No man likes it that’s for sure. But how do you get man boobs or gynecomastia in the first place? Surprisingly, 50 percent of men in the United States have it. This happens when your estrogen level rises. Naturally, both the guys and the ladies have breast tissues, which utilize estrogen hormones. Women naturally have more estrogen while men have more androgen. When your estrogen to androgen proportion gets out of hand, you grow boobs faster than your girl crush. On the other hand, this can be easy to prevent as long as you don’t ignore what causes it. If you’re not born with a genetic disorder such as KIinefelter condition, which is known to cause gynecomastia, you can avoid getting man boobs if you just wrap your head around it. To do this, you need to know what can cause your breasts to swell. Below are 9 things men do that lead to this condition:
1. Drinking too much
Excessive alcohol consumption doesn’t just make your belly less of a sight for sore eyes. It also affects the liver’s ability to eliminate excess estrogen. There’s also the fact that phytoestrogens, which are compounds that imitate true estrogen in the body, are in the hops utilized to create beer. These compounds are also present in plants used to make alcoholic drinks.
Furthermore, liver is primarily in-charge of metabolizing hormones and excessive drinking can cause cirrhosis or damage in the said organ. When your liver is not in its stable condition, it can convert a significant amount of androgens into estrogens, which manifests into a chest that resembles that of the opposite sex.
2. Using steroids
Taking steroids is known to cause your scrotum to shrink. But this isn’t the only unpleasant consequence that’s bound to happen as steroid usage can also cause you to have man boobs. This happens when the body converts high levels of testosterone found in steroids into estrogen. So, while you take steroids to bulk up, it can also backfire by giving you a feminine-looking chest.
3. Putting on weight
Not only can fat make your chest chubbier, it can also result in your muscle-to-fat proportion getting screwed. As the ratio of fatty tissue to lean tissue increases, the body generates more estrogen hormones and less androgen. The more estrogen you have, the likelier you’ll grow boobs.
4. Extreme dieting
When you go for severe diet plans for the sake of losing weight, you also deprive your body of the nutrients it needs to thrive. Inadequate nutrition means your testosterone levels dropping while your estrogen levels remain as is.
5. Intake of certain medications
For a quarter of all instances of man boobs, certain medications are the culprit. This is because several prescription drugs contain estrogen-like traits. These medications can also increase estrogen levels directly or they made consist of androgen hormones that can be transformed into estrogen. These are usually prescribed drugs such as amphetamines, blood pressure medications, antidepressants and antibiotics. There’s also the possibility that your doctor chooses not to tell you of this side effect generally because they’re not worried about it. To avoid this, ask your physician if the prescription you’re currently taking can cause gynecomastia.
6. Smoking cigarettes
Cancers can generate hormones for their own development, which causes hormonal discrepancies. As a result, a man’s chest can sprout. It is also important to note that gynecomastia can happen as a manifestation of many forms of cancer, though lung cancer is one of the most usual reasons for breast increase. It is also one of the most preventable forms of cancer, hence the importance to quit smoking.
7. Using plant-based oils
A research conducted back in 2007 found that the use of tea tree oil and lavender oil, which are typical components in shampoos and lotions, can result in gynecomastia. This is because the pure oils imitate estrogen functions and weaken the effects of androgen hormones in the body. These oils may be relaxing to your sense of smell, but remember how they’ll likely cause your boobs to grow. If you don’t want that, check the label first before buying bathing essentials.
8. Getting high
May it be weed or other stronger drugs, getting high can also cause your breasts to, well, get high in size, too. So, it’s not just happy, euphoric times when there are multitudes of negative effects. The National Institutes of Health report that this is because the breast tissue in men increases when the body becomes high with drugs. The specific mechanism that causes this isn’t recognized yet, but studies signify that marijuana lowers testosterone levels for up to 24 hours.
9. Going shooting
Shooting a rifle causes chest thudding and while that seems masculine, it’s not when you consider that this also leads for your breasts to grow. In Germany, it was found that shooting drills have contributed to severe gynecomastia in over 70 percent of the German military’s Wachbataillon unit. While it is not yet determined why a rifle’s backfire increases estrogen levels in the body, it’s better to opt out of hitting the shooting range more often to avoid this.
