Gynecomastia (Breast Tissue Enlargement in Men): Causes & Treatments

06 Oct Gynecomastia (Breast Tissue Enlargement in Men): Causes & Treatments

Gynecomastia definition directly relates to the benign proliferation of glandular breast tissues in men.

Though there is very less amount of glandular tissue around breasts in men, an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone levels may cause their proliferation.

Mainly, there are two types of gynecomastia in men:

• Physiological – It is mainly caused by emotional stress and usually affects different age groups of men.
• Non-physiological – This forms the severe type of man boobs and here gynecomastia is a symptom of various medical conditions.

However, in general, the causes of enlarged breasts in men vary depending on age!

Right below you can find all such factors that contribute to the development of breast swelling in men.

Causes of Gynecomastia/Man Boobs [Based on Age]

Causes of men boobs are usually defined on the basis of the age factor:

1. Newborn Baby Boys

The main cause of enlargement of breasts among newborns is the transfer of estrogen from mother to child. 

While exceptions may exist, newborn babies mostly face breast buds that are self-treatable and go away within 6 months.

2. Preteen Boys

Gynecomastia in puberty is very common. These buds may last for more than 2 years, but in some cases, they are limited to only one year.

In most cases, though, the swelling is because of estrogen-producing tumors.

3. Teenage Boys

Here too male breast enlargement is caused because of the hormonal changes that occur during the puberty phase.

4. Adult Males

A hormonal shift is the first factor responsible in the case of adult males. 

But, unlike the rest of the age groups, gyno causes in adult men can range from:

• Diet
• Medical conditions
• Drugs causing gynecomastia

And guess what!

Each of these ends up causing hormonal changes one way or the other. 

Thus, it’s not hard to believe why these factors cause the increasing issue of gynecomastia in older males.

Let us jump in and study some of the causes of moobs in men in detail.

Foods That Cause Man Breasts/Male Breast Enlargement

Diet plays an important role in regulating the hormonal balance of your body. 

And poor diet can contribute to higher levels of estrogen and progesterone in your body and lead to man breasts.

Some of the common foods that cause male breast enlargement include:

1. Soy-based products
2. Processed foods
3. Dairy
4. Alcohol
5. Beetroot
6. Frozen meats

Here’s how these foods exacerbate the condition of man boobs.

#1. Soy Products

Soy products are rich sources of plant estrogen that mimic the activity of human estrogen when consumed.

Hence, a diet rich in soy products can lead to more estrogen in a man, causing swelling of the breasts.

Some common soy infused products are:

• Soy milk
• Tofu
• Soybeans

#2. Processed and Deep-Fried Foods

Processed meals carry lots of empty calories and unhealthy components like sodium, sugar, and preservatives.

As a result, they can contribute to the proliferation of the glandular tissue causing moobs.

These foods might also contain testosterone-reducing chemicals that can curb the development of male secondary sexual characters.

#3. Eggs and Dairy Products

Though eggs and dairy products are loaded with high quantities of proteins good for muscle building, they also contain chicken and cow estrogen.

This estrogen works in the same way as human estrogen.

Hence, with your diet being rich in eggs and milk products, you feed yourself with female hormones that might contribute to the development of enlarged breasts in men.

#4. Beer and Alcohol

Popular gynecomastia causes include alcoholic drinks as the grains used to make such drinks contain high quantities of plant estrogen.

Plus, they also carry empty calories that contribute to excess fat proliferation around breasts.

#5. Beetroot

Beetroot has been advised as a superfood for people deficient in good estrogenic levels. 

But for men, beetroot might bring an imbalance in their hormonal levels and can cause estrogen to shoot up and get way more than healthy levels.

#6. Frozen Meat

These contain high levels of saturated fat and also preservatives that have many harmful side effects including hormonal imbalance.

Well, all these factors ultimately depend on your eating habits. But, apart from your diet, some medical conditions can also exacerbate the signs of man boobs.

Medical Conditions That Cause Gynecomastia

Some specific medical conditions can give rise to the issue of gynecomastia.

#1. Liver Cirrhosis

The liver has a vital metabolic function in men which is to degrade the estrogen. 

Impairment of the liver, hence, increases the levels of the hormone and can lead to man boobs.

Moreover, people who have alcohol-related liver conditions are at a greater risk of falling prey to breast enlargement as alcohol already has phytoestrogens.

Higher levels of phytoestrogens in your body and the decreased conversion of estrogen to testosterone in your body lead to much higher estrogen content.

