Helping you reach the top 1% of male performance. Testosterone, Dopamine, Biohacking, Performance
A Masterclass in Prolactin
Sophrosyne newsletterA Masterclass in Prolactin |
Prolactin - Your Best Friend & Your Worst EnemyTestosterone, Growth Hormone and Estrogen are typically in the spotlight when it comes to hormone optimization. However, Prolactin is a hormone that is often underappreciated in the discussion. I say this because as a man, Prolactin in the right quantities is your best friend - but at the same time - in the wrong quantities is your worst enemy. How is it that a mammalian milk producing hormone affects our energy, Dopamine and Testosterone so drastically? We’ll get into all that juicy stuff further down, and how to make sure your Prolactin levels don't sore past what they should be. But for now, I need to quickly paint the Prolactin landscape for you. Like I prefaced, Prolactin is a hormone typically associated with pregnant females who are lactating. But us men also produce Prolactin. Prolactin is an incredibly versatile hormone, that is actually classified as a ‘neuropeptide’ in the brain. It’s involved in; (plus many other functions) This is why it’s your best friend in a sense - it works to keep you in homeostasis. However, it is also your worst enemy for the following reasons… Too much Prolactin - clinically known as hyperprolactinemia - has dire consequences in men.
It is actually quite easy to spike Prolactin, as you'll come to realize further down. Understanding these factors will prevent Prolactin from becoming problematic for you. Prolactin's Relationship with Dopamine and TestosteroneProlactin tends to have an inverse relationship with both Dopamine and Testosterone through a feedback loop. Dopamine levels regulate and inhibit the release of Prolactin. Conversely, as Prolactin spikes, Testosterone and Dopamine drop significantly. Prolactin does this by suppressing the release of our two gonadotropins involved in Testosterone synthesis; Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) by inhibiting Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH). You can think of Prolactin as the ‘brake’ for the Testosterone/Dopamine car. On the flip side, as Testosterone and Dopamine spike, Prolactin drops significantly. Based on this inverse relationship, step one for keeping Prolactin low is keeping your Testosterone and Dopamine high. It's fair to posit that if you're someone who has low Testosterone, your Prolactin is probably higher than it should be. You see this in clinical settings. Patients with low testosterone often request Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). Often, a simple Prolactin mitigation plan is all that's needed to get their Testosterone back up naturally. There are many men who have reported the benefits of doing this, and have not ended up on TRT as a result. Keeping your Prolactin low is relatively simple as you'll come to find further down. What causes Prolactin to spike?I will bucket these factors into three categories; natural, synthetic, and physiological dysfunction. Understanding these factors will allow you to buffer against high Prolactin in the future. And remember, Prolactin shouldn't be demonized. It serves very important physiological functions. But if you constantly feel tired, lethargic and unmotivated, it's worth tinkering with, or adopting the below tips. Natural factors:1. Chronic Stress: Remember, Prolactin is an adaptive hormone, and is involved in maintaining homeostasis. As we suffer from an affliction with the environment, our job or our internal landscape, Cortisol and Prolactin rise in tandem. It makes sense, given the inverse relationship between Cortisol and Testosterone. As Cortisol rises, Testosterone tends to drop. As Testosterone drops, Prolactin spikes through the feedback loop. 2. Sad music and movies: The emotion of sadness can cause a transient rise in Prolactin. It’s posited that this is a psychological response to ensure homeostasis. Sad movies, sad music and sad moments all modulate this release. The Prolactin increase is thought to be why sad movies and sad music make us feel 'good', or give us pleasure from them. 3. Estrogen Dominance: Estrogen dominance is when the Testosterone to Estrogen ratio is dangerously skewed in favor of Estrogen. (at some stage, I’ll be doing an entire newsletter on Estrogen Dominance - stay tuned for that) Aromatization is the process where this ratio skews. Simply put, Aromatization is the conversion of Testosterone to Estrogen in visceral fat tissue, through the Aromatase Enzyme. Here are some quick tips to minimize Aromatization:
On the flip side, being too lean also increases Prolactin. Somewhere between 8-15% body fat is optimal. 4. Serotonin rich foods (overconsumption of carbs): Overconsuming carbs can lead to excessive Serotonin production in the brain. Carb-rich meals have high quantities of an amino acid called Tryptophan. Tryptophan is a precursor to Serotonin. Theoretically, high Serotonin production leads to lower Dopamine production. Because we have less Dopamine, this means Prolactin will rise given their inverse relationship and the short-feedback loop they operate by. I would recommend only including high-glycemic index carbs in your evening meals. Consuming rice, potatoes or pasta should be saved for later in the day. But lower-glycemic index carbs such as fruit is generally fine during the day. 5. Parenthood: Prolactin is heavily involved in nurturing certain parental behaviors in both men and women. New fathers generally see a massive dip in Testosterone and Cortisol, and a massive spike in Prolactin. This can be offset by ensuring a high Dopamine clip through the various methods I’ll detail below. 6. Sauna: Excessive heat, as well as dehydration can increase Prolactin levels. A possible explanation for this is that the sauna stimulates our endogenous opioid receptors, which shunts our Dopamine production. Synthetic opioids also drive up Prolactin. Please note, sauna use has a litany of other benefits. I wouldn’t abandon usage just to avoid the temporary Prolactin spike. It will come back down to baseline after a day or so. You can also fast-track this by doing cold water immersion post sauna. Anything that increases Dopamine acutely will act as a Prolactin suppressant. 