This video, titled "Men's Mental Fitness" by Dr. Deb Ford, discusses why many men, especially over 40, feel tired, unmotivated, and foggy. Dr. Ford explains that these issues are not signs of aging or laziness, but rather symptoms of problems like mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic stress, neuroinflammation, and nutrient deficiencies. She outlines six natural ways to reboot brain health, mood, and testosterone, including diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and supporting neurotransmitters.
Key Takeaways
1
Many men over 40 experience tiredness, lack of motivation, and mental fogginess due to underlying biological issues, not just aging.
2
The primary root causes for men feeling "off" include mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic stress leading to high cortisol, neuroinflammation, and nutrient deficiencies.
3
High cortisol from chronic stress damages brain cells, increases body inflammation, depletes essential nutrients, and suppresses testosterone levels.
4
Common nutrient deficiencies like low B12, B6, folate, magnesium, omega-3, vitamin D, and CoQ10 can significantly impair brain function and mood.
5
Testosterone is crucial for confidence, motivation, drive, muscle strength, fat burning, and overall brain health, and its levels are negatively impacted by poor lifestyle factors.
6
To reboot brain, mood, and testosterone, men should focus on feeding the brain with good fats, antioxidants, and protein while ditching sugar and processed foods.
7
Rebooting also involves fueling mitochondria with certain supplements and lifestyle habits like intermittent fasting, cold showers, and spending time in nature.
8
Regular resistance training and sufficient deep sleep (7-8 hours) are vital for boosting testosterone and allowing the brain to detoxify.
9
Managing stress through deep breathing, meditation, hobbies, and adaptogenic herbs can significantly lower cortisol and help restore testosterone.
10
Supporting neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA through fun activities and specific supplements is essential for maintaining mental edge and motivation.
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0:01
Happy Father's Day and welcome to
0:04
another edition of Today's Nutrition,
0:07
all about making you healthy again.
0:10
Hello, I'm Dr. Deb Ford, registered
0:12
dietician, doctor of clinical nutrition,
0:15
and somebody who has worked with men for
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nearly 50 years, helping them feel
0:19
strong, focused, and vitally happy
0:22
again. So, I want to speak directly to
0:25
the guys today and to the women who care
0:28
about them because this
0:29
conversation can be long overdue. Let me
0:33
ask you something. Are you feeling
0:35
tired, unmotivated, maybe a little
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moody, foggyheaded, like you've lost
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your edge, that mental sharpness, your
0:43
energy, and that inner drive you used to
0:45
count on? If that sounds familiar, I
0:48
want you to know it's not because you're
0:50
lazy. It's not because you're crazy.
0:52
You're not broken. and you're not
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getting old. Your brain and your body
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are just low on fuel. And today, we're
0:59
going to talk about how to get it back.
1:03
So, if you're really feeling tired,
1:05
mentally foggy, or just not like
1:07
yourself, especially if you're over 40,
1:10
this episode is for you. Today, I'm
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going to shine a light on something not
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enough people are talking about, and
1:18
that is mental fitness for men. how your
1:22
brain, your mood, your energy,
1:23
testosterone, or all those things,
1:26
they're all connected more than you
1:28
think. And it's not depression, it's not
1:31
mental
1:33
burnout, motivation, mental sharpness.
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You want that edge you used to feel. And
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maybe you feel like you've lost it. But
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I want to tell you, you can get it back.
1:44
So, let's talk about what's going on,
1:45
what's happening, and what you can do to
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get that firing on all cylinders again
1:52
without relying on prescriptions,
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caffeine, or just pushing your way
1:58
through every day. Your brain probably
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just needs a
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reboot. A lot of times in midlife,
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you're going to just say, "I just feel a
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little bit off. I just can't focus like
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I used to. I'm tired when I wake up and
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I crash at 3:00. You know, I'm not
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depressed, but it's not exactly great
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either. Here's the thing. You're really
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not lazy, weak, or broken. And your
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brain and body are likely dealing with a
2:30
perfect storm.
