Male Detail

Whilst the estrogen-like plant chemicals found in soy isoflavones have a vast amount of well-known benefits for women, new research has that soy isoflavones have significant benefits for men too, notably in the form of a reduction in the symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH).

Many of the health benefits of soybeans are found in the isoflavones, which have been found in several studies to be effective in the treatment and prevention of many health conditions including breast cancer, heart disease, due to their ability to reduce cholesterol, and particularly menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis. Soy isoflavones are one of a group of plant chemicals, best known as phytoestrogens and have impressive abilities which can help to balance estrogen in the body.

Their effectiveness in treating conditions of excess estrogen, such as premestrual syndrome, is derived from the isoflavones’ ability to block receptor sites, whilst in conditions of estrogen deficiency, such as osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms, soy isoflavones can increase estrogen activity by acting as a weak estrogen.

Nonetheless, a new study published by the British Journal of Nutrition suggests the efficacy of soy isoflavones in the treatment and prevention of BPH, a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. Whilst unpleasant, BPH is a common ailment affecting the prostate of many ageing men which can exhibit various symptoms including trouble starting or maintaining urination, the need to urinate more often, urine leaks or the need to go during the night. Whilst it is thought to be testosterone that is responsible for the changes that cause to prostate to enlarge and put pressure on the urethra, the new study has found that estrogen also plays a key role.

The study into the effects of soy isoflavones on the symptoms of BPH was carried out on men aged 65 and over and found that those with an intake of at least 5 mg of isoflavones, had fewer urinary tract symptoms than those who did not. The researchers suggested that although 5mg is relatively low, it did have a positive effect and emphasises the fact that although low levels of soy isoflavones may be acquired from the diet, a daily natural supplement can significantly help to ensure optimum levels of the beneficial isoflavones to achieve the advantages of reduced BPH symptoms, helping to slow and even prevent prostate cancer growth.

If you're like most people, you really want to live life with passion ... to feel at the height of health all the time, so you can accomplish more of what you want in life.

Probiotics can help you do just that!

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when ingested in sufficient numbers, replenish the microflora in your intestinal tract and thereby perform a number of health-enhancing functions. The word "probiotic" was introduced in 1965 to describe these growth promoting factors.

Historically, people used fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut both as food preservatives to limit spoilage, and for good health.

5 Really Good Reasons You Should Try Complete Probiotics Right Now!

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4. Viable - Complete Probiotics has superior viability throughout a long shelf life.

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Complete Probiotics is a probiotic from the Bacillus Coagulans strain that supports a healthy gut and healthy immune system. Its claim to fame is that it is present in spore form, and survives the acidic environment of the stomach - making it to the small intestine where its health benefits are experienced.

How bioavailable is Complete Probiotics?
Bacillus Coagulans are a highly bioavailable form of probiotic, also known as Lactibacillus sporogenes. It is called a "right-spinning" L (+) non-dairy lactic acid. Other lactic acids (often dairy forms) are right-spinning's mirror image, or left-spinning lactic acids.

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Until recently, the role of Folic acid in the prevention of diseases had been ignored. Even the most obsessed health food enthusiast knew nothing about the importance of a Folic acid rich diet. That was until research eventually unearthed the myriad ways in which Folic acid affects health and wellness. In the light of evidence that this B vitamin has the ability to prevent heart disease, cancer and strokes, the emphasis on consumption of Folic acid through your daily diet and through dietary supplements have increased considerably.

If you have not yet undergone a Folic acid test and verified that you have enough Folate in your system, these are the signs to watch out for...

Fatigue: The very first sign of a deficiency of Folic acid is high fatigue. If you feel tired and worn out throughout the day, a Folic acid deficiency could be the culprit. Before you decide on your pick from the diverse array of usual causes that fatigue is associated with, it might be a good idea to get your Folic acid levels checked.

Shortness of breath: Not many other health issues herald themselves by making you short of breath, making this symptom a particularly positive identification of Folic acid deficiency.

Red and sore tongue: Another characteristic symptom. If you have a sore tongue, it would be rather irrational to wait it out a day or two. Get yourselves some Folic acid supplements or modify your diet to that effect.

Reduced sense of taste: If you suspect that your sense of taste has declined and have already found a low-risk reason to blame it on and ignore, this would a nice time to check if you are putting yourself at risk of Folic acid deficiency and all the health issues that come with it.

Weight loss: Unless you are one of those weight watching diet junkies who celebrate every pound that leaves your body, you would understand the simple fact that unexplained and unwarranted loss of weight signals an impending health issue and Folic acid deficiency is one of them.

Diarrhea: After having affected the tongue by making it sore and reducing the sense of taste, effectively rendering the consumption of food a painful affair, Folic acid deficiency goes a step further by making it tough to keep the food in with diarrhea.

