Epigenetics Series – Is Cancer Related To Your DNA?


Are we predisposed to cancer, based on our DNA?

Or do our lifestyles and choices primarily determine our health?

For years, doctors debated this question in a “black or white” fashion: either disease is predetermined in DNA or disease is determined by lifestyle.

Recently, though, doctors determined that the answer falls somewhere in the gray area between both sides.

Our risk of disease, especially cancer, is defined by the expression of our genes.  And the expression of our genes is defined by our lifestyle and environment.

This is where epigenetics has stepped in to answer questions about disease and illness that have stumped scientists for decades.

There is an intimate link between disease, genetics, and lifestyle that can’t be ignored.

These epigenetics findings declare resoundingly: you are not a slave to your genes.

You can take control of your own health and wellness, which can enable you to fight off disease and cancer at its root.

Let’s explore how epigenetics plays a role in cancer—and what you can do about it.

What is epigenetics?

In order to understand how epigenetics impacts cancer, we need to first understand the basics of epigenetics.

Epigenetics is the expression of your genetic sequence. You’re born with a certain DNA sequence, and that’s the same DNA you’ll have for life. However, the expression of those genes can change throughout the course of your life. This expression depends on which of your genes are active or inactive.

There are two primary epigenetic factors that impact the expression of your DNA sequence: DNA methylation and histone modifications. (There’s also RNA-associated silencing, which we won’t get into today.)

Methylation

DNA methylation occurs when a methyl group is added to DNA. Usually, it’s added to a specific part of the DNA sequence: on a cytosine nucleotide next to a guanine nucleotide linked to a phosphate.

This is called the CpG site. Keep this in mind, as we’ll be discussing the impact of methyl groups at the CpG site in our discussions of cancer and disease below.

Generally, methylation “turns off” or deactivates genes. More methylation equals greater silencing of the gene.


In some cases, this can be positive. For example, if you have a gene that puts you at high risk for disease, you would want it to be silenced with a methyl group.

However, you don’t want to silence genes that fight off disease or tumors. Silencing certain tumor-fighting genes is one of the key causes of cancer.

Histone modification

Histones are proteins that make up chromatin, which is the foundational component of DNA chromosomes. DNA wraps around histones, like thread around a spool. When these histones are modified, then the chromatin arrangement can be altered and misread.

There are two types of histone modification: acetylation and methylation.

When an acetyl is added to the histone (acetylation), it typically activates chromatin. Deacetylation, then, is associated with heterochromatin, which is a deactivated or suppressed expression of the gene.

Histone methylation also impacts the active and inactive regions of chromatin. For example, a methylation on lysine K9 with histone H3 is responsible for the inactivated X chromosome of females.

Any of these epigenetic factors, especially methylation, create abnormal activation or silencing of genes. This can put you at greater risk for cancer, disease, syndromes (especially chromosomal instabilities), and other serious illnesses.

So how do these epigenetic changes occur? What causes methylation or acetylation?

Environment and lifestyle dynamics have a direct impact on these epigenetic factors, which I’ll discuss further below.

How does epigenetics affect cancer?


One of the most forceful diseases of our time is cancer. While there’s still so much we don’t know about the growth and treatment of cancer, there is one thing we know for sure: genetics and epigenetics play a significant role in the development and progression of cancer.

In fact, study after study has proven that there are links between certain types of cancers and certain epigenetic modifications.

Epigenetic factors can suppress cancer-fighting genes.

All humans are programmed with certain genes. These genes are meant to keep us healthy and functioning.

For example, there’s a gene that helps fight off diseased cells (aka cancer cells). There’s another gene that suppresses tumor growth.

You want these healthy “fighter” genes to be active, so they can minimize your risk for cancer.

But if methylation or acetylation impacts these genes, then they can be deactivated. So if cancer strikes, your body is unable to fight off the diseased cells or spread of cancer. This then would leave you susceptible to cancer, which you may have otherwise been able to fight off had your healthy genes been activated.

Studies have even shown a proportional link between methylation levels and severity and prognosis of cancer.

For example, the GSTP1 gene is methylated in over 90% of prostate cancers.

An early study found that diseased tissue affected by colorectal cancer had less DNA methylation than normal tissue. This is because the methylated genes “turned off” or deactivated the tumor suppressor genes.

Methylation deactivates genes that are necessary to fight off cancer.

Methylation impacts cancer cell growth.

Moreover, methylation itself plays a role in how cancer develops. Methylation is involved in cell divisions, DNA repair, apoptosis (cell death), metastasis, cell detox, and more.

High levels of methylation (hypermethylation) indicate that diseased cells aren’t dying off and healthy cells aren’t generating fast enough. Thus, high methylation is a predictor—and potentially a cause—of cancer.

For example, hypermethylation in APC and RASSF1A genes are used as epigenetic markers for early detection of cancer, especially breast cancer.

Methylation causes microsatellite instability.

Microsatellite instability is linked to a number of cancers, including colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, and gastric cancers.

Microsatellites are repetitive DNA, they have certain strands of DNA  that are repeated within the genome. They’re common in normal individuals without disease.

Instability of microsatellites, though, is linked to chromosomal instability. This upsets the genetic function, creating a dangerous mutation.

Microsatellite instability is a direct cause of DNA methylation, especially methylation of the gene MLH1, which is the gene that repairs DNA. If the gene is methylated, then it is unable to properly repair your DNA when it becomes damaged by disease and cancer.

Researchers have seen microsatellite instability in a number of cancers, even occurring in 15% of colorectal cancers.

How can I prevent cancer with epigenetics? 

Genes are inherited. This means that your risk for cancer could come from your ancestors—just like your genes that suppress tumor growth and cell division come from your ancestors. 

But just because you inherit certain genes does not direct the course of your fate.

In fact, nearly half of all inherited genes related to cancer can be impacted by methylation.

And methylation is not inherited. Methylation and other epigenetic factors are proven responses to environmental stimuli including diet, toxins, pollutants, and other stressors.

This means you can take control of your risk for cancer by directing your epigenetic expression.

In fact, some doctors have even started building cancer-fighting programs—like my EDGE Blueprint Consult—based on epigenetics as potential chemopreventative measures.

You can change your health with certain lifestyle and diet choices, many of which I go through below.

  1. Get your folic acid.

Folate or folic acid is a B vitamin (B-9) that plays an important role in cell growth and function. It’s actually the foundation of a number of prenatal vitamins as a means of reducing the risk of birth defects.

Folate can play an important role in gene expression and DNA integrity and stability. Studies have shown that folate can help modulate DNA methylation. On the other hand, a folate deficiency may cause DNA methylation.

Learn more about folate’s role in epigenetics in section 3.1 here.


You can get folate through both diet and supplementation. You can find folate in:

  • Garbanzo beans (100% of the required daily dose)
  • Liver (55% DV)
  • Lentils (45% DV)
  • Pinto beans (37% DV)
  • Asparagus (33% DV)
  • Black-eyed peas (28% DV)
  • Beets (17% DV)
  • Avocado (15% DV)
  • Spinach (14% DV)
  • Broccoli (14% DV)

You’ll also receive folate in oranges, lemons, bananas, melons, and strawberries.

You can also take folic acid vitamins. The recommended daily amount of folate is 400 micrograms (mcg).

  1. Consume polyphenols.

Polyphenols are antioxidants, which help reduce the damage of cancer-causing free radicals. They help minimize cell damage and regulate methylation. There are four types of polyphenols: flavonoids, phenolic acids, benzoic acids, and stilbenes.

Green tea polyphenols have been shown to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and oesophageal cancer. It’s been shown to suppress methylation or demethylate TSG promoters, which helps protect against the spread of cancer.


Resveratrol has been shown to modify histone acetylation, as it works as a Silent Information Regulator 1 (SIRT1). It helps fight off cancer while maintaining the structural integrity of DNA. You can find resveratrol in blueberries, dark chocolate, red wine, peanuts, cranberries, and pistachios.

 

  1. Drink coffee. 

Caffeic acid is a type of polyphenol. It affects the bioavailability of SAM, which is a methyl donor (and required for methylation).

Some studies have shown that coffee consumption may be able to reduce the risk of cancer, especially progressive prostate cancer. In fact, one study found that coffee was a better regulator of methylation than even tea.

As with anything, though, you want to regulate your caffeine intake. A cup or two a day may help with methylation, but too much can have the opposite effect.

  1. Get sleep.

Sleep has a direct impact on epigenetic factors of methylation and histone acetylation. Learn more about the link between sleep and epigenetics here.

Sleep can literally help your body fight cancer. Tonight’s “all-nighter” could put you at risk for serious disease down the line. Get your Zs for optimal health.

  1. Cut the alcohol.

Alcohol consumption is directly linked to DNA methylation.

Over 20 studies have found that heavy alcohol consumption creates epigenetic modifications that can lead to disease and cancer.

One study, in particular, found that low folate intake and high alcohol intake had a significantly greater prevalence of hypermethylation, which was especially linked to colorectal cancer.

This doesn’t mean you need to cut out alcohol altogether necessarily. A glass of red wine can give you a boost of resveratrol and heart-healthy benefits. As with coffee, it’s the excess of alcohol that can cause genetic concerns. Stick to one glass daily at maximum.

  1. Eat a balanced diet.


Like sleep, nutrition has a direct impact on your genetics. What you put into your body can be the strongest predictor of future health—especially in regards to cancer.

Eating phytonutrients and vitamins is the only way to fight against inflammation, oxidative damage, imbalanced hormones, and more.

Learn about the importance of a rainbow diet for your epigenetic health.

  1. Minimize your stress.

Stress is a proven cause of DNA methylation. The more stress you have, the more it impacts your genetic expression.

In fact, stress has even been linked to cancer—but until recently, the cause of this link was always fuzzy. Epigenetics might be the “missing link” in the DNA.

Stress creates harmful free radicals while also causing methylation that suppresses cancer-fighting genes. This creates a double whammy that can cause progression of cancer.

Find out about the link between stress, epigenetics, and cancer here.

  1. Get more vitamin D.

Studies show that Vitamin D can reverse abnormal epigenetic modifications. Vitamin D has especially been linked to the development of breast cancer due to the role that vitamin D plays with estrogen.

Vitamin D is also linked to the development of prostate cancer.

  1. Workout.


Working out directly impacts your genes. Studies have shown that intense workouts can eliminate methyl groups in just one session. Daily exercise regulates ongoing methylation at a greater rate than even diet or sleep.

This means that you may be able to reduce your risk of cancer with intense, frequent exercises.

If you want to have improved overall health and optimal epigenetic expression, you need an exercise routine. 

Conclusion

Cancer is directly related to epigenetic expressions of your genes. But you can control this expression with lifestyle changes that minimize methylation and acetylation.

It’s time to sign up for our G1 Performance Health program to start experiencing the health and vitality you’ve always dreamed of.

Disease doesn’t wait—so why are you?

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Epigenetics Series: How does stress affect your genes?


Could your genes and stress be related? Is stress passed down from generation to generation?

Recent research shows that stress may alter our genes in a way that’s linked to mental and physical illnesses. These stress-induced illnesses may even be hereditary, meaning the trauma of our ancestors impacts our contemporary genetic expression. 

How is stress related to your genes? Why is stress such a problem for health?

And what can you do about it to take control of your health?   

What is stress?

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of “stress?”

Maybe you instantly think of a project you’re working on at your job or a loan you’re trying to pay off. You may even think of public speaking or skydiving.

Interestingly, when we think of “stress,” we automatically think of situations. We think of instances where our bodies are stressed. These are uncomfortable or challenging situations that push our bodies and brains to new places.

These situations cause us “stress.”

In reality, though, stress itself is a response to these situations.

When these situations occur, our bodies release stress hormones called glucocorticoids. The principal glucocorticoid is cortisol, otherwise called “the stress hormone.”

There are two types of stress: acute and chronic.

Acute stress

Acute stress occurs in the short-term. This is when you’re met with a challenging situation that you have to respond to in some way. To overcome this stressor, your body releases a burst of glucocorticoids.

Glucocorticoids prepare your body to tackle the stressor. For example, your heart might start pumping blood faster to give your body more oxygen; your eyes might dilate to see more around you, and your hands and feet might tingle because they’re receiving more blood (in case you need to fight or flee).  

These stress responses are often dubbed as symptoms of “anxiety.” But in the short-term, these hormones can actually give us a biological advantage. For example, they would allow us to fight or flee a bear we come in contact with. In more practical terms today, this response could also make us more alert and energized to give a speech or take a test.

In short spurts, glucocorticoids are manageable and healthy. They can help you tackle a situation with confidence and determination.

It’s when glucocorticoids flood our bloodstream for an extended period of time that they become an issue.

Chronic stress

Chronic stress is long-term. This is caused generally by ongoing stressful situations, like a career you hate, a debt you can’t pay, or an ongoing divorce. Chronic stress can also be the result of PTSD. Even if you aren’t currently going through the stressor, memories of that trauma can continue releasing glucocorticoids for months or years.

Chronic stress causes high levels of stress hormones for an extended period of time. This damages the endocrine system by unbalancing hormones, tiring the body, and fatiguing organ function.

In fact, chronic stress can even negatively impact your genetic expression.

Moreover, this altered gene expression can be passed down from generation-to-generation.

Before we get into how chronic stress alters epigenetic expression, let’s first take a look at why stress is bad for us.

Why is stress harmful?

Stress kills. Stress has been linked to:

Chronic stress can literally burn out your body. Your adrenal glands, which produce cortisol, get fatigued and don’t function properly. The oxidative stress caused by these stressors creates harmful free radicals that severely damage your cells. This accelerates the aging process, damages the immune system, and impacts cognitive function.

Stress is linked to just about every disease—big or small. You’re even more likely to catch a common cold if you’re stressed.

Cortisol and testosterone

Stress also has a direct impact on your sexual health.

If you’re suffering from low libido and low testosterone, it may be because you’re stressed.

Numerous studies have shown that high levels of cortisol are directly linked to low levels of testosterone. There is especially a link between stress and severe trauma with PTSD. Higher cortisol in stressful situations drastically lowers testosterone.

When your cortisol goes up, your testosterone goes down.


