When it comes to breast surgery, normally one thinks of it as women having an implant after mastectomy, an enlargement or a reduction. In the latter case, it is done mainly as a matter of personal comfort, especially by taking pressure off the spine, rather than aesthetics.
For men, the situation can be rather different. Just as there are ideals about what a woman’s breast should be like, so a man will ideally have fine pectoral muscles, accompanied by a six-pack. While not many will have a physique like Cristiano Ronaldo, they would at least not want to have a chest that doesn’t look male at all.
That, sadly, is how it is for many men. These are not real breasts in the sense of being mammary glands able to lactate and nurse a baby, although it is possible on very rare occasions for men to get breast cancer – albeit only in one per cent of cases.
If their presence leaves you considering the possibility of male breast reduction surgery in London, it is important to know how and why they occur, as this can help you establish whether the surgical route is the best one for you.
Male breasts do not happen entirely by chance. If you have put on a lot of weight, the chances are there will be excess fat there just as there may be on your belly and elsewhere around your body. However, there are a number of specific factors that can make man breasts more likely to form.
The first of these is diet. This is not simply a case of eating too much of the wrong stuff, although that is a part of it. Some foods can do more than others to add extra fat in that area.
Science Behind Sweat lists ten of these. Some of them may seem obvious, like sugar, alcohol, frozen meat, deep-fried foods and canned foods with all their additives. Dairy products are also on this list, but not just because of their fat content; they also contain oestrogen, which increases the growth of breast tissue.
Others may come as a surprise. Shrimps have lots of protein and are usually fine, but not if you have them too often. Soy contains a lot of oestrogen. Eggs contain a high level of fat and while fruit is normally good for you, beware the strawberry: it is a very sugary fruit, so having that with cream while watching Wimbledon on TV is double trouble, tradition or not.
For some, a radical change in diet plus lots of exercise is the best way forward. But for others, there may be further issues involving your hormonal balance.
As stated above, the balance of oestrogen and testosterone is a key factor and for some men. This is particularly true as men get older; once you pass 50, the levels of testosterone production dip, so extra oestrogen can have a swelling effect. Liver and kidney disease can also be a factor.
For that reason, man breasts are not simply something that can always be fixed with diet and exercise. Surgery can help achieve what a hormonally-unbalanced body cannot.