If you are on the watch out for these tell tale signs and you commit yourself to getting a Folic acid test done when you suspect that you are in the red, there is not much to fear here. After all, Folic acid deficiency can be easily corrected by supplementing your diet with Folic acid pills or foods rich in this B vitamin.

Pregnancy

Importance of Folic acid during pregnancy cannot be ignored at any cost. Folic acid deficiency during pregnancy is known to lead to neural tube defects which are essentially birth defects related to the brain and the spinal chord in the baby. The levels of Folic acid in the body of women who are planning to conceive should be kept optimal till the first few weeks of pregnancy to prevent this from happening.

A simple and quick prenatal test would tell you if you are deficient in Folic acid. The Folic acid test cannot wait until you conceive and realize it since it would be far too late and you would have already endangered your baby. Prenatal testing is too easy, quick and important to be ignored.

The people who will have the most money in their Health Savings Account are those who fully fund it, put the money in well-performing mutual funds, and stay healthy so they can avoid making premature withdrawals. Diet is the foundation of good health, and the healthiest diet you can eat is the one we evolved to eat, commonly known as The Paleo Diet.

Choose Not To Get Sick

One thing that most Health Savings Account owners have in common is a belief in personal responsibility. They know that if they depend on the government to pay their medical bills in their old age, they'll be at the mercy of a government bureaucrat, and their choices will be limited. So instead they choose to put money aside each year to cover future expenses. As a thank you, the government provides a nice tax write-off, tax-deferred growth, and tax-free medical spending.

The other area where most people can take more personal responsibility is with their health. People tend to have the attitude that "stuff happens", and there's not much you can do to prevent the degenerative diseases that come with aging. This is hogwash.

Longevity has advanced dramatically in the past century. Some of this is due to new drugs and advances in surgical techniques. But most of it is simply lifestyle - people are bathing more frequently, they are working under less dangerous conditions, they are smoking less, and some are eating better food. (Fresh fruits and vegetables were rare and expensive during winter months when my grandfather was a child).

Other than not smoking cigarettes, the most powerful thing you can do to ensure good health is to eat the right foods. Most people get it wrong, but if you follow this advice you will lower your risk of almost all the diseases and disorders that disrupt the lifestyle and drain the bank accounts of so many people when they reach their 50's, 60's, and 70's.

Why Is Nutrition So Confusing?

In 1988, Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop announced that high-fat foods in the American diet had a health risk that was comparable to cigarette smoking. So people began eating no-fat and low-fat foods like bagels and Snackwell cookies. Despite this change, the rate of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity continued to grow.

Then the pendulum swung the other direction, with people adopting the Atkins diet and eating nothing but meat, cheese, and eggs. And then Atkins himself had a heart attack.

Part of the problem is that food is big money. So the Food Pyramid put out by the USDA is the product of very heavy lobbying efforts. Another part of the problem is that until now there has been no overriding paradigm about what good nutrition really is.

And so the low-fat vegetarian proponents eat their whole grains and soy burgers, thinking they are eating the right way, while others avoid carbs like the plaque. Who is right? Is the answer "moderation?" And what is that?

Eating the Foods We Evolved To Eat

Imagine that you were a zoo keeper, and it was your job to keep the animals healthy. In one cage you've got a giraffe, in another you've got a lion, and in the third you have an anteater. What do you feed them?

Most people would answer that you try to feed them what they would eat in the wild. If you do so, you're most likely to have healthy animals. If you get things mixed up and feed the lion leaves, the giraffe ants, and the anteater meat, you'll have some sick animals very quickly.

So using the same thinking, what do you feed a human in order to keep him or her optimally healthy? The foods that they evolved to eat, of course.

For 2.5 million years humans lived as hunter gatherers. We ate whatever we could pick, find, or catch. So our diet consisted of fruits, vegetables, tubers, meat, and seafood. (And the occasional bug).

It was only 10,000 years ago (500 generations) that humans began eating grains (wheat, rice, corn, etc.) as a regular part of their diet. Dairy consumption (other than mother's milk) first began approximately 6000 years ago. The regular use of vegetable oils, refined sugar, and salt is even more recent. As I mentioned last month, two-thirds of the foods we now eat are foods that are new to our system, for which we are not genetically adapted.

Evolution moves quite slowly, and the simple fact is that we are not adapted to eating these foods, and they are making us sick.

The Problems With Grains

Grains are the seeds of grasses. The grass seed itself doesn't want to be eaten, because its purpose is to grow a new blade of grass. So it has various "anti-nutrients" to protect it from pests and predators.

Protease inhibitors in wheat bind trypsin, preventing this digestive enzyme from digesting protein. A protein called wheat germ agglutin (WGA) happens to bind to a hormone receptor in the gut, entering circulation and causing an immediate immune reaction every time you eat a piece of bread.