Why does higher cortisol mean lower testosterone?

There are likely a number of hormonal pathways that create this hormonal relationship. To simplify it, we can look at the building blocks of cortisol and testosterone synthesis.

The body uses cholesterol to produce cortisol. Cholesterol is also a necessary part of testosterone synthesis. When stress levels increase, all of your body’s cholesterol goes to produce cortisol. This leaves no cholesterol left to produce testosterone.

Testosterone is a critical hormone in healthy adult males. Low testosterone is associated with decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction, depression, anxiety, weight gain, reduced muscle mass, cognitive impairment, arthritis, increased risk of heart disease, and more.

Low levels of testosterone kill your energy, productivity, enjoyment, and health. And low levels of T are a direct result of high cortisol and high stress.

Chronic stress not only impacts our hormones but also our genes. High levels of cortisol and low levels of testosterone can alter the way our DNA is expressed, putting us at risk for disease and illness.

How does stress alter your epigenetic expression?

Epigenetics involves two key genetic alterations: DNA methylation and histone acetylation. DNA methylation adds a methyl group to the end of a DNA structure, and histone acetylation adds an acetyl to the end of the histone binding. These additions can either activate or deactivate certain genes.

Research has shown that stress causes both methylation and acetylation on a variety of genes, especially neurological genes (those in the brain).  

DNA methylation and stress

One study found that certain psychological stressors can cause DNA methylation of certain genes. For example, war trauma and physical abuse caused DNA methylation to occur on genes that activate damaging psychiatric disorders.

A study of Cushing’s Syndrome, which is caused by excess cortisol production, found genome-wide changes with regards to DNA methylation. They discovered that individuals with high cortisol levels had less DNA methylation compared to healthy individuals.


DNA methylation suppresses the expression of genes. In this way, certain harmful genetic expressions need DNA methylation in order to be suppressed. For example, in the study, the gene for psychiatric issues remained active because stress kept those genes “turned on;” this caused a number of CS patients to suffer from mental illness at a higher rate.

Research at Johns Hopkins found that mice given corticosterone appeared more anxious during a maze test. When testing their gene methylation levels, they found altered expressions in three of the five HPA axis genes.

They especially found higher levels of Fkbp5, which is the molecular complex that interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor. Genetic variations in Fkbp5 have previously been associated with PTSD and mood disorders.

transform-your-health-with-dna-2

Overall stress and genes

Basically, stress boosts cortisol and other glucocorticoids. These hormones impact histone coding and DNA methylation, activating genes of illness while deactivating healthy-suppressive genes.

Stress also plays an important role in those genes that control memory and cognitive function. Too much cortisol and these genes “turn off,” causing serious psychological and behavioral concerns.

Glucocorticoids, like the stress hormone cortisol, alter the genetic expression in the brain. Thus, any cortisol-boosting situation—like anxiety, PTSD, depression, and stress—can impact epigenetic chemical tags.

Thus, prolonged stress causes significant epigenetic changes that can drastically impact mental and physical wellbeing.

Stress doesn’t just alter your own genes. These epigenetic expressions and psychological concerns can be passed on for generations as well…

How does stress impact your children’s genes?

That’s right. You can pass your stress on to your children.

Studies have shown that environmental conditions of previous generations impact the expression of our current genes as well.


For example, one study found that daughters of women who experienced the Dutch famine were twice as likely to develop schizophrenia. The daughters did not go through the famine themselves, but their mother’s trauma was genetically passed down, increasing the offspring’s risk of mental illness.

Other studies have shown that extreme stress during pregnancy, like living through the 9/11 attacks, can pass the experience on to the child. These children report depression, anxiety, and poor coping mechanisms at a much higher rate than parents who did not live through extreme stress.

This is true even when the children are well cared for. A study of rats found that parents who experienced epigenetic-altering stress passed this genetic structure on to their pups and grand pups—even if they’re pups were cared for and loved in early life.

Although these altered genetic expressions are hereditary, they’re not permanent.

In fact, you can reverse stress-related DNA changes with environmental and lifestyle factors.  

A study of identical twins looked at how environment and trauma impacted epigenetic flags. Although the siblings were genetically identical, their epigenetics changed over time. One twin had depression, anxiety, and obesity while the other did not. This is likely because the latter twin was able to change his epigenetics in a way that suppressed the genes for those diseases.

We have power over our epigenetics.

You can deactivate the stress-related genetic expression that you may have inherited from your family.

And you can prevent the activation of your own stress-induced DNA methylation.

How can you reverse stress-induced genetic risk factors?

  1. Meditate.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to combat high stress is through meditation. Relaxation practices have been shown to reduce cortisol and increase testosterone. In fact, even just four months of meditation practice can help reset hormone levels and improve stress response.

I recommend taking a yoga class and learning deep breathing exercises. You should also get outside to meditate and relax. Studies show that taking a walk in nature is linked to lower cortisol levels. Fresh air helps calm the mind and body—and gets you to exercise as well.  

  1. Workout.

Working out has a direct impact on mood and cortisol. Working out releases endorphins, which makes you happier and less stressed.

High-intensity interval training boosts testosterone and decreases cortisol. Learn more about using HIIT to lower cortisol and increase T here.

This decrease in cortisol has actually been shown to boost cognitive function and improve behavior and mood.  

However, if you have high levels of stress, an intense workout might worsen the problem by boosting cortisol in the short-term. This cortisol increase isn’t harmful to your genes, but it can increase levels of anxiety and tension in individuals already experiencing high levels of stress.

Plus, losing weight and fat can help reduce stress. Moreover, body fat increases estrogen, which decreases T levels. This causes lower testosterone, and low T, in turn, leads to increased body fat and reduced muscle mass—which further impacts stress. It becomes an unhealthy cycle of weight gain, low T, and stress!

  1. Eat more carbs.

People tend to shy away from carbs because they “make you gain weight.” However, a diet that’s too low in carbs can actually make you gain weight by increasing cortisol levels.

Carbohydrates actually help reduce cortisol levels, especially post-workout.

However, don’t go guzzling carbs when you’re stressed, as too many carbs will cause weight gain and this can further increase cortisol and lower testosterone.

It simply means you want to maintain a balance of macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbs. Studies have shown that higher protein diets lead to high cortisol levels, while a strong ratio of protein to carbs creates the most balanced hormones.

Click to learn more about the dangers of an all-protein diet—and why you need carbs.

  1. Get more vitamin C.


Vitamin C has been linked to reduced cortisol production, especially after an intense workout. Vitamin C is also a great testosterone booster.

One study found that vitamin C actually regenerated 58% of damaged testosterone molecules. It also helps with sperm quality, motility, and volume for improved sexual health. Boost your testosterone and you can help reduce your cortisol and stress.  

You can find vitamin C in a number of healthy foods, like citrus, guava, red peppers, strawberries, and papaya.

  1. Sleep more.

Sleep helps reset your hormone levels, reducing cortisol and increasing testosterone.

In fact, if you don’t sleep enough, your cortisol levels rise astronomically.

Cortisol levels naturally rise slightly in the morning to help us wake up and prepare for the day. In reverse, cortisol drops at night to help us sleep.

However, if your body doesn’t drop cortisol at night, you’ll deal with insomnia and late-night anxiety. You’ll also have increased levels of cortisol in the morning that can cause severe, chronic stress whenever you’re awake.  

Sleep is critical to balance hormones, reduce stress, and restore your body’s natural health.

Learn more about how sleep impacts your epigenetics here.

  1. Stand in power poses.

Studies have shown that you can increase testosterone by 20% and reduce cortisol by 25% simply by standing in a “power pose” for two minutes. The researchers concluded that you can change your brain and hormonal chemistry through body language and behavior.

Simply pretending to be powerful and stress-free will make you powerful and stress-free!  

Conclusion

Stress impacts our behavioral epigenetics. Traumatic experiences in our past—and in our ancestors’ past—can scar our DNA. Although we can inherit stress-induced genetic expressions, we can also reverse this process as well. With certain lifestyle and environmental changes, you can reduce your stress and reset your genetics for a healthier expression.

Are you ready to change your genes?

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COMING SOON TO AMAZON

In Male 2.0™, Dr. Tracy Gapin has turned everything we once thought we knew about men’s health and performance upside down. The old model of how to be “a man” is broken. A man who works himself to death. A man who tries to NOT get sick but isn’t really healthy either. A man who takes a pill for every ill but is never really cured. That was Male 1.0. Now, imagine being THE MAN ─ owning your performance in the bedroom, the weight room, and the boardroom. Living a fully optimized life. Becoming limitless. This is Male 2.0!

Tracy Gapin, MD, FACS  is a board-certified Urologist, Men’s Health Expert, Author, and Professional Speaker. Using state-of-the-art biometric monitoring, nutrition and lifestyle intervention, Dr. Gapin coaches Fortune 500 executives and evolutionary leaders of business, sports medicine, and high performance. He specializes in cutting-edge precision medicine with an emphasis on epigenetics, providing men with a personalized path to optimizing health & performance. www.SmartMensHealth.com 

Epigenetics Series: What Should You Eat For Your Body Type?


Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”  In other words, eat for your body type.

Do you have trouble losing weight?

Are your blood tests consistently coming back with high cholesterol, adrenal concerns, low testosterone, and other risk factors?

Do you have an increased risk of disease?

Are you currently suffering from an illness?

All of these concerns may be a result of an incorrect or poor diet or failing to eat for your body type.  

What you eat has a direct impact on your genetic expression, which proportionally influences your health and wellness.

This intimate relationship between nutrition and epigenetics has a direct result on your body’s health, energy, and immunity.

Healthy, nutrient-rich foods strengthen your DNA expression to minimize illness, pains, and risk of disease. In reverse, the wrong foods can activate DNA markers that make you susceptible to obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other ailments.

Food is so much more than calories and energy. The vitamins and nutrients you put in your body have a direct impact on your health at a molecular and genetic level.

Let’s take a quick look at what epigenetics is and how it’s related to your diet. Then I’ll give you a list of the best foods you should eat for your body type to activate strong genes and deactivate harmful ones.

What is epigenetics?


Epigenetics is the means of “controlling” your genes. Your DNA pattern will always remain the same. The DNA you were born with will be the DNA structure you die with.

Though your genes don’t change, the expression of those genes can alter over time. For example, you could have blonde hair as a child and now you naturally have brown hair. Your gene didn’t change, but the expression of that hair color gene changed.

This change in genetic expression occurs through activation or deactivation of epigenetic factors. “Epigenetics” looks at those processes that “turn off” or “turn on” certain genes.

Read: What Is Epigenetics & Why Do You Care?

The two most common types of activators are DNA methylation and histone acetylation.

DNA methylation occurs when methyl molecules attach to the end of genetic sequences to tighten or loosen the DNA’s double helix. This process plays a significant role in aging, cancer, and other inflammatory diseases. Methylation has been especially linked to cancer production by silencing those genes that repair cells and fight against tumors.

Histone acetylation occurs when acetyl enzymes alter the body’s histone proteins. This has been shown to control the repression of certain chromatin domains in the DNA process.

Both DNA methylation and histone acetylation impact the way your genes are expressed. If an environmental or lifestyle trigger causes either process, your genes can be silenced or activated.

Just as easily as high-risk genes can be flipped “on,” they can be reversed into the “off” position as well.

The easiest way to reverse or prevent the process of negative genetic expression is with healthy lifestyle influencers—like nutrition and diet.

How are epigenetics and diet linked?

DNA methylation and histone acetylation occur as a result of certain lifestyle and environmental triggers. These triggers can include physical exercise, stress, sleep, addiction, pollution, and diet.

Every day, our body handles oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs naturally whenever we metabolize oxygen in our bodies. When we exercise, move, or even breathe, we metabolize oxygen to create more energy. This is a natural, low-impact oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress also occurs from our environment, like pollution, radiation, pesticides, and chemicals. It can also be a result of high stress or lack of sleep.

Although we deal with oxidative stress daily, high stress can create a serious health problem. This stress, also called “uncontrolled free-radical production,” alters your genetic expression. It minimizes the body’s immunity and damages your body’s natural self-healing properties.


This leads to disease and cancer because the body doesn’t have the immune strength to prevent or fight against illness. Oxidative stress also promotes inflammation, which progresses conditions like cancer, premature aging, and heart disease.

We can’t prevent our bodies from dealing with oxidative stress. However, we can minimize the impact of oxidative stress on our genes and health—through a healthy diet and by ensuring you eat for your body type.

Eating certain vitamins and nutrients actually helps defend against oxidative stress in the body. In fact, diet is the number one way to fight against cancer and disease caused by oxidative stress.

What are phytonutrients?

Certain nutrients and compounds, like phytonutrients, are proven defense mechanisms against free radicals. These nutrients promote the gene expression of protective immunity genes while silencing those genes that initiate high-risk disease.

Phytonutrients are plant-based compounds that impact our bodies at the genetic level. They’re antioxidants, meaning that they fight against (“anti”) oxidative stress (“oxidants”). They’re also anti-inflammatory, meaning they defend against inflammatory triggers. These phytonutrients have healing qualities that are proven to activate healthy genes while silencing adverse ones.


There are nearly 25,000 known phytonutrients. Each plant has its own makeup of phytonutrients, which are usually found in the pigment of the plant. For example, red plants like tomatoes and watermelon contain lycopene, while yellow plants like pineapple and lemon contain flavonoids. Both lycopene and flavonoids are phytonutrients, but they impact genetic expression in unique ways.

Thus, you want to have a “rainbow diet.” A variety of plant colors helps ensure you get an array of phytonutrients in your system. For optimal body function, you need a diversity of nutrients and vitamins.

What should I eat for healthy genes?

You want to incorporate more phytonutrients into your diet in order to eat for your body type and activate immune-boosting genes and deactivate disease-risk ones. This is a process that everyone should add to eat right for his/her body type.

But what specific phytonutrients should you eat for ultimate gene health?

Below I’ll go through some of the most impactful phytonutrients that will boost your overall health—and your sexual health.

Ultimately, though, you want to focus on choosing healthy, whole foods that come in a variety of colors. Whether on this list or not, most fruits and veggies contain nutrients that can assist your body’s healthy genetic expression.

