How To Get Rid Of Gynecomastia

Do you think you suffer from gynecomastia? Here is how to tell its two types apart and how to get rid of “gyno.”

Is Gynecomastia A Fitness Topic?

Yes, it is, when I go by the questions I get. 50 to 60 percent of boys experience gynecomastia during puberty and many believe their breasts become bigger because they are too fat. They turn to exercising and weight loss, even though some are almost underweight.

But there is only one form of gyno you can care of that way. The other one in teens usually disappears by itself:

Do Not Self-Medicate!

It is a very, very bad idea to treat gynecomastia with drugs you may have gotten from friends or gym buddies. When you are in puberty, your body has enough to do getting your hormones sorted without you adding to its troubles.

On some bodybuilding forums people frequently mention letrozole as a “secret weapon” against gyno. The real use of this drug is to treat breast cancer in women, where it destroys the female hormone estrogen. If you are in puberty and only have a “normal” case of gynocemastia, annihilating your estrogen could damage your body forever.

There is only one person who can say if you need medication and which one: your doctor. Don’t experiment with your body. You only have one and don’t get to load the last save.

Another Cause Of Gynecomastia: Steroids

Last but not least let us mention one more cause of male breast enlargement: steroids. Which at first seems illogical, because steroids influence the male hormone testosterone. How can more male hormone make the body look more female?

Because the body converts the testosterone to estrogen. To avoid getting a female chest, many steroid abusers have to take estrogen-blockers and a nice ladder of escalation starts: drug b blocks the side effects of drug a, drug c blocks the side effects of drug b etc. If you want to avoid this, don’t use steroids.

Some More Resources

A lot more background information you can find here:

• Mayo Clinic gynecomastia resources
• Overview from the UK’s NHS
• A more scientific explanation from two researchers

Your Personal Experiences

Do you have further questions or did you suffer from gynecomastia yourself? How did you handle it? What were your experiences? Add and ask in the comments!

Picture courtesy of Todd Baker.