How to Restore Your Physiology: The Popkin Method Approach to Lasting Health

Welcome back to The Popkin Method, the show where science meets hope and practical strategies drive lifelong transformation. In today’s episode, Dr. Matthew C. Popkin pulls back the curtain on how real patients experience medicine beyond theory, unpacking why two people with similar symptoms may receive completely different treatment plans and how foundational health habits create the environment for advanced therapies to succeed. You’ll hear why Dr. Matthew C. Popkin always starts with lifestyle optimization, why sleep and circadian rhythm come before food or supplements, and how nutrition, exercise, and targeted supplementation build the true pillars of longevity. Get ready to connect the dots on how evidence-based medicine and daily routines work together and discover what makes The Popkin Method a physiology restoration program, not just another weight loss plan. Whether you’re new to the show or a return listener, this episode is your roadmap to better health, step by step.

Timestamps:

00:00 Real patient stories and treatments

06:11 Understanding the midday caffeine crash

07:33 Reducing environmental exposures

12:44 Avoiding Common Fasting Mistakes

15:43 Importance of protein in weight loss

17:29 Debunking fat and obesity myths

21:43 Importance of resistance training

25:49 Importance of D3 and K2 combo

28:12 Steps to Optimize Creatine Dosage

31:40 Addressing testosterone and hair health

33:54 Personalized health with the Popkin Method

You can see Dr. Popkin through his online virtual functional medicine program anywhere in the country or the world for that matter.

You can visit Dr. Popkin in his Hollywood Florida office for an in person weight loss experience.

Visit thepopkinmethod.com to send a message to schedule an appointment with Dr. Popkin or email Dr. Popkin at mcpopkinmd@yahoo.com.

Podcast Website - https://thepopkinmethod.com/

Matthew C. Popkin, M.D. - https://thepopkinmethod.com/about

Podcast Partner - TopHealth - https://tophealth.care/

“Disclaimer: Informational only. Not medical advice. Consult your doctor for guidance.”

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Welcome back to the Popkin Method, the podcast where we explore the science of longevity, metabolic health, functional medicine, hormone optimization, and living your healthiest life using evidence-based medicine combined with practical strategies that you can actually apply. I'm your host, Jamie, and as always, I'm joined by Dr. Matthew Popkin. If you've listened to our previous episodes, you've heard us talk about everything from gut health and insulin resistance to hormone optimization, GLP1 medications, peptides, systemic inflammation, and the importance of preserving lean muscle mass as we age. But today we're going to do something a little different. Rather than discussing these topics in theory, we're going to walk through real patient stories that demonstrate how Dr. Popkin actually approaches medicine in his everyday practice. You'll hear why two patients with similar symptoms may receive completely different treatment plans, why some people improve dramatically with lifestyle changes alone, why others need prescription medications immediately, and how advanced therapies like GLP1 medications, peptides, and hormone replacement fit into a much bigger picture. If you've ever wondered how all of these pieces fit together, today's episode is going to connect those dots. Dr. Popkin, welcome back.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Jamie, hi, it's great to be back. And welcome to the Popkin Method, where science meets hope and healthy habits become lifelong transformation. I really want to preface this podcast by saying we're going to talk about some foundational elements and how it fits into some real world examples. And I'm especially excited about today's episode because this is this really gives listeners an opportunity to look behind the curtain and understand how I think as a physician. So one of the questions people often ask me is, Dr. Popkin, what's the first thing you do when a new patient walks into your office? And you know, that's a loaded question, right? I mean, many assume the answer is blood work, others think it's prescribing medications or supplements or peptides. But the truth is actually much simpler. Before I prescribe anything, I ask myself one question. Why did this person become unhealthy in the first place? Because unless we understand the root cause, we're simply managing symptoms instead of just restoring health. And that's exactly what the Popkin method is designed to do.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Yeah, I love that. I think that's the perfect place to begin today. We've talked about the Popkin method throughout many of our previous episodes. But for someone listening today, perhaps for the very first time, I'd love for you to walk us through it from beginning to end. So when a new patient comes into your office, whether they're trying to lose weight or improve their hormones, reverse insulin resistance, recover from an injury, or just feel better, what exactly is the popkin method and why do you always begin there before moving to more advanced therapies?