  1. Lycopene

Phytonutrient: lycopene

Foods: tomatoes, watermelon, red cabbage, grapefruit, papaya


Lycopene is a type of carotenoid that gives a reddish color to fruit. It’s a powerful antioxidant that may help decrease the risk of chronic diseases and cancers.

Some researchers have looked at a link between lycopene and prostate cancer prevention and treatment. The general consensus is that lycopene may have an impact on prostate cancer due to its strong antioxidant effect. Lycopene is found in high concentrations in prostate cells, so it may be the fastest acting antioxidant due to proximity. Lycopene has also been linked to slower tumor growth and reduced levels of an insulin growth factor.

The lycopene antioxidant is especially related to the deactivation of “aging” genes. Basically, lycopene may help minimize the natural effects of aging!

  1. Beta-carotene

Phytonutrient: beta-carotene

Foods: carrots, mangos, oranges, sweet potato, winter squash, cantaloupe, spinach, lettuce


Beta-carotene (BC) is most often found in orange fruits and vegetables. It may be proangiogenic, meaning it promotes angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the creation of new blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels. One study found that BC decreased DNA methylation and promoted vascular endothelial growth.

Strong blood vessels are critical to a healthy body. Your blood vessels transport oxygen throughout your body, delivering energy to your muscles and organs. Without a strong process of angiogenesis, you’re at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. This vascular process also plays an important role in erectile dysfunction, which is often the result of weak blood vessels or other vascular disorders.

  1. Flavonoids

Phytonutrient: flavonoids

Foods: lemons, citrus, pineapple, berries, apples, legumes, red wine


Flavonoids are linked to anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-thrombogenic mechanisms. They seem to be able to module cell-signaling cascades.

Flavonoids are associated with a significantly reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular events. This is likely because of their anti-inflammatory effects on markers of oxidative stress.

Learn more about flavonoids here.

  1. Glucosinolate  

Phytonutrient: glucosinolate

Foods: kale, arugula, watercress


Glucosinolate is a phytonutrient that suppresses cancer cell growth. These cruciferous vegetables tend to be bitter due to the high levels of glucosinolate. For years, this bitter taste was associated with plant “toxins.” In fact, the reverse has been proven true. That bitterness actually plays an important role in genetic biosynthetic pathways.

Cruciferous vegetables also contain isothiocyanates, which increase histone acetylation and activate immune-boosting genes.

Want to get the most out of your vegetables? Cut your cruciferous veggies and let them sit for five to ten minutes before cooking. This helps activate the glucosinolate enzyme to release the nutrients for digestion and absorption.

  1. Anthocyanins

Phytonutrient: anthocyanins

Foods: pomegranates, blueberries, plums, raspberry, black rice, corn


Anthocyanins are one of the greatest phytonutrient powerhouses. In fact, the flavonoid anthocyanin plays a significant role in minimizing free radicals, decreasing inflammation, minimizing blood sugar concentrations, and preventing age-related neural declines. There are endless proven benefits of anthocyanins that your DNA expression loves.  

This compound gives foods a reddish-purple pigment, so be on the lookout for dark-colored fruits like pomegranates and blueberries.

In fact, pomegranates are proven to be one of the best foods for your sexual and overall health!

  1. Quercetin

Phytonutrient: quercetin

Foods: apples, peppers, blueberries, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens, cocoa, red onion, black and green tea


Quercetin is a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. It’s a type of polyphenolic antioxidant that reduces oxidative stress and free-radical genetic changes. Quercetin has been shown to fight inflammatory conditions like high cholesterol, heart disease, ulcers, diabetes, allergies, cognitive impairment, prostate inflammation (BPH), cancer, and skin disorders.

This anti-inflammatory effect helps activate a strong expression of your immune genes.

Apples are especially chock full of quercetin and other necessary phytonutrients. If you learn only one thing from this article, let it be this: An apple a day keeps the healthy genes at play!  

  1. Butyrate

Phytonutrient: butyrate

Foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, pickled beets


Butyrate blocks inflammation in the body, especially in the digestive system. It plays an important role in the fermentation of dietary fibers in the gut. This gut-brain link is critical to overall health—as well as genetic health. If you have a strong gut, you are less likely to be susceptible to adverse DNA methylation.

Learn more about butyrate and probiotic microbiome health here.

Have you noticed that some of the strongest phytonutrients reduce both oxidative stress and inflammation?

Find out more about the concerns of chronic inflammation and its impact on genetic expression.

What should you avoid?

All of the above phytonutrients come from fruits and vegetables.

But does this mean to eat for your body type, you have to avoid all non-plant products?

Not necessarily. You can still eat animal products in moderation. Animal products themselves have not yet been linked to epigenetic methylation concerns. However, animal products and packaged, processed foods do have higher levels of chemicals and additives. These antibiotics and preservatives are proven environmental triggers for epigenetic changes.

Moreover, certain foods drastically impact your health at a genetic and cellular level. Take a look at our list of 7 foods that cause erectile dysfunction as an example.

You don’t need to drastically change your diet and lifestyle in order to be healthy.

But you need a diverse diet to maintain genetic health. Eating the same foods day after day make it challenging for your genes to function properly. You need a variety of nutrients and vitamins to maintain all processes in the body, including those that regulate gene expression.


Remember: when you eat for your body type by eating a salad, you won’t instantly change your genes. But healthy, strong choices on a consistent basis can impact your weight, energy, and genetic expression. With the right vitamins, you can reduce your risk of disease—while having the most energy you’ve ever had in your life!  

Bottom Line

Your health is in your hands—and on your plate! It’s imperative for your wellness to eat for your body type. The food you eat has a direct impact on your genetic expression and risk for disease.

Do you know how to incorporate a variety of phytonutrients into your diet?

Do you know how to minimize oxidative stress and control your genetic expression?

No? Then you need an easy, step-by-step plan to get you on the path to ULTIMATE health.

Schedule a consultation to learn how to personalized health advice so you can live your life to the fullest.

Ready to take the next steps?

Schedule a Call

**************************

In Male 2.0™, Dr. Tracy Gapin has turned everything we once thought we knew about men’s health and performance upside down. The old model of how to be “a man” is broken. A man who works himself to death.  Unfortunately, a man who tries to NOT get sick but isn’t really healthy either.  And a man who takes a pill for every ill but is never really cured. That was Male 1.0. Now, imagine being THE MAN ─ owning your performance in the bedroom, the weight room, and the boardroom. Living a fully optimized life. Becoming limitless. This is Male 2.0!

Tracy Gapin, MD, FACS  is a board-certified Urologist,  world renowned Men’s Health & Performance Expert, Author, and Professional Speaker. Using state-of-the-art biometric monitoring, nutrition and lifestyle intervention, Dr. Gapin coaches Fortune 500 executives and evolutionary leaders of business, sports medicine, and high performance. He specializes in cutting-edge precision medicine with an emphasis on epigenetics, providing men with a personalized path to optimizing health & performance. www.GapinInstitute.com

Want more tips to optimize your health?  Listen to the latest podcasts. Click HERE

 

Epigenetics Series: Is Porn Addiction Genetic?


Nearly 23 million Americans suffer from a drug or alcohol addiction. It is estimated that between 7.4 and 14.7 million American adults are addicted to porn or sex. Porn addiction is a serious epidemic. 

“Addiction” is a broad term with an even broader population. Despite the prevalence, understanding, and treatment of addiction, it remains far behind where it should be, with only 1 in 10 individuals getting appropriate and lasting treatment.

Now, research in epigenetics is stepping in to help treat addiction on a deeper and broader scale.

Why are only some people addicted to activities, behaviors, and substances while others are not?

The answer may lie in the expression of your genes.

Recent studies show that epigenetic mechanisms could play a significant role in addiction. In fact, the risk of addiction may not necessarily come from an inherited genetic sequence but from how those genes are expressed.

Understanding the link between addiction and genetics may help create new advances in prevention and rehabilitation moving forward.

So what is the addiction? What is its link to epigenetics? And how can you alter your genes for a healthier life?

What is addiction?

“Addiction” is a psychiatric disorder where a person compulsively engages in or with some stimuli, like drugs, alcohol, or sex.

A person becomes addicted to the “feel good” aspects of this stimulus. This stems from the excitement of the brain’s reward regions. These “reward” regions include the nucleus accumbens (NAc), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Drugs and alcohol are the most common associations of addiction. However, people can become addicted to nearly anything that ignites the reward centers of the brain. For example, other addictions can include gambling, shopping, sex, video games, television, overeating, exercise, and more.


Sex addiction is an especially prevalent concern in America, with the open accessibility of porn. In fact, an estimated 3-8% of U.S. adults suffer from a sex addiction that causes significant distress or impairment in personal, family, social, educational, or occupational areas of functioning.

We know that addiction creates changes in the brain. An ongoing surge of dopamine actually alters the prefrontal regions of the brain. In fact, this dopamine “high” starts to decrease sensitivity. The more you activate this part of your brain, the less it works. This impacts reward, motivation, memory, and cognitive control.

Thus, a progressive “high” can actually make it harder to feel that same sort of pleasure over time. This is why addicts tend to progress deeper into their addiction; addicted individuals seek that same pleasure but their brains become desensitized to it.

Science has proven that this dopamine desensitization alters the structure of the brain. Does that mean addiction could alter DNA and genetic structure as well?

Is porn addiction or any addiction linked to epigenetics?

Addiction is a disease just like any other, like cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Epigenetics impacts these types of diseases.

So does addiction.

A number of studies have looked at the relationship between genes and addiction.

It’s widely accepted that addiction is a “hereditary” disease. Recent studies have found a panel of 11 genes linked to a genetic predisposition for addiction, especially alcoholism. Of these, there are 66 associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP variations) that are correlated with addiction.

Studies have shown that a child has an 8x greater risk of developing an addiction if one parent has a drug or alcohol addiction. This insinuates that there is some sort of genetic predisposition to addiction and can also play a role in porn addiction, and this doesn’t mean one type of porn, this can range to every sexual aspect from real taboo kinks, to simply viewing sites.

In fact, studies show that 50-60% of addiction can be contributed to genetics. (The other half comes from poor coping skills when dealing with stress or emotions.)


So, for decades, children of addicts have been taught to avoid drugs and alcohol completely to prevent the development of their own addiction.

Genes themselves are irreversible. The genes you’re given are the genes you keep for life.

But what if there was a way to “deactivate” or turn off those inherited genes of addiction?

Can we treat addiction with epigenetics?

Epigenetics looks at the expression of genes as opposed to the genetic sequence itself. We can’t change our DNA sequence. But we can change which of our genes are expressed and activated—even those genes of addiction.

Research has found that certain factors can alter this genetic expression of addiction. There are a number of ways addiction can change your epigenetics, but the two most prevalent are DNA methylation and dopamine reception.

DNA methylation

Just like with other epigenetic marks, DNA methylation can activate or deactivate the genes that carry addiction-related risks.

A study at McGill University and Bar Ilan University found that the genes in the brain—especially those in the NAc reward center—can be reprogrammed during drug withdrawal.

They found that you may be able to prevent a relapse of cocaine use by adjusting epigenetic marks during the withdrawal period. This means that an individual going through rehabilitation would be less likely to return to drugs with an epigenetic treatment.

They especially looked at RG108 as a potential rehabilitative treatment. RG108 is a DNA methylation inhibitor. This means it stops the genetic switch that turns a gene on or off. In the study, researchers found that cocaine-addicted rats stopped seeking out the drug once they were injected with the RG108.

This, in essence, could turn off the genes of addiction to stop an individual from experiencing the need or desire to return to the use of the drug or activity.

Researchers also found that this RG108 inhibition was most successful during withdrawal as opposed to while still exposed to the drug. During withdrawal, the genes are already undergoing changes because they don’t have access to the chemicals in the drug. Inhibiting DNA methylation in the brain during a period of withdrawal enhances this change to avoid addiction relapse.

Dopamine receptors

Other research has found a link between dopamine release and genetic changes. A study at Columbia University Medical Center discovered that individuals with greater dopamine release and higher concentrations of D2 (dopamine receptor) were less likely to relapse into addiction.

They found that the brain regions that handle self-control are linked to the genetics of addiction.

This tells us that even self-control is genetic—and it can be altered appropriately.

The scientists found that targeted therapy could increase the odds of extinguishing addiction. These therapies focus on changing certain behaviors to improve the activity in the prefrontal cortex and dopamine receptors.

Another study found a similar finding with sex specifically. The gene, which is also linked to dopamine, influences sexual drive and arousal. Researchers found that individuals with a particular variation of this D4 gene were more likely to develop sexual addiction than those with a typical D4. This proves that sexual activity, including porn addiction, could be a treatable disease based on genetic makeup.

Can knowing your genes prevent porn addiction?

The above examples both look at preventing a relapse of addiction by deactivating certain epigenetic markers. But can you prevent addiction even before it happens?

One group of researchers has been providing a number of studies about epigenetics and addiction. One of their greatest findings was the potential of early-onset prevention of addiction through epigenetics. Meaning if you are genetically predisposed to porn addiction, there may be a way of preventing it from ever taking hold.

They first researched HDAC5 as the suppressor of addiction-risk genes. They found that this inhibitor didn’t prevent addiction-like behaviors from forming, but it did prevent relapse. However, they then looked at all of the genes that HDAC5 inhibits.

They found that HDAC5 also suppresses the gene NPAS4. This gene is the early-onset gene of addiction. Rodents with less NPAS4 still developed addiction behaviors—but it took them a lot longer than their counterparts that had more NPAS4. Researchers found that HDAC5 lessened the effect of NPAS4, which lengthened the onset time of addiction.

Basically, HDAC5 may be able to both prevent relapse and help prevent initiation of addiction behaviors altogether.

Further research still required in order to learn how to prevent addiction… but many researchers think that deactivating certain genes is possible.

What does this mean for YOU?

If you have an increased risk of addiction due to a parent, you don’t have to be scared of your genes. If you’re suffering from addiction now, you can get help and prevent it from coming back.

Epigenetics tells us that there are ways to deactivate the genes of addiction so you can live your life without worry, and potentially be free of your porn addiction.

