43. Tracy Gapin, MD: Why Men Today Have HALF the Testosterone of Their Fathers
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Release Date: 03/15/2025
126. How to Fix Your Metabolic Health at Any Age
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Most people think they’re doing “enough” for their health, yet nearly 90% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy and don’t know it. In this episode, I challenge outdated metrics like BMI, explain why sleep quality matters more than hours slept, and break down what actually moves the needle when it comes to long-term health. In this solo episode of EXTEND, I outline my five core health frameworks for 2026. I also walk through what it means to become the CEO of your own health, how to use simple biomarkers instead of guesswork, how to run personal N-of-1 experiments, and why muscle,...
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125. Best of Mental Health: The Foundation of Brain and Whole Body Health
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Mental health is shaped by how well the brain produces energy, how well the nervous system remains under stress, and how effectively the mind adapts over time. When these systems begin to break down, problems often appear years before a diagnosis, showing up as anxiety, brain fog, distraction, burnout, or emotional dysregulation that are frequently treated in isolation. This is a special Best Of episode of Extend, where I’ve compiled the most important insights from conversations with leaders examining mental health through neuroscience, metabolism, nervous system regulation, and...
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124. Best of Strength Training: Why Strength Determines How You Age
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Over the past year on Extend, I’ve had powerful conversations with experts who all kept pointing back to the same foundation: strength training. So in this episode, I’m bringing together a Best Of compilation featuring key moments from Andy Galpin, Vonda Wright, JJ Virgin, Louisa Nicola, and Kelly and Juliet Starrett to highlight why strength matters far beyond the gym. This episode explores strength training from every angle that truly impacts longevity. I break down why muscle is a metabolic engine, how bone health shapes aging decades before problems appear, and how strength and...
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123. Best of Metabolic Health: Why Metabolic Health Changes Everything
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Metabolic health is the foundation that determines how your body produces energy, manages inflammation, regulates hormones, and protects you from chronic disease. When it breaks down, problems show up years later, long after the real warning signs were missed. This is a special Best Of episode of Extend, where I’ve compiled the most important insights from conversations with leaders in metabolic health and longevity, including Cynthia Thurlow, Ben Azadi, Dr. Mark Hyman, Casey Means, Josh Clemente, and Karan Rajan. These selected clips highlight why waiting for diabetes is far too late, how...
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122. Dr. Mayim Bialik on Stress, Mental Health, and Human Connection
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
What if the stress you feel every day is not a personal failure, but a biological response to how modern life pulls at your nervous system? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mayim Bialik to explore why so many people feel overwhelmed, distracted, and disconnected, even when they are doing everything they were told should make them happy. We talk about how stress lives in the body, how technology quietly rewires attention and dopamine, and why mental health cannot be separated from gut health, lifestyle, and human connection. Mayim shares her path from child actor to neuroscientist, how...
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121. How to Protect Your Brain at Every Age
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
How much control do you actually have over how your brain ages? Most people assume memory loss and cognitive decline are inevitable, but the science tells a very different story. In this solo episode, I break down why brain health is something you can actively protect decades before symptoms ever appear. I walk you through the core systems that shape how your brain functions over time, from blood sugar regulation and inflammation to sleep, stress, circulation, and daily movement. We explore how lifestyle signals either strengthen or slowly erode cognitive resilience, and why modern research...
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120. Jess Kane: Your Cells Are Leaking, Here’s How to Fix Them
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Have you ever wondered why you can be “doing everything right” with your health and still feel inflamed, foggy, or depleted? The more I study longevity, the more I am convinced this has less to do with the latest hack and more to do with something very basic that we almost never talk about: the integrity of the cell membrane. Every process in the human body begins at the level of the cell membrane, and in today’s world, that membrane is under constant attack from toxins, infections, chemicals, and everyday stressors. In this episode of Extend, I sit down with Jess Kane to explore why...
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119. Dr. Rocio Salas Whalen: How To Lose Weight On GLP-1s Without Losing Muscle
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Most people still think GLP-1s are “weight loss shots,” but what we are really doing is changing biology at the level of appetite and inflammation, with ripple effects across future generations. In this conversation, I sit down with endocrinologist and obesity specialist Dr. Rocio Salas Whalen to unpack what these medications do inside the body and how to use them responsibly as part of a long-term health strategy. We get into why “eat less, exercise more” failed so many patients, how family history, hormones, and aging drive obesity, and why GLP-1s must be paired with protein and...
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118. Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum: A New Roadmap to Female Heart Health
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Most people think heart disease is obvious and predictable, yet women often present with completely different warning signs that traditional testing fails to catch. We now have the tools to identify risk decades earlier and reverse disease before it becomes dangerous. In this episode of Extend, we sit down with Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, cardiologist and leading voice in women’s cardiovascular prevention, to uncover why standard testing misses female heart disease, how microvascular dysfunction develops long before blockages appear, and why expanded markers like ApoB and HSCRP should replace...
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117. Dr. Steven Gundry: The Microbiome War Shaping Your Mind
Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD
Most people think about the gut as a digestive system, yet emerging research shows it functions more like a command center shaping immunity, metabolism, mood, and even coronary artery calcification. The surprising twist is that your gut may be influencing your brain more than your brain influences your gut. In this episode of Extend, we sit down with Dr. Steven Gundry, cardiac surgeon and world leading expert on the microbiome, to uncover how gut bacteria communicate with your mitochondria and brain, why leaky gut silently drives inflammation throughout the entire body, and how keystone...
info_outlineWhat if the symptoms you’ve been chalking up to aging, low energy, brain fog, stubborn belly fat, and lack of motivation, were actually signs of a deeper hormonal imbalance?
The truth is, testosterone levels in men have been plummeting for decades, and it’s not just about aging. Environmental toxins, chronic stress, poor sleep, and nutrient deficiencies are creating a perfect storm for hormonal disruption, affecting not only performance but long-term health and longevity.
In today’s episode, I sat down with Dr. Tracy Gapin, a board-certified urologist and expert in men’s health optimization, to break down the science of testosterone, hormone balance, and high-performance living. We dive into why traditional medicine is failing men, how environmental toxins are silently crushing testosterone levels across generations, and the critical role of biomarker testing in personalizing health strategies.
Dr. Tracy Gapin is a board-certified urologist with 23 years of clinical experience in men's health, functional medicine, and longevity. As the founder of the Gapin Institute and author of Male 2.0, he specializes in precision health, leveraging genetics, epigenetics, and advanced diagnostics to optimize performance and extend healthspan.
We Also Discuss:
00:00 - Introduction to Men's Health and Hormones
02:15 - Significance of Testosterone in Men's Health
05:30 - Limitations of Traditional Healthcare in Addressing Men's Health Issues
08:45 - Understanding Underlying Reasons for Health Concerns
12:00 - Comprehensive Biomarker Testing for Health Optimization
15:20 - Impact of Lifestyle Factors (Nutrition, Stress) on Hormone Levels
18:35 - Effects of Environmental Toxins on Testosterone Levels and Overall Health
22:10 - Distinction Between Total Testosterone and Free Testosterone
25:45 - Relevance of Testosterone for Both Men and Women
29:00 - Various Methods of Testosterone Therapy (Injectable, Topical, Pellets)
32:30 - Management and Necessity of Regular Testing in Hormone Therapy
35:50 - Personalized Approaches to Hormone Therapy
Learn more about Dr. Shah:
Website: https://www.drshah.com/
Clinic: https://www.next-health.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darshanshahmd/
Learn more about Dr. Tracy Gapin:
Website: https://drtracygapin.com/
https://gapininstitute.com/start-here-gapin/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtracygapin/
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