Reclaiming the T: Diving into the World of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) with Shalin Shah

Omid Vojdani of Four Lights Wellness

Reclaiming the T: Diving into the World of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) with Shalin Shah 

By Omid Vojdani 

Health & Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

I’ve been in the health and wellness space for almost 18 years now (I know, I’m getting old), but I’ve been a male for much longer than that! I say that, because once I started approaching 35, I noticed things starting to slow down gradually. Gone were the days where I could crush a workout Friday morning and then head to Vegas for a sleepless weekend to simply crush Monday’s workout. Nowadays, I just plain don’t recover as easily as I used to, often feeling lethargic if I miss even a few hours of sleep. This change led me down a deep research rabbit hole looking for reasons beyond simple aging, and landed me squarely in the realm of hormones. 

Shalin Shah of Marius Pharmaceuticals

Well, after a few years of learning and understanding the biology of hormones and their roles in everything from metabolism to mood, I tried to do as much as I could to balance out my hormones on my own. And while all of the natural interventions (eating right, getting to bed on time, lifting weights, etc) helped me feel better, I still felt like I was delaying the slow decline into feeling old at 40. 

That’s when I met Shalin Shah, CEO of Marius Pharmaceuticals, and learned all about the next generations of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Shalin, whose company makes the TRT Kyzatrex, educated me about how testosterone has been successfully used therapeutically for nearly 100 years, including to help women through menopause! But progress with hormonal treatments was stifled in the 90’s when congress labeled it as a class three controlled substance. “It was sad,” Shalin explained, “because the FDA was against it, the AMA was against it, even the DEA was against it. It was all just political pressure because highschoolers were starting to use it to be like their pro athlete heroes.” 

Ok, let’s slow down, and explain testosterone a little bit. The most important thing to understand about testosterone is that it’s not just a male hormone, although males do have more of it than females. Testosterone is crucial for things like metabolism, bone health, muscle development, and is even neuroprotective (aka it can savage, recover, or even regenerate neurons). And both males and females need to have a balanced ratio of testosterone with all the other hormones for us to feel, well, good. 

Omid Sourcing his own Mountain Water 

And while testosterone levels naturally fluctuate with age, these days we face two big challenges. One, we just plain don’t challenge the body physically enough to stimulate the need to create and use testosterone. In other words, if you don’t use it, you lose it. The second problem being a LOT of hormone disruptors in our food and water, and even in the air we breathe that cause our body to not be able to utilize the hormone. 

Over the last nearly 100 years, we’ve seen testosterone used to treat lots of things, but the synthesized versions were quite harmful to the liver. Then people started injecting more bioavailable versions, but in doses that were so high (super physiological) that the body would end up saying “well, I don’t have to make that anymore,” and would start to shrink and even atrophy the body parts that make the hormone naturally. 

With this next generation oral testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the doses are low enough that the body’s natural testosterone factories don’t fully shut down.  As Shalin explained, “The factory is still running, but just at half capacity. Sure, they’ll lay off some of the staff, but none of the equipment goes into disrepair.” The benefit is that you can try out things to keep levels more balanced, and see how it works for you. If you (and your doctor) are not satisfied with the results, you can get off of it and try other things. 

Ok, back to why I’m so excited about this solution to hormone balancing. The problems with liver toxicity are not there at all with these new orals, as they have created a way to distribute the hormone via the immune system itself! Not only is the liver bypassed, but now the hormone can get to many more areas of the body, such as the brain itself. The fact that they can be a twice a day pill, rather than an injection is also much more inviting for people that need the help, but might be squeamish around needles. And finally, the dosing can be much more precise, increased or decreased based on your lifestyle and the results you’re looking for. 

Omid's Adventures in Biohacking

Because at the end of the day, the anabolic effects put to the side for a moment, all anyone truly wants is to feel like life is a little easier and less stressful.  Now, testosterone is still scheduled as a class 3 drug, so you still have to go to your doctor to get the prescription. But the good news is that while not covered by all insurance companies, TRT is an easy and affordable way to get your life back.

I want to be clear about this last point. I didn’t agree to write this article to specifically promote Kyzatrex! While I did a ton of research on it, and found that it’s the leader in the next generation oral TRT space, Shalin told me he and Marius’ number one priority is educating the public and descheduling testosterone. “When you think about it,” he said, “testosterone is the single most telling barometer of your overall health because it gives you an insight into your overall cardiovascular health. It gives you an insight into your overall insulin sensitivity. It gives insight into overall inflammation in the body. So why wouldn't that be a core test?"

Cheers to Shalin Shah again for spending the time with me, and cheers to you for reading! Whether or not you talk to your doctor about next generation orals, I’d love for you to talk to your friends about demystifying testosterone as not just another male libido thing. It’s time for us to realize everyone would benefit from getting their hormone levels checked and optimized. 

Omid Vojdani is a health and wellness expert with over 18 years of experience, focusing on integrative health and functional movement therapy to get people living their dream life. You can find more info at fourlightswellness.com