So how do you “turn off” these genes?

The solution isn’t necessarily to avoid complete avoid porn, sex, drugs, and rock and roll at all costs. (I do not advise taking part in any sort of abuse.)

Nevertheless, avoiding porn doesn’t necessarily mean you’re cured of your porn addiction. It just means you’re abstaining as best you can. If you stop abstaining at some point, though, you could still be at risk for serious addiction.

But you can control your genes and change the way addiction genes are expressed to evade porn addiction altogether.

How?

Lifestyle changes.

Studies have suggested that environmental factors drastically impact the activation or deactivation of the addiction genes.

One study found that addiction was highly related to social environment. Interestingly, some research has shown that genes play a role in how an individual responds to the environment around them.

This means that two individuals in the same cultural environment with the same gene for addiction could have different experiences. If one has an activated gene and another has a deactivated one, the first could have addiction problems while the other doesn’t.

This means you need to surround yourself with healthy habits and healthy people. But this isn’t always easy, especially when stress and other emotional stimuli step in.

Stress can actually activate the addiction gene. One study found repressive histone methylation with repeated stress. Basically, stress caused methylation, which caused the “addiction” genes to turn on.

Stress can activate some of the unhealthiest genes in your body, including the gene for addiction. If you want to reduce your risk and intensity of addiction, you need to first and foremost reduce your acute and chronic stressors.
The doctor’s orders:

  • This week, keep a stress journal with you. Every moment you feel slightly stressed or anxious, write down the time, place, and trigger that caused that feeling. Write down the exact emotions and tenseness you feel.
  • At the end of the week, review your journal for patterns of stressful behaviors. Is there a certain activity or time of day that creates your stress?
  • Find ways to remove these stressors from your life.
  • Next week, do one activity that de-stresses you daily.
  • Do a different activity each day. Switch between meditation, yoga, physical exercise, hobbies, family time, deep breathing, and sex (yes, sex!). Try a variety of activities to see which best relieve your stress.

Create an ongoing stress journal that records when you feel most stressed and relaxed. This will help you find a calming balance to reduce the daily and ongoing stresses in your life. If you have a serious, long-term stressor, talk to a professional for strong coping methods.

Read 5 Healthy, Productive Habits You Can Start This Week

Bottom line

Epigenetics influences a variety of diseases, disorders, and addictions, including porn addiction. Environmental and lifestyle factors like sex abuse can alter brain genes to create serious and long-lasting concerns.

But epigenetics adds something new to our understanding of addiction: we can deactivate the risk of addiction inherited by our parents. We can even activate those genes that handle self-control and reward response. Effectively relieving addictions of all kinds, including porn addictions.

This is promising for the future treatment of addiction and rehabilitation. This is especially useful for the understanding and treatment of sexual and porn addiction.

Although there are some current limitations, epigenetics will play a much larger role in recovery and relapse-prevention moving forward.

You don’t need to fear your genes.

You need to control them—before they control you!

If you’re ready to take control of your health and wellness, there’s no better time than right now.

Sign up for the G1 Performance Health Consult to own your genes, your vigor, and your life!

Epigenetics Series: How To Sleep For Better Health


Even one night of sleep deprivation can alter your genes. The epigenetic change of poor sleep can result in reduced immunity, poor memory, lowered cognitive processes, enhanced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and even higher risk for cancer and early death.

1 in 3 American adults doesn’t get enough sleep on a regular basis. That means nearly 70 to 80 million Americans are being subjected to reduced health and quality of life simply because they aren’t sleeping enough.

But understanding the epigenetics of sleep could help treat sleep disorders and their associated health risks.

How is sleep related to our genes? How do these epigenetic changes impact our health? And what can we do to reverse these genetic changes, sleep more, and stay healthy?

Epigenetics Recap

Let’s quickly recap the basics of epigenetics so we’re on the same page to discuss sleep genes.

Epigenetics looks at how changes in lifestyle and environmental factors can influence genetic expression.

We can’t change our genes. But certain environmental and lifestyle factors—like sleep— can activate or deactivate the expression of those genes.


DNA methylation is the most important and common epigenetic change. Methylation occurs when proteins attach to the methyl groups on the DNA bases. This attachment either “turns on” or “turns off” the expression of those genes. Think of methylation like a light switch that can flip the genetic expression one way or the other. We’ll also discuss histone acetylation below, which also plays a role in epigenetic expression.

Learn more about epigenetics here: What is Epigenetics and Why Do You Care?

The Importance Of Sleep

Sleep is critical for almost every aspect of our health. From learning and memory building to maintaining a healthy weight to reducing risk for chronic diseases, a number of studies have linked proper sleep to overall health and wellness.

The reverse is true as well. Studies have proven a correlation between lack of sleep and health problems, like metabolic disorders, heart disease, and even early death.


But the reason we need sleep for health isn’t fully understood. It could be because a lack of sleep increases cortisol (“stress hormone”) levels, which is linked to health problems. Or it could be that your cells need sleep to “reset” and regenerate. It could also be that sleep gives our body the necessary energy to use during the day.

Epigenetics is making some headway in understanding why we truly need sleep. Epigenetics suggests that sleep impacts DNA methylation, which can activate or deactivate certain cells in the body.

A lack of sleep may increase DNA methylation, which can suddenly activate the expression of risky genes, like cancer-causing tumor growth genes.

“It is becoming clear that epigenetic factors are highly integrated into networks [of clock genes and circadian gene expression],” wrote Qureshi and Mehler.

Epigenetics Control Sleep Patterns

Recent studies have proven that maternal and paternal imprinted genes control REM sleep.

One study looked at two syndromes, Prader-Willi syndrome and Angelman syndrome.

Prader-Willi syndrome comes from maternal additions (and paternal deletions) on chromosome 15. It results in inactive and sleepy children who tend towards the psychotic spectrum disorder.

Angelman syndrome has paternal additions and maternal deletions on chromosome 15. This syndrome results in hyperactive children who tend towards the autism spectrum.

This says something interesting about the link between genes and these syndromes’ symptoms. The difference comes from an opposite pattern of imprinting, which is the expression of the gene of one parental copy over another (Prader-Willi favors the maternal and Angelman favors the paternal).

When the maternal is stronger with Prader-Willi, children are inactive and sleeping. When the paternal gene is stronger with Angelman, children are hyperactive and sleepless.

The gene is the same, but the expression on wakefulness and sleepiness is different.


This same study also found that these genes can even control dreams. When paternal genes were predominantly expressed, the dreamer showed more aggressive impulses. When maternal genes were expressed, the dreamer showed more pro-social behaviors.

The expressed maternal or paternal gene has a direct correlation to energy levels, sleep capacity, and even dreaming.

This proves, at the very least, that our genetic expression has a direct link to our sleep patterns.

Sleep Patterns Control Epigenetics

But the opposite is true too. Genes control our sleep, but sleep also controls how our genes are expressed.

Research has proven that sleep controls the REM cycle. In fact, nearly 15% of our total genes oscillate along the sleep-wake cycles. This means that the genetic expression is dependent upon sleep patterns. A loss of sleep that disrupts our natural circadian rhythm can actually affect 20% of the genes in our brain.

These genes are called “clock” genes. These clock genes are key components of our circadian clock. How they interact with one another is entirely dependent upon genetic expression. The clock genes control when we are awake and when we are asleep, aka our nocturnal and diurnal cycles.

Yes, whether you are a “night owl” or “morning lark” is actually a factor of your genetic expression!

Some of the core clock genes include BMAL1, CRY 1,2 and PER 1,2. You can learn more about clock genes here.

Sleep and DNA methylation 

One of the most significant studies looked at the DNA methylation after just one night of sleep deprivation. 15 healthy men stayed in the lab for two nights. They slept during one session and were kept awake the entire night for the other.

They found after just one night of sleep deprivation:

  • Complete methylation of CRY1
  • Methylation changes in two regions of PER 2
  • Reduced genetic expression of BMAL1

That means almost all of the clock genes were instantly changed in just one night.  Researchers wrote, “Our current results indicate that changes in our clock genes may be linked to such negative effects caused by sleep loss.”

The study also looked at cortisol and blood glucose levels with sleep loss. They found that one night of sleep deprivation changed the genome of fat and muscle tissue. This demonstrates a direct link to increased risk factors of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers weren’t actually surprised that sleep impacted DNA methylation. They were more surprised how abruptly this change occurred. Cedernaes said, “It was interesting that the methylation of these genes could be altered so quickly, and that it could occur for these metabolically important clock genes.”

But what’s the problem? Why do we care about these clock genes?

These clock genes determine not only our patterns of sleep but also other key impacts of health, including cognitive function, metabolic health, and immunity.

Key Epigenetic Changes Dependent Upon Sleep

  1. Sleep improves immunity

There is a direct link between sleep and the immune system. A loss of sleep reduces the ability of the body to fight infection and diseases.

One study found an increase in DNA methylation in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Increased methylation occurred primarily on the FOXP3 (Forkhead Box P3) gene. This gene is known for regulating the body’s immune response.

Methylation of this gene increased levels of two key proteins:

  • High sensitivity C reactive protein: linked to cardiovascular disease and inflammation in blood
  • Myeloid-related protein 8/14 complex: has a role in the body’s inflammatory process

Overall, researchers concluded that increased methylation levels increased the systematic inflammatory response. This chronic inflammation reduces the immune system while damaging organs and body functioning over time.

Learn more about the serious adverse health effects of chronic inflammation here.

  1. Sleep enhances memory and cognitive functioning


Memories are stored while we sleep. If we aren’t sleeping, our brain doesn’t have time to “record” these memories.

Like methylation, histone acetylation is another epigenetic mechanism. This occurs when acetyl groups are added to histones (histones help order the structure of DNA). An addition of acetyl relaxes the DNA chromatin structure, which increases the expression of that gene.

While DNA methylation “turns off” or “turns on” a specific gene, histone acetylation enhances the “on” of a gene. If DNA methylation is a light switch, acetylation is the dimmer function.

Studies have proven a link between reverse histone acetylation and brain function. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are especially implicated in learning and memory.

A lack of sleep can actually cause histone acetylation, and thus impact the brain’s ability to form memories and apply new learnings.

One study looked at rats with three days of sleep deprivation. They found that sleep loss decreased histone acetylation levels and increased HDAC2 expression.

They also found a reduction in BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) promoters. These proteins are critical for the creation of neuron synapses and associated memory formation.

The sleep deprivation reduced BDNF expression, which can interfere with the process of building neurons. Without these neurons, the brain starts to slow down, especially with regards to memory formation.

That’s why a night without sleep can make you so foggy and forgetful.

The researchers then administered an HDAC inhibitor to reverse this process, which was able to restorer spatial memory function.

  1. Sleep minimizes cancer risk

Studies have shown a link between a desynchronized circadian clock and tumor development. Not getting enough sleep can alter genes that are linked to immunity and tumor growth. This leaves your body exposed to cancer progression without the immunity to fight it off.

This likely occurs due to the decrease in melatonin with lack of sleep. Melatonin is the hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness.

One study found that melatonin can actually reverse tumor growth. In reverse, a lack of melatonin enables tumor growth progression. If we don’t sleep enough, our bodies don’t release the necessary melatonin. Moreover, light at night inhibits the release of melatonin. This melatonin deficiency has been linked to global DNA methylation, which impacts genes that regulate the immune system and inflammation.  

In essence, melatonin is necessary to prevent and reduce tumor growth.

  1. Sleep impacts stress (in a cycle)

Sleeping more can actually reduce your stress. Sleep helps lower your cortisol levels and increase your other hormones, like testosterone. A reduction in the stress-hormone cortisol can help your body feel less anxious and stressed.

But the reverse is true too. You need to reduce your stress if you want to get better sleep.


DNA methylation plays an important role in our body’s response to stress. DNA methylation can “turn on” stress genes. Stress causes histone modifications in the hippocampus, which can make the brain too active to get a good night’s sleep.

And many scientists believe that stress causes insomnia.

So DNA methylation might increase stress, which causes insomnia.

Insomnia and disrupted sleep then itself can become a chronic “stressor.” This stressor causes the DNA methylation that then causes insomnia.

It becomes a negative feedback loop of sleeplessness, stress, and unhealthy DNA methylation of genetic expression. This can literally perpetuate and sustain insomnia and associated health concerns indefinitely.

But we can actually break this cycle of epigenetics… by sleeping more.

How To Sleep

Can you “bank” your sleep?

This is always the first question people ask. Is it okay if I don’t sleep during the week and I sleep a lot on the weekend?

Well, no… but maybe.

Scientists are still looking at the impact of sleep accumulation.

However, as we saw with the above study, just one night of sleep deprivation can impact DNA methylation. Chronic sleep loss may have irreversible effects on genetic expression.

But, that doesn’t mean you should start losing sleep over your lost sleep. You want quality sleep every night, but one rough night won’t kill you. It’s generally accepted that it’s better to make up lost time the following day or weekend than to consistently tire yourself out running on no sleep.

So what does a healthy sleep look like?

In all honesty, the jury is still out on the answer to this question. So I’ll give you two key tips to follow that everyone can agree on.

  1. You want to sleep in full REM cycles when possible.

One REM cycle is about 90 minutes long. This means you generally want to wake up in intervals of an hour and a half. For example, you want to set your alarm for 6 hours, 7.5 hours, or 9 hours. Waking up after 8 hours interrupts a REM cycle, which will not only leave you tired and grouchy, but it could also impact DNA methylation and epigenetic expression.

The number of hours you should shoot for each night is still up in the air. I generally recommend 7-9 hours each night depending on your own energy levels. You can sometimes get by with 6 hours depending upon your own body’s needs.

However, with regards to epigenetic expression, the number of hours seems to be less important than when you sleep. You want to follow the natural light-dark cycle of the earth—and of your body. Sleeping during the day may actually impact your chromatin remodeling and cellular metabolism.  

  1. Go to sleep when it’s dark. Wake with the sun.

Learn more about sleep and increasing your energy here.

The Bottom Line

Sleep affects our “clock genes.” These genes are linked to key health factors like the immune system, inflammation regulation, cancer progression, stress, and chronic disease.

