Men’s hormone health guidance includes

Accurate individualized index evaluation system, non-medical lifestyle intervention plan, medical-grade intervention path selection according to doctor's instructions, and long-term dynamic health follow-up mechanism. Most of the various "home remedies to promote testicles" and "food testicle supplements" circulating on the market belong to subdivided links, and it is difficult to achieve long-term and stable regulatory effects when used alone.

I just received a 28-year-old Internet programmer last week. He stayed up all night to work on a project for half a year. At first, he lost his hair and lacked energy during the day. Later, he found that his morning erections were also reduced. After doing some popular science research, he bought an overseas version of testosterone supplements. Not to mention his face broke out after half a month of taking it, and he had insomnia for three days until four in the morning. When he checked his hormones, he found that the total testosterone did not increase much, but the cortisol almost doubled. This is a typical example of blind intervention without evaluation, which led to a huge pitfall.

Let’s first talk about the most easily overlooked aspect of evaluation. Traditional andrology routine screening only looks at serum total testosterone. As long as the value is within the reference range of 9.9-27.8nmol/L, it will be judged as "normal". However, it is now generally believed in the sports medicine and functional medicine fields that free testosterone and sex hormone binding balls need to be combined. Judging from the two indicators of protein (SHBG), after all, only about 2% of free testosterone in total testosterone can be directly used by the body. Some people’s total testosterone seems to be up to standard, but the proportion of free testosterone is too low, and they will still experience symptoms of fatigue, depression, and loss of sexual desire. If you have had related symptoms for more than 3 months, you can also check cortisol, thyroid function, and insulin resistance indicators. These are all "invisible killers" that affect the synthesis and conversion of testosterone. Of course, there is no absolute right or wrong between these two assessment ideas: if it is just a routine physical examination, checking total testosterone + free testosterone is enough to save money and be efficient. ； If the symptoms are obvious and the cause cannot be found through routine screening, it is not too late to do a more comprehensive functional medicine screening. There is no need to pay thousands of dollars for a full set of examinations and pay an IQ tax.

Find out whether your hormone levels are really low or "falsely normal". 70% of people with subclinical low testosterone can bring their indicators back to a reasonable range by adjusting their lifestyle without taking medicine at all. Don’t just think of eating oysters and doing leg exercises when you hear about testosterone boosting. I met a 32-year-old fitness trainer a while ago. He does leg exercises twice a week. Every time he squats until his legs are weak and cannot stand up, his testosterone is 1nmol/L lower than the normal value. When I asked him, he learned that in order to prepare for the competition, he had been low-carb for 3 months and trained for more than 2 hours a day. Cortisol was full for a long time, and testosterone synthesis was naturally suppressed and unable to lift his head. In the past, fitness circles used to say that "leg training is a natural testicle stimulator." Now more and more clinical data confirm that high-intensity training that exceeds 90 minutes in a single session and rests for less than 30 seconds between groups will increase cortisol by more than 25%, completely offsetting the testicle-stimulating benefits of training. The same goes for diet. It is true that oysters supplement zinc to promote testicles. However, if you have high uric acid and eat too much, you will suffer from gout. The soaring inflammation level in your body will suppress testosterone secretion. It is better to eat 100g of lean beef and a handful of pumpkin seeds every day. The effect of zinc supplement is not much different, and there are no additional risks. As for sleep, it is really the hard currency that promotes testicles. I have seen several 996 young people who just changed their habit of staying up late from 2 a.m. to 12 a.m., slept an extra hour every day, and their testosterone rose by 2nmol/L in the 3-month review, which is much more effective than taking hundreds of yuan of health products. There is also a controversy that has not yet been settled in the academic circles: some people say that as long as you sleep 8 hours a day, it doesn’t matter if you stay up late. ； Some studies also believe that 1-3 am is the peak period of testosterone synthesis, and it is necessary to enter deep sleep for normal synthesis. Anyway, no matter which statement is correct, go to bed as early as possible if you can. If you really have to work shifts, make your bedroom completely blackout to increase the proportion of deep sleep. There is no harm.

If after adjusting your lifestyle for 3 months, the indicators still do not improve and the symptoms do not improve, then you need to consider medical-grade intervention. First of all, it must be clear: all testosterone and hormone-stimulating drugs are prescription drugs and must be evaluated by doctors in regular hospitals before they can be used. If you buy them randomly and take them randomly, you will most likely have problems. There are currently two mainstream medical intervention ideas: one is traditional testosterone replacement therapy, which directly supplements exogenous testosterone. It has quick effects. Generally, you can feel the improvement in energy and sexual function in 2-4 weeks. The disadvantage is that long-term use may inhibit the secretion of testosterone in your own testicles and may also affect sperm quality. It is more suitable for middle-aged and elderly men who no longer have fertility needs. ； The other is the "stimulation therapy" recommended by many andrologists, which uses drugs such as chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or clomiphene to stimulate the testicles to secrete testosterone. It will not affect fertility and is more suitable for young patients who still need fertility. Of course, this solution is also controversial. Many endocrinologists believe that long-term use of HCG may cause testicular hypertrophy and hormone disorders. Andrologists believe that the risk of intermittent use of small doses is very low. How to choose specifically depends on your age, fertility needs, and underlying diseases. Ask two doctors from different departments. Don’t listen to one person’s advice.

Finally, don’t think that everything will be fine once the indicators go up. Long-term dynamic follow-up is also very important. Many people take the medicine for a few months, and when their testosterone rises to the normal range, they stop taking the medicine without reexamination. As a result, after half a year, it falls back to the original level. It is generally recommended to check hormones once every three months during the adjustment period, and preferably once every six months after stabilization. At the same time, you can record your subjective feelings such as daily energy, sleep, and sexual function. After all, some people's indicators seem to be normal, but they just feel lack of energy. They also need to adjust the plan in a targeted manner. There is no need to stick to the reference values ​​to find fault for themselves.

I have been a men's health coach for almost 6 years, and I have seen too many people make hormone regulation a metaphysics. They spend tens of thousands on massage to stimulate testicles and folk remedies to replenish testicles, but in the end they are useless. In fact, to put it bluntly, there are not so many bells and whistles when it comes to male hormone health. Stay up less late at night, don’t torment yourself too much, and go to a regular hospital if you have any problems. It’s more effective than any folk remedies.