2:33
The typical lowgrade inflammation,
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silent chronic hormone shifts,
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mitochondrial
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burnout, chronic stress, and nutrient
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depletion. The world just kind of
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expects men to power through. Powering
2:53
through does not fix those problems. It
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just buries them deeper. So, let's get
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to the root cause of that mental drain.
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Unpack why your brain feels drained
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along with your
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drive. First root cause, mitochondrial
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dysfunction. Do you remember back to
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fifth grade
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biology? Mitochondria are the little
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organels in your cells that are like the
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energy factories, not just for your
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muscles, but for your brain. When
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they're healthy, you feel sharp,
3:33
focused, and energized. When they're
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damaged from stress or toxins or a poor
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diet or getting older and those old
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cells are building up, you're going to
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feel foggy. You're going to feel flat
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and fatigued. Think of your brain as
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that high performance Ferrari engine
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that you've been trying to make run on
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cheap fuel. It sputters. Okay. Second
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root cause, chronic
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stress making for high cortisol. Stress
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isn't something that's in your head. It
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is full body hormone involvement because
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cortisol being your main stress hormone
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in short bursts can be helpful but when
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it stays elevated it damages your brain
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cells especially the hippocampus the
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memory center. It makes your gut leaky
4:30
which increases cellular inflammation in
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your whole body. It robs your body of
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nutrients. B, C, magnesium, all sorts of
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nutrients go when you're stressed. And
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here's the big one. High cortisol
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suppresses
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testosterone. Yes, chronic stress
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literally steals the man
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hormone. Third thing, root cause
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neuroinflammation. Do you know your
5:00
brain has its own immune system? And
5:02
when you eat processed foods, don't
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sleep well, carry toxins or infections,
5:08
your system goes haywire, and you're
5:11
going to feel unmotivated, maybe a
5:13
little moody,
5:16
overwhelmed, and
5:18
forgetful. Fourth root cause, nutrient
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deficiencies. And I see it all the time.
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Low B12, low B6, low folate. That's
5:29
going to make you poorly focused and a
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poor mood. Low magnesium, anxiety, sleep
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issues, low omega-3, bad for the brain,
5:40
going to cause brain fog,
5:43
irritability, just a lot of neurological
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things. We need lots of
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omegas. Low vitamin D. Vitamin D is a
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hormone. We need lots of that. It's
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anti-inflammatory. It's going to be good
5:56
for energy, going to be good for
5:57
testosterone, and I see a lot of low
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CoQ10, especially if somebody's on a
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statin. You talk about mitochondrial
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exhaustion, you got to have good CoQ10,
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probably about 200 milligram, too,
6:12
because you can't build a sharp mind
6:15
with an empty toolbox.
6:18
So, signs that your brain and hormones
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are asking for
6:22
help. Getting specific. If you're
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dealing with brain fog, if you're
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dealing with low motivation or mental
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drive, if you're dealing with poor
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memory or recall, emotional flatness or
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frequent
6:39
irritability, anxiety, low resistance to
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stress, if you're having trouble
6:44
sleeping, or just feeling like something
6:46
is off. It's not because you're getting
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older. It's that because your body is
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waving the red flag. Help me reset. And
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that's, you know, where testosterone
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comes back in. And guess what? All the
7:02
factors we discussed, mitochondrial
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dysfunction, high cortisol,
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inflammation, poor sleep, nutrient
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depletion, all lower
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testosterone. It's all connected. And
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the key point, men don't need a
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testosterone prescription. They need a
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revival. And that's where rebuilding the
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foundation comes in. All those factors
7:25
we discussed, mitochondrial, it's all
7:28
connected.
