For men, high estrogen levels mean trouble. It can make you become testosterone-deficient, which means you can lose muscle mass and grow fat. It can also make you lose your sexual virility, and it can diminish your fertility.
As if making you impotent and infertile isn’t enough trouble already, high estrogen levels can also make you fall into depression. We’ll tell you all the details on how elevated levels of estrogen can lead to major depressive disorder, one the most common and serious mental disorders.
Causes of High Estrogen Levels
There are several reasons why a man’s estrogen levels shoot up abnormally. For example, if you have a tumor in your Leydig cells in the testes, the tumor can start secreting estrogen and progesterone, causing a hormonal imbalance.
Obesity is another medical condition that causes increased levels of estrogen. That’s because fat cells, especially those around your abdomen, help convert testosterone into estrogen. When you’re obese, your body may start producing more estrogen simply because those fat cells are busy converting testosterone.
There are also medications that can cause increased estrogen production as an adverse side effect. Phenothiazines, medications that are prescribed to patients with emotional or mental disorders, can induce high estrogen levels.
Symptoms of High Estrogen Levels
There are only three symptoms that are associated with abnormally high estrogen levels in men. However, these are the three symptoms that you really don’t want to experience.
For one, elevated estrogen levels can make you impotent. That’s because your testosterone levels will most likely nosedive as your estrogen levels increase. And you need your testosterone levels to be at least normal for proper sexual functioning. If you’re deficient in testosterone, then your erectile function will definitely become impaired.
Secondly, high estrogen levels can also lead to issues with fertility. This is still associated with low testosterone levels. Your sperm needs testosterone to help them develop and mature normally. If your 
testosterone levels are insufficient, your sperm may stop developing, so you won’t have enough mature and viable sperm for fertilization.
High levels of estrogen are also associated with gynecomastia. Estrogen basically makes your breast tissues to grow bigger. This is different from having big breast due to fat. The breast tissues are the ones that actually become enlarged.
How Estrogen is Tied to Depression
You may have already heard that men with low testosterone levels tend to be vulnerable to depression. That’s because testosterone actually has anti-anxiety and antidepressant protective effects.
However, when testosterone in the hippocampus and amygdala in your brain is converted into estrogen through aromatase activity, it means that you start losing the protective effects of testosterone. And when your testosterone levels are abnormally reduced due to increased estrogen conversion, then anxiety and depression can severely affect you.
The link between high estrogen levels and depressive symptoms has been highlighted in a recent study. Of the 3,925 men who participated in the study, more than 2,200 were below 60 years old.
The results indicate that among the men below 60 years old, those who showed symptoms of depression had higher estradiol levels compared to the young men who were not depressed.
How You Can Bring Down Your Estrogen Levels
Treatments for high estrogen may vary depending on the cause and if you have other medical conditions. You may be advised to take certain medications or to switch to a different type of therapy. Your doctor may also tell you to adjust your dietary habits, or he may recommend a surgery for you.
If hormone therapy is the main reason why your estrogen levels went up, then your doctor may make adjustments to your hormone therapy plan. Certain types of cancer are sensitive to estrogen. If you have this condition, you may be advised to take medications that block aromatase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen.
If you’re obese, you will most likely be advised to try and lose weight. If you can, try to target your belly fat. The fat cells in your belly contribute a lot to your conversion of estrogen from testosterone.
To naturally bring down your estrogen levels, there are certain foods that can help you. If you can increase your consumption of cruciferous vegetables, that’s a big plus. Cruciferous vegetables are excellent sources of indole-3-carbinol, a compound that’s known to help reduce high levels of estrogen in men.
Examples of cruciferous vegetables include cauliflower, kale, broccoli, and cabbage. These vegetables are extremely healthy, and they can give you benefits other than lowering your estrogen levels. Broccoli, for instance, contains vitamins and antioxidants that can help boost your libido, erectile function, and sperm quality.
Red grapes can also help you manage your estrogen levels. The skin and the seeds of red grapes contain helpful phytochemicals such as proanthocyanidins and resveratrol. These compounds can help suppress estrogen production in men.
Increasing your intake of mushrooms is a great way to reduce your estrogen levels. That’s because mushrooms, especially portobello, crimini, and baby button mushrooms, can help inhibit the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. Mushrooms can actually help suppress the production of aromatase.
Whole grains and seeds contain anti-estrogen polyphenols, so increasing your consumption of these foods can also help you naturally reduce your levels of estrogen. Whole grains like wheat, corn, rye, and oats are great sources of polyphenols.
Increasing Your Testosterone Levels
For men who are struggling with high estrogen levels, increasing testosterone levels naturally can help a lot. For instance, horny goat weed, Tongkat Ali, and Tribulus terrestris are excellent herbal options for naturally raising testosterone production.
You can find these three amazing herbs in one of the most potent sex enhancement supplements. This can help raise your levels of testosterone and improve your libido. If you have problems with your libido, this also contains strong aphrodisiacs such as muira puama and damiana.
In addition, it also contains maca, another excellent herb for managing sexual dysfunction in men. With all these herbal ingredients included in the formula these supplements, you can experience an overall improvement in your sexual functioning and performance.
