Listen: Audio Health Guides by Dr. Michael Duben, MD
Functional Medicine — In Your Ears
Not everyone has time to read a full clinical article. These audio guides give you the same board-certified expertise in a format you can take on a walk, a commute, or a quiet five minutes between appointments. Each episode is drawn directly from the written guides on this site — same science, same honesty, no fluff.
New episodes added regularly. If there’s a topic you’d like covered, send us a message.
Available Episodes
EPISODE 9 · WOMEN’S HEALTH
Testosterone Toximization: Women Are Being Dosed Like Men
Key Takeaways: A woman’s testosterone belongs in the female range. For most women, not even at the top of it. For no woman, ever, in the male range. Dr. Duben explains what normal levels actually look like, how to test them properly, why pellets are the worst option, the permanent risks of male-range dosing, and the 3 questions every woman on testosterone should ask.
Small doses of testosterone can help a postmenopausal woman’s libido, modestly. What is being sold instead pushes women into levels expected in men. Dr. Duben has a name for it: toximization, achieving toxic levels under the pretense of optimization.
EPISODE 8 · BONE HEALTH
The Fracture Already Made the Diagnosis
Key Takeaways: A fragility fracture, a break from a fall from standing height or less, is itself the diagnosis of osteoporosis, and 4 out of 5 people who break a hip go home untreated. Dr. Duben explains what actually makes the diagnosis, the causes almost nobody looks for, why supplements cannot close the gap, and which bone products hold up.
Dr. Michael Duben, a board-certified endocrinologist and certified clinical densitometrist, walks through how bone is built and lost, how often the diagnosis is missed, and how osteoporosis should actually be treated.
EPISODE 7 · SLEEP & HORMONES
You Can’t Optimize Your Way Out of Bad Sleep
Key Takeaways: Sleep is the pillar people sacrifice first, and the cost shows up hormonally. Dr. Duben explains what short sleep does to testosterone, insulin and weight, why cortisol is the messenger rather than the cause, and the free fixes worth doing first.
What sleep actually is, what you lose without it, what is poisoning the well at night, why the treatment with the best evidence is not a drug, and the supplements and prescription medications worth knowing by name.
EPISODE 6 · MEN’S HEALTH & HORMONES
How Everyday Toxins Sabotage Your Hormones
Key Takeaways: Plastics, PFAS, pesticides, and heavy metals are suppressing testosterone, disrupting thyroid function, and driving metabolic dysfunction in ways most doctors never test for. Dr. Duben identifies the major offenders, their hidden sources in daily life, how to test your actual chemical burden, and both natural and clinical strategies to reduce it.
Plastics, PFAS, pesticides, and heavy metals are disrupting testosterone, thyroid, and metabolic health in ways most doctors never test for. Dr. Duben breaks down the major offenders, where they’re hiding in your daily life, how to test your actual exposure, and what both natural and clinical strategies can do to reduce your burden.
EPISODE 5 · THYROID HEALTH
Graves' Disease: An Immune System Problem
Dr. Michael Duben explains what Graves' disease really is — an immune system condition that targets your thyroid — and walks through symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, and functional medicine approaches available in Fairfield, CT.
Key Takeaways: Graves' disease is not a thyroid problem — it's an immune system problem that happens to target the thyroid. Dr. Duben explains how TSH receptor antibodies drive the condition, why standard treatment options like Methimazole, radioactive iodine, and surgery each carry different long-term implications, and what functional medicine approaches — including selenium, gut health, and stress modulation — can do to address the immune root cause.
Read the full Graves' Disease guide →EPISODE 4 · MEN'S HEALTH
Low Libido, Low Testosterone & Testosterone Optimization
Dr. Michael Duben explains why most testosterone clinics miss the root cause — and what a true endocrinologist-led approach to men's hormonal health and hormone optimization looks like.Key Takeaways: Most testosterone clinics treat the number, not the patient. Dr. Duben explains why low testosterone is often a downstream symptom of deeper hormonal imbalances, how a board-certified endocrinologist evaluates the full hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, and why the difference between stimulating your own production versus replacing it entirely changes everything about long-term outcomes.
Read the full Men's Health guide →EPISODE 3 · WOMEN’S HEALTH
Female Libido Is a Vital Sign
Dr. Michael Duben explains why optimizing metabolic health, sleep, and stress is the essential foundation for female sexual vitality. He then provides a clinical review of proven medications and supplements, including specific dosages and precautions for an integrative approach to wellness.Key Takeaways: Female libido is a measurable clinical indicator — not a lifestyle complaint. Dr. Duben explains how metabolic dysfunction, poor sleep, and chronic stress suppress sexual vitality at the hormonal level, which FDA-approved medications and evidence-based supplements have demonstrated efficacy, and what a proper integrative workup looks like for women who’ve been told everything is “normal.”
Read the full Women’s Health guide →Episode 2 · Peptides & Regenerative Medicine
The 14 Peptides of the 2026 HHS Reclassification
The 2026 HHS reclassification changed the peptide landscape overnight. Dr. Duben walks through all 14 affected peptides — what they do, why they were reclassified, and what it means for patients currently using or considering peptide therapy.
Key Takeaways: The 2026 HHS reclassification removed 14 peptides from compounding pharmacy availability overnight. Dr. Duben breaks down each peptide, what it was used for clinically, why the reclassification happened, and what options remain for patients who were benefiting from peptide therapy.
Episode 1 · Thyroid Health
Why TSH Fails Thyroid Patients
TSH is the most commonly ordered thyroid test — and one of the most misunderstood. Dr. Duben explains why relying on TSH alone misses the full picture, what other markers matter, and what a root-cause thyroid workup actually looks like.
Key Takeaways: TSH alone misses early thyroid dysfunction in a significant percentage of patients. Dr. Duben explains which additional markers — Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies — are essential for a complete picture, why “normal” lab results don’t always mean optimal function, and what a root-cause thyroid workup actually looks like in clinical practice.
Michael Duben, MD is a Board-Certified Endocrinologist with over 20 years of clinical experience, trained at Mount Sinai and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He practices functional and regenerative medicine at Restore Health LLC in Fairfield, CT.