7:30
Testosterone is important for so many
7:33
things for confidence, motivation,
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drive, muscle strength, fat burning, and
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brain health. It's associated to
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depression, fatigue, brain fog,
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cognitive
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decline. The brain needs testosterone,
7:48
and your testosterone depends on
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mitochondrial and mental health. They
7:55
feed each other. So, if you're
7:56
chronically stressed, eating poorly, and
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sleeping less than 6 hours, you're not
8:02
just burning out your brain, you're
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burning out your hormones. You know, I
8:06
see it all the time. Feeling tired even
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after a full night's sleep, losing your
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drive mentally, physically. It's just
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hard to think about anything new. That
8:17
to-do list gets longer and longer. Maybe
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you're irritable. Maybe you're anxious.
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Maybe you just don't feel things. Maybe
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your memory slipping. Maybe you feel
8:26
unmotivated to work out, unmotivated to
8:29
eat well or even connect with people.
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They say your labs are normal, but you
8:34
don't feel normal. Sounds like you keep
8:37
listening. There's a way back. Okay. Six
8:40
natural ways that are going to reboot
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your brain, your mood, and your
8:45
testosterone. So, first thing, feed the
8:48
brain. Got to have good fats. Salmon,
8:51
avocado, walnuts, extra virgin olive
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oil, lot of them. You need those
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antioxidants, the berries, the leafy
8:58
greens. My favorite spice, turmeric, and
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drink lots of green tea. Protein.
9:05
Protein is so important for dopamine,
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that feel-good hormone, and
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testosterone. You got to ditch the
9:11
sugar. Got to ditch the seed oils and
9:13
the processed junk. They inflame your
9:16
brain as well as your body. Second thing
9:19
we need to reboot is fueling the
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mitochondria. sometimes supplements,
9:26
CoQ10s if you take statins, especially
9:29
magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, acetal
9:33
lcarnitine, and lifestyle habits that
9:36
are going to be good for the
9:37
mitochondria, intermittent fasting, cold
9:41
showers. And yeah, you can get used to
9:43
it. You kind of got to start slow and
9:47
breathing fresh air, time in nature,
9:50
sunshine, grounding, good things.
9:53
Third thing we can do to reboot the
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brain, move like you mean it, resistance
10:01
training that absolutely will boost
10:04
testosterone. Exercise also increases
10:08
BDNF, the brain derived neurotrophic
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factor. We think of it like miracle
10:13
growth for your brain. And then walking,
10:16
moving, lifting weights works wonders.
10:20
Fourth reboot, sleep. Deep sleep is
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where testosterone goes highest and your
10:26
brain detoxifies. Got to have seven or
10:29
eight hours. And a key to that is
10:32
shutting off those blue screens after
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supper time. Some supplements that are
10:38
going to help with sleep, magnesium and
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elenine or my heavenly sleep formula.
10:44
Great. I love it. Time to chill out is
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number five because cortisol, those
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stress hormones absolutely crush
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testosterone. So you might want to try
10:57
deep breathing, a little prayer and
11:00
meditation, hobbies, journaling, some of
11:04
the herbs that are adaptogens like
11:06
ashwagandha, rodeiola or holy basil.
11:09
Wonderful. Sixth and final little reboot
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is supporting the
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neurotransmitters. Doing fun things will
11:17
boost dopamine. So, dopamine helps
11:20
motivation. Some supplements that also
11:22
help there. Tyrrosine B6 and just doing
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things you enjoy. Serotonin helps the
11:30
mood as well. Tryptophane is good for
11:32
that. Sunshine and movement will boost
11:35
that. And GABA for calm. Those
11:38
neurotransmitters are really important.
