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Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

Men’s Health Tips: Stay-Well Advice from Area Practitioners

Jun 02, 2011 09:18AM ● By Lee Walker

To mark the occasions of Men’s Health Month and National Men’s Health Week, June 13-19, Natural Awakenings queried local health experts for tips that heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.

James Occhiogrosso, author of Your Prostate, Your Libido, Your Life

Frequently, men silently accept as normal certain aging symptoms, such as loss of interest in sex, erectile dysfunction, muscle deterioration and a lack of youthful energy. Often, such symptoms can be traced to a common problem: poor nutrient status that results in hormone imbalance.

As we age, it becomes more difficult for the body to absorb certain needed nutrients from food. Combined with poor diet and lifestyle choices, the result can be multiple nutrient deficiencies, hormone disruption and many of the symptoms noted above. To gracefully age, try these suggestions:

• Don’t accept loss of libido as a normal part of aging. A lack of sex drive is typically due to hormone imbalances—low testosterone or high estrogen, or both.

• While some erectile dysfunction (ED) is a normal part of aging, serious ED can be the first sign of a buildup of plaque in the arteries, or atherosclerosis.

• Don’t accept that Viagra, Cialis or Levitra are the solution to an ED problem. While these drugs can help with symptoms, they do nothing to correct the underlying problem, and can have some serious side effects.

• Don’t assume that you can get all the nutrients your body needs from food. Most chronic problems and many serious illnesses have been linked to nutrient deficiencies.

• Supplement your diet with a good multivitamin/multi-mineral product from a health food store or practitioner’s office. Supermarket vitamin products are cheap, but notoriously deficient.

• Take additional antioxidant supplements, such as vitamins C, D and E. Multivitamin products, even quality ones, are often lacking in these critical nutrients.

• Get your hormones tested. A home saliva test kit lets you accurately test critical hormones in the privacy of your home. A health professional can then suggest ways to correct any imbalances.

David Martin, doctor of oriental medicine, Lotus Blossom Clinic

• Be active every day and alternate different forms of exercise and workouts: yoga; weightlifting; running, jogging or walking; and riding a bike, for example.

• Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.

• Reduce the consumption of red meat. The American Cancer Society confirms that people who eat the most red meat—beef, pork and processed meat products—get colon cancer 30 to 40 percent more often than those who eat these foods only once in a while. The lowest colon cancer risk occurs in men who eat less than 1.5 ounces of red meat per day.

• Use acupuncture for health prevention and maintenance.

• Have your teeth checked and cleaned at least twice a year.

• Be conscious of the mind/body connection. Monitor your thoughts, and think positively.

Contact Jim Occhiogrosso, master herbalist, at 239-498-1547 or visitHealthNaturallyToday.com.

Contact David Martin, doctor of oriental medicine, at Lotus Blossom Clinic, 6710 Winkler Rd., Ste. 2, Fort Myers 33919. Call 239-277-1399 or visit LotusBlossomClinic.com.