Even one night of sleep deprivation can impact the epigenetic profile. Sleep alters the expression of our genes. This means that sleep can literally control our behavioral and physiological functions.

Further understanding of the epigenetics of sleep could help treat sleep-wake disorders as well as reduce risks of neuro-degeneration, metabolic disease, cancer, diseases, and aging.

It’s critical to sleep in appropriate circadian rhythms to improve the immune system, boost cognitive function, reduce cancer risk, and more.

Do you love learning about how you can control your genes and health?

Sign up for G1 High Performance Health now to take control of your health this week!

I look forward to seeing you there.

13 Estrogenic Foods And Products To Avoid For Your Health


Recent research suggests that obesity, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and mood disorders could be linked to estrogen dominance. High levels of estrogen squashes your testosterone, which can lead to poor sexual function, lowered libido, fatigue, loss of muscle mass, brain fog, and other health concerns.

Both men and women need estrogen for growth and development, but too much estrogen can damage the body. More and more studies are coming out that show our foods and environment are filled with synthetic estrogens. These artificial hormones disrupt the natural endocrine production and create an unhealthy balance of high estrogen and low testosterone.

If you want to maintain your health and reduce your risk of hormone-related concerns, you need to watch your estrogen intake in your foods and environment.

What is estrogen?

Estrogen is a naturally occurring hormone in both men and women. It’s usually considered a “female” hormone, because it gives females their feminine characteristics, including the regulation of the menstrual cycle. But men also need estrogen for growth and development.

Men need to be highly aware of their estrogen levels. If these levels are even slightly above normal, it can impact testosterone and insulin. Low levels of estrogen can predispose men to osteoporosis, brain changes (like memory loss), and unbalanced hormones. When estrogen levels are off, the other hormones unbalance in tandem, creating a body-wide endocrine disaster. This hormone imbalance can create a number of health concerns, including low testosterone.

What are the health concerns of excess estrogen?

Excess estrogen in men is linked to a number of serious health concerns that can impact short-term and long-term health.

Estrogen dominance is a toxic condition. Estrogen is the hormone that promotes growth and development. Too much estrogen is linked to the growth and spread of cancerous tumors. Researchers have especially studied the connection between excess estrogen and breast cancer in both men and women. Excess estrogen may also increase the risk for testicular and prostatic cancers.

Read: Does My Husband Have Prostate Cancer?


High levels of estrogen are also linked to weight gain. Estrogen likes to “hold on” to fat cells, which can make weight loss a challenge. Excess estrogen also upsets insulin levels. Insulin metabolizes sugar; when insulin is out of whack, it doesn’t fully process these sugars. If insulin can’t remove sugar from the bloodstream, the body starts storing that sugar as fat. This creates weight gain and eventually can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Reducing estrogen levels and increasing testosterone levels can increase muscle mass and decrease fat mass.

Excess estrogen can also cause thyroid concerns and depress the immune system. Other health concerns from this hormone imbalance include:

  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Lowered sperm counts
  • Infertility
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Depression and mood disorders
  • Liver fatigue (liver works to reduce estrogen)

How do you know if you have excess estrogen?

In most cases, the symptoms of excess estrogen in men are similar to those of low testosterone (because high estrogen will suppress testosterone levels). These symptoms include:

  • Low libido
  • Thyroid imbalances
  • Digestive issues
  • Infertility
  • Fatigue
  • Depression

Where does excess estrogen come from?

It’s surprisingly common for men to have elevated estrogen levels, especially as testosterone declines with age. Combined with a high intake of estrogenic foods and an estrogen-filled environment, there is a perfect storm for high estrogen levels in men.

Xenoestrogens are chemical, synthetic compounds that mimic the structure of estrogen. Phytoestrogens are plant-based compounds that also show estrogenic properties. In the body, these xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens not only raise estrogen levels but also disrupt the endocrine system overall.

These synesthetic estrogens are popping up more and more in our environment. From the foods we consume to the chemicals in our household products, “estrogen” is everywhere—and it’s seeping into our systems and impacting our health.

Below you’ll find the 10 foods and 13 products to avoid in order to maintain a healthy hormone balance.

  1. Soy


Soy contains isoflavones, which are a type of phytoestrogen (the plant compounds that mimic estrogen). Isoflavones interrupt the endocrine (hormone) system and depress thyroid function. The thyroid helps regulate the metabolism, control hormones, and more; this dysfunction can contribute to metabolic syndrome.

Along with the isoflavones in soy, most soy grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered with heavy herbicides. In fact, more than 94% of soy grown in the U.S. is GMO (genetically modified). Farmers inject hormones into the soy plants in order to artificially engineer their growth and development. The plants hold on to these hormone-xenoestrogens throughout their life cycles. You then directly consume these synthetic hormones when you consume the soy.

Moreover, studies have shown “extreme” levels of glyphospate in U.S. soy. Glyphosate has been proven to increase estrogenic activity. If you are worried about and want to reduce your glysophate intake but aren’t sure how to go about it, there are therapies that offer up a foot detox, it supposedly pulls out all of those nasty toxins in your system bringing them into the water and helping the detoxification of your body making it healthier. Always check with a medical professional first before trying any alternative therapies.

  1. Meat & Dairy

Estrogenic hormones are used in excess on cow farms. The animals are fed synthetic estrogens to grow and stay healthy. This injected estrogen doesn’t disintegrate or go away, so you absorb these hormones when you consume any meat or dairy roducts. In this case, you really are what you eat.

Moreover, a number of farms force-feed their livestock soybeans, so you’re getting the estrogenic properties of the soybeans as well. They also spray the cow feed with pesticides that are considered estrogenic.


A number of farms use zeranol to enhance meat production. Zeranol is banned in the European Union, but it’s still prevalent in the U.S. Little is known about the negative health effects of zeranol, but several studies have shown a link between zeranol and early puberty and breast development in prepubescent boys and girls.

Dairy can be especially high in estrogen. In fact, nearly 80% of our dietary intake of estrogen comes from cow’s milk. Cows produce milk in order to feed to their young when pregnant or nursing, which is also when their estrogen levels are higher. In order to make milk, the cow needs to have high levels of estrogen; like other hormones, that estrogen goes into milk as well.

Injected hormones, pesticide estrogens, and the cow’s estrogen all leads to an excess of estrogen in meat and dairy that can drastically impact hormonal levels.

  1. Wheat

The Scripps Research Institute found that zearalenone colonizes on corn, barley, wheat, and other grains. Zearalenone is a fungus that mimics estrogen in the body. This research found that zearalenone actually reduces the anti-estrogen effects of breast cancer treatment.

In order to get rid of naturally-occurring zearalenone, farmers spray the plants with hormone-filled herbicides. With wheat, you could be consuming either estrogenic zearalenone fungus or estrogenic herbicides. It’s a catch-22 that can drastically impact hormones levels.

Also, certain types of wheat can cause inflammation in the gut. Chronic inflammation is the primary—though silent—cause of a number of diseases, like cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, depression, prostate disorders, and more.

  1. Flaxseeds


Flaxseeds are a “super food” powerhouse filled with high fiber and omega-3s. However, flaxseeds are also high in phytoestrogens, drastically disrupting the endocrine system. 100g of flax has nearly 379,380 micrograms of estrogen. Watermelon, in comparison, has 2.9 micrograms of estrogen.

Flax also contains lignans, which have estrogenic properties. In some people, lingans may inhibit cancer cell growth, while in others it can stimulate cancer cells. It’s recommended to avoid lingans and flaxseeds when already diagnosed with cancer or going through cancer treatment, but research is inconclusive about lingans’ ability to lower cancer risk in a preventative way.

Despite its natural health benefits, flax is becoming more and more genetically modified as it grows in popularity. This genetic modification uses estrogenic hormones, like we discussed soy and dairy products. Thus, you can still eat this super food for all the great fiber and omega-3 fatty acids—but look for organic or pure flaxseeds and flaxseed oil.

  1. Sugar

Sugar causes a spike in insulin. A spike in insulin lowers the level of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG binds to excess estrogen and testosterone to naturally maintain healthy hormone levels.

When SHBG is low, estrogen and testosterone increase because SHBG isn’t there to remove the excess hormones. Thus, when insulin spikes and creates a drop in SHBG, estrogen levels increase in tandem.

Read: 7 Foods Causing Your Erectile Dysfunction

  1. Alcohol


Studies have shown heightened estrogen activity after consumption of beer, wine, and bourbon. Alcohol triggers a release of estrogen while depressing testosterone, which can create a short-term impact on hormones. With heavy drinking, this can create a chronic imbalance of hormones.

The hops in beer contain a phytoestrogen that especially disrupts natural hormones. This is one reason for the beer belly; too much beer is not only high in calories but it’s also high in estrogen, which “holds on” to belly fat. You might want to try the Dherbs detox water recipe to help eliminate any stubborn belly fat.

  1. Processed foods

High fatty and carb foods increase bodily inflammation and raise estrogen levels. Be aware of processed foods like pastries, white bread, pretzels, fried foods, and other heavy carbs. You want to incorporate carbs and fats into a well-balanced diet—but opt for healthy carbs and fats like avocados, olive oil, and vegetables.

Read: Why You Should Never Eat A High-Protein Diet If You Want To Build Muscle

  1. Food additives

A number of food additives and preservatives can also possess estrogenic effects. This includes 4-hexylrescorcinol, which is used to prevent the discoloration of shrimp, and propyl gallate often found in vegetable oil, meat products, chicken soup base, and chewing gum.

  1. Legumes


Legumes are great for health, but they’re also high in estrogenic properties. Chickpeas, red beans, black-eyed peas, green peas, and split peas are all legumes. Black beans have nearly 5,330 micrograms of estrogen per 100g and hummus has 993 micrograms of estrogen per 100g. This won’t drastically impact your health, but be aware of your legume intake when trying to maintain healthy testosterone levels.

  1. Non-organic produce

Most produce is sprayed with pesticides and herbicides that have high levels of estrogenic hormones. Even with a thorough washing, you’re still ingesting a number of these chemicals and synthetic hormones. Try to eat organic produce when possible. Even some “organic” products aren’t 100% hormone-free, so make sure you’re researching your food labels.

Note: Farmed salmon is also high in hormones and antibiotics. Eat wild-caught salmon when possible.

  1. Plastic water bottles


Some plastic water bottles contain BPA (bisphenol A), which is a xenoestrogen. BPA is a synthetic compound that has been studied extensively for its effect on human safety and exposure. You’ll find BPA in plastic water bottles, canned foods and drinks, cash register receipts, and keg liners.

BPA in plastics can leech into the drinking water in the plastic bottle, where it’s then absorbed into your bloodstream. A 2013 study found that BPA disrupts the normal estrogenic receptors, potentially triggering obesity, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and cancer.

Another study found that estrogen activity was three times higher when water was packed in PET plastic bottles compared to glass.

  1. Tap water

You can also find estrogen residue in your tap water supply. Some people blame this residue on people flushing birth control pills down the toilet, but this is only partially true. In most cases, the estrogen found in our tap water is due to a runoff of herbicides and pesticides from farms and agricultural plants. This can end up recirculating in the water supply, causing you to glug down water filled with synthetic estrogen.

Most filters can remove estrogen from your water supply.

  1. Phthalates

Like BPA, phthalates interrupt estrogen receptors, creating an increase in free-floating estrogen. Research has linked phthalates with prostate cancer as well, possibly due to this estrogen dominance.

There are phthalates in synthetic scents (cologne), vinyl, laundry detergents, and plastic cling wrap. When possible, choose natural home products to avoid these estrogen-disrupting chemicals.

How to avoid extra estrogen

What can you do to avoid this intake of environmental and dietary estrogen? How can you keep your estrogen levels as consistent as possible?

  1. Avoid plastic bottles and plastic use. Never heat plastics in the dishwasher or microwave, as this can release the chemicals into the water or food.
  2. Don’t use nonstick cookware, which can have BTA.
  3. Avoid vinyl curtains and flooring.
  4. Choose fresh or frozen foods. Canned foods and drinks can contain BPA in the lining.
  5. Don’t accept receipts or store them in your purse or pockets.
  6. Use coconut, olive, or avocado oil in place of vegetable oil.
  7. Avoid dairy and soy. Instead, drink goat milk or nut milk (almond, cashew).
  8. Choose organic and grass-fed animal products. Choose organic produce when possible. Look at the label to see if it’s hormone-free and pesticide-free.
  9. Drink filtered water.
  10. Exercise often. This helps minimize body fat, which can keep your estrogen levels healthy. This is also important to conquer metabolic syndrome, overcome erectile dysfunction, normalize hormones, and improve overall health.
  11. Eat a lot of greens. Greens help pull out excess estrogen and detox your body. I recommend cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and Brussels sprouts.

(Some people recommend a dandelion and milk thistle detox, but the results can be varied and side effects are strong.)

The Bottom Line

If you want to maintain a healthy hormonal balance with strong testosterone levels, you need to avoid estrogen excess or dominance. But in today’s world, estrogen is everywhere: in our food, in our water, and even in our laundry detergents. The more you subject your body to these synthetic estrogens, the more unbalanced your own hormonal system will get.

Keep your hormones in check by avoiding the above 13 foods and products and consistently, regularly detoxing.

Want more advice on what you should and shouldn’t be eating or using?

Sign up for the Male 90X program. This genetic-based report and private consultation will give you the tools you need to achieve your maximum potential.

Will Lycopene (Tomatoes) Improve My Prostate Health And Fight Prostate Cancer?


Lycopene is one of the most popular supplements for prostate health, but does it actually work?

The answer: maybe. The jury’s still debating about lycopene and prostate health.

What is lycopene and what’s its link to prostate health?

What is lycopene?


Lycopene is a carotenoid. Carotenoids are the pigments found naturally in plants and algae. Different carotenoids provide different organic coloring. Lycopene gives a reddish color to fruit. Plants use the lycopene pigment to gather light for photosynthesis. It also helps protect plant cells from photosensitization.

Lycopene is found in highest concentrations in tomatoes and tomato products, like tomato paste, tomato sauce, and even ketchup. Over 80% of human consumption of lycopene comes from tomato products.

Lycopene is naturally present in human tissues and blood. It is especially concentrated in the prostate, testes, adrenals, and liver.