11:40
So, GABA, building it with magnesium,
11:43
torine, and again, elenine. Those brain
11:46
chemicals aren't optional. Having good
11:49
dopamine, serotonin, and GABA, they are
11:52
fuel for your mental edge. So, now let's
11:56
look at some labs that could reveal
12:00
what's holding you back. Data that you
12:03
really want to look at. free and total
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testosterone, vitamin D, red blood cell
12:11
magnesium,
12:12
homocyine, that's going to check your
12:15
methylation and your B vitamin status,
12:18
cortisol. I love the Dutch test for a
12:21
lot of these hormones. Omega-3 index,
12:25
that's going to show not only your EPA,
12:27
but your DHA and how much trans fats you
12:31
have in there. I can just tell you 90%
12:33
of the population in America are low in
12:36
omega-3s. So, if you don't want to test,
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just get the good omega-3. Barlines is
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great. Nordic natural is great. There's
12:45
a lot of bad ones out there. Those are
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two very good ones. And if possible, the
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organic acids test that is included in
12:53
the Dutch test. Love it. And it's also
12:55
in the functional lab test that I highly
12:58
recommend. These labs tell the whole
13:01
story. One that will explain why you
13:04
just don't feel like you're firing on
13:06
all
13:07
cylinders. So, let me tell you about a
13:10
client. We'll call him Mark. He's 52. He
13:13
owns a small business. And he came in
13:15
one time saying, "You know, I'm not
13:16
depressed, but I just I just not myself,
13:19
and I'm just not really living fully."
13:24
He'd gained about 15 pounds. His brain
13:26
was feeling foggy. when we tested his
13:29
testosterone was 310, barely scraping
13:32
the low end. He worked on cleaning up
13:35
his food. He added strength training to
13:38
the program, started supporting his
13:41
mitochondria and his gut health,
13:43
improved his sleep routine, and he
13:46
targeted the brain and testosterone with
13:50
some supplements. Within 8 weeks, 2
13:53
months, he felt clearer, motivated, and
13:56
energetic. He'd lost 10 of the 15 lbs.
14:01
His tea jumped to 510. And his wife
14:04
said, "Huh, you're back. The honeydew
14:06
list gets done." It's just about getting
14:09
the biology to work with you so you can
14:12
feel great again. You can be back into
14:14
life. And you know, you don't have to
14:16
settle for brain fog. You don't have to
14:19
settle for, oh, well, you know, you're
14:20
getting older. No, that is not it.
14:23
Things just need to be optimized so you
14:25
can get your drive back.
14:27
Okay. And you certainly don't have to
14:28
lose your mental edge. You know, I
14:30
laughingly tell people, look at MC
14:33
Jagger at 82. He's going strong on
14:36
stage. He's got passion for life. He's
14:39
working out every day. He's eating
14:41
right. He's doing all the good things.
14:43
And he is enjoying every minute. The
14:46
brain is plastic. Your mitochondria can
14:51
be rebuilt and your hormones can come
14:54
back when you give your body what it
14:57
needs. So, you know, if you want to give
15:00
me a ring, we'll talk about it. See how
15:02
we can help you get your edge back. And
15:05
that's it for today, my friends.
15:07
Remember, you are made to feel strong,
15:10
sharp, and alive. Not to just survive,
15:14
but to thrive. Thanks for listening. And
15:17
if you'd like to listen again, you can
15:19
go to my website
15:20
debfor.com. Any place you listen to
15:23
podcasts, it's under today's nutrition
15:26
or you can go to YouTube, Dr. Deb Ford,
15:30
and listen to that along with many other
15:32
podcasts. Okay, have a great day and I
15:36
hope to see you again soon, helping make
15:39
you healthy again.
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Men's Mental Fitness
Deb Ford DCN RDN
3 views
Jun 15, 2025
15:43
Let me ask you something: Are you feeling tired, unmotivated, maybe a little moody or foggy-headed? Like you’ve lost your edge — that mental sharpness, your energy, or that inner drive you used to count on? If that sounds familiar, I want you to know this: 👉 You’re not lazy. 👉 You’re not crazy. 👉 You’re not broken. Your brain and your body are just low on fuel. And today we’re going to talk about how to get it back If you’ve been feeling tired, mentally foggy, or just not like yourself lately — especially you men over 40 — this episode is for you.