New gynecomastia treatment options!

[hypo]

I have read all manner of supposed gynecomastia treatments of late, most of which are very questionable to say the least- as to their effects on the male endocrine system or gynecomastia.

It has become obvious that some pepole are looking for a a cheap, non invasive, non medical approach to tackling the problem.

So I am going to detail some things that an individual may do that "might" make a real difference and help reduce their gynecomastia, with might being the operative word.  They obviously have a much lower rate of success than Surgery and in no way does the following replace the need to go and see an endocrinologist for hormone pathology/investigations.

All of the information below orignates form Eugene Shippen M.D endocrinologist with the exception of the section on DIMS.


Zinc
Of all the minerals, Zinc stands out because of the classic deficiency studies that demonstrated the dramatic interference with normal hypothalamic/pituitary function caused by its lack.  Severe deficency literally halted changes of puberty in teenage boys, effects which werte rapidly reversed when zinc was restored to normal levels.  There would be little need to write about such bizare situations if zinc deficiency were rare.  But National Health and Nutrition Surveys- NHANES I, II and III- performed over the last thirty years have consistently shown deficient intake in large segments of society, particularly the aging population.  

Zinc inhibits levels of aromatase the testosterone to estrogen converter.  Take at least the RDA limit of zinc, Dr Eugene Shippen M.D recomends taking 50mg of Zinc a day to his patients.

Vitamin C
Enhances the pituitary glands responsiveness to changes in hormone levels.  Also low levels of vitamin C have been shown to increase levels of aromatase.  Take at least the RDA limit.  Dr Eugene Shippen recommends his patients to take 1-3 grams a day, which might seem to be very large doses, but there are no studies indicating adverse effects at this level, and animals that produce their own vitamin C manufacture at least their own body weight of the equivalent dose.

B Complex Vitamins
All the B vitamins are important in cellular functions.  The B vitamin most likely to be beneficial for its pituitary function is vitamin B6 because of its ability to decrease secretion of prolactin, an inhibitor of the gonadotropins.  Take to RDA levels.

Resveratrol add it to your diet
Is a recently discovered grape skin extract, made from certain varieties of red grapes, which has been reported to be one of the key substances that givesgrapes and wine protective health benefits- including cancer protection and reduction of cardio vascular disease and strokes.  It improves the functioning of the Livers important P450 system allowing the body to more effectively remove/metabolise excess estrogens.

Eat more Soy
What is odd about soy is that it contains phyto estrogens which in the past appeared to be bad, certainly they are in the context of alcoholic beverages like beer.  But It would now appear not to be so with soy.  Soy food acts as a weak anti estrogen!!  Soy is very similar in chemical structure to human estrogens but is weaker.  Typically such estrogens have only about 1/500 the active effect of estradiol, the most active human estrogen.  High levels of this phytoestrogen competes with the female hormone for receptor sites in your body, blocks its actions- which can block some pituitary function and stimulates the P450 system in the liver to more actively process and excrete estrogen.

Eat more Cruciferous vegetables
Broccoli and Cauliflower stimulate the burning off of estrogen via the marked improvements that they afford the livers P450 system.  

Avoid Anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDS and antidepressants when and were possible as they can reduce the effectiveness of the P450 system.  If you are prescribed such meds contact your gp and raise your concerns and look into the background of your meds and other possible alternative which might be healthier.


DIM with indolplex (use only when informing your doctor)
Ok so what if you have no success with any of the above steps or your gynecomastia is quite bad.

You may wish to take a Nutrient  that has a greater impact upon your estradiol level.  One thing you can do is take DIM with indolplex.  At the right dose this can significantly improve your livers P450 system and seriously reduce your estradiol level.  

The important thing in taking DIM with indolplex is that you inform your doctor that you are going to use it so that he can indicate the correct dosage for you, which will differ depending upon the preparation that you buy.

Warning
You do not want to lower the effects of estradiol too much other wise you will have fatigue, lower your libido and throw your thyroid function and metabolism out.

Further info.

http://www.atdonline.org/pdf/DIMandCancer.pdf#search='dim%20health%20benefits'

[hypo]

Explain?

[Gine2D]

From what I have read this will reduce the E2 & help the "T":E2 ratio thus maybe preventing any futher growth.

It may be more effective at puberty since it reduces the E2 which is the main cause of the breasts growth & allows the "T" to be dominate.

Maybe some more research will be done since the male breasts are now starting to come out in the open more.

From what I have read so far if the hormones are balanced at early puberty when the breasts first start growing the effect can be stopped.

I use Indolplex DIM to lower my E2.  Just started recently, getting tested again this week & will see if it works on E2.

G

[btsux]

no way to remove gland? just only stopping estrogen conversion..

[hypo]

In puberty or at any other point in life where glandular gynecomastia is in the development/proliferation phase then a correcting balancing of hormone levels can stop gynecomastia growth, help reduce gynecomastia and resolve gynecomastia.

If hormones had no place to play in gynecomastia reduction and resolution, then how exactly do people suppose gynecomastia is reduced and resolved in most teenage boys?

It is exactly via this process that reduction and resolution occurs.  This is why Andractim is successful in reducing gynecomasta in 75% of cases and resolving gynecomastia in 25% of cases.

The information I have provided above is not some wacky cookbook- I ASSURE YOU!