SPEAKER_01 2:59

So that's a wonderful question, Jamie, because I think it highlights one of the biggest misconceptions in modern medicine. You know, people often come into my office asking for a specific treatment. Some want one of the GLP1 medications because they want to lose weight. Others want testosterone because they're tired, they have low energy, low libido. Some ask about peptides because maybe they heard a podcast or saw an influencer on social media. The problem is that they're asking about the tools before we even identify the foundation. One of the phrases I often use with my patients is this advanced medicine should improve healthy biology, not compensate for unhealthy habits. And that's really the philosophy behind the Popkin method. It is not a collection of treatments, it's a sequence. And every step builds upon the one before it. So imagine you're building a house. You don't begin with the roof, you don't install windows before you pour the foundation. If the foundation is unstable, eventually everything above it begins to crack. And that's the same thing in the human body. When people come in asking for a specific treatment, the first thing I do is I establish what their foundation is, which is why they become unhealthy in the first place. So if you're sleeping four or five hours a night, you're eating processed foods every day, chronically stressed, you're carrying excessive visceral fat, have very little lean muscle mass, no peptide or hormone or supplement is going to permanently fix that. So the popkin method always starts by restoring the environment in which your body is expected to heal. And step one, as always, is lifestyle optimization. And that might sound simple, but in my opinion, it's the most overlooked treatment in medicine because we live in a society that is constantly stimulating the body, right? Think about how different we are now than even just 10, 20 years ago. We have artificial light late at night, people bring their phones into bed, they watch television before they go to sleep, people have irregular schedules, tons of stress. Some people drink too much alcohol, everybody's eating processed foods, there's environmental toxins, and all of these things disrupt the normal physiology that our bodies evolve to function with it. And one of the very first things I work on is helping patients restore a healthy circadian rhythm. And that begins with something incredibly simple, Jane. It's just going outside within the first hour of waking up and allowing natural morning sunlight into your eyes. So notice I focused on your morning to fix your sleep at night. You have to start this process in the morning. You need to go outside, get early morning light, natural light, not through a window, actually going outside. And that's because that morning light helps to synchronize the body's internal clock. It improves cortisol regulation early in the day, which supports healthy melatonin production for that evening. Patients often are surprised that such a simple habit can improve their sleep quality, their daytime energy, and even appetite regulation over time. So after that habit, I teach delaying caffeine for about 90 to 120 minutes after waking up. And the reason for this is that while you sleep, your brain is clearing a chemical called adenosine, which builds up throughout the day and contributes the feeling of sleepiness. The problem is caffeine when you wake up in the morning blocks the clearance of adenosine. So what happens is the caffeine binds to the adenosine receptor, and you have a caffeine high throughout the early part of your day, but when the caffeine wears off, you still have adenosine floating around, which then binds to the adenosine receptors, and that's why you get that midday crash. So many people find that they experience steadier energy throughout the day and are less likely to hit that classic mid-afternoon slump if they delay their morning coffee by an hour or two. This gives your body a chance to clear the remaining adenosine out of your system so that you don't get that midday crash. Then I also spend time discussing some of the habits that really quietly undermines health. For some people, that's smoking and vaping. Yes, vaping is in many ways just as bad as smoking. For others, it's excessive alcohol. And I want to make this point here. Alcohol has become so socially accepted, Jamie, that people often forget it's a toxin. Now, I'm not saying that you can never have a glass of wine or celebrate a special occasion, but when alcohol becomes a nightly routine, it can really disrupt your sleep quality, contribute to excess calories, worsen insulin resistance. And in some individuals, it can make weight loss much more difficult. And then we have environmental exposures. We're learning more every year about the potential impact of these unnecessary exposures to microplastics and certain chemicals found in household products. Last week we talked a lot about sunscreens and the products that are in there and how damaging they are. And while the science is still evolving in many areas, I encourage patients to make practical, reasonable changes where they can, such as reducing food containers in their home, only heating food in glass containers. Don't ever heat anything in plastic containers because it just bakes the microplastics right into your food. Choosing simpler personal care products when appropriate and being mindful of frequent exposures to heavily fragranced household products like glade plugins and Fabriz, which these are all significantly inflammatory to your body. And it's about reducing cumulative exposures where it's practical to do so. Now I realize you can't avoid these environmental exposures, but you can do your best to try to decrease them. And Jamie, notice something very important here. At this point, I haven't prescribed a single medication. I haven't recommended a single peptide, I haven't talked about hormones, nothing about stem cells, exosomes, secretomes, nothing about prescription medications. I'm simply creating an environment where the body has the opportunity to function the way it was designed to, and that's where healing begins.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Yeah, I love that perspective because so many people are looking for the newest treatment, but you're saying that the prescription is often just a healthier daily routine. I noticed something else in what you said. You mentioned sleep before we even started talking about food, which is interesting. Most people probably experienced Earth would think nutrition would come first. Why is sleep the first thing that you address?