#2. Hypogonadism

The only symptom of hypogonadism (lack of sex hormone production including less testosterone secretion) among men is gynecomastia.

In fact, one-half of the men suffering from Klinefelter Syndrome have gynecomastia due to hypogonadism.

#3. Tumors

Though testicular tumors are not very common, according to health experts, people suffering from such a tumor may exhibit gynecomastia.

This is mainly because of the higher production of Leydig cells that secrete more estradiol causing higher estrogen levels.

Adrenal tumors, on the other hand, also secrete estrogen precursors that can hinder the conversion of estrogen to testosterone.

Not to mention, there are also hCG secreting tumors that lead to an imbalance in estrogen levels causing enlargement of breasts in men.

#4. Hyperthyroidism

Gynecomastia is a common symptom among men suffering from hyperthyroidism.

The condition of hyperthyroidism naturally causes an increase in SHBG.

This essentially causes a reduction in free testosterone and an imbalance between estrogen and androgens, which perfectly explains the condition of man boobs.

#5. Chronic Renal Insufficiency

Renal failure in men leads to an overall suppression of testosterone levels and can also cause testicular damage.

Furthermore, renal failure also causes malnutrition that has a direct link with gynecomastia in men.

While dialysis can help treat malnutrition-induced moobs, renal failure is only treatable with a surgical renal transplant.

Other medical conditions that might give rise to male boobs include:

• Ulcerative colitis
• Cystic fibrosis
• Obesity
• Excess exposure to phthalates
• Mechanical stress
• HIV

Apart from these causes, drug-induced gynecomastia has much clinical evidence proving it to be the worst cause of man boobs!

Medications That Cause Gynecomastia

Medications are common causative agents of non-physiological gynecomastia.

There are mainly two types of medicines that can cause male breast swelling:

• Antiandrogenic drugs – These drugs inhibit the production of adequate levels of androgen leading to less testosterone production.
• Estrogenic drugs – They boost the production of estrogen in your body.

Both these drugs have been listed in the following table highlighting the list of drugs that cause gynecomastia.

Gynecomastia Causing Drugs to Avoid:

1. Anti-androgenic Drugs
2. Alkylating Agents
3. Cisplatin
4. Flutamide
5. Marijuana
6. Penicillamine
7. Vinca Alkaloids
8. Isoniazid
9. Estrogenic Drugs
10. Anabolic Steroids
11. Diazepam
12. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists
13. Human chorionic gonadotropins
14. Phytoestrogens
15. Digoxin

Although most of these medicines cause reversible gynecomastia, anabolic steroids have been linked with irreversible man boobs.

These steroids are mostly synthetic testosterone that inhibits the natural production of testosterone which, unfortunately, does not recover quickly.

Luckily, all the other causative factors behind man boobs have been found treatable. 

Regardless, finding the right time to treat gynecomastia is the next important factor we must focus on, and for that, you must also be aware of the symptoms of breast enlargement.

Gynecomastia Symptoms

The most common symptom of gynecomastia is enlarged breasts mainly caused by the proliferation of the glandular tissues and not the fatty tissues.

Remember! Gynecomastia vs fat proliferation is two different things.

On the other hand, it’s also important to distinguish it from breast cancer.

In the case of cancer, the enlargement is not around the nipple and is hard to touch, unlike gynecomastia.

The next important step is diagnosis. If you find any of these symptoms around your breasts, we recommend you visit a doctor.

He will either prescribe medications, home remedies, or surgery based on your symptoms and complications.

We discuss both the natural and the surgical gynecomastia treatment options in the following sections.

Gynecomastia Treatments

In entire life span, three gynecomastia stages have been reported:

• The first one is in the neonatal phase and is temporary, so it does not require treatment,
• the second is at the time of puberty,
• and the third stage peaks around the later stages of life affecting older adults.

Excluding the first stage, the other two stages require treatment on the basis of severity.

In the case of gynecomastia without skin excess, natural remedies can be tried at home to treat the condition. 

But if the case involves skin excess, it might require surgery. 

Basically, the choice of treatment is based on the underlying cause of the condition.

But, since we already know the causes, finding a good solution to this medical condition isn’t a huge problem.

