The Morning Dose #33: Enclomiphene vs. TRT, Liraglutide, and Terrifying Processed Food Research

In this week’s edition of The Morning Dose:

Enclomiphene vs. TRT

 Peptide Spotlight: Liraglutide

 Research Spotlight: Ultra-processed Foods Linked to Dozens of Negative Health Outcomes

Peter Attia and Derek from More Plates, More Dates

Let’s inject this.

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Enclomiphene vs. TRT

Let’s kick this week off by taking a closer look at enclomiphene, which is popping up everywhere in the anti-aging and biohacking corners of the internet.

Many TRT clinics now offer this medication, and I’m constantly bombarded by ads promoting enclomiphene as the far superior option to TRT, claiming it’s a “natural” way to increase testosterone production. In fact, some clinics only offer this treatment, rather than testosterone therapy.

Let’s look at what it is, how it works, and how it compares to traditional TRT.

Enclomiphene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator, or SERM, like its popular sister medication, Clomid. To get even more technical, Clomid contains both enclomiphene AND another compound called zuclomiphene.

In other words, enclomiphene is essentially a purer version of Clomid, with the zuclomiphone removed to minimize some of the nasty side effects, including mood swings, headaches, blurred vision, and more.

When you use a SERM, it will block some of your body’s estrogen receptors. This triggers your brain to produce more LH and FSH, two hormones that increase activity in the testes, resulting in higher levels of testosterone and sperm production.

That’s why SERMs are often used as post-cycle therapy–if your testes aren’t producing testosterone, adding SERMs should theoretically get your body to restart it’s own production.

These days, we’re seeing many clinics offering enclomiphene as an alternative to TRT, since it can boost your testosterone levels without injections. You’ll receive the benefits of higher testosterone levels, without shutting down your natural production, a side effect of TRT.

So is enclomiphene truly a better option than TRT? Maybe.

While it does seem to increase testosterone levels, it’s not as predictable or reliable as administering standardized doses of testosterone on a regular schedule.

However, the benefit is that without testosterone therapy, you don’t have to worry about shutting down your natural production or interfering with fertility–which is always important to consider before using hormones.

The second issue is that while some men suffer from low testosterone due to pituitary issues and a lack of LH and FSH production, other men simply can’t produce enough in the testes. You can send as many signals as you want by taking SERMs, but if your testicles can’t produce what your body demands, you’re still going to have low testosterone.

If you want to avoid TRT for fertility reasons, or you want to try and boost your body’s own production, we suggest speaking with your doctor about giving enclomiphene therapy a try.

Just know that it may not be quite as effective as true TRT, and if your issues are in the testes themselves, enclomiphene isn’t going to help you.

To learn more, check out our complete guide to enclomiphene.

Peptide Spotlight: Liraglutide

For this edition of peptide spotlight, let’s take a closer look at Liraglutide, another popular weight loss peptide that’s recently hit the market.

Liraglutide is FDA-approved to manage blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes, but just like other GLP-1 peptides, it has powerful impacts on weight loss.

We’re not going to cover how GLP-1s work in this email, as we’ve done so in the past. If you’re curious to really dig deep into Liraglutide, be sure to check out this comprehensive Liraglutide guide that was recently written by our head coach and resident peptide expert, Daniel Louwrens.

Similar to other GLP-1s like semaglutide and retatrutide, liraglutide primarily works by improving your body’s insulin response and minimizing hunger, while slowing gastric emptying.

By significantly decreasing your appetite, GLP-1s make fat loss significantly easier, and generally come with several other beneficial impacts, as it may offer neuroprotection, and both improve insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health.

Now the important question — is Liraglutide better than the other weight loss peptides on the market?

No. In fact, studies have shown that semaglutide resulted in better weight loss results than liraglutide.

However, pharmaceutical GLP-1s continue to be in high demand with soaring prices, so if you’re looking to use a weight loss peptide and can’t get your hands on any of the other options, this is still a very powerful peptide that can assist with weight loss.

 Research Spotlight: Ultra-processed Foods Linked to Dozens of Negative Health Outcomes

In a brand-new study that was just published in The BMJ, researchers examined the impact of consuming ultra-processed foods on various health outcomes by looking at the results of over 45 meta-analyses, which provided data on a total of over 10 million participants.

UItra-processed foods are packaged foods that are usually completely altered from their original state. Cereal, crackers, hot dogs, candy, ramen… all those snacks many of us grew up on.

According to the study, “Direct associations were found between exposure to ultra-processed foods and 32 (71%) health parameters spanning mortality, cancer, and mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and metabolic health outcomes.”

Of particular importance, the researchers linked regular consumption of ultra-processed foods with a 50% increased risk of death related to cardiovascular diseases, a 12% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and a 53% higher risk of developing anxiety and depression.

Not to mention, processed foods are generally very high in calories and engineered to taste very good, which can make maintaining a healthy bodyweight quite challenging.

The research is abundantly clear. We should avoid ultra-processed foods as much as possible.

Now, does this mean you can never enjoy dessert again, or your favorite childhood snacks? Of course not.

But these foods should always be consumed in moderation.

If you’re eating lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains 90% of the time, you’re probably fine.

On the other hand, if you can’t remember the last time you ate a vegetable or most of your food is coming from boxes on a shelf, we strongly suggest correcting your diet and moving away from processed food consumption.

Save processed food for a treat, not your daily food intake.

Peter Attia and Derek from More Plates, More Dates

If you’re a fan of podcasts, we highly recommend checking out the recent conversation between Peter Attia and Derek, owner of the popular YouTube channel More Plates, More Dates, and owner of Marek Health.

For those who don’t know Derek, while he isn’t a physician, he’s widely considered to be an expert on all things peptides, hormones, and health optimization. He’s appeared on Peter’s podcast, The Drive in the past, and Peter invited him back for more.

Many of you probably know Peter Attia, the author of the legendary book Outlive, but if you don’t, he’s a physician who’s become known for his focus on anti-aging and longevity.

You may not agree with everything said in this podcast, but it’s a fascinating discussion between two of the more influential people in the health space. Although, fair warning–the podcast is nearly three hours in length.

Peter and Derek spend nearly three hours discussing a variety of topics, including:

The impact of testosterone and DHT

TRT in women

Why TRT is so popular in younger men, and the dangers of using underground labs to source your testosterone

How popular compounds like Clomid, enclomiphene, and HCG interact with TRT protocols

Gene therapy and myostatin inhibition for muscle loss

Derek’s best fat loss tips

And much more.

This is a long one, but it’s worth a listen, either on YouTube, or in your favorite podcast app. Look for Episode 291, “Role of testosterone in men & women, performance-enhancing drugs, sustainable fat loss, & more.”

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