WGA also increases gut permeability, increasing the likelihood that other undigested dietary components may enter circulation.

Another component found in cereals such as rye, oats, barley, and corn are "alkylresorcinols." These are thought to provide the seed resistance from pathogenic organisms, but they are also toxic to humans, and have been shown to cause red blood cell destruction and DNA damage.

Grains also raise blood sugar very rapidly, causing a high secretion of insulin from the pancreas. High circulating insulin is characteristic of "metabolic syndrome", which a vast number of Americans currently suffer from.

What About Milk?

Cow milk contains a hormone called betacellulin, which binds to a receptor in the gut called the EGF receptor. Just one glass of milk has the capacity to stimulate the receptor 10 times as much would normally occur in 24 hours from EGF in the saliva.

When the EGF receptor is stimulated it causes the body to "upregulate" EGF receptors, basically causing more of them to appear. This in turn let's even more betacellulin enter the body the next time you have some dairy. Upregulation of the EGF receptor is characteristic of many cancers, including breast, prostate, lung, ovarian, and bladder.

No animals other than humans consume milk past the age of weaning.

Prevent Autoimmune Disease

The incidence of autoimmune diseases increases as people age. It occurs when the body loses the ability to distinguish its own proteins from foreign proteins, and starts attacking itself.

Grains and beans contain substances called "lectins", which are known to increase gut permeability, possibly allowing in gut bacteria substances that can trigger an autoimmune reaction.

Cereal grains and beans also contain proteins with amino acid sequences that are very similar to those found in human collagen and other tissues of the body. If the immune system gets confused, it can start attacking itself (such as with rheumatoid arthritis when joints become swollen and painful).

Get Rid Of Acne

Yes, even something as seemingly minor as acne can be prevented by eating a Paleo diet. Saving just $2000 in doctor visits over the next couple years could result in an extra $25,000 in your HSA by the time you finally decide to take the money out.

If these ideas intrigue you, check out: www.ThePaleoDiet.com

One particular nutrient that should be taken seriously during pregnancy is folic acid. This vitamin from the family of B-vitamins prevents birth defects in a developing baby, aids in cell division and helps in the formation of red blood cells for both mother and baby. Ideally it should be taken 3 months during the pre-conception period to ensure a healthy start and be continued till term.

How much of Folate?

When trying to conceive 400mcg every day for at least a month is the sensible thing to do. Continue with this for at least the first three months of pregnancy. A deficiency in this vitamin can lead to anemia causing the woman to feel tired all the time. It is better to continue taking folic acid throughout your pregnancy. While leafy greens and green beans are rich in folate but to depend on natural food sources alone is not advisable; supplements become essential to combat this insufficiency. Folic acid levels are labeled differently; it is best to check with your doctor on the level that is suitable during pregnancy [400 mcg (micrograms), 0.4 mg (milligrams), 400 ?µg (international units)]. Check your multivitamin label to ensure the correct dosage of this vitamin. Some women will require higher doses (5mg) and they include those who:

1. Have had a previous pregnancy affected by neural tube defects
2. Have NTD themselves
3. Have a family history
4. Have a partner with a family history of NTD

The wise thing to do is take your supplements along with foods rich in folate. Examples of such foods are:

Green leafy vegetables especially spinach, broccoli, asparagus
Other vegetables such as green beans, cabbage, peas, cauliflower, avocado
Oranges and other citrus fruits
Breakfast cereals fortified with this vitamin
Eggs, lentils, kidney beans, chick peas, baked beans
Yoghurt & milk

Key Facts

Did you know that during the first trimester, the embryo develops 3 layers of cells? The outer layer will form the neutral tube and this further develops into the brain, spinal cord, nervous system, ears and eyes.

Folate increases birth weight of baby and lowers the risk of growth restriction in the later part of pregnancy, thereby lowering the odds of premature birth.

Poor development will cause baby to be born with a neural tube defect (NTD) such as spina bifida (or split spine in layman’s terms). In severe cases babies with this defect may not be able to walk and will face bowel and bladder problems.

Folate lowers the chances of the mother developing preeclampsia.

Though not conclusive, some researchers have indicated that folic can prevent the incidence of Down’s syndrome.

For the vegetarian mother-to-be some examples of dishes that are folate-rich include chickpeas curry, mixed bean salad, mixed roasted nuts and broccoli and cheese quiche. Water cress, tomatoes, green and red peppers, lettuce and avocado all contain folate; prepare a salad bowl with these.

Important tip FYI: Folate levels decrease in value if groceries are kept or stored so use them fresh. Cooking and washing destroys the nutrients. To get the maximum folate out of your veggies bear these tips in mind:

1. Store vegetables in the fridge and use them as soon as possible i.e. the fresher the better.
2. Serve them raw (uncooked); if cooked vegetables should preferably be steamed, simmered or boiled.