How I Fixed My Low (free) Testosterone: High SHBG & Iron Overload 

That was exactly my issue. I had high normal total testosterone, high shbg, very low free testosterone, and very high ferritin(552ng/mL). Started donating blood in 2021 and have seen a good increase in free and total testosterones.

01:23 🩸 Elevated Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) can lead to low free testosterone levels, even if total testosterone is normal or high. 02:04 📜 Fixing iron overload can help reduce SHBG levels and improve free testosterone availability. 05:17 🩸 Phlebotomy (blood donation) can be an effective method to reduce iron overload and lower SHBG levels. 08:29 🩸 Transferrin saturation is a better marker for iron overload than ferritin, especially in the early stages. 12:56 💉 High iron levels combined with high testosterone can lead to increased red blood cell production and thickening of the blood, which can be dangerous.

I'm 58 and was always checking ferritin to see how I was doing regarding iron. My last ferritin was showing low at 17. However, I was doing low dose testosterone and that normally occurs in some men. Well, I was feeling out of breath, ED, elevated heart rate at the slightest exertion, respiratory rate at night increased from 14 breaths per minute to 17, fatigue, joint pain, and legs feeling like jello. Then I decided to check my TIBC and lo and behold I had a total saturation of 76% and my SHBG was 152! I'm giving blood as of today and will update soon! Great video! UPDATE - 8-25-23 Turns out in addition to the elevated iron I had hyperthyroidism. The normal free T3 should be 2.5 to 4.2 and mine was 15! Yes, 15! Found this out after a trip to the ER on 7-13-23 shortly after my first post. Took blood tests this past Monday after taking anti-thyroid meds for the past 5 weeks and Free T3 is now at 4.6 and I feel like a totally different person. I was doing HCG in addition to the testosterone, and the endocrinologist said I was very sensitive to the HCG! HCG mimics TSH and can stimulate thyroid production! Be careful people if you are using HCG and monitor thyroid function if you are using it. Taught me a huge lesson! Hope this helps someone!

For those looking for a short answer - mentioned solution is bleeding/blood donation

Its amazing and incredibly fascinating how we are all learning at the same time about ourselves and the complexities of our biology. Remember guys we are just trying to find the best way and dietary habits for optimal health its trial and error like everything, but weve come a long way. Almost anything is better than the standard diets. If youre here youre trying to improve and learn. Keep that up!

"your blood gets to thick and you develop blood circulating failure." I've never understood why steroid users are so prone to heart attacks until today. Thnx for the video

Great video, thanks for the info. Some other natural iron chelators: Curcumin Pycogenol Quercetin Grape seed extract Pomegranate Milk thistle EGCG

This is an interesting topic. I am 62 years old and have been a drug free bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast for over 45 years. Five years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and went through two terrible years of chemical castration. It then took another two years for the drug to get out of my system, and my hormones to try and normalize. I have been going to an endocrinologist for 18 months. I have very high total testosterone at 1258 ng/dl, and also high SHBG at around 58. My Free Testosterone is not too bad at 120.8 pg/ml. I have had most of the symptoms of low testosterone for the last seven years or so. I have spoken with my doctor multiple times about my high SHBG, but he always says that is not my issue. My doctor's opinion is that my brain is not recognizing my hormone levels. He claims this happens to 20% of people. The solution for 95% of this 20% is taking a drug for six months. I have been taking the medication (Bupropion XL 300MG) for about four months. The first 90 days was 150MG. I have been taking the full dose of 300MG for almost a month. To be honest, I am not convinced. While I have seen some improvement, I have a long way to go. I will know more in approximately two months when they start to tapper me off the drug. I was told by my doctor if this does not work, there is nothing in the scientific literature to address someone in my situation. Your video is the first I have seen on the Iron / high SHBG connection. Normally when I have researched high SHBG, they usually talk about liver damage. I have lived like a monk for at least 60 of my 62 years on this rock, and my liver scores are in the normal range. If what I am doing now does not work, I am going to revisit this video. Thanks for posting!

Background: Fasting is an important pre-analytical factor that may affect clinical pathology parameters in toxicological and pharmacological studies. Little information is available on how fasting affects clinical pathology parameters in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of fasting on clinical pathology parameters in healthy adult cynomolgus monkeys. Methods: Five female and six male cynomolgus monkeys were fasted for 0, 8, 16, and 24 hours. Changes in body weight (BW), core hematologic, and serum clinical chemical parameters were evaluated. Results: The BW significantly decreased after 24 hours of fasting. Significant decreases in red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular volume and increases in mean cell hemoglobin and mean cell hemoglobin concentration were observed at 16 hours in males.

