Core content of male hormone health guidance

The core of male hormone health guidance is not the "testosterone supplement = energy supplement and masculinity" spread online, but centered on the dynamic balance of the androgen group with testosterone as the core, making personalized adjustments to suit the individual's age and physical condition. The core goal is to avoid the metabolic, reproductive, emotional and other multi-system problems caused by hormone imbalance, rather than pursuing the higher the androgen value, the better.

I previously met a 32-year-old Internet back-end developer at the health management center. He stayed up until two or three o'clock every day to work on projects for more than half a year. He always felt weak and unmotivated. He was not even interested in married life. After searching for symptoms online, he concluded that he had low testosterone, so he secretly bought imported ones. After taking testosterone supplements for two months, acne broke out all over my face. A physical examination showed that the prostate-specific antigen was twice as high as the normal value. I was so frightened that I hurried to the doctor for consultation. The final investigation revealed that blindly supplementing exogenous testosterone suppressed my own androgen secretion. I stopped taking supplements and adjusted my daily routine and returned to normal within two months.

Nowadays, there are two extreme opinions on male hormones on the Internet. One is the blogger who promotes testosterone supplementation as a panacea, saying that you need to take it regularly after the age of 30. The other is talking about the discoloration of hormones, thinking that taking androgen supplements will damage the liver, kidneys, and rotten the face. In fact, both opinions are too one-sided. For normal men, the peak period of androgen is between the ages of 25 and 30. After the age of 30, it does naturally decrease at a rate of 1% to 2% per year. However, as long as there are no clear symptoms of discomfort such as persistent fatigue, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, and decreased bone density, this decrease does not require additional intervention at all, let alone buying supplements by yourself.

Last month, a 27-year-old fitness enthusiast came to me and said that he had been practicing for more than half a year and his circumference had not increased. He had been feeling depressed recently, and it took him two or three days to recover after training. The six hormone tests showed that testosterone was 0.8nmol/L lower than the lower limit of the reference value. When I asked, I found out that in order to gain body fat, he had consumed less than 12% of his total calories from fat for three consecutive months. He practiced strength for more than two hours every day, which was completely exhausted by training. Later, he adjusted his diet, lowered the fat ratio to 25%, added a handful of nuts every day, and ate deep-sea fish twice a week. Strength training was limited to four times a week for one and a half hours each time, and he added a low-intensity hike. After only two months, he checked again and his testosterone returned to the middle of the normal range. To put it bluntly, the synthesis of androgens requires cholesterol as a raw material. If you eat too much and exercise too hard, it will drag down the hormone levels.

Of course, this does not mean that all hormone imbalances can be corrected by lifestyle. If you adjust your work and rest, diet, and exercise status for two or three months in a row, and the discomfort symptoms are still not relieved, you must go to a regular hospital to check six sex hormones, and if necessary, do a test of the thyroid, pituitary gland, and testicles. Regarding related investigations, many people don’t know that the high incidence of abdominal obesity and fatty liver now causes the aromatase enzyme in fat to convert androgens into estrogen. Many men with bulging belly have been found to have low testosterone. In this case, lowering the weight first will be more effective than taking any supplements.

As for the so-called testicle-stimulating supplements such as maca and zinc-magnesium tablets that are now very popular online, they are actually "deficiency filling". Taking them will only be effective if your daily dietary intake of zinc, magnesium and other trace elements is insufficient. If you usually eat enough meat, eggs, and nuts, eating these is at most a psychological comfort. If you supplement too much, it will interfere with the absorption of other trace elements.

In addition, don’t fall into the misunderstanding that “the higher the androgen, the better”. If androgen is too high for a long time in young men, they are prone to seborrheic alopecia, acne, and seborrheic dermatitis. If the abnormal increase is pathological, the possibility of testicular tumors and adrenal gland diseases must be investigated. Balance is the core of hormonal health.