Of course you do!

  What guy doesn't want to reduce erectile functioning and grow "man-boobs"? I happen to know the secret ingredient to experience those awesome conditions. Do you know what it is? Yep, yep, yep! It's sugar.

I have here a study published in Clinical Endocrinology and presented at the prestigious Endocrine Society's 91st Annual meeting in Washington D.C. The study, done at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston administered sugar to 74 men and tested their T (testosterone) levels.

Eating the standard 75-g dose of glucose was associate with a 25% DECREASE in mean T levels. In 15% of the test subjects, their T-levels fell to what is known as the "hypogonadal" range. If sustained (say by continuing to eat a sugary diet) hypogonadism leads to erectile disfunction, infertility, loss of muscle mass, development of man-boobs, hot flashes, loss of sex drive, and difficulty concentrating.

You may also recall my post on "The Hunger Twins: Insulin and leptin." Well as it turns out, insulin and leptin resistance also gives you the added bonus of erectile "resistance."

Another study published in Clinical Endocrinology, has a title that cuts right to the chase, "Strong association between serum levels of leptin and testosterone in men. " The study reveals that of the men studied in three separate groups, those with the lowest testosterone also had a high degree of leptin resistance. The higher the leptin resistance went, the lower their testosterone levels fell.

Of course then there is the other "hunger twin" insulin. As we've previously noted, with insulin resistance comes increased levels of insulin production. In the right quantities, insulin is absolutely vital to your life. In large quantities, insulin becomes an inflammatory beast in your body.

According to another study in the journal, "Metabolism", among the many things that increased insulin levels does to your body, is suppression of the production of Growth Hormone (GH). This hormone, secreted by the pancreas while you sleep, helps regulate a number of functions including growing muscle mass, and keeping the libido up. (See what I did there?)

Sugar intake goes up, insulin resistance goes up, insulin levels go up, and everything you want "up", starts going down.

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2013 Feb;78(2):291-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04486.x.

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1997 Aug;47(2):237-40.

Metabolism. 1999 Sep;48(9):1152-6.