Male hormone health risk warning

Hormone disorders are not an "exclusive problem" for middle-aged and elderly men at all. If young adults aged 20 to 40 have the habit of staying up late, eating high sugar, and sitting for long periods of time, nearly 30% of them will have varying degrees of abnormal testosterone secretion, and the effect of early intervention is more than 80% better than supplementing hormones after obvious symptoms appear. Don't wait until sexual function decline, osteoporosis, and pathological obesity come to your doorstep before you take them seriously.

Let me tell you about a case I encountered last month and you will know how common it is. A 28-year-old Internet programmer complained when he came for a routine physical examination that he had not had enough energy in the past six months. He was out of breath even when climbing the third floor. He used to play basketball for an afternoon on weekends, but now he can still wake up even after sleeping for 10 hours. He was tired, thinking he was working overtime, but the results showed that the total serum testosterone was only 8.7nmol/L, which is 1.2nmol/L lower than the lower limit for normal adult men. He was confused when he took the report and said, "I'm not even 30 yet. How can I have low testosterone?"

Regarding the criteria for judging testosterone abnormalities, doctors in different departments actually have different opinions. The mainstream view of traditional endocrinology is that as long as the value is within the reference interval (usually 9.9-27.8nmol/L), it is not considered a pathological abnormality and does not require additional intervention. ； However, many clinical practitioners in andrology and sports medicine prefer "symptoms first" - even if your values ​​are stuck at the lower limit and you have symptoms such as unprovoked fatigue, abdominal obesity, loss of sexual desire, and irritability, it means that your hormone levels cannot adapt to your body's needs and it is time to adjust. There is no need to wait until it falls below the critical line before dealing with it. After all, testosterone is like a "power additive" in your body. When it is enough, it metabolizes quickly and has enough energy. If it is not enough, it is like a car with low-quality oil, which cannot run and is prone to carbon deposits.

Many people's impression of hormonal abnormalities still remains on "that aspect is not good". In fact, the early signs are particularly subtle. For example, is it because you haven’t eaten much in the past six months, but the fat on your belly is still swollen, and the abdominal muscles you trained in the past have quietly turned into one? Or maybe you used to stay up all night and still go to work the next day, but now you can’t lift your eyelids at 11 o’clock, and you can’t relax for several days? Some people used to have a very stable temper, but recently they are often irritable and don't like everything they see. Don't blame it on "stress". This is probably a warning signal sent by hormones to you. Not long ago, I met a young man who has been working out all year round. His body fat rate is only 15% and his testosterone is also low. When I asked him about it, I learned that he had a daily caloric deficit of more than 1,000 calories for three months in a row to prepare for the competition. He was hungry. So it is not just fat people who have problems.

When it comes to intervention methods, there are now even more diverse and controversial opinions on the Internet. The most common misunderstanding is to just buy so-called "testicle-stimulating supplements". Whether these products are useful or not depends entirely on what you are deficient in: if you are deficient in zinc and vitamin D and have insufficient secretion, supplementing with the corresponding nutrients can indeed improve it a lot. I have seen several young men adjust their diet and add vitamin D supplements, and their testosterone increased by 40% in two months without taking any medicine. ； But if you have a balanced nutrition and eat those herbal extracts that are said to be "purely natural testicle-stimulating", you will most likely pay an IQ tax. There are also some black products that add exogenous androgens in violation of regulations. Eating too much will make your testicles "lazy" and gradually lose their autonomous secretion function, which is not worth the gain.

As for the highly discussed testosterone replacement therapy, the two sides have been arguing for almost ten years without reaching a unified conclusion. Supporters believe that as long as the dosage is controlled as directed by the doctor, it can not only improve energy and sports performance, but also relieve menopausal symptoms and greatly improve the quality of life. ； Opponents believe that long-term supplementation of exogenous testosterone will increase the risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease, and the gains outweigh the losses. The current clinical consensus is that only patients diagnosed with pathological testosterone deficiency need to follow the doctor's advice. If you just want to gain muscle and "replenish status", you can inject and take medicine privately. The risks definitely outweigh the benefits. Don't use yourself as a guinea pig.

In fact, having said all this, I don’t mean to make you anxious and check hormone supplements at every turn, but to be more careful: don’t stay up late continuously, don’t drink three or four glasses of sweet water a day, and don’t sit still for 10 hours. These seemingly inconspicuous little habits are actually quietly depleting your hormone reserves. After all, our body, if you treat it well, it will work well for you, don't you think?