Lycopene isn’t essential to human health, meaning you can live without it. However, lycopene has shown some significant health benefits that shouldn’t be ignored.

Lycopene is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are protective defenses that help fight “free radicals” and prevent oxidative damage. Antioxidants are known to have cancer-fighting abilities. Because of its antioxidant properties, lycopene may decrease risk of chronic diseases, like cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

How is lycopene linked to prostate health?

Lycopene has commonly been associated with prostate health. A number of studies have looked into the interaction between lycopene and prostate cells, especially since lycopene is found in such high concentrations in the prostate and testes.

But does lycopene actually prevent and treat prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer prevention

Published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute, researchers compiled and reviewed 57 studies regarding the lycopene-prostate link. Of the 57, 35 studies showed an inverse relationship between lycopene levels and risk of prostate, lung, and stomach cancer.

They concluded that “frequent consumption of tomato products is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer.”

So should you start devouring tomatoes to reduce your risk of prostate cancer?

Yes and no. The researchers also concluded that the data is sensitive, as it’s hard to separate lycopene from other factors in tomatoes and dietary regimens.


Additional research has in part backed the claims of that review.

A 2015 study concluded that tomato paste may protect against prostate cancer by regulating the cancer genetic expression through kappaB. Basically, they found that tomatoes were able to reduce cancer-related inflammation.

Another study in 2014 of nearly 50,000 health professionals found that a higher intake of lycopene was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer, especially fatal prostate cancer.

The Health Professionals Follow-Up study found a significant cancer risk reduction in tomato sauce, pizza, and strawberries. Strawberries, though, don’t have lycopene (despite their red color). They concluded that consumption of tomato-based foods may reduce risk of prostate cancer, but other factors may be involved as well.

Read Now: Can We Product Prostate Cancer Risk Through Lifestyle Change?

Despite this “proof,” other research has been less reassuring.

A study in Hawaii showed no association between lycopene and prostate cancer.

Another study of 14,000 people found that a higher consumption of tomatoes showed a significantly lower risk of prostate cancer. But they also found a reduction with beans, lentils, and peas, which don’t contain lycopene. The variables seem to create inconclusive data.

Research results are mixed. Likely this has to do with the multiple vitamins found naturally in tomatoes, creating too many variables for true segmentation.

Prostate cancer treatment


Can lycopene actually treat cancer?

Some studies say yes, but it’s definitely not a treatment option just yet.

One study found that a lycopene supplement, Lyc-o-mato (15mg lycopene), showed a PSA level decrease of 18% compared to 14% in the control group. The difference was significant, showing that 15mg of lycopene twice daily could help minimize already present cancer levels.

Another study looked at PSA levels after orchiectomy (removal of one or both testicles). They found that lycopene consumption produced a more consistent and predictable decrease in PSA level by diminishing the primary tumor and secondary tumors. It also provided better relief from bone pain and lower urinary tract symptoms caused by the operation

However, just like with prostate cancer prevention, lycopene is not yet a proven solution. Results are mixed and it may or may not have an impact on prostate health.

Read Now: Does My Husband Have Prostate Cancer?

Where does the link come from?

There are three major theories for the link between lycopene and prostate cancer.

The most accepted theory is the antioxidant effect. Lycopene is a known antioxidant. This means that it can help fight off oxidative damage that cause chronic disease and cancers. Lycopene is found in high concentrations in prostate cells. Thus, due to proximity, it’s likely the fastest-acting antioxidant against prostate cancer.

Lycopene and other carotenoids can also help stop tumor growth by increasing the communication between healthy cells and decreasing the communication between malignant ones. One study speculated that lycopene was able to reduce prostate cancer because of its suspected ability to inhibit the growth of tumor cells.

Lycopene also may impact insulin growth factor. High levels of insulin growth factor are linked to prostate cancer. Lycopene consumption can actually reduce insulin growth factor levels. Thus, there may be a correlation with regards to lycopene’s ability to reduce the cancer-causing impacts of insulin growth factor.

What’s the conclusion on lycopene and prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is highly prevalent among men, especially men over the age of 50. Due to its prevalence, experts are constantly looking for new ways to prevent and treat prostate cancer. While lycopene may hold some promise, it’s not a solution just yet.

It may not be a proven treatment, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consume lycopene. Some studies suggest it does help, and it has very few toxicities or side effects.

Lycopene supplementation may help your prostate, so it’s worth the consumption.

Plus, lycopene may have other health benefits as well. It may be able to:

It may even keep you looking young by maintaining the skin cell’s integrity against everyday pollutants and toxins. Tomatoes = the fountain of youth?

How should you consume lycopene?

You can get the majority of your necessary lycopene and its prostate-healthy benefits from your diet. Most Americans get 80% of their lycopene from tomatoes and tomato products, like tomato paste and tomato sauce.


This is the one and only time I’ll tell you to eat pizza. Yes, once in a while, a sauce-heavy pizza won’t hurt! We can call pizza night “prostate health night” instead.

Cooking or heating tomatoes helps release the lycopene. Fresh, uncooked tomatoes have about 30-70mg per kg, while tomato paste and cooked tomatoes have about 300mg/kg. So make a homemade tomato sauce to put over your quinoa for a super-charged, lycopene-filled milled.

Pro-Tip: Eat healthy fats with your tomatoes. Fat may help the body better absorb lycopene and other carotenoids. Healthy fats include olive oil, avocados, salmon, walnuts, and flaxseed. I love a Mediterranean salad with salmon, olive oil, and slightly cooked tomatoes.

Lycopene is also found in watermelon, pink guava, papaya, red cabbage, asparagus, grapefruit, mango, and carrots. Time to start chomping down on some red foods!  

P.S. Be sure to buy organic tomatoes and tomato sauces to avoid toxins from pesticides and herbicides. Avoiding genetically modified foods or packaged foods is important to maintaining a healthy prostate and overall body.

Read Now: Can You Prevent Prostate Cancer Thru Diet?

Supplements

You can also supplement with lycopene if you feel you don’t get enough in your fruits. Most supplements are between 6mg-15mg, taken twice daily.

Lyc-o-mato is the most common lycopene supplement, coming in a 15mg capsule. One study even found that Lyc-o-mato supplements twice daily decreased the growth rate of prostate cancer.

However, I don’t usually recommend a lycopene supplement. A healthy diet should satisfy your lycopene needs.

If you want to add cancer-fighting supplements to your lineup, check out these 7 supplements every man should take for optimal health.

The Bottom Line

Lycopene may or may not prevent and treat prostate cancer… but eating lycopene-rich foods doesn’t hurt!

So put tomatoes on your sandwich today. Your prostate might just thank you.

Do you want to reduce your risk of prostate cancer?

Lycopene can help… but there are other proven ways to reduce your risk and get you on the road to health!

Click below to get the Male 90X program and make the choice to reduce your prostate cancer risk on top of achieving your maximum potential!

5 Healthy, Productive Habits You Can Start This Week


“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

You’ve heard it before. “Get more sleep. Stop stressing. Eat healthy foods.”

We all know the ways to live a healthy life…

But how many of us actually follow these health rules?

Did you know that 97% of Americans live an unhealthy lifestyle in some way?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m in that 97% sometimes. I’ve found myself skipping a workout here and there or delving into one too many bites of a chocolate cake. That’s part of life.

But I used to be heavily situated in an unhealthy lifestyle, like so many Americans today.

At one point I was 25 pounds overweight and my cholesterol was 245. I was constantly fatigued, irritable, sluggish, and unhappy, which made me feel fat, idle, and old. My doctor reviewed my life expectancy charts, and I instantly came face to face with my own mortality.

I left my doctor’s office ready for a drastic change.

But being ready for a change and making a change are two different things.

We all know what we should do to be healthier.

Today, it’s time to turn those “shoulds” into “musts.”

I’m sick of reading about “the 10 things you need to do to be healthier.” It’s time to provide actionable steps and habits towards achieving a higher level of health.

I am going to give you specific, small habits to implement this week that will make you feel better and perform at the top of your game. They’re easy to do but have big impacts!

Why do you need healthy habits?

You need your health in order to be productive in any area of your life. If you want to be a good husband, boyfriend, father, uncle, or friend, you need to be healthy. If you want to be successful at work, you need to have your health. When you’re not feeling well, you can’t function at your best for your family and your career.


If you don’t have your health, you can’t have anything else.

When you feel healthy, productivity and happiness fall into place.

It’s time to prioritize your health if you want other parts of your life to be fruitful as well.

So how do we get healthy?

Habits.

Habits are regular, consistent practices that become a part of our identity and routine.

There are good habits… and then there are bad habits.

Brushing your teeth before bed is a good habit instilled in many of us from a young age. Putting on your seat belt when you get in the car is an automatic practice you don’t even think about anymore.

A bad habit is eating a bowl of ice cream every night before bed. But it’s become a habit, so it’s hard to give up even if we acknowledge that it’s bad for us.

If you want to be a high performer in life, you need to fill your days with productive and healthy habits. These are consistent actions that make you better and stronger.

How do you implement healthy habits?

There’s a saying that it takes 3 weeks to make a habit and 3 days to break it. In fact, it’s usually more like 2 months (66 days) for an action to become a habitual behavior.


If two months seems like a long time, you’re in the wrong mindset.

Two months is a very short period of time when you’re building a habit for life.

Living a healthy life takes dedication.

But that’s why I’m here to give you specific steps that can help you stay disciplined and strong starting right now.

By the way, I’ve found that after two weeks, it’s a lot easier to keep up with a behavior. You’ve proven you can do it for two weeks, and you’ve felt the benefits of your health in that time period. If you can stay strong for two weeks, you’re more likely to keep up these positive behaviors until it’s ingrained as a habit.

So let’s get into the 5 healthy habits to make you happier, fitter, and more productive.

  1. Take a warm then cold shower.

Showering early in the morning is a great way to wake up and start your day on a clean, fresh foot. A morning rinse can help you shake off the sleepies by invigorating the senses and clearing your mind.

A morning shower cuts a small chunk out of your day dedicated solely to mindfulness. You can think about your to-do list, which gets you in a productive state of mind for the rest of the day. You can think about all the people and things you’re grateful for, which has been shown to increase happiness levels. Or you can even think about what it would be like to be a rock star—which makes you feel like a rock star the rest of the day.

Use your morning shower to meditate and regroup before you start your day. You’re alone with your thoughts in the shower, so use this time to for some positive, productive thinking.

Plus, shaving is healthier in the morning. You have more blood platelets or “cloggers” in the morning, so you’re less likely to bleed or scab if you accidentally nick yourself. But you’re less likely to nick yourself because you’re more alert in the morning.

There have been studies that show showering at night is also important, which I’ll discuss more in #3. Nevertheless, a morning shower is one of the best ways to regroup, meditate, and prepare for an energetic day.

Should your shower be hot or cold?

Both.

Warm water works like heat therapy to relax muscles and ease tension. Warmth can help your body and mind de-stress, which can lower your high morning cortisol levels.

One study found that warmth encourages the brain to release oxytocin, which is the hormone that improves happiness and fights against stress and anxiety. Warm water can also help treat headaches, relieve coughs and cold, minimize pain, and reduce high blood pressure.

Warm water also helps you get a deeper clean. It opens your pores, which helps your soap penetrate further into your skin. You’ll get a deeper clean, getting rid of toxins and gunk that can seep into your body.

Plus, you want to shave with warm water. The warmth helps open pores and soften hairs for a comfortable, close shave.

Note that hot water may feel good, but it’s highly drying. A hot shower can actually dehydrate you, which can lower energy levels and cause brain fog throughout the day.

After taking a warm shower, end with a cold rinse, around 68 degrees, for 2-5 minutes. The change in temperature will instantly increase your mental alertness and awaken your cells.

You’ve likely heard of athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James taking ice baths for muscle recovery and inflammation reduction post-workout or post-game. A number of people swear by the benefits of cold water.


Moreover, cold hydrotherapy has proven health benefits that you can’t ignore.

Benefits of cold hydrotherapy:

Some experts even suggest that cold water can help fight against cancer. The temperature shock kills off “weak” cells, like cancer or infection.

Struggling to turn the knob to blue? I get it. I love my hot showers. But think of all the health benefits. Two minutes of cold equals 24 hours of health.

And consider this. Wim Hof “The Iceman” swam under ice for 120 meters with one breath and climbed all of the highest mountains in only shorts. You’d be shocked what the human body can handle.

The greater you “stress” your body, the stronger it becomes.

Learn more about the immense benefits of warm and cold hydrotherapy here.

Wake up every morning with a warm then cold shower to start your day with a refreshed mind and energetic body.

  1. Drink half your body weight (in ounces) of water.

75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Our bodies need water to function properly. About 60% of the male human body is made of water. Without this water, cells, organs, and tissues dry out and stop operating.

You need water for digestion, joint health, waste systems, cell survival, body temperature regulation, shock absorption, hormone production, and brain health. Without water, your body can’t survive.

Chronic dehydration puts your body into “survival mode.” You don’t have the water you need to survive, so your body starts to shut down to conserve this water. This leads to low energy, low function, and low productivity.

Not drinking enough water is killing your performance.

Daily dehydration leads to:

  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Brain fog
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Weight gain
  • Joint pain
  • High blood pressure
  • Lowered immune system

You also need water for daily detoxification. We’re bombarded with pollutants and toxins every day. When we are dehydrated, our body retains water. This bloating “holds on” to old water and toxins.

When you drink more water, though, your body will flush out the pollutants that this old water is holding. When you urinate, you get rid of waste that is making your body sluggish and unhealthy.


You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces. If you weigh160 pounds, you need at least 80 ounces of water daily to stay hydrated.

Hydration tips:

  • Carry a reusable, refillable water bottle. This reduces plastic waste and cuts costs.
  • Drink a glass of water every hour on the hour.
  • Infuse your water with fruit for a delicious, healthy drink.
  • Drink one glass of water before eating. Most people confuse thirst with hunger and overeat in response—when really they’re just thirsty!
  • Eat hydrating foods like watermelon, strawberries, lettuce, and zucchini.

