Getting Rid Of Man Boobs Naturally

By Steve Brodie

The clinical term for the growth of breast tissue in men is known as Gynecomastia, from the Greek 'gyne' meaning woman and 'mastos' meaning breast. Without the ancient Greek jargon, most people know it as man boobs. There are different reasons behind the formation of man boobs, but the two primary causes are excess fat (the case with obese men) and hormonal imbalances.

Puberty is one of the natural times when man boobs can develop because of natural hormone disruptions. It is not uncommon for boys at puberty to bud small breasts and feel lumps near or under their nipples, but these usually vanish with time. Boys with a little extra weight are more likely to have breast development, but slim and healthy boys can also experience it. No health risks are associated with this adolescent man boob growth, other than the social and psychological pain and stigmatisation that often goes with man boobs. Having man boobs as a teenager can often be very embarrassing and cause boys to shy away from sports and activities like swimming.

Other causes of man boobs can come from a hormonal reaction to different types of medications, too much alcohol (especially beer) taking methamphetamines and marijuana and even from illnesses like cancer or liver disease.

There is another whopping cause of man boobs (leading to man boob epidemics) that can be very difficult to treat and can even become permanent breasts if left untreated, needing a surgeon's knife to fix the problem. Anabolic steroids are the big baddies when it comes to leaving behind a nice pair of man boobs on once bulging pecks - they are leading men into epidemic proportions of gynecomastia. Because steroids have such a profound effect on the hormones in your body, they have a far more drastic and fast development of man boobs than natural hormonal problems. Steroid induced man boobs are also far more persistent and hard to get rid of, and some that have been left untreated can require costly (risky, painful, etc) mamoplasty - not something any man wants to go through.

It is really not that uncommon for steroid using men (especially young men) to find that what they wanted to give them big strong bodies actually gave them feminine breasts, oh dear. Generally the cause is from the steroids putting the testosterone and estrogen balance in the body all out of whack. Steroids stop the body's natural testosterone production and if a user doesn't put testosterone back into the body after a cycle of steroids then estrogen will be rampant in the body and feminine hips and breasts will develop. Not exactly the look steroids users would be going for, but a result of steroids nonetheless.

It takes some time after stopping steroids for the body to start producing testosterone again, and often when it does and hormone levels return to a balance the breast tissue formed can remain. Man boobs from other causes are easy to deal with compared to man boobs that come from steroid use.

Of course the best solution is to avoid steroids at all costs, as the other associated risks like shrunken testicles are no more pleasant than flabby man boobs. For those silly enough to persevere with steroid use there are estrogen blocking drugs that can help stop breast development. Body builders often use estrogen blockers, however there are not sufficient studies on the side effects to know for sure they may not just cause another kind of problem further down the track.

If you suffer from man boobs and haven't taken steroids, rest assured there are plenty of treatment available to naturally reduce man boobs and give you back the flat muscles that once reigned over your chest- given the right diet and lifestyle advice man boobs can be history. For those with man boobs as a result of steroids, don't think surgery is the only way, try as many natural ways of eliminating your man boobs for good before opting for costly and risky surgery that might not even solve the problem. - 28258