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Well, sleep is so important because virtually every system we're trying to improve depends on it. Poor sleep affects your hunger hormones, it affects insulin sensitivity, it affects your recovery from exercise, your mood, concentration, even the body's response to medications. So if someone is chronically sleep deprived, they'll often crave more calorie-dense foods, they'll have less energy to exercise, they'll recover more slowly, and they just struggle to make healthy decisions throughout the day. So rather than thinking of sleep as something separate from your metabolism, I view it as one of the foundations of metabolism itself. And that's why it, as far as the lifestyle is concerned, sleep comes first.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Dr. Popkin, I think that's such an important perspective because you've reframed the lifestyle as medicine rather than just good advice. So once you've helped someone establish those healthier daily habits, getting better sleep, a healthier circadian rhythm, reducing alcohol consumption, and eliminating necessary toxins, where do you go next? Because I know nutrition is much more simple than telling someone to just eat healthier.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Yeah, that's exactly right. One of the biggest mistakes we make in medicine is giving patients vague advice, right? We've all heard it. Go to the doctor, and the doctor tells you you've got to eat better, you've got to exercise more, um, you need to lose weight. It's like, yeah, obviously that's that's one of the problems here, or those are some of the problems. But those recommendations, they're not wrong. They're just incomplete. Patients don't need more general advice, they need a detailed roadmap. And that's why the second pillar of the Popkin method is a very structured nutritional strategy that restores your metabolic health while preserving what I consider is the single greatest predictor of healthy aging, and that's your lean muscle mass. And one of the biggest misconceptions about weight loss is that the goal is simply to lose pounds. It's not. The goal is to lose fat, particularly visceral fat, while preserving or even building muscle. And muscle isn't just something that helps you look better, Jamie. It's one of those, it's the body's largest endocrine organs. It improves glucose disposal, supports insulin sensitivity, protects bone health, increases resting metabolic rate, improves physical function, and becomes one of your greatest reservoirs as you age. I often tell my patients your muscle is your longevity reservoir, right? Every workout adds towards your future independence. And that's why every nutritional decision I make revolves around protecting muscle first. Now, nutrition is about physiology, it's not about restriction. And I'm shifting gears here because when people hear the word diet, they often think deprivation, right? Diet is kind of a dirty word, and I don't even like to use it. I like to, you know, think more about just modifying your caloric intake. So I, you know, I think more about the physiology. My job is to help them eat in a way that allows their hormones and metabolism to function the way they were designed to. And one of the primary tools I use is intermittent fasting. Now, it's important to understand that fasting isn't about starving yourself, Jamie. It's about creating periods during the day when insulin levels can fall, allowing the body to become more metabolically flexible and burn your fat stores. Because while insulin is high, your body is not accessing your fat stores. It's in storage mode. And for most patients, I recommend a schedule that is sustainable over the long term, meaning they can actually do this. So four days a week, I ask them to fast for approximately 12 hours. Most people do that anyway, right? After dinner, as long as they don't snack late at night. By the time they finish up their evening, they they sleep whatever, six or eight hours, they get up in the morning. By the time they actually have some calories, they're pretty close to that 12-hour window anyway. But people usually ruin it by snacking between dinner and bedtime, which is one of the worst things you can do. Or the other way people ruin that 12-hour fast is in the morning, they'll opt for their coffee with cream and sugar, and they'll throw off a fast. Whereas if they would have waited an extra hour or two, they would have gotten to that 12 hours. So these are some of the concepts I try to teach people. And then two days a week, I extend that fast to about 16 hours. And then one day a week, I encourage an extended fast of anywhere between 18 and 24 hours, depending on the individual, their medical history, and how they're tolerating the program. And so what's important here is not necessarily to focus on the hours that you're fasting, but to focus on your eating windows. So in a 12-hour fast, you have a 12-hour eating window. In a 16-hour fast, you have an eight-hour eating window. In an 18-hour fast, you have a six-hour eating window. And the important thing is during those eating windows, I want you to achieve your protein goals and I want to achieve your calorie goals. This way you get plenty of protein to help stimulate your muscles to grow, and you create a mild caloric deficit, which allows your body to tap into your fat stores and not give your body the perception that you're in fat storage mode or you're in crisis mode. So we don't want the body to save the calories, we want the body to access those stored calories. And notice something important, Jamie. I'm not asking people to suffer, I'm teaching their metabolism to become flexible again and use the calories from your fat stores. And these calories are there, you've eaten them last week or last month. Those fat stores are there. We want to access them.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