You have one of the best channels on RU-vid! Thank you for all the knowledge!

I think I'm fortunate to have found this video randomly, I have had a tough time with high ferritin levels, high SHBG levels, and very low testosterone. Brief background: 03/2014 diagnosed with AML leukemia, 05/20214 after induction have remission. Refused HSCT, to see if my immune system would keep it in check, nope, relapse 12/2015. 07/2016 allogeneic peripheral blood HSCT, 10/2016 chronic GVHD, was ongoing for years. The oncologists/hematologists knew about the excessively high ferritin level (2017 790 ng/mL, 2018 1927 ng/mL, 2019 1857 ng/mL, 03/2022 1549 ng/mL) and never informed me, didn't discuss this with me, nor offered to treat me for this. The whole time period from 2017 to 2022, not one medical professional (oncologist/hematologist, urologist, cardiologist, PCP, NP) brought the condition to my attention. WTF ! It was 03/2022 that a PA ordered a ferritin level assay that I became aware of this debilitating condition. When I looked back at my clinical records from one comprehensive cancer center, it was noted by an endocrinologist that I had the one gene for hemochromatosis and had elevated ferritin which they would monitor (they never informed me of this). Every blood draw, assay, I would request a copy of the results. Not once was the ferritin level included in the print out. To this day I wonder if it was an oversight or malicious. After the 03/2022 blood assay (the usual for a cancer survivor), I approached the young oncologist/hematologist that was on Kauai at the time, and showed him the results of the ferritin levels (he didn't't order the test, the PA (PCP ordered the test). This MD went on Epic (electronic record relational database software) to look at the past levels of ferritin in my electronic records. The MD says: "oh look you were 1927 ng/mL in 2018, hum ... wonder why no-one caught this". The MD put in for an MRI to check on liver iron overload there at the 1.0 Tesla at Wilcox Hospital in Lihue, the results indicated iron overload. Fortunately the PA (PCP) (not the oncologist) put in an order for chest and abdomen MRI with a 3.0 Tesla to quantify the iron and check other organs. This was done at InVision in Honolulu. The report came back that there was iron overload in the liver, partial in the spleen, and the heart and lungs were ok. The iron saturation in my liver was so high that no details could be discerned from the photo plate produced, it just showed a large patch of reflected energy. At this point I began the phlebotomies from 05/2022 to 01/2023 thirteen phlebotomies. Six months into the the phlebotomies and most of the painful symptoms had resolved, today the black colored skin patches are normal color. For good measure this past year I have had IVs of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (uMSC) and exosomes with the thought of trying to repair the organ and tissue damage that would be a result of the exacerbated chronic GVHD and the hemochromatosis. An interesting aspect (03/2022) was that the chronic GVHD was seemingly getting worse, and debilitating painful symptoms seemed to increase, which I thought was due to the chronic GVHD. The classic symptoms of hemochromatosis were: fatigue, joint pain in various areas (not symmetrical), dark blackish patches on both of my forearms, pinkish-red tainted urine at random times, upper back ache and stiffness, pain in the right side of my stomach, near the area of my liver, ongoing muscle weakness, unexplained weight loss, and no interest in sex. Through all this time my SHBG levels were excessively high, free testosterone 28-30, CRP high. At a consultation in 2018, I mentioned this to the young oncologist/hematologist MD at Cedar-Sinai, asked him why is my SHBG so excessively high ? His answer was flippant, saying well your liver is putting all kinds of biochemicals out, and he didn't seemed to be concerned. At that meeting he didn't mention ferritin level, nor discuss the results that were with the latest CBC/CMP (2018 1927 ng/mL). WTF ! I was concerned about my recovery and the seemingly endless symptoms of chronic GVHD. The oncologist/hematologist MD at City of Hope suggested extracorporeal photopheresis to mitigate the chronic GVHD, it is primarily used to treat acute GVHD. I consented to three months of this twice a week. At the end of the session period the chronic GVHD had been exacerbated and was of genuine concern to me. No mitigation but exacerbation. I pointed this out to the oncologist/hematologist and he looked at me, and the condition of my chronic GVHD abdomen and seemed puzzled. This MD never mentioned the excessively high ferritin that came back with the recent CBC/CMP (2019 1857 ng/mL). This is when I gave up on that institution, I'm flabbergasted at the lack of professionalism, and wonder if it was an oversight or a malicious means to keep me returning for endless treatments. After the 03/2022 CBC/CMP and ferritin results I went into full research mode. I found a medical case report on hemochromatosis in a HSCT patient suffering from chronic GVHD. The 2012 article mentioned that it was common knowledge that hemochromatosis exacerbated chronic GVHD, morbidity, and mortality. As I have heard more often these days, the US medical system has evolved from medical care to sick care. Now when I have a consultation with a "medical professional" I'm focusing on the ability, knowledge, level of interest in me as a patient, and their general intent/ ambiance to evaluate the capability of this individual. I think these days one has to be their own advocate, engage in due diligence, and not be inhibited to get a second, and/or third opinion. If the patient cannot have an engaging conversation I recommend finding an MD that exhibits good attributes and not ego expression.