I also recommend drinking alkaline water whenever possible. Alkaline water is less acidic than tap water, which can help regulate your body’s pH and neutralize the acids in your body. A healthy body pH is critical to immune health.

Drinking enough water is the easiest way to improve your body’s performance, increase your energy, and enhance mental alertness.

  1. Create a bedtime routine.

1 in 3 Americans doesn’t get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is linked to increased risk of obesity, heart disease, blood pressure, stroke, anxiety, depression, diabetes, and more.

Lack of sleep is also linked to weight gain. When you don’t sleep enough, your body looks to food to gain its energy. You’ll find you have a greater appetite—and a desire for sugar—because your body is craving energy. Often, this leads to chronic overeating, which causes significant weight gain.

Plus, you need sleep in order to regulate cortisol. High levels of cortisol cause weight gain, anxiety, stress, and lowered testosterone. High levels of cortisol can also interrupt your sleep patterns, creating a negative cycle of sleep deprivation.

To break this cycle, you need healthy sleeping habits. The easiest way to get better quality sleep is with a bedtime routine. When you start your routine, it signals your brain and body that you’re getting ready to sleep.


Everyone’s bedtime routine looks a little different. You need to find what works for you. Spend the next two months experimenting what will help you wind down. Here are some sample activities for a healthy bedtime routine.

Tips for a better bedtime routine

  • Have a healthy snack two hours before bed. This makes sure you’re not hungry, which can prevent you from falling asleep.
  • Turn off your phone or switch it to “night mode.” The blue screen has been shown to interrupt sleep, and the EMF radiation from the phone can potentially cause other health problems. You can find ways to check for other EMF sources Here. (Read more how Blue Light Affects your Eyes https://anrri.com/blogs/education/blue-light-affects)
  • Take a warm shower. This will remove pollutants you’ve accumulated on skin and hair throughout the day, so you go to bed clean and detoxed. It’s also a great time to wind down from the day and let go of daily stressors. (You can shower both in the morning and night, but be sure to moisturize your body in the evening to avoid skin dehydration.)
  • Do a mindfulness or gratefulness meditation. Gratitude is directly linked to inner happiness.
  • Have sex. Orgasm releases the hormone prolactin, which suppresses dopamine levels. Dopamine keeps your body and brain awake—without it, you fall asleep. Moreover, sex releases oxytocin, the “feel-good” hormone; oxytocin releases stress and anxiety, which can help your body fall into a restful sleep. You could even consider incoperating something like penis rings for men for extra pleasure, for a better nights sleep!

Check out these 9 exercises to have better sex.

Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day. This will start to discipline your circadian rhythms. If you go to bed every night at 11pm for two months straight, your body will start to naturally get sleepy at 11pm.

This is true for the weekends as well. Sleeping in over the weekend interrupts your sleep cycle and makes you less productive and energetic. That’s why you can’t wake up on Monday mornings!

Find a nightly routine that works for you to start naturally signaling your body when it’s time to get ready for bed.

  1. Wake up at least two hours before work.

Just like you should go to bed at the same time every night, you should also wake up at the same time every morning.

And the time you wake up should be early.

Studies show that the early bird really does get the worm. Some of the world’s top CEOs wake up before the sun rises.

Waking up early sets a positive, productive tone for the rest of the day. Not only does it give you more time to check things off on your to-do list, it also discourages procrastination. You’re making the active decision to get up and get moving, which tells your brain it’s time to be energetic. When you hit the snooze button, you’re instantly putting your head in procrastination mood.

Plus, you have extra hours to focus on your health. You have extra hours of movement and calorie burning. This helps improve your anti-stagnant energy throughout the day.

I recommend waking up at least two hours before you have to leave for work. This gives you a good chunk of time to be productive and improve your health.

But if you’re like me, you set your alarm for 5:00am, and the morning comes around and you don’t even hear the alarm! How can you force yourself to wake up early?

Tips for waking up early

  • Sleep with the blinds open. This will help you wake up with natural light, which has been shown to increase alertness and energy. This can also help reduce vitamin D deficiency. If you don’t get a lot of natural light, consider a dawn simulator alarm clock.
  • Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room, so you have to put your feet on the ground to turn it off. Once you’re up and moving, you’re less likely to hop back in bed.
  • Make your bed. This will instantly make you feel more productive, and it discourages you from crawling back under the covers.
  • Write a to-do list. Knowing exactly what you need to get done first thing in the morning is a great way to frame your mindset for productivity.
  • Turn off the “snooze capacity.” The law of inertia says a body in motion will stay in motion, and a body at rest will stay at rest. A body that snoozes will snooze indefinitely.
  • Do something fun in the morning. Do you like painting? Take fifteen minutes to paint. Are you a huge fan of kale smoothies? Wake up and make a kale smoothie. Having something to look forward to will help you pop out of bed.

Waking up early pushes you on the path of productivity and encourages daily movement.

  1. Write down every sugary food or drink you consume.

This is my favorite habit because it feeds on guilt.


A lot of experts recommend writing down all of the food you eat to monitor of the fuel you’re putting in your body. While this is a good tracking system, especially for weight loss, I find it a bit cumbersome and challenging. Instead, I only write down those items that aren’t healthy.

Make the commitment that every time you consume something with sugar, you write it down in your “sugar book.” This will help keep you honest and see just how much sugar you’re consuming.

How many times have you grabbed a cookie out of the pantry on your way to work? Those calories don’t count because you ate it on the way out of the house, right?

Forcing yourself to write down every “cheat” like this can help you spot exactly where you’re wasting your calories. It’s okay to have treats here and there, but your sugar book helps you see just how often you’re treating yourself.

Recommended Reading: Transform Your Body In 24 Hours With Intermittent Fasting

The Bottom Line

Healthy habits make healthy people. You are a summation of your actions. So make those actions productive.

Implement these 5 habits for the next two months and you’re guaranteed to see a change in your wellness, productivity, and happiness.

Do you like these actionable steps towards health?

Imagine revamping your life like this in just one month!

Ready to take the next steps?

Schedule a Call

**************************

In Male 2.0™, Dr. Tracy Gapin has turned everything we once thought we knew about men’s health and performance upside down. The old model of how to be “a man” is broken. A man who works himself to death.  Unfortunately, a man who tries to NOT get sick but isn’t really healthy either.  And a man who takes a pill for every ill but is never really cured. That was Male 1.0. Now, imagine being THE MAN ─ owning your performance in the bedroom, the weight room, and the boardroom. Living a fully optimized life. Becoming limitless. This is Male 2.0!

Tracy Gapin, MD, FACS  is a board-certified Urologist,  world renowned Men’s Health & Performance Expert, Author, and Professional Speaker. Using state-of-the-art biometric monitoring, nutrition and lifestyle intervention, Dr. Gapin coaches Fortune 500 executives and evolutionary leaders of business, sports medicine, and high performance. He specializes in cutting-edge precision medicine with an emphasis on epigenetics, providing men with a personalized path to optimizing health & performance. www.GapinInstitute.com

Want more tips to optimize your health?  Listen to the latest podcasts. Click HERE

Why You Should Never Eat A High-Protein Diet If You Want To Build Muscle


Protein gives you (muscle) gains… right?

Wrong!

The myth has finally been debunked. Loading up on protein does not make you gain more muscle.

In fact, too much protein can actually hurt your muscle-building efforts! You’ll be better off if you Buy sarms and other supplements which provide targeted assistance to the areas of your body that need it.

If you’re serious about gaining muscle, keep reading to learn about the relationship between protein, testosterone, and muscle gain.

It’s not what you expect!

Testosterone Boosts Muscle Gain

Muscle Growth

Let’s start by understanding how we build muscle. Although the process is complex, in essence, you build muscles when the muscle “tears.”

When you lift weights, you actually damage the muscle fibers. After you’ve finished lifting weights, the muscle starts to rebuild itself to fix the damage caused during the lifting session. Your body uses protein synthesis to rebuild the muscles; the muscles start to heal with protein chains. With repetitive damage (like consistent workouts), the muscle continues to grow with additional protein synthesis.

That’s right—muscles grow after you lift while you’re resting.

Hormones play an important role in this, especially testosterone which contributes to muscle growth. Your hormones regulate the cell activity that tells your muscles to start repairing.

Testosterone

Testosterone is the “male” sex hormone that, during puberty, gives a man his deep voice, hair growth, and adult-sized penis. It’s also the hormone that increases libido (sex drive) for both men and women.

It plays a crucial role in keeping bones solid and healthy. Men naturally have greater muscle mass than women because of their testosterone levels. (Women with high muscle mass may have higher testosterone levels as well.)

Testosterone is necessary for muscle mass growth.

Studies have proven that testosterone helps increase muscle mass by encouraging the body’s natural synthesis of muscle protein. The muscle-building process uses the T hormone to function.

This T hormone actually boosts protein synthesis and activates the satellite cells that tell your body to start “building” muscle. It also helps stimulate the growth hormone—which is the hormone that activates tissue growth.

Moreover, testosterone can help increase the efficacy of workouts, especially resistance exercise (weight lifting). This means that high levels of testosterone can make your workouts more effective because T improves the “repair” process.

Overall, research has shown that strength training with high levels of testosterone results in a greater increase in muscle size than strength training alone.

Testosterone is a critical contributor to gaining and retaining muscle mass.

Low Testosterone

Low T levels can cause the opposite effect because low testosterone can lead to lowered libido, weight gain, brittle bones, and a loss of muscle mass.

Although testosterone declines naturally with age, low testosterone levels are never normal. There is often some underlying factor that contributes to low testosterone. In many cases, testosterone is caused by a hormonal imbalance in the body as a result of diet and lifestyle.

Learn more about low testosterone and the natural ways to increase T levels here.

If you have low testosterone levels, you’re likely finding it hard to increase your muscle mass. No matter how much you workout, you don’t have the T hormone needed to signal your muscles to start repairing.

Protein Reduces Testosterone

So we know that testosterone enhances muscle…

Now, how are protein and testosterone related?

Protein

“Protein” is a macromolecule that the body uses to function properly. It’s naturally found in animal products, nuts, legumes, beans, and some dairy. Often, when we think of a high-protein diet, we think of eggs, nuts, and lots of meat like chicken and beef.

Protein is actually composed of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle mass. You may have noticed that when talking about muscle gains, I said “muscle protein synthesis.” This is because are muscles are made up of proteins—or amino acid chains—in our body.

But the protein that makes up our muscles is different than the protein that we consume.

Edible protein, like meats and protein powder, are actually hard for our stomachs to break down into nutrients. That’s why you may get a bloated stomach or gas rumblings after a meaty meal; your body is attempting to break down that protein.

In fact, if you have too much protein, your body actually goes into overdrive to try to digest that protein. Your overworked body actually releases cortisol in response to this “stressful” state of digestion.

Cortisol

Cortisol is the “stress hormone” that the body releases when we’re feeling anxious or stressed. This can be a conscious stressor, like a hard project at work, or an unconscious one, like your body trying to fight off a disease (or break down protein).

Cortisol can have a lot of negative effects on our bodies in the long-term. But the most relevant effect here is that cortisol inhibits the production of testosterone.

Research shows that when the body is in a “stressed” state with high levels of cortisol, the sex hormones shut down. Basically, your body is too busy thinking about survival to think about sex (even though testosterone provides a lot more than just sexual benefits).

One study found that not only does cortisol reduce total testosterone… it especially reduces testosterone during exercise recovery especially. If you have high levels of cortisol while working out, your testosterone levels will be low. If your testosterone levels are low during and after your workout, you won’t be able to build new muscle.

Basically, your workout would end up with no new gains.

SHBG

Along with cortisol, excessive protein also raises the level of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG is the protein in the blood that binds with over 60% of your body’s free-floating testosterone, rendering that testosterone unusable.

The more SHBG you have, the lower your testosterone levels.

If protein increases SHBG, it increases the protein that “steals” free-floating testosterone.

With cortisol and SHBG, protein creates a hormonal double whammy against testosterone levels in the body.

The Relationship of Protein and Muscle Gain

If a = b and b = c, then a = c.

If you need testosterone to gain muscle…

But excessive protein lowers testosterone levels…

Then excessive protein inhibits muscle gain.


I know what you’re thinking.

“But muscle is made from protein. So if I eat protein, I’ll have more muscle.”

However, the protein in your muscles is slightly different than the protein you digest. Yes, you need the amino acids in edible protein in order for your body to make its own protein.

However, the amount of protein you consume does not correlate with the amount of muscle you gain or have.

In fact, once you hit a threshold of protein amino acids and nutrients, your body doesn’t want any more.

Overeating protein will not help muscle gain or improve your overall health. This is true of food-based protein as well as protein powder.

How Much Protein You Need

This means you still need protein—but in moderate amounts.

Protein is one of the three key macronutrients that the body needs to function. However, you should balance this out with the other two macronutrients—carbs and fats.

Having a high-protein diet will not give you bigger muscles. Having a balanced diet of proteins, carbs, and fats will help you gain muscle fast.

So how much protein should you be consuming?

A study at Kent State University looked at protein oxidation, which is the process of synthesizing protein and building muscle. They found an unhealthy increase in oxidation in participants who ate more than 0.8g per pound of body mass daily. Higher levels of oxidation actually have a negative effect on muscle synthesis. Basically, your body tries to synthesize too much protein—that it stops making muscle altogether.

These researchers concluded that the optimal protein intake daily is 0.8g of protein per pound of body weight.

When to Consume Protein

There’s also an optimal time to consume protein if you want to focus on your muscle growth. Studies show that you should consume protein right after a workout, not before it.

If you consume protein before a workout, it will spike your cortisol levels. This spike in cortisol decreases testosterone and growth hormone, which will result in a less effective workout and recovery. Protein also raises insulin levels, which further lowers T count.

Carbs For Muscle Growth

So you’re getting the optimal 0.8g/lb of protein.

What can you eat to actually boost your muscle mass if it’s not protein?

Carbohydrates.

Building muscle takes high levels of energy. Energy comes from calories. Calories are most concentrated in healthy carbohydrates.

This is why you’ll hear of professional athletes or marathon runners “carb loading” the night before a big event or race. Carbohydrates provide energy needed to perform in a peak state.