ALL of the this information with the exception of the piece on DIMs was obtained from Eugene Shippen M.D, one of the worlds leading endocrinologists.  All of the above helps to balance your hormone levels and either improves the actions of testosterone or reduces the actions of estrogen and it is in the alteration of the androgen to estrogen ratio that gynecomastia growth can be stopped, reduced and possibly resolved.

DIMs are very good anti estrogens, so much so they should be used in conjunction with your gps consent/knowledge.  They absolutely do lower the actions of estradiol, with the nice thing being that they are not prescribed drugs and are quite natural.

Of course the information/above measures are far less successful than surgery and prescribed medications such as Andractim.  But for people who are currently doing nothing about there gynecomastia and have not got their surgery booked or are not using prescribed medication; then their use makes total sense and may well make a REAL difference.

Please guys this information deserves greater consideration.

Note:
These measures are not likely to resolve major glandular gynecomatia and will do nothing for pseudo gynecomastia.  Outside of puberty they are all likely to have a far lower rate of success, with possibly the exception of DIMs.

[kelley]

Hypo
I am wondering if I use andractim and it doesn't work then I possibly have the fake gyncomastia, if this was true then would dieting get rid of the problem? And I'd like to just say that I think its wonderful that you give out such educated information to everyone.
Thanx

[hypo]

Thanks for the kind words Kelley.

If you have pseudo gynecomastia as opposed to the glandular variety it is sometimes possible to get rid of it via weight loss.  If yours is pseudo gynecomastia and I say if, because it can be difficult even for a surgeon to truly know what type of gynecomastia someone has until they he has cut it out and has it in his hands.

So supposing for one moment you have pseudo gynecomastia, if you are overweight then losing weight will reduce and may even possibly resolve the gynecomastia; how successful weight loss is depends upon how overweight you are to start with as well as genetic factors not worth getting into.  

But if you are not overweight and yet you carry this fat in the chest area it can be impossible to resolve without becoming very thin and malnourished and that is a very bad thing.  So much so that becoming very thin/ malnourished is actually a recipe for developing glandular gynecomastia via a process called refeeding.


The long and short of it is, it might not be possible to know what type of gynecomastia you have, pseudo gynecomastia gets a bad press and can be just as difficult in some people to remove as glandular gynecomastia, but if you are clearly overweight then it may certainly be possible to get rid of it via weight loss, just be careful not to go overboard and loose too much weight as that is not good either.  

If you post your pictures to the site people will give you their feelings as to whether it is glandular or non glandular and general feelings.  That can be very helpful, just remember if you do this it isn't 100% accurate, it is just peoples impression as to whether it looks like a glandular mass or not.  They will also say whether or not you might need to lose a bit of weight and might give you some good tips on how to do that.

[daytonasurf]

Hypo I read your post but got lost in the length. What are DIM's? Thanks in advance!

[hypo]

Dims are diindolylmethane

It is a stable indole found in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower) which promotes a beneficial estrogen metabolism in both women and men.

They are a very good natural anti estrogen.  They allow your livers P450 system to metabolise excess estrogen

Here is an article about them.  If you are going to try them make sure you get DIM with indolplex and tell your doctor what you are doing.

http://www.atdonline.org/pdf/DIMandCancer.pdf#search='dim%20health%20benefits'

[daytonasurf]

What are some indolplex things I could eat? Are they available in a pill form like flax seed is or anything?

So This would be a good attack against it in conjunction with Andratim wouldnt it?

Should I take Zinc in addition to this as well? Anything else? Thanks a lot!

[hypo]

I wouldn't recommend using Andractim with DIMs, unless (like with Andractim) it was under an endocrinologists guidance; as I do not know of the efficacy of such a combination.  

Andractim lowers estradiol and DIMs lower the effects of estradiol.  

This double whammy could theoritically reduce your estradiol and its effects too much.  If anyone lowers their estradiol and its effects too much that can leave them with severe fatigue/lethargy, lower their libido and adversely affect their thyroid function and metabolism.

If you are not taking Andractim then by all means buy DIM with indolplex and inform your doctor that you have decided to take this nutrient.  The principle ingredient in DIMs is contained in broccoli and cauliflower, but you'd have to eat an awful lot of the stuff in order to have the same effect.

Whether you take Dims or not taking the other vitamins and minerals at RDA levels that I have mentioned is a good idea if your gynecomastia is in the development phase.

[daytonasurf]

So If I already have the gland, im too late?

What are some things I can take w/ DIMs in them?

[Gine2D]

If you have had your hormones tested & if your E2 is high you can use
"Indolplex DIM" it is available on the internet from

http://www.ritecare.com/prodsheets/PHY-15333.html

E2 level should be checked again after a couple of weeks.  Then reduce dose if going too low.

If the E2 gets too low it can cause problems.  It should be 20 - 30 for most young fellows.

In 2 weeks my E2 went from 56 to 25.

I took one 120 mg tablet cut in half, 1/2 at breakfast & 1/2 at lunch.  Take with food.
I also took 50 mg Zinc, 1000 mg C, & 160 mg Saw Palmetto.


Make sure you get the hormones tested first.


Good luck

G

[hypo]

Thankyou Gine2D, well added.

[devo]

will taking vitamins help?