exactly - and i'm vegan! iron overload was the last thing i expected from my bloodwork, but here we are. it's great to finally have some answers and connect various dots, thank you!!

Elliot, I respect your work. You helped me along with Sally K. Norton regarding uncovering my issue with oxalates. Now, I have to face the fact that I am indeed testosterone deficient. My levels are so low that they are regarded as negligable. My SHBG is very high 122.1 nmol/L. My liver panel & iron panels are optimal. My free T4 is very low resulting in a high TSH of 9.11mlU/L with normal range free T3 but, I am not hypothyroid. I am ideal weight and 21% BF and maintain this easily with my carnivore diet for the past 3.5 yrs and VLC keto for 3 years prior to that. My HS CRP is beautiful at .72 mg/L. My HB A1c is 4.7%. I do daily supplement with Lugol's iodine for health in general and proper thyroid care. Anyway, all that to request you do a video on females and low testosterone. The literature our there is very limited and mostly aimed at men. I along with many other women would appreciate it. Thank you!

Interesting. Maybe it has something to do with how we survive as a species - when to live shorter lives and live on through procreation, and when to live longer lives and survive without procreating. Maybe it's like the body says, OK, I'm not going to die anytime soon, no need to procreate, time to save... Also interesting as it seems to highlight how healing diets may be just that - a healing diet. We have a tendency to find a diet that works for us and make it a lifestyle change - correct some imbalances and eventually cause another. Maybe carnivore heals for a little while and then needs to be modulated. Just like keto or vegetarian or whatever we tend to think is the cure all, even herbs and supplements. Maybe we're meant to be in tune with our bodies needs, because our bodies are a lot more intelligent than we realize. Thanks for this and all you do Elliot. You are helping SO MUCH with these videos!

I have Lyme disease and have to pay for everything out of pocket. You just explained everything to help me address my low free testosterone. At the time of the blood draw, I had very high iron. I do not remember if the saturation % was in the panel. SHGB was low, serum high, free test was non existing. The SHGB was low, likely due to the inflammation from the disease. The free testosterone was nuked by the iron. Thank you so much

Also remember you can supplement Divanil nettle root extract which binds to SHBG and significantly boosts free testosterone. One supplement for example that has that is Activate Xtreme. Has to be cycled though so just run for 1month or 2months max per time.

Once again, solidifying my belief that Oyster is one of the best foods a man can eat. Good zinc levels, even has good copper concentration, high cholesterol for testosterone building base, high in B vitamins, omega-3's, and a mix of other micronutrients. Basically the second best thing you can eat besides Liver.

OK, so I get most of what you're saying. Diet can play an important role. Aside from that I would recommend some kind of regular fasting protocol. Perhaps one day a week. But I really think that the benefits from fasting really don't show up until you reach a three day period. In my own experience I don't see real benefits until I reach the third day. Fasting affords your body a chance to 'reset' itself sort of speaking. The liver stores somewhere around 40 days worth of nutrients. I'd expect that if a fasting regiment of from 3 to 5 days was committed to every month that you'd see some of this overloaded iron being used. That, and a general cleaning out of the liver of other negative elements.

