Library
Plain answers on men’s health.
Each article starts with the short answer, then the detail. Weight, testosterone, hair, ED, labs and sleep. No supplement pitches.
Medical review pending on these articles. Until a clinician signs off, read them as general information, not medical advice.
42 articles
Weight5 min read
What is the difference between semaglutide, tirzepatide and retatrutide?
Two approved molecules and one investigational one that is not available. A plain read on how semaglutide and tirzepatide differ, what retatrutide is, and what decides whether you keep your muscle.
ED4 min read
What causes erectile dysfunction in your 30s?
ED in a 35-year-old is not a smaller version of ED in a 65-year-old. The differential is wider, the causes are more reversible, and the wrong fix wastes a decade.
Hair4 min read
Finasteride, dutasteride or minoxidil: which works for hair loss?
Two drugs that block the hormone driving hair loss, one that pries follicles back open. A clinician's read on which combination fits which scalp.
Labs4 min read
Which blood tests should a man over 35 run every year?
About a dozen markers worth pulling every year, and what a clinician actually does with each one. The annual physical most men get is missing more than half of this list.
Sleep and recovery5 min read
What does HRV on your wearable actually tell you?
Heart rate variability is the most useful recovery metric on the consumer market and the most misused. A field note on what HRV actually shows, what it does not, and how to read your trend.
ED4 min read
What does daily low-dose tadalafil do?
Low-dose daily tadalafil is one of the most under-discussed protocols in men's health. It treats erectile function, BPH, and endothelial signaling in the same pill.
Weight4 min read
How do you keep muscle while losing weight on a GLP-1?
Every calorie deficit costs some lean mass. The plan decides how much. How to lose fat on a GLP-1 and work to preserve the muscle you spent years building.
Labs4 min read
What is Lp(a), and should you test it?
One in five men carries an Lp(a) level high enough to double cardiovascular risk. The number does not move with diet or statins. Most men have never had it tested.
Testosterone4 min read
Does TRT affect fertility?
Exogenous testosterone suppresses sperm production in most men, often to zero. Here is what happens to the HPG axis, how long recovery takes, and the options to discuss with a clinician before you start.
Labs4 min read
Is ApoB a better heart-risk number than LDL?
LDL is an estimate of cholesterol concentration. ApoB is a direct count of atherogenic particles. For cardiovascular risk, that distinction is the whole game.
Field notes5 min read
What actually works for your looks after 30?
Looksmaxxing is no longer a teenage internet subculture. The adult version drops the magical thinking and keeps the parts that actually move the needle after age 30.
Testosterone5 min read
Free or total testosterone: which number matters?
Total T can read normal while free T tells a different story. Here is why the two diverge, what SHBG has to do with it, and which number to trust.
Sleep and recovery6 min read
Which sleep supplements actually work?
Magnesium, apigenin, glycine, melatonin, trazodone. A comparison of the most common sleep supplements and medications by what the data actually shows.
Labs5 min read
Is a CGM worth it if you are not diabetic?
A continuous glucose monitor on a healthy man is mostly noise around a useful signal. The question is whether two weeks of data is worth the data anxiety it sometimes creates.
Labs4 min read
What do hsCRP, ferritin and homocysteine tell you?
Three labs that rarely make the front page of a health article, and routinely change how a clinician writes a protocol. What each one means, what counts as elevated, and what to do about it.
ED4 min read
Is it low libido or erectile dysfunction?
Desire and erection are not the same biology. Treating one when the other is broken produces a man who can perform but does not want to, or wants to and cannot.
Hair5 min read
Is post-finasteride syndrome real?
A field note on the most contested side-effect conversation in men's medicine. What the trials show, what the syndrome literature shows, and how a clinician should think about the gap between them.
Testosterone4 min read
What is SHBG, and why does it matter for testosterone?
Sex hormone binding globulin decides how much of your testosterone is biologically available. When it rises, free T falls, even if total T looks fine. Here is what drives it and how to read it.
Labs5 min read
Why do men lose height after 35, and what helps?
Most men lose a measurable amount of height between 35 and 55. The cause is rarely a single dramatic event and the fix is rarely a single intervention.
Weight5 min read
What is visceral fat, and why does it matter more than BMI?
A man can look lean in a shirt and still carry the fat that drives cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Visceral adipose tissue is the variable BMI was never built to see.
Testosterone4 min read
What does HCG do on TRT?
