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Derek

More Plates More Dates

Derek is the creator behind More Plates More Dates (MPMD). His work centers on fitness and endocrine health topics, including natural testosterone optimization, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and the evaluation of health supplements. The provided context does not include any academic publications.

97 claims checked on air: 5 context 3 contradicted 5 overstated 73 supported 11 unverified

What they said on air - context

0:03:24needs contexthighHow To Increase Your Testosterone Levels Naturally | Derek f

In adolescence, the 5-alpha reduction of testosterone to DHT is necessary for sexual differentiation and full adult male maturity.

"in adolescence, the 5-alpha reduction to DHT, so the conversion of testosterone to DHT, is necessary for full maturation, sexual differentiation to basically reach full adult male maturity." (said at 0:03:24)

The claim conflates fetal development with adolescent puberty. 5-alpha reduction of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is strictly essential in utero for male sexual differentiation (the formation of male external genitalia and the prostate). In adolescence, pubertal virilization (muscle development, voice deepening, and penile growth) is primarily driven by testosterone itself, as evidenced by individuals with 5-alpha reductase type 2 deficiency who undergo significant pubertal virilization despite low DHT levels. However, DHT is still necessary for certain aspects of full adult male maturation, specifically prostate growth, seminal fluid volume, and male-pattern body and facial hair.

0:15:35needs contexthighHow To Increase Your Testosterone Levels Naturally | Derek f

Biotin supplements can interfere with laboratory hormone immunoassay testing.

"And ideally you would have not taken certain confounding variable supplements like biotin that can cross-detect as estrogens and whatnot." (said at 0:15:35)

Biotin supplementation significantly interferes with laboratory hormone testing on immunoassay platforms that utilize streptavidin-biotin binding technology. In competitive immunoassay formats—commonly used to measure small molecules and steroid hormones such as estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone—excess free biotin in the sample competes with biotinylated reagents for streptavidin binding sites. This reduces signal output, which the assay software interprets as a falsely elevated concentration of the target hormone (such as estradiol). However, biotin does not "cross-detect" or cross-react as an estrogen itself (it does not bind to anti-estrogen antibodies or estrogen receptors); rather, it disrupts the physical capture mechanism of biotin-dependent assay platforms.

1:09:32needs contextlowHow To Increase Your Testosterone Levels Naturally | Derek f

Boron supplementation at a dose of 6 to 12 milligrams suppresses SHBG and liberates free testosterone.

"the quantity that moves the needle for SHBG I believe was like 6 to 12 milligrams and can be meaningful for actually liberating free testosterone, not for actually producing more total T." (said at 1:09:32)

The speaker's statement accurately summarizes the findings of a small clinical study evaluating boron supplementation. In an open-label comparative trial in 8 healthy male volunteers taking 10 mg of boron daily, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) significantly decreased 6 hours after acute ingestion, and mean plasma free testosterone increased significantly after one week of daily supplementation without an increase in total testosterone. However, this effect has only been demonstrated in this single, small (n = 8), short-term study and has not been replicated in larger randomized controlled trials; earlier trials utilizing lower doses (2.5 mg/day) found no effect on free or total testosterone.

1:16:48needs contextmoderateHow To Increase Your Testosterone Levels Naturally | Derek f

Tongkat Ali supplementation increases testosterone levels by 100 to 200 nanograms per deciliter.

"it seems to work to the tune of 100 to 200 nanograms per deciliter for some people and depends on how potent of a standardized extract you get." (said at 1:16:48)

Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses show that standardized extracts of Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) can significantly increase serum total testosterone levels, with increases often in the range of 50 to 150+ ng/dL (and up to ~200 ng/dL in some cohorts). However, this magnitude of increase is primarily observed in men with low baseline testosterone levels (such as aging males with androgen deficiency or hypogonadism). In healthy, young eugonadal men, increases are generally smaller, more variable, or less clinically significant.

3:07:09needs contextmoderateHow To Increase Your Testosterone Levels Naturally | Derek f

Dutasteride at dosages up to 2.5 mg daily has been used for benign prostatic hyperplasia with a low prevalence of side effects.

"even at dosages up to like 2.5 milligrams daily of dutasteride has been used with great success with individuals with a minority prevalence of side effects, and they're relatively minor from what I've seen." (said at 3:07:09)

Dutasteride is clinically approved and standardly prescribed at a daily dose of 0.5 mg for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and male pattern hair loss. Dose-ranging clinical trials have evaluated dutasteride at dosages up to 2.5 mg daily (for example, in a 24-week randomized controlled trial by Olsen et al., 2006). In clinical studies across tested doses, adverse events (predominantly sexual adverse effects like erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, and ejaculatory changes) occur in a minority of participants. However, 2.5 mg daily is five times the standard approved therapeutic dose for BPH.

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