So interesting! This is definitely not my issue, as I tend to struggle to hold onto iron (low TF sat, low ferritin) even on animal based diet but this is really interesting! I love that you give your hypothesis on the mechanism as well!

my testosterone was extremely low when i was drinking heavily during covid , while working from home i was going through a 1.14L bottle of vodka every day, starting around 8:30am and nursing it all day quit drinking completely in July of this year and test levels are back to normal

Wow! I have iron overload- my sat rate is 59. I had a gastric bypass because bloodletting wasn’t working. Bypassing the duodenum did the trick. Diet doesn’t really work because it’s the heme form of iron that’s the issue. I do not advocate getting a bypass simply because my situation was extreme, and it’s a life changing decision with complications as well. I’m shocked that a doctor would say you don’t have hemochromatosis! Why not?? Follow the numbers!! If you’re loading iron, and your ferritin is high, you’ve got it. They don’t know all the genes: I also have one C(282)Y variant. Best of luck to you!

How timely. I realized a week ago I have a similar issue and found a similar link to Ferritin. Glad to know I'm not alone and that fixing this may help my total and free T.

This explains everything I'm seeing in my Blood work. I am homozygous H63D(iron overload/hemochromatosis), have very high TSAT but normal Ferritin, high SHBG, high hemacrit. Thank-you so much!🙏

Awesome video, Elliot. I'm a fan of Morley Robbins who is quite knowledgeable about iron and he thinks that ferritin should be much lower than what is widely accepted today. He thinks it should only be ~20 ng/ml and the problem that a lot of iron issues that people suffer from is actually a copper/retinol deficiency. He also feels that giving blood is something most people should do and should be part of many people's routine.

As someone with Haemochromatosis this makes so much sense and explains a lot. Thank you!

watching this video lowers my Testosterone

WOW youtube just suggested this to me and I think its spot on for my health issues. Thanks for the amazing video! Instant sub here

Taurine greatly helps with iron metabolism…it will reduce your iron levels.

Have you looked at the association of sugar and its effects on iron absorption? My ferritin, serum iron and saturation iron levels were all within the abnormal range with the numbers just keep on creeping up. Was referred to a haematologist and went through all the relevant tests including scans of the liver and blood tests. All came out negative. Then I looked at the association of the sugar groups, the liver and iron absorption. I did blood tests 5 months between and within these 5 months, I stopped consuming sugar from all the sugar groups including fructose and lactose. So no fruits, milk or dairy. Within 5 months I couldn’t believe how dramatically my iron levels improved with everything dropping now to within normal range. I’ve adopted this no sugar diet since then.

If its not iron overload, it can be stress. Stress and high SHBG are closely related.

Very interesting. This means 'health conscious' guys into carnivore diet and eating plenty of organ meat (loaded with iron) might end up with low T. The best natural chelators of iron are Curcumin and IP6 (Inositol Hexaphosphate). Combining these 2 will do better than just donating blood, and you get the added benefits of these nutraceuticals. Apolactoferrin, will also help the body to better utilize iron and avoid issues with toxic levels.

For iron overload, look into oral administration of IP6 (Inositol hexa phosphoric acid (phytic acid)). From pubmed: "Oral administration of IP6 (0-200mg/kg) revealed significant decrease in biochemical markers such as serum iron, total iron binding, serum ferritin and serum enzymes."

Wow. Blood letting in the medieval times did serve a purpose!! Fascinating Thank you

Elliot, my TSAT was 63% last time I got it checked. Before that, it was 55%. I am 23 y/o with a Total T of 1,113, Free T of 120, and SHBG of 87. My Iron is always in the 130s and my Ferritin is 252. I have had this exact pattern in multiple other sets of labs. I also have hypothyroidism. I seriously think there is a connection with iron overload and hypothyroidism in addition to what you hypothesized. Maybe iron is being stored in the thyroid gland, causing it to produce high Reverse T3 (RT3) and/or low FT3 and FT4. I have not gotten tested for hemochromatosis, but I will pursue it now and get it tested as soon as possible.

Exact same issue presenting in my lifetime first panel at 47 y.o. and 9 years carnivore lite. Fantastic thinking EO!

My understanding from what various commenters have said is that Saladino was on a carnivore diet -- a zero carb diet. So, he started adding some carbs back to his diet and his free test and SHBG began to normalize.

I understand that around 60% of the iron in red meat is non-heme and can be reduced with milk thistle, IP 6, and quercetin. Quoting a doctor that specializes in Hemochromatosis: "Additionally, the milk thistle and quercetin have other mechanisms to generally reduce elevated iron. Quercetin in particular has been shown to have chelation like effects on high ferritin levels." I would love to be able to verify this or get a second opinion. I am not eligible to donate blood anymore.