And I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions, Dr. Popkin, about intermittent fasting. People assume that they're just skipping meals, but what you're describing is something much more intentional, it seems.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Exactly. And here's the part many people miss the fasting window is only half the equation. As I said earlier, the eating window is where the real magic happens. And too often people fast for 16 hours and then spend eight hours eating processed foods. They think that you know it's a license for them to eat whatever they want, and it's not. You know, that's not metabolic therapy. That's simply delaying poor nutrition or cramming poor nutrition into an eating window. We don't want to do that. So during every eating window, I have three priorities, Jamie. The first is protein, the second is fiber-rich vegetables, and the third are healthy fats, and of course, eliminating things like processed foods and complex carbohydrates, bread, rice, potato, pasta, cereals, anything sweet, cookies, candies, sodas, you want to avoid those things. Everything else becomes secondary. So if you focus on protein, you focus on the fiber vegetables and healthy fats, you're really going to have a good foundation in your nutrition plan. And protein, Jamie, always comes first. So everyone's heard this. I calculate a protein goal for every patient. In general, I aim for one gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight. Not your current weight, but your ideal body weight. And the reason we do this is because protein provides the amino acids that are necessary to preserve and build your lean muscle mass, particularly during weight loss. And if you combine that with resistance exercise, you have a recipe for muscle growth. Without protein intake, especially in adults over 40, the body is much more likely to lose muscle along with fat. That's exactly what we don't want. If you lose muscle, your metabolic rate decreases, your strength decreases, balance decreases, insulin sensitivity worsens, and your risk of regaining the weight goes up significantly. And that's why you'll always hear me say over and over again we're not simply trying to make people lighter, we're trying to make them healthier. Those are two very different goals. And one of the pitfalls with the GLP1 medications is that people are losing equal amounts of muscle as they are fat. So that's something where it's a very unhealthy setup. When they go off the medications, they tend to gain the weight back. And then some because they have less muscle going in, uh, they have less muscle afterwards than they did going in. So we want to maintain your muscle at all costs. Now, after protein, Jamie, comes fiber-rich vegetables. And this is where you should be getting the bulk of your carbohydrates from. Not because they're low in calories, but because they're high in nutrition. Fiber helps improve satiety or the feeling of being full. It supports your gut microbiome, it slows down glucose absorption, it improves bowel function, it contributes to healthier cholesterol metabolism, and perhaps most importantly, it provides naturally occurring compounds that help regulate inflammation throughout the body. So I encourage patients to build meals around colorful vegetables as well as protein. Now let's talk about healthy fats. That's the third priority here: healthy fats, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish. These foods provide essential fatty acids that support hormone production, brain health, cardiovascular function, and long-lasting satiety or feeling of being full. And one of the biggest myths from decades ago is that eating fat automatically makes you fat. And human physiology simply doesn't work that way. What consistently drives obesity, Jamie, is chronic overconsumption of highly processed, calorie-dense foods in the setting of insulin resistance and physical inactivity. All of these really dense carbohydrates, bread, rice, potato, pasta, cereals that people are consuming, keeping their insulin levels high, and then you pair that with inactivity, and you're just setting yourself up to put yourself in fat storage mode. So healthy fats consumed appropriately become part of the solution, not part of the problem. So what I ask patients to eliminate, I already kind of explained this a bunch of times here, but I ask people to get rid of processed foods. And everyone knows what processed foods are. These are packaged foods with tons of ingredients, tons of preservatives, salt, sugar, other types of things that you really don't want in your body. Um, ultra-processed snacks, these snack bars, you know, again, look at the ingredients on them. And there's so many bad ingredients. These ultra-processed snacks are not helping you. They're convenient, but they're just they're just traps for you to gain weight. Sugary beverages, sodas. You should never be drinking soda. The high fructose corn syrup and all those sodas are just awful for your body. Cookies, candies, cakes, all things that are made with really unhealthy seed oils and fats. These are just destroying your metabolism. And highly refined desserts as well. They're delicious, Jamie, but they're just so bad for you. And these foods, they're designed to be incredibly rewarding to the brain while providing very little nutritional value. They're engineered for repeat consumption. They're very difficult to stop eating, and they make sustaining a healthy caloric intake incredibly