Every Man's Health Arsenal: Walsh Natural Health

We know you don't like to go to the doctor! And you just want a simple, direct program that works for you. Make it easy, explain it to me, and make it quick. So below we'll tackle some common men's

health issues and some simple solutions for each. Keep in mind that the most essential supplement for all of us to take is a multivitamin. It gives us a base level of nutrients to ensure that the cell can perform all of the necessary activites. Without this basic health insurance, other nutrients may be wasted. Each nutrient depends on multiple others to be properly absorbed and used by the body, so make sure that can happen.

Over-Worked, Under-Paid and Need a Boost?

In this economy, you are working harder for your money, so you need a little extra energy to propel you. Coffee does not produce real energy, but rather peaks and valleys of energy. Coffee is very acidic and must be detoxed by the kidneys, potentially leaving other acids like uric acid in the body. The build-up of uric acid in the body can produce multiple problems with inflammation. Here are some better ideas for revving your engine:

CoQ10

This nutrient is the "energy spark plug" of the cells. It is in every cell of the body and is vital to the conversion of your food to energy. CoQ10 is vital to heart function since the heart is one of the most metabolically active tissues in the body. It is well known that statin drugs deplete CoQ10 in the body, so anyone on this type of cholesterol-lowering medicine should be taking CoQ10. Otherwise, you are defeating the purpose of trying to help your heart! CoQ10 is also a potent antioxidant. A minimum dose of CoQ10 would be 30 mg per day for a healthy person, and you could safely take up to 100 mg per day. If you are on a statin you should consult your doctor, but 100 mg or more would be a common dose.

A Greens Formula

There are a multitude of greens formulas on the market. These formulas are loaded with nutrients, naturally help you produce energy, and are packed with antioxidants. The winner of our Greens Taste Test at our Anniversary Event was Phytoganix by Metagenics. It has a great berry flavor and tastes good mixed with just water.

Adaptogenic Herbs

"Adaptogenic" is a fancy term for an herb that helps your body respond better to stress. These herbs are not stimulants, but rather nourish the adrenal glands, which control your reaction to stress. A typical sign of adrenal stress is a very big energy dip around 3:00 in the afternoon. A favorite of the men that come to our store is Rhodiola. Rhodiola has been used by Russian athletes to improve performance for years. Other herbs in this category are Ginseng, Ashwaganda, and Maca.

B-Complex Vitamins

If you want to keep it really simple, the B vitamins are very important to energy production in the body. Taking a B-50 potency or B-100 if you are under higher stress can go a long way toward keeping your energy up. Pantothenic acid, or B-5, is the most important of the B's for nourishing the adrenal glands.

Can't Get Any Rest?

A good night's sleep is like gold for anyone who has a stressful job or seemingly not enough hours in the day. The adaptogenic herbs mentioned above can help greatly with sleep. A person with exhausted adrenals usually has no trouble going to sleep, but will wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning with difficulty going back to sleep. Other suggestions for sleep are:

Sedative or Calming herbs

Valerian, also called "nature's valium", is probably the most potent of the sedative herbs. You would probably want to use it an hour or two before bedtime. It may also be used during the day for very high stress. Skullcap is an anti-anxiety herb that does not cause you to be as drowsy, but will have a calming effect. Lemon balm is very gentle and also has antiviral properties (great for cold sores). Hops and passionflower are also calming. There are many sleep formulas available that are a combination of the above herbs that are much safer to use than drugs like Ambien. I call holy basil "zen" in a bottle. It has a very mild, soothing effect. It helps the body manage cortisol levels and so is great for avoiding the "fight or flight" response.

Homeopathic solutions

There are several combination formulas on the market like Calms Forte that are very gentle and can help one get to sleep. Calms Forte is also great for anyone that has a fear of flying or speaking. It will not produce drowsiness, but is very calming. A favorite single remedy called coffea cruda is a perfect antidote for the person who wakes at night and their mind is racing, preventing them from going back to sleep.

Cardiovascular Support

There are multiple ways to keep your heart healthy, including managing your stress, a good diet, and exercise. In addition, certain nutrients are very heart healthy:

Managing cholesterol

It has become so common to use statin drugs (Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor, Livalo, Pravachol, Crestor, and Zocor) that it seems to me that people consider this normal. It is not normal, can have serious side effects, and new studies are now debunking the correlation between high cholesterol and heart disease. If you do want to work on your cholesterol, there are natural ways to do it that have no side effects. Fish oils are the simplest way to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, and have multiple other benefits. I have customers who have lowered their cholesterol by 40 points just by adding fish oil and changing nothing else. The key to fish oils is quality. If you are trying to save money, this is not a place to do it. Poor quality fish oils can do more harm than good.

Red yeast rice has been used to great effect in lowering cholesterol. It is a natural statin without the side effects of the drugs. Niacin, or vitamin B-3 is another nutrient that holistic cardiologists use to bring down cholesterol (it also has great benefits for anxiety and depression). Plant stanols/sterols block the uptake of cholesterol by competing with it for absorption. The herbs guggul and artichoke leaf have been found to have cholesterol-lowering properties. Garlic dissolves cholesterol in the bloodstream, so it is useful in lowering cholesterol and reducing blood pressure.

Lowering Blood Pressure

Magnesium is essential to the maintenance of the blood vessels and the entire cardiovascular system. Alcohol depletes magnesium, so if you are using alcohol as a stress reliever you may need extra magnesium. Fish oil is a blood thinner that is an easy replacement for daily aspirin, which can harm the stomach lining. The diuretics that are prescribed to manage blood pressure actually deplete potassium in the body, which is vital to the water balance in the body. Potassium is one of the electrolytes and is very important to the electrical system that runs the pumping action of the heart. It is best absorbed through foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocado, chicken, bananas and carrots. The herb dandelion root is a diuretic and also supplies adequate potassium to counteract the loss of potassium through the urine.