I had high iron saturation - around 55% to start. My blood counts were on the low side of normal and platelets were mildly below range and copper and zinc were below range. I started supplementing copper (you must monitor copper closely to avoid OD) and zinc on my own and then my hematologist started me on B12 drops to bring my B12 from 450 to around 1000 and also methylfolate 1700 mcg. Over 6 months or so the iron panel improved so that my saturation is in a normal range and iron has lowered too (no phlebotomy) and platelets are now in normal range. Other blood counts are stable but not much improvement. I would like to see them more in normal mid-range.

I want to say thank you for the information, very accurate. I just wish 99% of youtubers would slow down. There's so much information to process and there must be some kind of time limit or else no one will watch it. Watch some old documentaries and listen to how people had cadence, they paused, they let the listener breathe.

Thank you for this data. I've had high SHBG (55nmol/L) in comparison to my relatively mediocre Total T and since it's within the reference range (which is set super high at 71nmol), I haven't had much help from my doctor on this. I've had a full hormone panel done, Iron/Ferritin, Hepatic, CKD, Renal, Lipids, Glucose, CBC & Auto, D3. All were within "reference range", but reviewing again, it looks like my Ferritin is 217 ug/L, and Iron Saturation at 41%, so this is something I will definitely experiment with more.

This reminds me of the bodybuilder who was training under John Parrillo back aroudn 1993 who was also taking his iron pills. At the time he was on the cover of the Parrillo marketing materials and looked awesome. But shortly after he landed in the hospital and nearly died. I think they determined it was related to too high iron levels in his blood. Anyone else remember this?

Can you also make videos on mold toxicity, as oxalates and mold have correlation.

Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience and what you found in the literature. I appreciate your work in thinking about everything and coming up with intelligent theories

My problem is similar with very high ferritin and the accompanying symptoms. I HAD been taking massive doses of vitamin c during the pandemic to ward off viruses. Turns out C helps the body absorb iron. I have discontinued the C and I am feeling much better. I believe that by July when I return to the VA for my annual I will be in good shape I am taking turmeric, moringa, tongai cat and feenagreek to suppress the manufacture of estrogen.

I’ve been in TRT for 5 years. I used to give blood regularly (every 60ish days). After a year or so I finally realized I had symptoms that fit low ferritin. Sure enough it was extremely low when I had it done. Problem for me is, on TRT my H&H goes up over time, when I give blood too regularly I crash my ferritin. I started a high quality iron supplement and brought my ferritin back but it seems contradictory to add iron to an H&H that is always increasing. My most recent labs also showed my total T at 850ish but my free was only 32 pg/ml. It is usually much higher when I donate blood regularly. Now I need to check SHGB and I’ll bet it’s high. What a pain in the A.

Over the last 10 years the only things off on my blood work were always SHBG and iron saturation %. At my worst iron saturation and shbg both at 70%. Makes a lot of sense now. Also, SHBG will bind to estrogen which seems helpful as iron and estrogen form lipofuscin.

I do 5 raw egg in my Coffee bulllet that actually block iron absorbtion through protein in the white egg , Iam 50yrs my testosteron is amazing, being able to build lean muscle mass and just had my blood work my free testosteron is amazing better than in my 20's.

Great analysis Elliot, my free T was borderline low, ferritin was close to the upper end.

One miss understood micro nutrient is boron which helps regulate estrogen, calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients. Research paper done on supplementing 6 to 9mg of boron in women with low sex drive and men with low free bound test which also causes low libido rectified the issue in both sexs. I've taken boron now for 3 years and my free test is always in a good range and it also rectifies men on trt as there free test gets out of wack due to being on trt

Boron can help levels of free testosterone. I used boron for only 4 days in a double dose of different variants. I already felt an elevated mood. I came across a video that talked about free testosterone and boron which made sence. Boron also elevated DHEA and vitamin D which makes sence as it is also a hormone.