HCG keeps the testes working while you are on exogenous testosterone. It is the most evidence-supported add-on for testicular preservation. It is also widely misunderstood. Here is the real picture.
Labs4 min read
Can you have prediabetes with a normal A1c?
HbA1c is the standard screen for diabetes. It also misses a meaningful share of insulin resistance. The case for the oral glucose tolerance test and fasting insulin as a complete metabolic read.
Sleep and recovery6 min read
Sauna or cold plunge: which is worth your time?
Heat has the cardiovascular and mortality data. Cold has the subjective recovery feel. A clinician's read on when each is worth the time and how to combine them.
Weight4 min read
Tirzepatide or semaglutide: which GLP-1 fits you?
Two molecules, two mechanisms, two trial profiles. The right choice depends on your body composition, your insulin sensitivity, and how your gut tolerates each one.
Field notes5 min read
Tretinoin, retinaldehyde or retinol: which should men use?
Most male skincare advice is either a 12-step routine or nothing. The actual evidence-based minimum is two products. The argument between them is mostly about potency and irritation.
ED5 min read
Can pelvic floor problems cause erectile dysfunction?
Pelvic floor problems are not a women's health condition. In men, a dysregulated pelvic floor distorts erection quality, ejaculatory control, and recovery from prostate surgery.
Testosterone5 min read
How do you read a men's hormone panel?
A guided walk-through of the markers worth ordering, what each one means in isolation, and how they fit together into a single clinical picture.
Hair5 min read
Are PRP, microneedling and red light worth it for hair loss?
Once the medication stack is dialed in, the next question is whether procedures move the needle. A read on what has trial data, what does not, and what is actually worth it.
Testosterone6 min read
What are the real symptoms of low testosterone?
Low T has a real symptom profile. It also gets blamed for a lot of things it does not actually cause. Here is the honest list, plus when the symptoms warrant a panel.
Labs4 min read
What should a baseline lab panel for men include?
Every marker worth having on a baseline panel, why it is on the list, and what a clinician does with the result. The clearest read of where your physiology is in one draw.
Weight6 min read
How should body recomposition change in your 30s, 40s and 50s?
The protocol that worked at 28 stops working at 38 and breaks at 48. The reason is not effort. It is hormonal trajectory, recovery, and the ceiling on muscle protein synthesis.
Weight5 min read
What are the side effects of Ozempic?
Most Ozempic side effects are manageable nuisance. A handful are not. Here is the clinician's read on which ones to expect, which to watch for, and which to actually worry about.
Hair5 min read
Could your hair loss be more than genetics?
Some men losing hair have a contributor that finasteride will not touch. Iron, thyroid and vitamin D show up more often than the internet suggests.
Testosterone5 min read
How long does TRT take to work?
Different effects of testosterone replacement appear on different timelines. Some land in the first two weeks, others take three to six months. Here is the realistic schedule.
Weight5 min read
How do you lose visceral fat?
Visceral fat does not respond to spot reduction, fat burners, or six-pack programs. The levers that actually work are unglamorous, well-studied, and compound.
Field notes5 min read
Does losing body fat change your jawline?
Body fat is one factor in how the jaw looks, not the only one. Here is what body fat does and does not change in the face, and why health, not appearance, is the better reason to work on it.
Hair5 min read
What are the side effects of finasteride?
A clear-eyed read on the side-effect profile of finasteride for hair loss. Real rates, dose-response, what is common, what is rare, and what to do if you feel them.
ED6 min read
What causes low libido in men under 40?
A 32-year-old with low libido is almost never just low T. Here is how a clinician sorts hormone, vascular, psychological, and lifestyle causes into a workable diagnosis.
Sleep and recovery7 min read
Why is eight hours of sleep not enough on shift work?
Working against your circadian rhythm has a metabolic cost. A field note on what helps shift workers, what does not, and why the eight-hour heuristic breaks here.
Field notes5 min read
Which men's health marketing claims do not hold up?
Testosterone boosters do not work. BMI is not a useful number for adult men. One supplement stack does not fit everyone. And you cannot fix it without bloodwork. The data, briefly.
Hair5 min read
How long does hair regrowth take on treatment?
Most men quit hair-loss treatment in the first three months, exactly when the drug looks like it is making things worse. A clinician's read on what is normal and what is not.
Labs3 min read
What is the best lab panel for a man over 30?
The marker list is settled. Where you get the draw and who reads it are the variables. Three common paths, and what to check on each.