TUSTIN, CA, UNITED STATES, November 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Testosterone replacement therapy has finally entered the mainstream conversation. What most people don’t know is that Stark Health has been having it for nearly a decade — and not just with men.
Since 2017, when the medical establishment was still deeply skeptical of TRT, Stark Health’s integrated team of doctors, coaches, and nutritionists has been optimizing hormones as a core spoke of the Stark Wheel of Health — for both male and female clients. The results, its founder says, are among the most dramatic transformations the company sees.
“Most people think testosterone is a male hormone,” says Todd Vande Hei, CEO and founder of Stark Health. “It isn’t. It’s a brain hormone. And it affects men and women equally when it’s out of range — depression, emotional flatness, low energy, a creeping sense that life has lost its color. We’ve been watching this for years. The mainstream is just catching up.”
BEYOND ENERGY: THE BRAIN CONNECTION
The clinical picture of low testosterone is frequently misread. What presents as fatigue is often misdiagnosed as depression. What presents as low motivation is often dismissed as stress. What presents as cognitive fog is frequently attributed to aging.
Stark’s doctors see the fuller picture. Low testosterone in both men and women can manifest as persistent low mood, emotional blunting, reduced drive, and diminished enjoyment of life. Conversely, levels that run too high can tip into anxiety, irritability, and restlessness — a pattern that is particularly underrecognized in women.
“Optimization is not about getting numbers high,” says Vande Hei. “It’s about finding the range where each individual feels and performs their best. That’s a different question than the one most doctors are asking.”
WHAT STARK DOES DIFFERENTLY
Stark’s approach to hormone optimization is built on three principles that distinguish it from conventional care: comprehensive baseline testing, individualized dosing, and ongoing refinement.
At intake (a series of appointments called the Stark Baseline), every Stark student receives a full hormonal panel — testosterone (total and free), estradiol, DHEA-S, progesterone, SHBG, and IGF-1 — alongside the full suite of Wheel of Health assessments including DEXA body composition scanning and bone mineral density assessment. Hormones are never evaluated in isolation. They are read against a complete picture of the client’s sleep, stress, nutrition, gut health, and physical fitness.
“A testosterone number means nothing without context,” says Vande Hei. “A 400 in someone who sleeps well, trains hard, and manages stress is a very different clinical picture than a 400 in someone who’s chronically sleep-deprived and under-eating protein. We treat the person, not the number.”
Since 2017, Stark’s clinical team has continued refining its protocols — adjusting dosages and delivery methods, and examining variables as granular as the carrier oils in which testosterone is suspended. “The carrier matters,” says Vande Hei. “Most people don’t know that. We do — because we’ve been paying attention for nine years.”
THE FALL WINDOW
Stark’s clinicians report a predictable seasonal pattern: fall brings a measurable uptick in clients presenting with symptoms consistent with hormonal imbalance. As schedules accelerate, daylight shrinks, and the pace of life intensifies heading into the holiday season, the clinical signals become harder to ignore.
“We see it every year,” says Vande Hei. “Members come in feeling off — heavier in their mood, less sharp, less patient with the people they love. And more often than not, their hormones are part of the story. Fall is when it’s hardest to ignore.”
ABOUT STARK HEALTH
Founded in 2011, Stark Health is a health optimization company with locations in Tustin and Newport Beach, California. Stark’s integrated model combines doctors, coaches, nutritionists, and chiropractors into a single coordinated team — built for high-performing executives, entrepreneurs, and athletes who want to optimize their health, not just maintain it. Learn more at stark.health.
Contact: Alyssa Adair | pr@stark.health
Todd Vande Hei
Stark
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