(Female) When I went low carb, and lost weight my TSH (thru thyroid med, hashi's) got too low, causing high red blood cell count, high ferritin & iron. I felt horrible being hyperthyroid!! It also caused weight gain or inability to lose weight & worsening blood glucose, making my type 2 way worse. FYI- I was first dxd w/Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in 2005. Now that my thyroid med has been decreased from 200 mcg to 100mcg I feel much better. Most of the hyper symptoms have abated and I actually had way better blood sugar numbers, which also had a good effect on my weight loss efforts. So--if you have issues with high red blood cells, iron, ferritin, find out what your thyroid numbers look like too. There may be going a bit hyper thyroid induced by Keto/Carnivore/Ketovore, especially if you are a Hashimoto's Thyroiditis sufferer. AND, if you're also a type 2 diabetic, hyper thyroidism will make your blood sugar worse, despite eating very low carb and it made my increase peripheral neuropathy pain worse. I couldn't figure out why keto & IF wasn't working better...well it was bc my doctor wasn't keeping an eye on my TSH. I ended up at "0" TSH!! 1) Maybe it would be worthwhile to also add a thyroid panel if one has high iron & red blood cell count, low testosterone, high free testosterone? Now that I am on a much lower dose of thyroid medication, I'm slowly recovering. I'm even starting to lose weight again, as I want to lose 40 more pounds. Next step is to check my iron, red blood cell count again to see if it normalized. I suspect it will show improvement as well. I've had a steady cascade of worsening health since first dxd with Fibromyalgia at age 22. (now age 56) I can't even list how many conditions I have now, but needless to say it was likely the undiagnosed Lyme Disease/& co infections that started the cascade of conditions/pain over the yrs(I live in an endemic state, NW WI). I pray that the next step: B1 therapy & oxalates are the final piece to the medical puzzle. I've had to figure out a lot on my own since western medicine is unable to peel back all the layers of dysfunction. Thanks to Elliott i.e. EONutrition, I'm closer than ever & finally have a smidgen of hope.

Not discussed but eating egg yolks and a lot of nuts like Brazil nuts and almonds when eating foods high in iron can help reduce your iron absorption. Egg yolks are high in phosvitin and nuts are high in phytic acid which both limit iron absorption. Eating nuts already have a lot of other benefits that are good for your nuts anyways.

Can you do a video on estrogen dominance, low progesterone, and improving estrogen detoxification pathways for women. Thanks!!! I love all of your videos.

You and Morley Robbins need to do a podcast.

Take shilajit bro, u can take this as a hint and u can further research on it, all the best and god bless. Keep up the good work

Excellent down to hearth analysis. You just gained a subscriber! Thanks for posting this.

Frank Tufano showing he’s been ahead of the game for awhile now.

Wow you have just solved my life long issue in a single video can't thank you enough! Just checked my last blood work and I have all the markers high shbg, testosterone, b12 and transferrin saturation. I just recently got on to the heavy metal toxicity after many many other possibilities. I found out that the heavy metals mimic other vital metals and take there place in the cells causing deficiencies. And that it also causes the brain to signal the liver to down regulate glutathione production. So nothing to clear out or build new cells causing terrible problems. I've been using glutathione injections and fulvic acid along with activated charcoal to clear the heavy metals out and kick start repairing the damage.

I have hemochromatosis. Started treatment 6 months ago. My ferritin was at 3400, now after weekly blood letting I'm down to 400. I'm not sure what my testosterone levels are, but iv never really had any sex drive all my life. So this could explain why.

150 testosterone here Low normal LH and FSH Normal E2 and prolactin Normal ferritin and liver enzymes Low normal SHBG and free test Secondary hipogonadism. But, why? Healthy BF and somewhat muscular

OMG! Brilliant, life saving wisdom. Thank you for this vital info. I have extremely high SHBG for many years. Not a single medical doctor that I have been to has any idea at all as to why it is so high, or even a clue as to what it is. I have been to liver doctors! Idiots - all of them. My Testosterone is in the 1200's and SHBG over 170 - and my testicles are exhausted and hurt. These numbers vary slightly from test to test, but not much. For other reasons (senescence cells) I planned to have regular blood drawn every 8 weeks and to see if my energy improves. Enormous lethargy.

Wow very interesting, I'm in my early 20s and after getting some bloods done earlier this year, noticed my total T towards top of reference range but free T was towards the bottom. I do a lot of cardio as a triathlete so assumed it was purely because of that but this could also be a lead as my SHBG was above reference at 88 nmol/L. I was looking into Tongkat Ali / Boron other supps to lower SHBG but interestingly my dad has haemochromotosis and my ferritin saturation is 52%. Will definitely look into this further as I'm trying to optimise my levels naturally

