According to some estimates, about half of adolescent boys experience at least some breast development during puberty. Living in Florida where swimming and beach activities are popular year-round, however, I can tell you it surely seems more prevalent than this!
Cases of man boobs are on the rise around the globe no doubt paralleling the rise in obesity rates. Glasgow, Scotland, which boasts the second-highest obesity rate of all countries studied by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, has seen an 80 percent rise in man boobs reduction surgery since 2007.
While most cases of man boobs are related to problems with overweight, it seems that even thin and normal weight men are increasingly experiencing issues with breast enlargement. Go to any water park this summer and look around. Clearly, man boobs of all shapes and sizes are at epidemic levels and it isn’t just the boys and men struggling with their weight that are affected.
Something environmental is at play here as I don’t ever remember seeing even one case of man boobs when I was growing up in Florida – certainly never on a thin or normal weight guy!
Male Hormonal Imbalance Can Lead to Moobs
Could all the soy that is in the majority of processed foods today which has added plant estrogens (isoflavones) to the male diet at a rate never before seen in history be a factor in the development of man boobs? Not even in Asia was soy ever consumed in the large amounts experienced by those eating a modern diet. Traditional Asian societies primarily consumed soy in small, condimental amounts after careful and long periods of fermentation.
Perhaps the increasing popularity of soy infant formula starting a few decades ago is partly to blame which exposes a male infant to disruptive levels of estrogen at a very vulnerable time for the developing hormonal system. An estimated 25% of North American babies today receive soy baby formula made from processed soybeans, mostly GMO.
An infant exclusively receiving soy formula consumes the estrogenic equivalent of at least 5 birth control pills every single day!
Beware of soy milk too. A single glass a day for a few months can lead to hormone disruption according to Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story. Don’t ever let your children touch the stuff, and if you enjoy a soy milk latte regularly, switch to coconut milk!
Steroids in Conventional Meat and Dairy
What about all the steroids, hormones and antibiotic laced feed used in the conventional dairy and meat industry? Consumption of foods from factory farmed animals containing pharmaceutical residues could be another contributing factor to the estrogen/testosterone imbalance at the root of gynecomastia.
No doubt there are multiple environmental reasons for the large and very worrisome increases in gynecomastia across the board. For the person who suffers from it, however, the reason for the condition is not nearly as important as resolving it – and quickly!
Conventional Treatments for Gynecomastia
Conventional medicine maintains that many cases of gynecomastia resolve on their own within about two years. Even if this were true (anecdotally I would dispute this from the stories I hear), two years is a very long time at a very vulnerable stage in an adolescent’s emotional development.
Enduring the ridicule or avoiding social situations that require a bathing suit for that period of time seems unrealistic particularly in a warm weather climate.
Rather than wait and see for two long years only to resort later to drugs designed for breast cancer like tamoxifen and raloxifene or surgical reduction does not seem like a health promoting plan of action particularly for a young boy possibly already struggling with self esteem issues.
Man Boobs Respond Well to Dietary Change and Nutritional Support
According to Kim Schuette, CN, Certified GAPSâ„¢ Practitioner and owner of Biodynamic Wellness as well as the San Diego Chapter Leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation, gynecomastia responds extremely well to nutritional support and dietary change.
She has treated a number of cases successfully in recent years and the strategies employed by the staff at Biodynamic Wellness either via office visit, phone or Skype consultation include the following:
- Immediately stop consumption of all sources of soy in order to remove plant estrogens from the diet. Because soy is in the vast majority of processed foods, this means freshly prepared, whole foods at home must become the rule rather than the exception. Many times, this change alone will resolve the problem.
- Add iodine supplementation. Kim uses Iodoral or Nascent Iodine in her practice.
- Add Symplex M from Standard Process.
- Castor oil packs over the liver and/or coffee enemas. These two therapies assist the liver in processing all that excess estrogen causing the hormonal imbalance relative to testosterone.
- Increase dietary animal fats to at least one tablespoon per meal.
- Use bone broth made at home for optimal potency to provide the necessary amino acids to the liver for optimal detoxification.
- Eliminate all grains for 30-60 days. After that time incorporate properly prepared, soaked grains.
- Emphasis on a Nourishing Traditions diet.
- Whole Vitamin C (not synthetic ascorbic acid) helps metabolize excess estrogen.
- Some people are poor methylators (proper methylation in liver detoxification is critical for eliminating excess estrogen) and may benefit from methylated B vitamins with the addition of trimethylglycine (TMG). Fortunately, this last step is often not necessary. Avoid synthetic folic acid found in multivitamins and fortified foods.
Have you or someone you love suffered from gynecomastia? Please share your experiences and your successes resolving it in the comment section.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
More Information
The Shrinking Effect of Pseudo Estrogens on Reproductive Organs
Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Her work is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.
Her work has been covered by major media including USA Today, ABC, NBC, and many others.
What “Free Range”, “Cage Free” Chickens Really Look Like
I think this is an important topic but i personally find the image offensive.
Yes, I can understand that. Unfortunately, variations of this image is a rather common sight at the beach here in Florida.
You find the actual image offensive? Or do you mean you find the text on it offensive? I could see being upset by someone making fun of that person. I am a bit confused about how you can be offended by someone’s body….?
I do agree the text seems hurtful and not really necessary in an article about trying to help people.
How is this hurtful? I find it matter of fact and realistic. Is there anything people are not easily offended by any longer? Sooooo sensitive. It is an odd societal development. Are we so emotionally fragile we cannot speak the truth?
I agree. Have gotten to the point I’m sick of the word, “offensive!”
I find the over use of the word “offensive” simply ridiculous! Get a grip people! The TRUE meaning of being offended is something that shocks you to a truly uncomfortable state.
