Men's Hormone Health Guidance

There is no need to follow the trend and buy any testicle-stimulating or impotence products from Internet celebrities. 70% of hormonal abnormalities can be reversed by adjusting daily diet, exercise, and sleep. The remaining 20% ​​need to first investigate the effects of chronic diseases and long-term medication. Only 10% of cases require exogenous hormone supplementation under the guidance of a regular doctor.

I met a 28-year-old Internet programmer friend recently. He slept 4 hours a day while working on a project for half a year, ate takeout and drank milk tea every now and then. His body fat soared to 28%. In the first half of the year, his body test showed that his testosterone was only 320ng/dl. He complained that he was tired every day. After two months of fitness training, his muscles did not grow at all, and his libido also dropped drastically. He searched for guides for a long time, bought a bunch of Maca and imported testicle-stimulating supplements and took them for two months. He spent less than 2,000, but his testosterone dropped by 10ng/dl during the re-examination, and his hair fell even more. He was so anxious that he came to me and asked if he should take testosterone injections directly.

Speaking of which, we have to mention a disagreement that has been quarreling in the industry for almost ten years: How much testosterone is considered "unhealthy"? The standard of traditional endocrinology is very clear: as long as it is within the adult male reference range (260-1570ng/dl), it is not abnormal and does not require intervention. However, there have been different voices in the field of sports medicine in recent years: For men over 30 years old, if the testosterone value is lower than 400ng/dl and accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, loss of muscle mass, abdominal obesity, and loss of sexual desire, even if it is within the reference range, it is recommended to adjust as soon as possible. Otherwise, in the long run, not only will the quality of life be affected, but the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease will also increase. Both statements are supported by clinical data. There is no absolute right or wrong. The core point is to see whether you have uncomfortable symptoms. Don't just focus on the numbers and worry.

Let’s talk about the most common misunderstanding about exercise that everyone falls into. I’ve seen too many people think that “exercising more can promote testicles.” They run five kilometers every day, but after running for three months, their testosterone drops. It’s not that exercise is useless, it’s just that you didn’t choose the right method. Endurance athletes who perform aerobic exercise for more than one hour at a time and whose body fat percentage is lower than 15% for a long time have testosterone levels that are generally 10%-20% lower than those of ordinary men. This is a conclusion that has been confirmed by many studies. On the contrary, if you do large muscle group strength training (leg training, chest training, back training, etc.) 3 times a week for about 40 minutes each time for 3 consecutive months, most people can increase their testosterone by 15%-20%. But don’t practice too hard. A fitness blogger I met before went to the gym for 3 hours a day to compete in the competition. His body fat reached 8%. In the later stages of preparation for the competition, his testosterone dropped directly to the critical value. Even the normal morning erections disappeared. It took him half a year to recover. I really don’t say this lightly.

Let’s talk about food. Don’t believe the old saying about eating oysters or pork kidneys to replenish testosterone. The zinc content is not as good as if you take a regular multivitamin tablet. Pork kidneys are also high in purine. If you eat too much, gout will come to your doorstep, and the gain will not be worth the loss. Regarding the relationship between diet and testosterone, there are two schools of thought with different emphases: One school believes that sufficient high-quality fat intake must be ensured. After all, testosterone synthesis cannot be separated from cholesterol. If you eat oil-free and fat-reducing meals every day and dare not even eat an egg yolk, how can your body synthesize hormones? The other group warns not to overdo it. After the body fat rate exceeds 25%, the aromatase in the fat will convert testosterone into estrogen. This is why many boys with big bellies will develop mild breast development. My programmer friend later adjusted his diet. He replaced his daily cup of milk tea with sugar-free tea, removed boiled vegetables from his light meals, and added a spoonful of nuts and a piece of salmon of about 100g every day. His body fat dropped to 22% in 3 months. After a follow-up test, his testosterone increased to 540ng/dl, which is much more effective than the supplements he took worth thousands of dollars.

There is another invisible killer that is most easily overlooked by everyone, which is staying up late and stress. One experimental data is particularly intuitive: Men who sleep less than 5 hours a day for 7 consecutive days will have a 10%-15% drop in testosterone levels, which is almost equivalent to the 10-year-old drop in natural aging. But don’t be so anxious about this that you have to force yourself to sleep for 8 hours. In recent years, there has been a new view in the field of sleep science: as long as you don’t feel tired after waking up, 6-9 hours of sleep a day is normal. On the contrary, setting the alarm clock in the middle of the night and forcing yourself to fall asleep just to make up for it will lead to sleep fragmentation and a greater impact on hormones. Oh, by the way, don’t think that being stressed is just a bad mood. Cortisol remains high under long-term high pressure, which will directly inhibit the synthesis of testosterone. Look at those boys who are constantly scolded by their bosses every day. Many of them have no sexual desire. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s because their hormone levels don’t allow it.

If you have conscientiously adjusted your lifestyle for 3 months, but still have obvious symptoms of discomfort, and your testosterone is still low after a follow-up test, then you should really stop buying the Sanwu supplements online. I have seen many so-called "natural testicle-stimulating" products that secretly add exogenous testosterone. If you take them blindly, your body's own testosterone synthesis ability will be suppressed after taking them for a long time. After you stop taking them, your hormones will plummet, making them worse than before. There are also several easily overlooked influencing factors that need to be checked first: whether you have been taking antihypertensive drugs and antidepressants for a long time, whether you have abnormal thyroid function, and whether you have sleep apnea syndrome (the kind where snoring suddenly stops while sleeping). If these problems are not solved, it will be useless no matter how many testicle-stimulating substances you take. If you really need to supplement testosterone from an external source, you must go to the endocrinology department or andrology department of a regular tertiary hospital. Now there are legal treatment methods such as topical gels and long-acting injections. Regular review under the guidance of a doctor is much lower than buying supplements blindly.

I have been doing health science popularization for almost 5 years, and I have seen too many boys anxious about testosterone, fearing that they are "not manly enough" because of their low testosterone. In fact, there is really no need. Everyone's basic hormone levels are inherently different. As long as there are no uncomfortable symptoms, it is completely fine even if it is a little lower than that of peers. Instead, I have seen quite a few people who worry about the numbers every day, buy random products, and end up with physical problems. Oh, and a final reminder, don’t go to private men’s hospitals to check your hormones. Many places deliberately lower your values ​​and trick you into doing all kinds of useless treatments. If you want to check, go to a regular tertiary hospital. A blood test costs tens of dollars, and the results are much more reliable.