My total T was 872 and 919 on two different tests at age 38 but my free was way below the normal range and my SHBG was at 100. I spent a year going to Dr appointments and having tests run. Everything came back perfectly fine. I got tired of feeling like shit all the time and being depressed/losing weight and eventually gave in and started TRT about a year ago. I constantly regret it. My Total T has to be above 1200 just for my free to be on the high end of the normal range. Even then my SHBG is still above normal at 62. I despise giving myself 4 shots a week (TRT&HCG). I wish I had come across this info sooner. I was in a bad motorcycle accident about two years ago that put me into the ICU and one of the injuries was two brain hemorrhages, which is what all the Dr's seemed to think the cause was yet all tests results and scans came back fine. Perhaps in the near future, I will take a couple of months off from the TRT, try these suggestions, and see if it fixes my problem. My LH, while low is still there and the HCG has kept the balls working so hopefully I didn't screw myself over.

My total test and SHBG is way above the high range (35 TT - 63 SHBG), and my free test is 543 (range is between 200-600)... My Ferritin is 249 (range is 30-500), iron 16.8 (range is 10-30), saturation 31%. My SHBG was higher in my blood test last year. My cortisol is also through the roof way way above the high range.

This was extremely informative! I have the HFE gene and eat ALOT of red meat. I had low T and I did clomid for 2 years but stopped because it making me neurotoxic so I stopped but now my low T hormones are coming back strongly.

To the body, weight loss is indicative of famine conditions in the environment. Could the body then reduce free testosterone availability as a pathway to slow down the metabolism?

I went from 334 to 960 in around 3 months. All natural no TRT. This book should be essential reading for all men. Written by a 50s guy with natural T levels of a 20s guy Complete guide to testosterone by james Francis

Came across this video while looking for answers to low T and various other symptoms, brain fog, low mood etc. and lack of you know what in the downstairs dept! Male late 40s. I'm also trying to solve an issue with what seems to be a metabolic syndrome, my weight has been quite high for some time, and resultant high blood pressure on meds for that. I've also got issues like psorisis on my scalp, like big crusty flakes, poor sleep, racing heartrate sometimes, low oxygen saturation 95-97 typically, sometimes down to 93%. I got blood panel done a couple of years ago and showed some markers out of range. First HDL low, HbA1c high, Uric Acid high, high creatinine and low eGFR. Basically advised to modify my diet and improve physical activity. Eat less refined sugar etc. Since that time I did go on a couple of diets and got my weight and BP down a good bit but it didn't last I gained all the weight back on, had another blood panel this year and it showed pretty much the same plus I got testosterone done this one. The results for ones out of range were ALT high, Creatinine High, eGFR low, much the same as before. Interesting that the free T was low, total T was 7.5 (nmol/L) (Low) but SHBG 22.7 (nmol/L) was low but in normal range. This test was in Feb 2023, I recently tried the carnivore diet for a couple of weeks just to see how I went, I did loose weight on it but that wasn't the ultimate goal, I was trying to transform this poor health issues. However while on the C diet whatever happened it seemed to bottom out my T levels completely, it felt like my balls were withering away and hence the interest in finding out about the low T with high iron. I also felt major brain fog and depressive episodes on the C diet but very slowly in the 2nd Week I felt a bit better but not the change I was hoping for, although I did not get the sugar/carb cravings and was down to eating only one meal a day for the last Week on it. I've since wen't back in a normal diet and my T seems to have came back up a bit, but still got the skin conditions and metabolic syndrome. I'd love to try the C diet a good bit longer but can't take the low T levels on it.

This is why food high in copper is so important guys

I find that my T is at its best when I am lifting weights 3-4 times per week. ....and eat a 95% natural food diet, with sugar and processed foods. It is a easy routine to get into and works well for me. (It also helps to live a less stressful way, and to sleep 7-8 hours/day)

this video was godsent since my ferritin was high 250ng/ml and started having all kinda weird problems also including elevated shgb. Went to donate blood yesterday and plan to do so every 2 months which you can do here in finland without a cost.

Iron dumbbells must have a natural defense mechanism against bodybuilders. Fascinating 🤔

Have you looked into vitamin A toxicity and iron overload?

High test --> hunting success --> meat consumption --> lowered test --> with time hunger increases --> increased test --> hunting success. If only people should start respecting/considering basic natural dynamics. No need for all the fancy pantsy analysis, and this comes from an academic... If you eat meat you need to fight and lose blood to stay at least somewhat balanced. This is normal stuff...