difficult. So some of the other things I ask patients to significantly reduce are the starchy carbohydrates, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, most breakfast cereals. Not only are they bad for the calories, but they've got tons of what we call glyphosate, which is Roundup, which these products are made with. So that's a toxin in and of itself that we'll talk about in some later podcasts. So I've taken most of the fun things away from people, right, Jamie? But again, this isn't because these foods are inherently evil. It's because the vast majority of my patients are just so metabolically unhealthy when they first come to me. They're insulin resistant. So getting rid of them really fixes a lot of the problems instantly by just getting rid of the things that are causing the insulin sensitivity and really helping your body to reset itself to where it wants to be. And most people that come into my office, they're carrying just excessive amounts of body fat, visceral fat. Many of them have fatty liver disease. So many of them are pre-diabetic or diabetic. Their metabolism needs an opportunity to reset. And later, once someone becomes more metabolically healthy, some of these foods can be strategically reintroduced depending on the individual. So I'm not taking things away for good, although there are some things that really are absolutely non-negotiable that you should really never eat or drink, such as sodas. We talked about that in a lot of these processed foods. So the goal, Jamie, isn't lifelong restriction. The goal is restoring metabolic flexibility. And this is not a punishment. This is not taking things away for the sake of just creating a diet plan. This is getting rid of these foods that are actually causing the problem in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Yeah, and I think that's something that people will appreciate hearing. We're not trying to punish them. We're just describing really effective phases of treatment when they begin.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Yeah, that's that's why I don't like to call it a diet. You know, a diet is something you do and then you stop. These are just things that you want to you want to transition away from, right? You know, I think, you know, with kids growing up on sugary sweets and cookies and candies and sodas, that's why you you see, you know, such an increase in childhood obesity. And, you know, one of the defining principles of the Popkin method is that everything has a sequence, every recommendation has a purpose, every phase prepares the body for the next phase. And when patients understand what we're doing, they're far more likely to stay committed. Now, let's talk about exercise, which I really feel is the missing prescription. When most people think about exercise, they immediately picture what? Walking, running, cycling, things of that nature. Which they're all wonderful activities, Jamie. And I encourage everybody to walk and to do those aerobic activities, especially after meals. Even a short walk after eating can help blunt the rise in your post-meal blood glucose and become an easy habit to maintain. But if I had to choose one form of exercise that I believe becomes incredibly important as we age, it would be resistance training. And resistance training isn't about becoming a bodybuilder, it's about preserving function. Because as we age, we naturally lose muscle if we don't challenge it. And the process contributes to weakness, falls, insulin resistance, and a loss of independence. And when we place muscles under appropriate tension through dumbbells, resistance bands, machines, or body weight exercises, we send a signal to the body that those muscles are still needed. And that stimulus helps preserve lean mass, supports bone health, improves glucose metabolism, and enhances overall quality of life. One of my favorite sayings, Jamie, is exercise doesn't keep you young, muscle does. And that's why so many of my treatment decisions, from nutrition to supplementation to GLP1 therapy, they're all ultimately aimed at protecting muscle while consuming and reducing excess body fat.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Yeah. So I have to say, listening to you explain this, I can already see something emerging here. It's not really a weight loss program that the Popkin method stands for. It's like a physiology restoration program almost.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Yeah, Jamie, I couldn't have said it better myself. That's exactly what it is. We're not chasing a number on the scale. We're rebuilding human physiology from the ground up. And once that foundation is in place, then and only then do we begin talking about the next layer of the Popkin method, the core five supplements, targeted supplementation, peptides, hormone optimization, and some of the other advanced therapies that can accelerate progress when they're used thoughtfully and in the right patient. And we'll get into that next.