I’m not sure why the picture of what soy can do is offensive. Imagine if you where this young man. My son plays sports and it’s often shirts against skins, this condition is becoming more prevalent in our young men .I’d think you would be more anger at what “BIG AG” is doing to our children and ask yourself how you can help stop it.
I believe the Text part about the “Moobs Like Jager” is the rub. It might seem to be poking fun while trying to sound serious. It seems we feel we have to introduce every sensitive subject with humor now a days instead of straight seriousness. It is a speech tactic designed to relax the audience and help them tune into what you are trying to say to them. It’s a tool, and like any tool it doesn’t allways work. I think there has been too much “coming at a subject sideways” and now we are a bit immune to the real effect. I don’t see that there was any real hurt intended, I think it was meant to catch and attract people to the topic. Which it did. Now don’t loose the message over the staples.
Yes, that is exactly right. I just tried to use a little humor to try and lighten the mood for such a serious and sobering subject. I myself as the mother of 2 young boys am extremely concerned about the effect of environmental estrogens today … we all need to know this information to help maintain male wellness today.
I’m offended by your being offended-
Why the iodine?
Not to mention endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastics (BPA), perfumes, pesticides, etc. that mess with hormones.
Add to the list flame retardants in all commercially made furniture and drug residues in the water supply including birth control and synthetic hormones.
And all the soy in commercial animal feed.
I’ve never seen this on a seemingly fit man. I’m kind of shocked.
See it all the time at the beach here in FL.
eeeww
Unfortunately I was not an educated mom when my son was first born and I had him on soy everything because he couldn’t tolerate cow’s milk. He suffered the consequences as an adolescent. 🙁
Interesting. I wonder if the increase in female breast reduction surgery in the US and UK are related to these problems as well… many women have oversized breasts to the point where they have horrible back pain and have no choice but to get surgery.
I’m a school nurse and it is shocking the kids who have this and the psychological effects and bullying are extremely damaging !
What happened in adolescence Maree Koolstra?
I was told by a man years ago that his heart medication caused it, that and other areas on him to shrink. Yikes! Non-organic can also grow boobs on all genders. Animals aren’t the only ones being pumped up.
i know a kid that has had this for some time.. his conventional doc tells his adoptive mom that it’s “normal”… I mentioned the soy (they’re vegan!!!) and she absolutely blew her top at me. “It’s NORMAL! THE DOCTOR SAID IT IS NORMAL! Are YOU a DOCTOR now?!” …. yyyyyyeah, that was the LAST time i went there..
I know how you feel! Someone asked me for advice about soy formula for their son (because we had been gluten/casein/soy/corn free because of food issues, I had done a great deal of research, and I was studying to become a homeopathic doctor). I mentioned soy may not be the best choice because it increased estrogen exposure. She called me a B and told another friend what a B I was for even suggesting that. I stopped offering my opinions for quite some time after that! I was like, geez, you asked me what I thought lady.
An infant exclusively receiving soy formula consumes the estrogenic equivalent of at least 5 birth control pills every single day! <— this is crazy!
In defense of soy, it is not true in my observation, there is so much thing on the net circulation and discrediting the soy, it is good, the phytoestrogen in soy is not even an estrogen it acts like a pseudo-estrogen but not estrogen, it can mimic the effect of estrogen for females who needs it or lack of it or when needed, and has no direct effect on males, take for example our community of 7th day adventist in the country, they are large population which have their own university , hospital and churches here, they even have their own farms for soy and processing plant, they served soy based foods since they are vegtarians in their hospital and schools, they make great dishes such as filipino dishes out of soy, though to me it was too inbalance (too yin). but surprisingly they dont have gynecomastia at all! i dont see a lot of fatty people, i dont see any gay, most cases of gynecomastia are with those eating inorganic chickens and meats. I buy my soy from them since they are the one here who make fresh soy milk and vegemeats, you can buy it still hot from their processing plant, they use organic soy since they plant their own soy,soy is not bad at all, there are so many benefits, but in moderation or should be organic and non-gmo. they can spot a soy that is gmo by the appearance of the soybeans.
Uh…you don’t see any gay? Yeah…that is what my Pakistani relatives say about Karachi….I am sure there isn’t anything cultural going on there at all…like the tremendously conservative society in those two countries. Ahem.
I am a former Seventh Day Adventist & much of my family is adventist still. My 12 year old nephew and his father both have moobs; they eat the typical vegatarian SDA diet which tends to be high in processed carbs and processed soy products. There was always high population of overweight people in all of the churches I attended. Also, there are gay people in the SDA community, they just tend to keep quiet to avoid judgement from others, although there are a few SDA churches as well as online communities ministering to gay adventists. Thankfully, it seems like some people in adventism are beginning to wake up to the errors in the SDA “health message” as I have a few relatives who are adopting more Weston Price or paleo-type diets.
My point is that if you use the SDA community to defend the use of soy as a health food, your argument will crumble pretty quickly…
You can eat my share of soy.
BTW – I didn’t read your entire rant on how soy is good. It’s not.
Lol! Yeah…me either. Whenever people start waxing rhapsodic about food that can also be made into plates and solvents…I just move on.
Sorry Maree!
it’s not a rant, it’s my observation, though i’m not a fan of soy but it is a part of nutritional and dietary supplements for us, we consume it once in a while, and its a good source of protein, but if you have uric acid issues of course common sense dictates that lessen the consumption. mostly of those gynocomastia cases here are not even a soy eaters, take for example my friend but a meat eaterr.
Wow!
Just today on the beach in Laguna Beach, Ca. I saw a youngish, very fit man running shirtless and his pointy boobs were flapping!!! I was stunned but I have seen this before . This case was extreme! I try to never eat soy and I tell all the men I know.