Aerobic and anaerobic exercise with lower sugar intake with olive, coconut or grapeseed oil should help ameliorate the problem

I appreciate you sharing this video! I’m 49 and total test is 775, free test 10.5 and SHGB is 68. I’m going to try giving blood. It’s irritating because about 5 years ago I asked my Dr for full hormone test becauseI was experiencing all the symptoms and back then they only ordered total test which was 835 then. Dr said anxiety, depression no motivation and low libido couldn’t be due to hormones 🤦‍♂️ 😡 They thought I needed an SSRI

You can’t win. Im off high carb’s and on meat, chicken and fish. It seems nothing is good for you anymore, so I’ll stick with my new diet of low carbs and higher protein with meats and fish. Maybe these men are drinking too much bottled water or processed foods. Perhaps soy. I like you’re channel a lot

After 2 years full carnivore / living on red meat my iron saturation was 28%. Ferritin 137 ng/ml. Total iron 97mcg/dl. I no longer have to be on a special diet to feel great but I am satisfied that red meat is not toxic to me in any way.

Root cause is lack of sleep if you are healthy there is no other reason

It’s pretty simple , don’t over complicate it. Things that kill testosterone, having body fat, stress, sugary foods and drinks, bad sleep, lack of sunlight, sedentary lifestyle, inflamattory diet. Things that’s boost testosterone Sunshine, losing fat, healthy proteins and fats, not stressing, staying active, good sleep hygiene, anti inflamattory diets etc

Another good video but have you considered that high ferritin IS the protective mechanism? I certainly do in my work. It's already identified as an acute phase reactant. I think your fixes are not cooking in cast iron pans and giving blood. Which is sensible but I feel the mechanistic guess work does ignore ferritin at high levels not being problematic if all other iron markers are good. I'm a believer in symptom-led diagnosis so if libido is not low, skin lacks discolored patches and energy is fine then high ferritin may simply indicate a recent infection or a protective role. I'd be open to a discussion if you are interested

I've had Haemocromatosis all my life and recently have noticed a big drop off in testosterone. I just figured it was age related but I now know why. I didn't put it together mainly because my doctor never mentioned it could affect my T levels. Thanks for the insight.

It's very simple. Eat organic, as local as possible. Grass fed red meats, organic chicken, pasturized organic eggs, have kiwis and some fruits. Resistant training (doesn't mean weights, you can do bodyweight exercises). Get great sleep, go for walks, take in some sunlight.

As a side note I can add that Vitamin C increased Iron absorption, I had elevated iron levels in blood while supplementing high doses of Vitamin C

Great video and concise information. My free Testosterone is low, ShBG is high, but my Ferritin is very low......not sure what this might mean...?

Iron overload is dangerous. Someone wrote a comment saying cod liver oil raises ferritin levels dangerously high; he and a friend (they tried different brands of CLO) both landed up in hospital with severe infections. Surely if we needed iron we would crave liver, spinach and other iron-rich foods?

I did not understand exactly what is the proposed solution, went over my head.

It's nice to be young and healthy.

I've been a vegan for 10 years. I was a professional athlete and have had no prob with testosterone

Could avoiding eating iron rich liver, and eating a lot more dairy and eggs help fix this problem?

They're are three good diets. I tried carnivore and almost had a heart attack. I did keto and had sweet cravings constantly but it had a lot of benefits like no inflammation and high strength all day. My best diet is raw healthy food only and eat small portions OR intermittent fasting.

How long does it take to see major results after donating blood? great video

Males used to go into battle and lose a lot of blood. We don’t have much of that now

I love it when they show research stuff like this

This is what turned out to be the solution to my problem! The first donation gave an incredible effect, for about one week! but saturation is still growing! and the symptoms are back! how to catch this fine line? are there other ways? Doc, your video is a real discovery in the world of andrology!

Holy shit. I couldn’t never figure out why my SHBG was always in the red. I checked my iron levels and they are in the orange range, so is the transferring saturation, which was at 50%. Time to donate blood.

I feel like this can be a problem for females as well, just on a smaller scale. I always felt weak and tired compared to others and tested with a high SHBG a few months back. Even though my other blood tests are normal most of my measures are near the low range including my free T. So I guess this advice works for everyone.

Super interesting video. More videos about Iron overload would be very cool

I'v been saying it for years,all these extreme diets that people do are gonna make them sick eventually,but i guess you reap what you sow

I had high normal total T and low free T due to an SHBG of 124. I found the cause of my high SHBG to be overtraining and possibly because my fat and carb intake was too low.