Unlocking Men's Health: The Gut-Metabolic Revolution

Men's health is often reduced to a few headline concerns: heart disease, prostate issues, mental health. These are critical, but the underlying factors that make men uniquely vulnerable are complex, rooted in both biology and societal expectations. A proactive approach that looks at the gut microbiome and metabolic function is changing how men can approach their health.

IN SHORT
Men's health is often reduced to a few headline concerns, but gut and metabolic function play a significant, underappreciated role in cardiovascular risk, mental health and vitality. Testing offers objective data instead of guesswork.

The specific challenges in men's health

Cardiovascular risk

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men globally, and men are generally affected at a younger age than women. This is partly linked to hormonal differences, but also to a greater tendency toward visceral (belly) fat, which is metabolically active and associated with inflammation and insulin resistance. Chronic inflammation is an established driver in the progression of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in both men and women [1, 2, 3].

Mental health

Men are less likely to seek help for depression and anxiety due to societal pressures around masculinity and emotional suppression, which can allow conditions to worsen and contributes to higher suicide rates in men than women. Mental and physical health are connected, and the gut-brain axis is one of the biological pathways linking them [8, 9].

Prostate and urological health

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer become more common after age 50. Genetics play a role, and chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with the progression of prostate issues. Routine screening remains important alongside preventative strategies targeting inflammation.

Metabolic function and vitality

Erectile dysfunction (ED), low libido and chronic fatigue are common and often under-discussed. ED in particular is associated with systemic vascular and metabolic dysfunction, and can be an early indicator of impaired blood flow and endothelial health relevant to broader cardiovascular risk.

The gut microbiome: an underappreciated driver of men's health

The gut microbiome does far more than aid digestion. Its metabolic outputs affect the whole body.

• Inflammation: a disturbed gut barrier ("leaky gut") allows bacterial byproducts like lipopolysaccharides (LPS) into the bloodstream, contributing to systemic chronic inflammation, a common thread in heart disease and metabolic syndrome [4].
• Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs): healthy gut bacteria produce SCFAs like butyrate, the primary fuel for gut lining cells and a compound with anti-inflammatory properties associated with improved insulin sensitivity [5].
• Vascular health: gut dysbiosis is associated with endothelial dysfunction (damage to blood vessel linings). Since erections are fundamentally a vascular event, this connection is relevant to both ED and its association with broader cardiovascular risk [12].

The gut-brain connection

The gut-brain axis describes the biological link between gut health and mental wellbeing. Gut microbes influence neurotransmitter production and the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which governs the stress response [6]. Dysbiosis is associated with disruption to this communication pathway, which research links to anxiety and depression [7, 8, 9].

The vivaBALANCE approach: integrating gut and metabolic testing

vivaBALANCE combines vivaBIOME (shotgun metagenomic gut sequencing) with vivaMETABOLITE, a urine-based assessment of cellular biochemistry using organic acids testing. Organic acids are end products of cellular and microbial metabolism, and measuring them provides a functional snapshot of energy production, nutrient status and gut-derived compounds that standard blood tests often miss [10, 11].

Swipe table to view more info.

Category	Source	Relevance to men's health
Microbial metabolites	Gut bacteria and yeast (e.g. D-lactate, HPHPA, arabinose)	High levels are associated with bacterial or yeast overgrowth, which is linked to inflammation and gut barrier changes.
Mitochondrial markers	Cellular energy production (e.g. citrate, succinate)	Abnormal levels are associated with reduced mitochondrial efficiency, which is linked to fatigue and reduced physical performance.
Neurotransmitter metabolites	Breakdown products of brain chemicals (e.g. HVA, VMA)	Reflect neurotransmitter metabolism and may offer insight relevant to mood and stress via the gut-brain axis.
Nutrient and oxidation markers	Vitamin cofactors and oxidative stress markers (e.g. CoQ10)	Can indicate a functional need for nutrients relevant to heart health and energy production.

From data to a personalised plan

vivaOS, vivaLAB's AI health intelligence platform, connects patterns across your vivaBIOME and vivaMETABOLITE results, for example, linking low SCFA-producing bacteria to markers of inefficient cellular energy production, to build a personalised nutrition and supplement plan targeting the specific patterns in your own data.

Monitoring these markers over time may help identify shifts worth addressing earlier rather than later, supporting a more proactive approach to protecting long-term health.

The vivaBALANCE program is designed to give men objective, biological data, reframing proactive health management as an evidence-based strategy rather than a sign of weakness.

Get the fuller picture of your biology
A vivaINSIGHT test combines vivaBIOME and vivaMETABOLITE to show what's driving your energy, inflammation and metabolic markers. vivaBALANCE 360 retests at 4 and 9 months to track change.

vivaLAB's services are designed to support health optimisation and are not a substitute for medical advice. Consult a qualified health practitioner for individual health decisions.

References:

1. Roifman, I., et al. (2011). Chronic inflammatory diseases and cardiovascular risk: a systematic review. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 27(2), 174-182.
2. Furman, D., et al. (2024). Chronic Inflammation. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.
3. Roifman, I., et al. (2021). Inflammation and cardiovascular disease: From mechanisms to therapeutics. JACC: Basic to Translational Science, 6(7), 607-623.
4. Cani, P. D., et al. (2013). The gut microbiota profile is associated with insulin action in humans. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 57(12), 2206-2211.
5. Ratajczak, W., et al. (2022). Gut Microbiota and Short Chain Fatty Acids: Implications in Glucose Homeostasis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(3), 1653.
6. Sherwin, E., et al. (2017). Gut microbiota's effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis. Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology, 41(5), 491-496.
7. Khedr-Naciri, S., et al. (2023). Gut Microbiota in Anxiety and Depression. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(9), 7980.
8. Mayer, E. A., et al. (2017). The Gut-Brain Axis: Influence of Microbiota on Mood and Mental Health. Neurotherapeutics, 14(4), 917-926.
9. Monda, K. L., et al. (2023). The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome in Anxiety Disorders, PTSD and OCD. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(4), 3964.
10. Lord, R. S. (2006). Using organic acids to diagnose and manage recalcitrant patients. Alternative Medicine Review, 11(2), 127-138.
11. Tsoukalas, D., et al. (2017). Application of metabolomics: Focus on the quantification of organic acids in healthy adults. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 50(3), 148-154.
12. Wang, J., et al. (2024). Gut microbiota composition may be an indicator of erectile dysfunction. Microbial Biotechnology, 17(1), e14403.