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Dr. Popkin, one thing that's really standing out to me is that everything we've discussed so far could be considered the foundation of health, pretty much better sleep, better nutrition, better movement, better habits. But I know that your patients also like to hear you talk about supplements, peptides, and hormone optimization. So where do those fit into the Popkin method? Because I get the impression that you don't see them as replacements for the basics, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Exactly. And that's probably one of the biggest misconceptions in functional medicine today. People often think that supplements are the treatment, and they're not. They're called supplements for a reason. They're designed to supplement an already healthy foundation, not replace one. Remember, you can't out-supplement a poor lifestyle. So again, if someone is sleeping five hours a night, they're eating processed foods, they're drinking alcohol every evening, they don't exercise, no supplement's got to fix that. So once we've built that foundation, then we begin supporting the body's physiology. And that's where I introduce what I call the core five supplements. And these are five supplements that I find myself recommending most frequently because they address some of the most common nutritional gaps and physiologic needs that I see in practice. So the first is a high quality omega-3 fish oil. And this is important because omega-3 fatty acids help support cardiovascular health, brain function, healthy triglyceride levels, and a balanced inflammatory response. They're not a substitute for eating healthy fish and fatty fish, but for many patients, they can help bridge that gap. The second is a quality pre and probiotic to help support your gut function because your gut microbiome influences not just digestion, but immune function and even aspects of metabolism. So while not everyone needs the same foundation, I want patients thinking about feeding and supporting a healthy microbiome rather than ignoring it until they have symptoms. And then the third is vitamin D3 paired with vitamin K2. And even in sunny climates like South Florida, Jamie, I routinely find patients with low vitamin D levels. And vitamin D plays an important role in bone health, immune function, and so many other physiologic processes. And adding the K2 helps direct calcium where it belongs, which is in the bones, not your coronary arteries and other tissues in the body. The vitamin D, one of its functions is to help increase the absorption of calcium into the body. And without the K2, it puts the calcium everywhere, soft tissues, coronary arteries, things, places where you don't want them. So the K2 will preferentially direct it into the bones where it's supposed to be. Now the fourth supplement is magnesium, and specifically the more bioavailable forms, such as magnesium glycinate, three-ate, malate, depending on what your needs are. Magnesium oxide that you'll see in a lot of cheap supplements, that's really most of it doesn't even get absorbed. That's really the active ingredient in milk and magnesia. So if you want, if you have issues with constipation, then then magnesium oxide is the form of magnesium that you want for that particular problem. But otherwise, you want to avoid magnesium oxide and go with the ones that I just mentioned. And reason being, magnesium participates in hundreds of enzymatic reactions throughout the body and it can support muscle function, sleep quality, overall metabolic health. And most people are actually deficient in magnesium. So typically, females somewhere in the 200, 250 milligram range, men somewhere in the 350, 400 milligram range is something that we want to target. And finally, Jamie, one of my favorites, I talk about this all the time, creatine. And it's one of my favorite supplements because it's one of the most well-studied supplements that we have. And most people think of it as something that bodybuilders use, but that's selling it short, Jamie. And we're really coming around to see the benefits of creatine. And for many adults, especially as we age, creatine can support muscle performance during resistance training. And there's also growing research, exploring its potential role in supporting brain, energy metabolism, and cognitive function, although that area is still evolving. And in my practice, I often recommend starting with five grams a day for most adults who are appropriate candidates, particularly when they're engaged in resistance training. And then, if tolerated, which most people do, I increase the dose to 10 grams to get the added brain boosting effects. So what happens is when you take the five grams, your muscles pretty much consume most of those five grams, leaving very little left over for the brain, getting the 10 grams. Now you have excess left over for the brain to access and to get those cognitive benefits. And in some patients, 15 and 20 grams daily are fine and actually helpful for resistance training, cognitive effects, and all the other benefits of creatin. And in some patients, like I said, I'll go as high as 15 to 20 grams, split throughout the day, so that you're not taking it all in one shot because it can cause some gastrointestinal side effects. And most of these things can be avoided by going with a good quality creatine supplement.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Love that. But you know, it's interesting because none of those supplements that you mentioned sound fancy or exotic. They're actually pretty basic and everyday.