyone needs to move, but I think this need is particularly powerful for men. Modern, indoor living has us moving less than ever before in history, and it shows.
Movement is more than just stress for your muscles. Hippocrates said, “Walking is a man’s best medicine.” I think this is because we seem to process our emotions when we walk (purely an anecdotal observation). Movement is vital to lymphatic drainage, which is critical for optimal health. I could go on. Movement is vital to life.
What I recommend to every man
Move every single day
Start with walking
Focus on consistency over intensity
How I personalize this in my practice
Before increasing the intensity of exercise, we focus on restoring your energy levels and relieving pain. You can't exercise effectively when you're exhausted and everything hurts. We get you feeling good first, then build your activity systematically.
The best answer to pain that limits movement that I have found is phototherapy. Learn more in this post.
5. Lack of Positive Social Connection: The Hidden Epidemic
Men need community. This fact is lost on modern society, where men have never been more isolated. I’ve noticed that, by far, the happiest men I know are Christians. They go to a weekly men’s group or Bible study. Not long ago, many, if not most men, belonged to some kind of fraternal organization (Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Moose Lodges, and so on). You need positive social connection. Take special note of the word, “positive.” If your men’s group isn’t building you up, encouraging you, inspiring you, and empowering you to become a better, more noble, more successful man, then why bother going? You might need to lose some friends to optimize your health, and that’s okay.
What I recommend to every man
Find a group of like-minded men
Commit to weekly in-person connections
Create a plan for personal development
How I personalize this in my practice
Our men's-only group coaching calls provide both education and community. You'll learn advanced protocols while connecting with other men on the same journey. I have found our men’s-only group calls to be some of the most impactful time I have with my patients. Men commonly remark to me that they were skeptical of group coaching at first, but came to greatly enjoy and appreciate this time.
When is it time for personalized strategies and treatments?
Men frequently seek my advice on what to do when they’ve had enough of just applying the basics. I understand how they feel. For many, the misery of their current situation is unbearable. From suicidal depression to crippling pain to impotence, I’ve seen men at their worst.
Personalized, one-on-one care is what I recommend to men who are tired of being sick and tired. We can unlock healing sometimes within a matter of weeks, and get men back to where they want to be. We can also start them on a long-term journey of personal development and self-discovery, which can take them to higher and higher levels of performance.
This is what I love about my work - watching my patients flourish and recover their health from chronic disease.
Here’s a quick recap of this guide:
The basics are your foundation
Personalized protocols and care support are your accelerator
When you address:
Nutritional deficiencies
Total toxic burden
Hormones and neurotransmitters
Movement and exercise
Positive social connection
Even when you just do the basics, you see incredible, even miraculous, things happen.
When you add a layer of personalization to each, you get even better results. And those results compound over time, for higher performance and better health year after year.
I’ve proven this to myself in my own case. I am able to do things at 36 that I wasn’t able to do at 20. That’s why I’m such a believer in what I do.
If you're interested in becoming a patient, you can schedule a discovery call here.
Our goal is exceptional results, not just now, but forever. My goal is to take such good care of my patients that they remain my patients for life.
Until next time, be well,
Dr. Stillman
p.s. If you're curious to learn more about phototherapy, we've got a weekly meeting that you can register for here. You'll get to hear about the science and power of light therapy, and testimonials from people like you who have experienced the benefits of light therapy. Register for our weekly meeting.
Great article Dr. Stillman, thank you. One question, can a ketogenic diet increase cortisol and disrupt thyroid function, and if so, what are the possible mechanisms of that happening, and is it a reason to dig deeper into the potential risks of a long term ketogenic diet?