The herb hawthorn is a restorative tonic for the heart and blood vessels. It dilates the blood vessels, improving circulation. Hawthorn berries contain potassium and sodium in a 1:1 ratio, making it good for water balance in the body and therefore blood pressure. They also have an abundance of choline, a constituent of lecithin which helps control cholesterol by breaking fat up into small particles that can be used by the body's tissues. Garlic (mentioned above) and CoQ10 can also help with blood pressure. CoQ10 is a potent antioxidant and helps produce energy for the pumping action of the heart. Pycnogenol and grape seed extract are strong antioxidants that scavenge free radicals, improve capillary strength, and inhibit inflammation, making them important in managing blood pressure.

Prostate/Sexual Health

Prostate cancer abounds lately, so keeping the prostate healthy is on every man's mind. Problems with the prostate often can be traced back to a lack of zinc. Adding zinc alone may benefit prostate health. Long term use of zinc is not recommended in large doses, however, so supplementation should not exceed 50 mg. It should be used to normalize the prostate and then discontinued. Zinc competes with copper in the body, so if used in excess can cause other issues like anemia. There are many herbs that are known for prostate health including saw palmetto, pygeum, and pumpkin seed oil. Saw Palmetto has a high concentration of zinc, and all three contain a compound called beta-sitosterol, which is an important antidote to prostate inflammation. They also contain compounds that increase the flow of urine, thereby eliminating swelling in the prostate. Lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes, has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Resveratrol has also been found to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

The main components of seminal fluid are zinc, selenium and arginine. Zinc promotes healthy testerone levels and sperm counts. Selenium is very effective against free radicals and has been studied for its importance in reducing prostate cancer risk. L-arginine is an amino acid that is required for normal sperm production. Arginine also helps produce nitric oxide, making it helpful in erectile dysfunction. DHEA is a hormone made by the adrenal glands that is a precursor to other hormones in the body, including testosterone. For this reason, it can increase libido and sexual stamina. We do not recommend using DHEA without the advice of a practitioner! Gingko biloba extract improves blood flow to the erectile tissue of the penis and so is often used to help with erectile dysfunction (gingko is also a great brain booster, great for the eyes, and good for circulation). The herbs Yohimbe and Muria Puama can also be used to stimulate libido, but should not be used with blood pressure medications.

Joint Aches and Pains

Most have probably heard of glucosamine/chondroitin for joints. These nutrients provide the joint building material and help prevent deterioration of the joints. Hyaluronic acid is a moisture magnet and can also be found in supplements intended for joint re-building. One new supplement that our customers have had good success with is NEM, natural eggshell membrane, which naturally contains many of these joint building materials. Inflammation must be handled by other herbs/nutrients like curcumin (turmeric), ginger, devil's claw, white willow, pycnogenol, grape seed extract, boswellia, and other anti-inflammatory compounds. Fish oils and other healthy oils can be important anti-inflammatory help. They also help lubricate the joints and oxygenate the muscles. Udo's oil, a combination of nut and seed oils, has done extensive research regarding enhanced recovery from exercise and overall athletic performance using their oil.

For those of you who are athletes, a great supplement to have on hand is Traumeel, a homeopathic combination formula that is helpful for joint strains and sprains, inflammation, and bruising. It can be taken internally, but also is available in a topical cream. It is excellent for over-use caused by intense workouts, or recovery from injuries.

Digestive Issues

Many men have acid indigestion, causing them to reach for antacids, or perhaps even a drug designed to reduce stomach acid. The problem with these methods are that they actually cause the stomach to produce more acid as acid levels go down, creating a vicious cycle. Acid is needed to digest our food, and particularly important for assimilating such nutrients as calcium and iron. Reducing the pH of the stomach also renders certain enzymes ineffective as those enzymes can only operate within a certain pH range. Much of the acid reflux experienced actually relates to insufficient stomach acid. In a case like this, a cheap and effective solution is to use organic apple cider vinegar prior to a meal. Licorice root is also great for ulcers and acid indigestion. It heals and protects the stomach lining. Herbs like marshmallow root and slippery elm can enhance digestion and protect the lining of the stomach and esophagus.

Vitamin B-1 is used to metabolize alcohol in the body and is also important to the production of hydrochloric acid (stomach acid), so over-using alcohol can impair digestion. Impaired digestion can lead to undigested proteins making their way through the gut wall, where they enter the bloodstream and cause a myriad of inflammatory problems (because the body does not know what to do with them). Eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods are the long term answers to this issue, but supplementation with a broad spectrum digestive enzyme formula can help correct the problem nearer term.

Using antacids can also reduce beneficial bacteria in the gut, reducing our bodies' production of some of the B vitamins and reducing our immunity to disease. A probiotic may be taken to correct the balance of gut bacteria, greatly enhancing digestion and assimilation of nutrients. Probiotics are also necessary when you have been on a course of antibiotics, as these drugs flush all bacteria out of the body, both good and bad.

For constipation, probiotics can be very helpful, along with the herbs marshmallow root and slippery elm mentioned above. A fiber supplement can be used, or the herb psyllium. Fiber supplements can also be helpful in managing cholesterol. The herb triphala, or "three fruits" is excellent for chronic constipation.

Conclusion

I could go on and on, but just wanted to hit a few of the topics that our male customers seem to commonly come in for. We would be happy to help you with any of these when you come in. Just ask any of our staff to help you!