Should You Eat Dirt? The “Healthy” Foods Destroying Your Gut – Dr. Josh Axe

Dave Asprey

Jun 10, 2025

Episode description

You’ve been told to eat clean, but what if your “healthy” foods are wrecking your gut, crushing your hormones, and aging you faster? This episode exposes the nutrient-depleted truth behind modern diets, soil erosion, and why regenerative farming might be the key to reversing chronic disease, boosting mitochondria, and rebuilding your biology from the ground up.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Dr. Josh Axe, a trusted pioneer in functional medicine, bestselling author, and co-founder of Ancient Nutrition. Dr. Axe bridges the gap between biblical farming, ancestral nutrition, and modern science to explain how your food and even your supplements may be harming your human performance, digestion, and brain health. With clinical insights, personal stories, and science-backed tools, he shares what to eat instead if you want real longevity, energy, and healing.

They dig into the collapse of soil nutrients, how monocropping damages the microbiome, and why organic food standards may be outdated. You’ll learn how regenerative agriculture rebuilds the earth and your gut, and why biohacking starts with dirt, not pills. Plus, they explore the hormonal chaos caused by seed oils, plastics, blue light, sleep disruption, and even birth control, especially in relation to testosterone loss in men and women.

This episode also touches on biblical nutrition, fasting cycles, natural nootropics, testosterone-supporting peptides, the dangers of synthetic vitamins, and the future of real-time self-quantification. From poop-powered farming to smarter sourcing, it’s a wild ride into how food, faith, and farming affect every part of your biology.

This is essential listening for anyone serious about biohacking, neurohacking, longevity, Upgrade Labs, Danger Coffee, Smarter Not Harder, and understanding the real root of disease and dysfunction.

You’ll Learn:

• Why regenerative farming beats “organic” for health and the planet

• How depleted soil is linked to hormone imbalances and chronic disease

• What birth control is doing to testosterone, fertility, and mitochondrial health

• Why your supplements may just be “expensive pee”

• The truth about biblical farming and why dirt still matters

• How to support testosterone naturally with diet, peptides, and habits

• Why sleep optimization, mineral balance, and circadian alignment are key for healing

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Avoid testosterone pellets to preserve natural hormonal cycle

Testosterone pellets can be detrimental because they eliminate the natural daily hormonal cycle, which can lead to side effects like hair loss.

#side-effects

#testosterone

Beware hormonal contraceptives: 287% increased risk of hypothyroidism

A 10-year study found that women who take hormonal contraceptive drugs have a 287% increased chance of developing hypothyroidism.

#birth-control

#thyroid

Utilize Tesamorelin to boost natural testosterone production

The peptide Tesamorelin is a favorite for raising testosterone because it gives your body what it needs to create the hormone itself, rather than just replacing it.

#peptides

#testosterone

Implement land rest every seven years for soil restoration

A key principle of biblical farming, which is restorative for the soil, is to let the land rest every seven years.

#soil-health

#sustainability

Prioritize ETA over EPA for superior anti-inflammatory benefits

ETA, a fatty acid found in green-lipped mussels and caviar, has been shown in some studies to be far more anti-inflammatory than the well-known fish oil component EPA.

#fatty-acid

#inflammation

Limit raspberry intake to avoid urinary irritation

Eating too many raspberries, which are very high in oxalates, can cause microscopic calcium oxalate crystals in urine that irritate the urethra and mimic UTI symptoms.

#nutrition

#oxalate

Understand hormonal birth control's impact on men's testosterone levels

Widespread use of hormonal birth control may lower men's testosterone because men's testosterone naturally rises when they are around ovulating women.

#birth-control

#testosterone

Chop wood to boost testosterone levels

A study found that men chopping firewood was more effective at building testosterone than playing most sports like soccer or basketball.

#exercise

#testosterone

Demand higher standards than organic certification for nutrition

The 'organic' certification has loopholes that allow for nutrient-poor products, and a higher standard called Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) is emerging.