Gynecomastia, also commonly referred to as ‘man boobs’, is the unwanted enlargement of male breasts due to an excessive build-up of fat on the chest. Even though gynecomastia is not linked to the risk of developing serious medical conditions, it can cause psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and decreased self-esteem.
Many people assume that the cause of gynecomastia is aging, poor diet, and weight gain, however, it can affect healthy and young men just as much as one of the major causes of moobs is insulin resistance.
Insulin is a hormone responsible for directing glucose, a sugar in carbohydrates, from the body’s bloodstream and into cells around the body, including muscles and fat. Insulin forces glucose needed to create energy, into cells and then converts the excess glucose into triglycerides, the main building block of fat.
Men with poor diets and certain lifestyles often live with high levels of glucose in their bloodstreams every day, which triggers the body to create more insulin needed to process glucose. Unfortunately, a result of higher insulin levels is the build-up of fat, this is due to the body’s tendency to naturally hold on to fat and insulin’s ability to block the process of lipolysis, the breakdown of fatty lipids into ketones. Consequently, men with insulin resistance struggle to break down fat in addition to their body regularly creating new fat.
For sufferers of gynecomastia, the emotional and mental stress caused by it may be a challenge at times, however, there are a few tried and tested ways to get rid of gynecomastia, which you can read about more below.
Surgery
One option for treating gynecomastia, which men with the condition should think carefully about before committing to, is plastic surgery. It is recommended that men considering surgery click here to fully understand the surgical method and techniques. Typically, glandular tissue, fat, and excess skin are removed from the chest and the remaining muscle and skin tissue are then contoured to create a natural look.
There are two options for gynecomastia surgery; liposuction and mastectomy. Liposuction removes breast fat and leaves the breast gland tissue, whilst mastectomy surgery uses small incisions to remove breast gland tissue.
Generally, gynecomastia surgery is a simple procedure that usually takes around four to six weeks to recover from and post-surgery patients are advised to eat a healthy diet, exercise, and reduce medication which makes gynecomastia worse.
Check Medications
In addition to gynecomastia being caused by poor diet and insulin resistance, taking certain medications can also contribute to the growth of male breasts, these include medicines to treat conditions such as:
Anxiety
Bacterial infections
Cancer
Depression
Heart problems
Heartburn
Viruses
To reduce the effects medications have on the severity of gynecomastia it is a good idea to change or reduce specific medicines after consulting with your doctor.
Dietary Changes
Insulin resistance is a major cause of gynecomastia, however, it can be reversed by implementing a healthy diet that is consistently eaten every day over a long period. Ideally, an insulin-reducing diet should contain few or zero carbohydrates which should instead be replaced by food known to improve insulin regulation, these include avocados, almonds, broccoli, beans, beef, chicken, eggs, fish, lamb, legumes, pork, spinach, and tomatoes.
Creating a long-term dietary plan that involves eating a combination of healthy foods every day, will result in fewer carbohydrates and sugars being present in your body so that it can manage insulin levels more effectively.
Fitness Plans
The symptoms of gynecomastia can be reduced through regular and focused exercise, which can only be provided by creating a strategic workout plan. The ideal workout schedule should focus on chest, back, shoulders, and upper body exercises to increase the tone and lean mass of your chest. Some examples of workouts used to decrease chest fat and increase muscle tone are:
Barbell bench presses
Cardio such as jogging, hiking, running, skipping, swimming, and walking
Inverted rows
Pushups
Squats
Testosterone Therapy
Imbalances in hormones, namely decreased levels of testosterone are factors in the development of gynecomastia as lower levels of testosterone and higher levels of estrogen in men can lead to increased growth of breast fat. However, it is possible to treat gynecomastia using testosterone replacement therapy available in several forms such as injections, patches, and skin gels. Taking the best estrogen blocker can also help reduce estrogen production.. In addition to reducing the effects of gynecomastia, testosterone treatment also provides improvements to energy levels, moods, muscle mass, and sleep quality.
Gynecomastia comes with several challenges and difficulties for sufferers such as anxiety, embarrassment, and depression due to low self-esteem and unhappiness with their image. However, men can get rid of gynecomastia by exercising, eating an improved diet, getting surgery, or receiving hormone therapy, sometimes it may require a combination of them all.