7. Environmental toxins: (this is an informed guess - there's no scientific research behind these claims) There is no data to suggest that environmental toxins directly influence Prolactin. However, it is an argument that could be made with relative ease. Xenoestrogens are environmental toxins that bind to Estrogen receptors with very specific selectivity and accuracy - thus driving endogenous Estrogen up. I’ve talked already about how Estrogen Dominance will increase Prolactin. It's reasonable to posit that the toxin-rich environment will contribute to elevated Prolactin, as Xenoestrogens suppress Testosterone. 8. Cannabis: There is conflicting data about Cannabis and its effect on Prolactin. It has been generally found that chronic users do see an increase in Prolactin, whereas acute users don’t necessarily see that same increase. Plus, Cannabis smoke is Estrogenic. 9. Orgasm/Masturbation: Orgasm directly spikes Prolactin, and thus reduces Dopamine and Testosterone. Post-nut syndrome is a real thing. This is where the refractory period occurs in us men. Men struggle with lethargy, temporary depression and numbness for some time post climax. Interestingly, the time it takes to turn around between rounds is malleable. Men with higher levels of Dopamine and Testosterone have a far shorter refractory period then men who start with a lower Dopamine and Testosterone baseline. Therefore, if you and your partner want to go for rounds, maintaining a high dopamine clip is vital. More on Dopamine below. Synthetic Factors:Medications: 1. Opioids (inhibit the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonad Axis and secrete Prolactin) 2. Antipsychotics 3. Dopamine Antagonists (compounds that block Dopamine) I’m not a medical professional so I won’t go into detail with these or make any recommendations. Just note that these compounds cause an uptick in Prolactin. Consult a medical professional when pharmacological substances are the subject matter. Environmental factors: 1. Xenoestrogens (BPA, BPS, Phthalates, Alkylphenols, Parabens) Other Factors:Physiological dysfunction: Now, there are also conditions that can lead to Hyperprolactinemia. For example, benign tumors on the Pituitary gland (known as Prolactinoma) and Hypothyroidism. Again, I would suggest consulting a medical professional if you’re worried about these. What reduces Prolactin?Dopamine: The simplest way to keep Prolactin low is to keep your Dopamine high. Again, this topic deserves an entire newsletter for itself. I’ll riff through how to do this very quickly. Phenylalanine and Tyrosine rich foods should be staples in your diet. This is because Phenylalanine and Tyrosine are both precursors to L-Dopa and Dopamine itself. They’re direct correspondents in the Dopamine synthesis pathway. Cheese, fish, red meat, and eggs are all great sources of these two amino acids. You can also obtain L-Phenylalanine and L-Tyrosine in supplement form. There are a few other supplements to help maintain a high Dopamine clip; 1. Mucuna Pruriens: Mucuna has plenty of research behind it to suggest its efficacy. Mucuna Pruriens taps directly into L-Dopa, which means it’s further along the Dopamine synthesis pathway than L-Tyrosine and L-Phenylalanine. Mucuna possesses the highest quantity of L-Dopa out of any supplement to my knowledge. The constituents in Mucuna are essentially L-Dopa, so they tap into the Dopamine pathway directly and effectively. 2. Rhodiola: Rhodiola may produce and bolster Dopamine-producing cells. 3. Bromantane: Bromantane is growing in popularity, and is technically a ‘synthetic adaptogen’. Adaptogens refer to natural compounds that buffer against stress and promote resiliency. Despite being synthetic, it’s reported to have no addiction propensity. This is why I’ve included it. It is thought to re-sensitize Dopamine receptors. It does this by upregulating the Tyrosine Hydroxylase enzyme (refer up to the Dopamine synthesis photo), which converts L-Tyrosine to L-Dopa, and ultimately Dopamine. Other ways to keep your Dopamine high:
Other methods for buffering Prolactin: 1. Zinc: Zinc seems to inhibit Prolactin in healthy individuals. A dose of 50mg/daily has halved prolactin levels in men. High-octane, bioavailable sources of Zinc include; oysters, beef, chicken and tofu. 2. Optimized Thyroid: Hypothyroidism is characterized by Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone (TRH) increasing to an unhealthy degree, which in turn drives up Prolactin. Prolactin is directly upregulated by TRH. I’ll do an entire newsletter on how to optimize Thyroid function in the future. Here are some simple, high ROI tactics for Thyroid health:
3. Vitamin E: A dose of 300mg/daily seems to be effective. Foods with high Vitamin E content include; sunflower seeds, eggs, and nuts. The Refractory PeriodThe dreaded post-nut syndrome… By now you know that orgasm spikes Prolactin, and suppresses Testosterone and Dopamine. It’s no wonder that post-nut syndrome exists. Feelings of lethargy, numbness and flirting with depression are caused by these physiological changes. This section will probably excite you, because the duration of this post-nut syndrome is malleable. There are ways to shorten the refractory period so you and your partner can go for rounds. There are some prerequisites though. For instance, you have to be relatively healthy to begin with (dialed in sleep, regular training, clean diet, optimized lifestyle etc). In order to shorten the refractory period, we need to optimize for our Dopamine and Testosterone baseline. Men with higher levels of Dopamine and Testosterone to begin with will have a far quicker turn around than men with lower levels. Therefore, Dopamine preservation and optimization is key. Diet: The diet staples;
Supplements: The supplement stack;
Extras:
Lifestyle:
SynthesisIf you’ve gotten this far, well done - I have armored you with a ton of information. I realize that there's a lot to process here. However, if I could synthesize this whole newsletter into one sentence: "to keep Prolactin low, optimize your Dopamine and Testosterone." This is the highest ROI task. Remember, Dopamine is a direct antagonist to Prolactin. To keep Dopamine high, I would include;
If you want to go the extra mile;
I wish you well your journey brother. Lets ascend. P.S, if this newsletter provided you with value and you want to support the cause - you have the ability to tip below.
Jack, from SophrosyneMy Twitter DMs are always open if you have any questions. |
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