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Yeah, they're not exotic at all. And that's intentional because you know, medicine doesn't always have to be so complicated. Um, supplements tend to be very, very complicated for people. And you know, if you go to some people's houses, uh you'll see on on the countertops, you know, five, 10, 15 bottles of stuff in various degrees of being consumed, right? And you really want to try to trim it down. That's why I, you know, I say the core five is really my go-to. And then most people can manage that. When you start getting more than five supplements, the cost becomes prohibitive, and trying to fit all these things into your day becomes a little bit prohibitive as well. So sometimes doing the basics uh consistently is what changes people's lives. And unfortunately, you know, we live in a culture that constantly chases that newest miracle product being pushed on social media, usually for monetary gain. And my philosophy, Jamie, has always been very different. Master the fundamentals, then optimize with more advanced modalities. We talked about the core five, but there are certainly other supplements that I like to utilize. And so the next topic is going to be targeted supplementation. Once the basics are in place, next is going to be targeted supplementation. So once those basics are in place, I begin asking a very different question. What specifically is this patient's body asking for? And some people, you know, they're chronically stressed, some are recovering from illness, some are experiencing hair thinning, some are showing signs of declining hormone production. And that's where targeted supplementation can come in, Jamie. And so, for instance, for patients under significant stress, I might consider adaptogenic biobotanicals such as ashwagandha when it's appropriate. Ashwagandha lowers cortisol. And the goal isn't simply to lower stress, it's to support resilience while we're simultaneously addressing these lifestyle factors that are driving stress. So we want to use the ashwagandha, but also do stress reduction techniques as well. For some men with evidence of declining testosterone production, and after careful evaluation, I may discuss with them some supplements like ashwagandha, which decreases cortisol and helps to improve testosterone production, toncatolee, fidogia aggrestis, which helps to increase LH and FSH, which is the signal to make your body produce more testosterone. Boron helps to decrease a protein called sex hormone binding globulin, which raises your free testosterone. And there are other strategies that I use that are intended to support hormone physiology before considering testosterone replacement, especially in the gentlemen that come into my office. They're in their 30s and they come in specifically asking for testosterone replacement, and they're already making plenty of testosterone, or if they're not, we can get their body to start making more of it. So I want to really focus more on getting the body to produce more testosterone rather than replace it, unless that becomes something we need to do. And we'll talk about that another time. So the key point is that these are all individualized decisions, they're not one size fit-all protocols. So for patients that are concerned about hair health, I get a lot of this. You know, what can I take to make my hair healthier or thicker? I'll evaluate these patients for nutritional deficiencies or other medical causes before considering nutrients such as zinc, copper, vitamin C, or biotin when it's appropriate. Reason being, Jamie, because hair loss can be a symptom of many different conditions, like let's say thyroid disease, for example. So it's important to identify the underlying cause rather than assuming a supplement alone is the answer. And notice the pattern here, Jamie. Everything is individualized. There's nothing automatic about what we do.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Yeah, and I think that's what separates what you're describing from what people often see on social media. They're, you know, we hear that one supplement or one peptide is the answer for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Yeah, when I'm on social media, you know, we know the phones are listening to us, and depending on what I'm looking at and researching, you know, they'll tend to be a focus of what is coming into that stream off of social media. And there's so many different products, and people are promising hair regrowth, weight loss, you know, regaining sexual function, energy, cognition, and really it's preying on people's desires to be better and to feel better and giving the impression that one product is going to do that. And unfortunately, social media is full of people that have an imperfect understanding of how the human body works and are taking advantage of the social media bias that makes people react to their emotions rather than logic in the absence of a carefully crafted functional medicine care plan. So, Jamie, there is no universal protocol, there is no magic stack, there's no magic peptide, no magic supplement on the internet. Um, the pest treatment plan, Jamie, is the one that's appropriate for the person sitting in front of me. And that's exactly why the Popkin Method always begins with a very careful history, a thoughtful examination, and when appropriate, laboratory testing to put together the whole package because medicine should be personalized, not generalized. So if today's conversation resonated with you and you're ready to take a proactive approach to your health, I'd be honored to help guide you on that journey. Please visit thepopkinmethod.com to learn more and schedule a consultation with me today. Until next time, remember, you can heal your body, you can calm your mind, and you can awaken your soul. I'm Dr. Matthew Popkin. Thank you for listening to the Popkin Method. We'll see you next time.