Carbohydrates are also necessary after exercise. Physical exertion depletes muscle glycogen, which is an important part of the recovery and rebuilding process. The fastest and strongest way to boost muscle glycogen after a hard workout is through high-caloric carbohydrates.

Interestingly, studies have shown that a combination of both protein and carbohydrates is the most efficient at restoring muscle glycogen storage for the fastest recovery process.

Not all carbs are created equal, but each can have an impact on your gains. There are three types of carbohydrates: starch, sugar, and fiber.

Starchy carbs are most beneficial for building muscle. These include:

  • Potatoes
  • Yams (sweet potatoes)
  • Steel cut oats
  • Rice
  • Peas
  • Corn
  • Beans
  • Whole wheat grains

Still, sugar and fiber carbohydrates are important too. Sugars give you energy. You need this energy to have a strong workout and push yourself to the maximum. However, you want to focus on natural sugars, like the fructose and sucrose found in fruits and vegetables. This will give your body the energy it needs without unhealthy spikes in blood sugar.

Fiber is also useful for an overall healthy body. It is what helps you go to the bathroom, which is important for maintaining a healthy gut and detoxed system. Fiber can actually normalize hormones by helping to stabilize blood sugar, reduce cortisol levels, and get rid of excess estrogen (the “female” sex hormone). Fiber can help rebalance your hormones to a more natural, testosterone-happy state. And we know testosterone is critical to muscle growth!

Basically, if you want to build muscle, you need to have a healthy and balanced diet. This generally means a diet that is:

  • 50% carbohydrates (starch, sugar, fiber)
  • 20% protein (animal products, powders)
  • 30% good fats (eggs, avocados, olive oil)

The Bottom Line


Let’s sum it all up.

  • Testosterone is needed for healthy muscle growth.
  • High-protein diets reduce free-floating testosterone levels.
  • Thus, protein, in excessive amounts, can inhibit muscle growth.
  • Consumption of 0.8g of protein per pound of body weight (or 1.8g per kilogram) is optimal for post-workout recovery.
  • A combination of protein and healthy carbohydrates is necessary for muscle reparation and growth.

You need a balanced diet of carbs, proteins, and fats to balance your hormones, gain muscle, and have healthy overall wellness.

Not sure what a balanced diet looks like?

Not sure what you should be eating to gain muscle and reinvigorate your body?

Check out The G1 Performance Health program!
With this genetic-based report and private consultation, I’ll give you practical tools and recipes to balance your diet and make healthy lifestyle choices.

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So what are you waiting for? Sign up right now to start boosting your muscle mass, sexual vigor, and ultimate health!

7 Supplements Every Man Should Take For Optimal Health


Supplements have gained popularity in recent years. People have started adding lineups of vitamins to their daily routine as a way to become the best versions of themselves. And popularity is right (this time); Supplements are the best way to ensure your body is getting the nutrients it needs in addition to your diet and lifestyle.

But you don’t want to ingest every supplement that comes your way. Taking too many supplements can actually hurt your body.

Taking the right supplements—and the right amount of supplements—is what will ensure that your body functions in a natural, healthy way. That’s why I’ve come up with a comprehensive (but concise) list of the 7 supplements you should take to optimize every area of your health.

Why Take Supplements? 

Supplements can help:

  • Support the immune system
  • Boost energy
  • Maintain a healthy sex life
  • Protect from disease
  • Promote a healthy heart and brain
  • Stimulate organ function
  • Fight health concerns
  • Improve overall well-being

Think of supplements like your daily preventative (natural) medications.

Supplements are especially important as you age because your body stops absorbing nutrients like it used to. Adding supplements to your day can help encourage your body to start functioning at peak capacity again.

So what supplements do you need to take to promote your health, wellness, and vitality?  

  1. Probiotics

Probiotics are the “good bacteria” in your gut. Your intestines are naturally filled with both good and bad bacteria. But when bad bacteria take over, disease follows suit. Poor diet, stress, pollution, toxins, and antibiotics can all reduce good bacteria, allowing the bad to run rampant.

Probiotics introduce more good bacteria into your gut to ensure a healthy balance.

What does this good bacteria do?

Probiotics help your body digest food and reduce intestinal issues, but they’re more than just stomach vitamins. A healthy gut is the key to a healthy immune system overall. In fact, research has proven that having a high ratio of good gut bacteria can actually improve your health, prevent common diseases, and strengthen your immune system.

Some proven benefits of probiotics include:

There’s also a strong connection between the brain and gut, which is often referred to as the brain-gut axis. Basically, your brain affects your intestines and vice versa.

Think about when you get butterflies in your stomach when you’re nervous—like when public speaking or going on a first date. Your brain is signaling your digestive tract, which then manifests this discomfort as an upset stomach. The same works in reverse as well since a bad gut can actually impact your head health, often leading to headaches, fatigue, inability to reason, and mood disturbances.

Learn more about probiotics with my article: 10 Reasons Men Over 40 Should Take Probiotics.

You can get probiotics from fermented foods like yogurt, tempeh, sauerkraut, kefir, and kimchee. But you might get tired of sauerkraut every day, so I usually recommend a probiotic supplement. Find a probiotic pill that offers somewhere between 10 and 30 billion live bacteria. The most common types of probiotics are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria—so search for these in the health food supplement aisle.

Dosage: Daily supplement with 10-30 billion “live” bacteria.

  1. Holy Basil

Holy basil, aka tulsi, has been used for thousands of years in Indian medicine due to its ability to soothe the mind, body, and spirit. It contains high levels of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and iron, which all contribute to key aspects of health and wellness.

Holy basil leaves are adaptogens, meaning that they’re recognized anti-stress agents. Holy basil reduces cortisol level, improves testosterone levels, and balances out hormone levels. Balanced hormones are crucial to overall health and wellbeing.

Read: 5 Simple Ways To Normalize Your Hormones This Week

Holy basil can also have positive impacts on serious health concerns. Some studies suggest that holy basil can assist treatment for mild to moderate non-insulin dependent diabetes. Furthermore, because of its strong antioxidant power, it may help prevent chemical-induced lung, liver, oral, and skin cancers. Studies have even found that holy basil may alter healthy gene expressions, induce cancer cell death, and stop cell growth!

Moreover, holy basil is antibacterial, which means it helps to fight off infections both internally and externally. Holy basil’s antimicrobial properties make it a natural treatment for acne. Other studies have shown these properties make it a viable treatment for bronchitis and respiratory disorders as well. Holy basil also has slightly sedative properties, which helps naturally remedy headaches and head tension.

Dosage: Daily 600 to 1800mg.

  1. Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays an important role in bone, immune, muscle, cardiovascular, respiratory, and brain health.

A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to inability to fight infection, fatigue and malaise, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and erectile dysfunction. Unfortunately, a majority of Americans have a deficiency in vitamin D. Nearly three-quarters of all U.S. teens and adults are deficient in this crucial “sunshine vitamin.”

So you need to supplement vitamin D to start seeing its effects.


Vitamin D is an anti-inflammatory antioxidant. That means it can help:

Vitamin D isn’t like other vitamins that you can get easily through your food. The highest absorption of vitamin D is actually through sunlight. Your body turns sunlight into vitamin D that it can use for healthy energy function. If you’re not getting enough sunlight or you don’t want to risk burns and skin cancer (good call!), then daily vitamin D supplements are the way to go.

Dosage: Daily 2,000 to 4,000 IUs vitamin D3

  1. Vitamin C

This super antioxidant is used to create healthy connective tissue in the body. Vitamin C is a key component in collagen formation, which keeps your skin, tendons, and blood vessels young and vital. That’s right, vitamin C can also help prevent damage to the blood vessels—which can also help prevent erectile dysfunction!

Vitamin C is most commonly known for its immune-boosting benefits. This is especially true for those who have a weakened immune system due to stress or poor diet. Boosting your vitamin C intake is a great way to build your body’s natural defense against colds, flus, and other diseases.


You can find vitamin C in a lot of delicious food sources, like guava, red and green peppers, kiwi, oranges, strawberries, papaya, kale, broccoli, pineapple, grapefruit, brussels sprouts, and mangos. But if you’re not getting your full servings of fruit and vegetables daily, vitamin C supplementation is a must.  

Taking a daily vitamin C supplement will improve your immunity and help your body naturally detox. If you feel like you’re about to get hit with a cold or flu, start taking 1,000 to 2,000 mg of vitamin C to zap the bacteria fast.

Dosage: Daily 500 to 1,000mg

  1. CoQ10

CoQ10 is crucial for transforming food into energy, and it provides key energy to nearly every cell in the body. Thus, energy-dependent tissues like the heart and brain have especially high requirements for coenzyme Q10. A deficiency, then, could be detrimental to the longevity of your life.

CoQ10 is proven to help improve heart function—and even help the heart heal after valve surgeries. It can also reduce the frequency of migraines and improve Parkinson’s symptoms. Plus, CoQ10 has been linked to an increase in male fertility!

Overall, a high level of CoQ10 has been shown to help slow the progression of aging signs in the body.

Your body naturally produces coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), but this production tends to decline with age. Some fish, meats, and grains have CoQ10, but not enough to help your body produce more. A small supplement can have tremendous effects.

Dosage: Daily 30-90mg

  1. Fish Oil

Omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA have proven results for overall health and wellbeing. Some studies have “disproven” the benefits of fish oil, while others have concluded that fish oil is the ultimate in health. The results are still a bit up in the air.  

However, I believe in the power of fish oil (as much as I believe in the Mediterranean diet). If you want to be healthy, you need the benefits that come from clarifying and detoxifying fish.  

Fish oil has been shown to:  

Some research even suggests that fish oil can help prevent certain types of cancer.  

Fish oil can also promote metabolic function. This means it can help your metabolism break down food and turn it into energy. This is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight and balancing hormones. In fact, fish oil has been shown to decrease body mass index and improve cardiovascular function along with aerobic exercise. Reduced weight leads to a reduced risk of disease.  

Learn more about metabolic syndrome and the role of metabolism in your health here.  

You can get omega-3s from cold-water fatty fish, like salmon and mackerel. However, this is often not enough to get the full benefits your body craves. Taking a daily fish oil supplement can get your body looking and feeling amazing again!  

Dosage: Daily 2-3g of combined EPA and DHA

  1. Multivitamin

You should also be taking a multivitamin daily. The right multivitamin can fill in any nutrient gaps to ensure your body has all the goodness it needs to function properly. 


Your multivitamin should include any and all of the above supplements—as well as other nutrients like vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin B complex, magnesium, and potassium. Beyond that, your multivitamin should include a blend of amino acids, which are essential to daily functioning. I recommend looking for amino acids glutamine and BCAAs, which help build muscle and improve testosterone levels.

What should you look for in your multivitamin?

You want only vitamins—no extra “stuff.” I look for products that contain no soy, dairy, gluten, sugar, sodium, or artificial additives. Any inactive ingredients can have side effects that can actually hurt your body, rather than help it.

Some of my favorite men’s multivitamins include:

  1. Nature Made Multi For Him

This has vitamins E, C, A, and D along with selenium and manganese. This vitamin even gives you over 100% of vitamins C, D, and E—which can help cut down on the number of pills you’ll have to take per day to stay healthy.  

  1. GNC Mega Men Sport

This supplement has high levels of vitamin A, vitamin D, thiamin, zinc, and a branched chain amino acid blend. When taken with the other six supplements on this list, your body will feel more active and alive than ever. Plus, it helps raise your iron levels—which is necessary for energy and blood health.

  1. Centrum Silver Men 50+

This is a great formula for anyone, whether or not you’re over 50. It has vitamins D, B12, A, and E along with manganese and lycopene. It promotes heart, health, eye, and muscle health—in just one pill!

I’m not endorsing these vitamins above. I just find they cover a lot of ground. Talk to a doctor (psst… I’m a doctor you can talk to) to come up with the perfect multivitamin blend for you!

The Bottom Line

Eating a balanced, healthy diet of protein, vegetables, fats, fruits, and carbs helps your body get the nutrients it needs to thrive. However, augmenting with additional supplements will ensure that your body always has the appropriate amount of energy and nutrients to work with optimal function.

But how do you know which supplements are right for you?

You’ve read through this article because you want to feel the best you possibly can, right?

In fact, I bet you want to feel the best you’ve felt in years… or maybe EVER.

You want to have a healthy lifestyle—without giving up the things you love.

Thankfully, you can.

And you will…

CONCLUSION

It’s time to get empowered to take control of your health. Unlock the code to peak performance with the Male Method™ to regain your energy, focus and confidence to feel like a man again. 

We take a whole-body, epigenetic approach to health, focusing on all inputs and how they affect the human system. With the Male 2.0 Method, we utilize science-based precision medicine, personalizing your health based on your unique genetic blueprint. No more guessing!

We utilize cutting-edge age management protocols to reverse the aging process and expand longevity. And we track and leverage your biometric data using state-of-the-art wearable technology to truly optimize your health.

Ready to take the next steps?

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**************************

In Male 2.0™, Dr. Tracy Gapin has turned everything we once thought we knew about men’s health and performance upside down. The old model of how to be “a man” is broken. A man who works himself to death.  Unfortunately, a man who tries to NOT get sick but isn’t really healthy either.  And a man who takes a pill for every ill but is never really cured. That was Male 1.0. Now, imagine being THE MAN ─ owning your performance in the bedroom, the weight room, and the boardroom. Living a fully optimized life. Becoming limitless. This is Male 2.0!

Tracy Gapin, MD, FACS  is a board-certified Urologist,  world renowned Men’s Health & Performance Expert, Author, and Professional Speaker. Using state-of-the-art biometric monitoring, nutrition and lifestyle intervention, Dr. Gapin coaches Fortune 500 executives and evolutionary leaders of business, sports medicine, and high performance. He specializes in cutting-edge precision medicine with an emphasis on epigenetics, providing men with a personalized path to optimizing health & performance. www.GapinInstitute.com

Want more tips to optimize your health?  Listen to the latest podcasts. Click HERE

Disclaimer: Always consult a doctor before starting a supplemental regimen. Some supplements can interact with diet or medications (especially blood thinners), so you should first ensure that your combination of meds would not put you at risk.