Gynecomastia Treatment Without Surgery

The treatment of man boobs without surgical procedures include:

1. Making healthy lifestyle shifts
2. Maintaining a nutritious diet
3. Regular exercising

Though, in general, the treatment mainly depends on the underlying cause of your breast swelling. In most cases, you can try out the following:

#1. Lifestyle Changes

In the case of hormonal gynecomastia, you can make the following changes in your life to bring down the exceeding estrogenic levels:

• Reduce your alcohol intake
• Keep out stress
• Take quality sleep of 7 – 8 hours
• Do exercises daily
• Take a balanced diet

#2. Diet

Eating a balanced diet keeps you and your hormone levels healthy. And since the dominance of testosterone goes down in gynecomastia, we recommend you take T-boosting foods.

Some of the testosterone dense nutrients include:

• Protein
• Zinc
• Vitamin D

You can get all these nutrients from testosterone boosting food sources like:

• Egg yolks
• Tuna
• Oysters

#3. Exercises

Following a regular routine of exercises can help reduce the enlargement of the breasts. 

However, there’s no need for following exercises that target specific parts.

No exercise can help reduce swelling or fat accumulation in specific areas, rather they work for the full body.

Hence, the main idea should be to lose fat from the whole body and not just one area.

You can try adding aerobic exercises to your routine to lower the fat percentage of your entire body.

Some other exercises that you can include in your workout routine are:

• Jogging
• Swimming
• Skating
• Brisk walks
• Dancing
• Rowing

While these natural treatments are usually effective, there are some exceptional cases where the treatment does require invasive procedures.

Gynecomastia Surgery

Medicines turn out to be an effective way of treating enlarged breasts in men but that’s only when it’s in an early stage.

Once the tissue becomes scarred, the efficiency of medications to treat the condition falls down.

In such cases, surgical removal is the only option left for treatment.

The most common surgery in breast enlargement among men is breast reduction surgery. In fact, it has been used in many long-term conditions of gynecomastia.

Though not everyone faces breast enlargement for a longer duration, it is advisable to get it treated as it might lead to breast cancer.

However, gynecomastia is not a precancerous stage.

Final Words

There can be many factors contributing to gynecomastia lumps, but the most common ones rely on the hormonal fluctuations that occur with age.

While not all hormone-induced enlargement can always be prevented, the ones caused by external factors like foods and medications can be prevented.

Avoiding such drugs and foods that lead to high estrogen levels can be an effective way to prevent the situation from worsening.

For medical conditions induced by gynecomastia, the best way to prevent it is by treating the underlying medical condition.

With that said, here are the answers to some common questions asked by men.

Q&As

Go through these FAQs to find the solution to the most-asked-about issues.

#1. Is gynecomastia a serious problem?

No, it’s not a serious problem, but it may cause social anxiety in men. 

Men usually get embarrassed with their breasts looking like those of women and, thus, get depressed. But apart from that, there haven’t been many medical complications with man boobs.

#2. What are the stages of gynecomastia?

There are mainly four stages/grades of gynecomastia:

• Grade I – It is the initial stage characterized by small enlargement that’s not very much evident under clothes. Here, some amount of tissue around the areola grows.
• Grade II – The tissue becomes broader than the initial stage but is still not noticeable under baggy clothes. But the chest starts feeling tight and firm around the nipples.
• Grade III – It is characterized by excess skin around the areola becoming droopy. The width of the chest increases.
• Grade IV – By this stage, the enlargement of breasts becomes so evident that it appears like a woman’s breasts.

#3. Do I have gynecomastia or just fat?

The excess of glandular tissues gives rise to gynecomastia while that of fatty tissues gives rise to pseudo gynecomastia.

In the case of gynecomastia, no changes appear in the breast size even after doing tons of exercises, but that’s not the case with fatty or pseudo gynecomastia chest.

The best way to form a line of distinction between these two is following a good exercise routine and noticing if there are any changes.

#4. Does gynecomastia/moobs go away?

Yes, man boobs can go away naturally all by themselves depending on the underlying cause.

If it’s a medical condition or drug-induced change, it might require treatment. But the ones caused by hormonal fluctuations usually go away within two years.

#5. What foods prevent man boobs?

Eating testosterone-boosting foods in adequate quantities can prevent man boobs. Some of these food sources include:

• Eggs
• Oysters
• Asparagus
• Buts
• Brown rice
• Salmons
• Avocados

#6. What can make gynecomastia worse?

People have reported that exercising too much or eating too many estrogenic foods made their gynecomastia worse. 

But other than that, there hasn’t been much of an outlook on it.

So, that’s it for today! Did you learn anything new about gynecomastia?

Don’t forget to share this blog with the men in your life.