What does male hormone health guidance include?

In fact, formal male hormone health guidance is not the one-sided content uploaded on the Internet that only talks about testicle stimulation and muscle growth. It is a practical guide covering the entire process from self-assessment, daily maintenance to abnormal medical treatment. The core is to help you scientifically understand hormonal fluctuations. Don’t be overly anxious about taking supplements, and don’t ignore the problem of abnormal signal delay.

I met a 28-year-old Internet programmer a while ago. He worked overtime until 12 o'clock for more than half a year. He always felt tired, lost his hair, and had fewer morning erections. I searched the online symptom comparison table and thought it was low testosterone. He spent several thousand yuan to buy imported testicle-stimulating supplements and took them for two months. Not to mention, acne broke out all over his face. A physical examination also revealed that uric acid exceeded the standard. This is because he did not find out whether he really had hormonal abnormalities and fell into the trap of taking supplements randomly.

Therefore, the first thing discussed in the serious guidance must be how to distinguish normal physiological fluctuations from abnormal situations that require intervention. It is not a blind benchmark against the "Top 10 Signs of Low Testosterone" on the Internet. For example, if you stay up all night for a week in a row and have several heavy drinks, you may experience temporary fatigue or decreased sexual desire. Most of these are temporary fluctuations, and you will be back after a week's rest. It is not a problem at all. ； But if you can’t get excited for more than three consecutive months, feel inexplicably irritable, have obvious body hair loss, or lose muscle mass quickly, then consider taking the six-item fasting sex hormone test. There is also a small controversy in the industry: Most doctors in traditional endocrinology departments believe that as long as the test value is within the reference range, it is considered normal, but practitioners in the field of sports medicine and anti-aging will pay more attention to the quantile value of the same age group. For example, if the total testosterone of men under 30 years old is just stuck at the lower limit of the reference value, even if it does not meet the pathological standards, it is recommended to make lifestyle adjustments first, without rushing to take medication.

Excluding pathological problems, what most people actually need is daily maintenance guidance without taking medicine. There are also many misunderstandings in this area. Many people think of eating oysters and zinc tablets when they hear that they need to adjust their hormones. In fact, for ordinary people, body fat rate, especially visceral fat, has a greater impact than any supplement. I once met a 35-year-old fitness enthusiast whose body fat seemed to be only 15%, and his belly was not protruding. However, the visceral fat exceeds the standard, and the detected testosterone level is nearly 20% lower than that of people with the same body fat. This is because they always like to drink ice milk tea and eat refined carbohydrates. The aromatase in the visceral fat secretly converts testosterone into estrogen, which is equivalent to your body "consuming" testosterone by itself. You may not even think about the impact of sleep. People who sleep less than 3 hours a day can have testosterone levels that are 30% lower than those who sleep 7 hours. This drop is greater than the increase if you take regular testicle-stimulating supplements for three months. To put it bluntly, if you stay up until 1 o'clock every day to check your phone, even if you eat oysters and do leg exercises three times a week, it will be difficult for your testosterone to rise.

As for exogenous testosterone supplementation, which is often discussed online, which is often referred to as testosterone replacement therapy, there is currently quite a lot of controversy in the industry. Endocrinology departments in regular public hospitals generally only prescribe it to middle-aged and elderly men who have been diagnosed with pathological hypogonadism or particularly severe menopausal symptoms. However, many healthy people in the fitness and anti-aging circles also use it privately, thinking that it can maintain energy, gain muscle quickly, and resist aging. But for The corresponding risks are also very clear: long-term use of exogenous testosterone will inhibit its own secretion function, which may seriously lead to infertility and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you really want to consider using it, you must first go to the endocrinology department of a regular hospital for a comprehensive evaluation, and don't buy injections by yourself.

In addition, the guidance will also have more targeted content for those who are preparing for pregnancy and those who are over 45 years old and entering male menopause. For example, many people don't know that men also go through menopause. After the age of 45, testosterone will decrease at a rate of 1% to 2% per year. Many people will experience hot flashes, irritability, and poor sleep. Don't always think that you are "stressed", and don't rush to take medication when adjusting. First increase weekly strength training, stay up less late, and drink less alcohol. Most people's symptoms can be relieved a lot.

I have been in this business for almost 6 years, and I have seen too many people blame "low hormones" when they feel uncomfortable. In fact, 80% of people do not need to take medicine or supplements. Adjusting their work and rest schedule, drinking two cups of milk tea less, and taking 2 hours to do leg exercises twice a week are more effective than expensive imported supplements. There is really no need to always take shortcuts.