What Causes Irritable Male Syndrome?

Brain-Chemistry Causes

Most people have heard of the brain neurotransmitter, serotonin. When we have enough flowing through our brains, we feel good. When there isn't enough we feel bad. Siegfried Meryn, M.D., author of Men's Health and the Hormone Revolution calls serotonin "the male hormone of bliss." Women have the same hormone in their brains and it has an equally positive effect on them. "The more serotonin the body produces," says Dr. Meryn, "the happier, more positive and more euphoric we are. Low serotonin can contribute to a man's irritability and aggression."

One of the most common causes of low serotonin levels is our eating and drinking habits. For instance, research has shown that protein, if consumed in excessive quantity, suppresses central nervous system serotonin levels. Many men were taught to believe that eating lots of meat would make them manly. Not only are there hormones injected in meat to make the animals fatter, but the protein contained in the meat can be harmful as well.

Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that a high protein, low carbohydrate diet can cause increased irritability in men. They found that men often mistake their cravings for healthy carbohydrates, such as those found in vegetables like potatoes, rice, corn, squash, etc., with cravings for protein found in meat. "Eating protein when we need carbohydrates," says Wurtman, "will make us grumpy, irritable, or restless."

Wurtman's team also found that alcohol consumption increases serotonin levels initially. However, chronic use dramatically lowers serotonin, resulting in depression, carbohydrate cravings, sleep disturbances, and proneness to argumentativeness and irritability. It may be that the male propensity to eat too much meat and drink too much alcohol is contributing to lower serotonin levels in brain chemistry which leads to symptoms of IMS.