Treatment Tuesdays - Prostate Health

The size of a mere walnut, the prostate gland is small but critically important to men’s health. It produces semen, the fluid that carries sperm from the testicles, and it regulates the flow of urine from the urinary tract, or urethra. It also comes into contact with the rectal cavity and the bladder.
According to Dr. Earl Mindell, almost every man experiences prostate trouble at least once in his life. In fact, a studies show that 1 out of 6 males will develop prostate cancer. That will result in almost 170,000 prostate removals and nearly 31,000 deaths from prostate cancer.

Fortunately, you can, for the most part, prevent prostate disorders if you start a program of good nutrition early. Prostate disorders range from prostate infection to enlargement to prostate cancer.

Principal symptoms of prostate disorder include:

• Difficulty urinating
• Dribbling and urgency to urinate
• Increased nighttime urination
• Dramatic reduction of ejaculate
• Weak ejaculation
• Lack of sexual desire
• Difficulty achieving full erection
• Terminal blood in urine

What Causes Prostate Disorders?

The most benign prostate disorder is infection. The prostate can become infected by viruses and bacteria from the rectal cavity (constipation and poor colon health may be a factor), or the urethra (sexually transmitted). Infection could result in painful urination or difficulty urinating (swelling of the prostate). This can be treated with a prostate cleanse and anti-inflammatory herbs.

It’s important to note that oral sex exposes the prostate to more bacteria than vaginal or even anal sex. Also, environmental toxins have been observed in patients with prostate cancer.

The most common prostate disorder is prostate enlargement, known as prostatitis. When the prostate swells, it blocks the flow of urine, making it difficult or even impossible to urinate. This normally is treated with antibiotics or surgery, but natural cures include the use of anti-inflammatories, prostate massage, and dietary changes.

Finally, there is prostate cancer, the most severe of the prostate conditions. Incidence of prostate cancer in America is on a sharp rise. Experts are still unsure as to the exact cause of prostate cancer, but suspect that genetics, nutrition, hormones, and environmental toxins all play a role. Studies suggest that diets high in saturated fat and sodium nitrate increase risk for prostate cancer, as does a sedentary lifestyle. No wonder prostate cancer is so common in the United States!

Treatments for Prostate Health

The best treatments for prostate health are preventative ones. Concerning the prostate, it’s much better to eliminate the risk of disease than to treat it after the fact. Here are some key points:

• Eliminate saturated fats and excess sugars and starches from your diet. Reduce the amount of meats and processed foods you eat—especially partially hydrogenated oils. Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables (lightly cooked or even raw)
• Drink green tea at least once a day. Better yet, trade coffee for green tea
• Make sure to get an adequate amount of Vitamins B, C, and E and omega fatty acids in your diet. Flax and hemp seeds and oils are good sources of fatty acids, nuts and lentils are good for vitamin E, and many different fruits contain vitamin C
• Exercise frequently and engage in sexual activity (including masturbation) regularly
• Get plenty of movement. A sedentary lifestyle is the enemy of the prostate
• If your diet has been poor for a long time, consider a colon cleansing
• Combinations of phyto- (plant-based) estrogens are useful in treating prostate disorders.  
• If you suffer from prostate infection or enlargement, then in addition to the practices listed here, take saw palmetto along with anti-inflammatory and circulation-stimulating herbs (lemongrass, cumin, tumeric, mistletoe extract, sage, pygeum, pumpkin seed extract and sterolins) also get plenty of zinc in your diet - beans, nuts, almonds, whole grains, pumpkin and sunflower seeds are good sources

Other Considerations

Excess alcohol and caffeine play havoc on the prostate, as do coagulated dairy products (hard cheeses, for example). Excess meat consumption is also a prostate irritation, as meat generally is not completely eliminated and remains in the bowels, infecting the prostate. For this reason, it’s a good idea to include plenty of dietary fiber from raw fruits and vegetables, salads, and nuts. Soy products are also helpful.

Avoid excess alcohol and cigarette smoke, including secondhand smoke. Avoid excess caffeine and stress, as they promote hormone imbalances that can affect the prostate.

High levels of vitamin D in older people can reduce heart disease and diabetes

Middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.

A team of researchers at Warwick Medical School carried out a systematic literature review of studies examining vitamin D and cardiometabolic disorders. Cardiometabolic disorders include cardiovascular disease,type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.


Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods and is also produced when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are good sources of vitamin D, and it is also available as a dietary supplement.

Researchers looked at 28 studies including 99,745 participants across a variety of ethnic groups including men and women. The studies revealed a significant association between high levels of vitamin D and a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (33% compared to low levels of vitamin D), type 2 diabetes (55% reduction) and metabolic syndrome (51% reduction).

The literature review, published in the journal Maturitas, was led by Johanna Parker and Dr Oscar Franco, Assistant Professor in Public Health at Warwick Medical School.

Dr Franco said: “We found that high levels of vitamin D among middle age and elderly populations are associated with a substantial decrease incardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

“Targeting vitamin D deficiency in adult populations could potentially slow the current epidemics of cardiometabolic disorders.”
All studies included were published between 1990 and 2009 with the majority published between 2004 and 2009. Half of the studies were conducted in the United States, eight were European, two studies were from Iran, three from Australasia and one from India.

Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185446287.html

The need for vitamin can clash with the need to protect your skin from sun damage. That is why Boku Super Food contains one of the few vegan diet sources of vitamin D. Boku's Super Tàke Mushroom blend contains 14 kinds of medicinal mushrooms that have already absorbed plenty of vitamin D2 so your skin doesn't have to! Each scoop of Boku contains 20% of the recommended daily allowance. Your body digests and internalizes the vitamin D from ingesting the powdered mushrooms in your Boku drink!

Here's to your health!

Blueberries and Probiotics Counteract Intestinal Diseases

You thought blueberries were good for you before! Sure they are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, but now “new research from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis.”

“The researchers tested various types of diets of blueberry husks, rye bran and oat bran with or without a mixture of probiotic bacteria. The results showed that the protective effect of blueberries was reinforced if they were eaten together with probiotics.

‘The probiotics proved to have a protective effect on the liver, an organ that is often negatively impacted by intestinal inflammations,’ explains Ĺsa Hľkansson.

Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, which have an antimicrobial and antioxidative effect. The combination of blueberries and probiotics reduced inflammation-inducing bacteria in the intestine at the same time as the number of health-promoting lactobacilla increased.”

Read the full article here: http://www.physorg.com/news184943500.html

This is great news for blueberry lovers and just goes to show how natural foods can be as good or better than manufactured medicines.

Is Obesity in the Eye of the Beholder?

This is what Sherry Rauh believes may be the case in her WebMD feature "Is Fat the New Normal?"
She notes that 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese which makes being seem like heavy the "average" body type. This is becoming more true as "the average American is 23 pounds heavier than his or her ideal body weight."  The problem with this is that people tend to "equate 'normal' with average" and we are left with the idea that it is normal to be overweight, which may be detrimental to the health of many people.
Another interesting point that Rauh makes is that being overweight has a lot to do with where you live and who you associate with as people ten to emulate what they are used to. This means that they best thing that you can do for those around you is to be a healthy role model. If you tend to eat well and get regular exercise your positive actions have a good chance of rubbing off on thse closest to you!
Read all of Rauh's article here: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/is-fat-the-new-normal

The Perfect Valentine's Gift for a Health Nut!

Share the gift of health with your Valentine!

Our Valentine’s Day bundles include:

• 3 Potent Life Bars with Organic Raw Maca Miracle^TM– One of each flavor!
• One 10 Day Sample of BōKU® Super Food
• One 1oz  BōKU® Immune Tonic

OR one case of 12 Potent Life Bars – Goji Berry, Cacao Crunch or Pink Salty Peanuts!

All of these products contain powerful antioxidant and adaptogenic ingredients sure to give you plenty of vim and vigor this Valentine’s Day.

The Potent Life Bars and Super Food also contain organic cacao which is high in PEA (Phenethylamine), a neurotransmitter known for enhancing mood and promoting feelings of love and well-being. Both products also contain maca root which is believed to increase virility and libido as well as maintaining other hormonal factors.

Either Valentine’s Day BōKU® bundle can be purchased at:

http://shop.bokusuperfood.com/items_23.html for $21.95 – use coupon code “V2010” for free shipping!

Who would have thought that extra nutrition could let you have the best Valentine’s Day ever!

Healthy Recipes - My Valentine Smoothie

This recipe will add some zing to your Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients:

1 cup organic cranberry juice
6 strawberries
1/2 banana (chopped)
1 scoop BōKU® Super Food

Directions:

Blend and Enjoy

Treatment Tuesday - Energy Enhancement

High energy makes us feel better and younger, helps us get more done, and even stimulates creativity and will. Energy is the currency of our very life force. So how do we get more energy for the body and mind? How do food and other fuel sources translate into energy? And how do we increase the “octane” of our fuel for the energy efficiency of our bodies?

The answers to those questions are both simple and complex. On a physical level, our bodies use one primary type of fuel for energy: glucose. It’s that simple. Glucose that enters the bloodstream is converted by the body into glycogen, which is then burned as fuel in the cells.

What Causes Low Energy?


The chemical energy our body uses for fuel comes from blood sugar. Different forms of sugar enter the bloodstream through our normal digestion and food conversion processes. When we need energy for physical activity, the hormone insulin transports blood sugar into the cells, where it can be used for fuel or stored as glycogen. The liver also converts much of this glucose into energy or glycogen. Excess sugar is excreted from the body through urine or converted into fat. This process can break down in many places, causing low energy, nervous high energy, and energy “crash” (rapid energy loss). Low insulin levels (diabetes), low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), low blood pressure, and poor cell health can all affect the production of energy.

Other conditions that can affect energy levels include poor liver health, adrenal imbalance, thyroid imbalance, and even insufficient muscle mass (not enough muscle to fat ratio).

Energy Enhancements

So how do we get more energy? What are the safest and most effective ways to increase energy and get more of life’s sweet nectar? Well, let’s start with a few basic principals. Here are the essential concepts for increasing body energy:

• Improve the quality of your fuel: Find the optimal mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats for your body, so it can more effectively convert these elements into fuel. The optimal mixture is not the same for everyone.
• Reduce the quantity of your fuel intake: Generally, eating less food results in more energy efficiency. Oxidation from overeating causes the body to slow down, as does the excess stored fat that overeating causes.
• Clean your engine: Clean out your liver and purify your blood for increased energy. This will support the chemical processes that carry glucose into the cells, where it is used as energy. It also wouldn’t hurt to clean your intestines, as this is where sugars get extracted from foods and passed to the bloodstream.
• Streamline your body: Losing excess fat and increasing muscle mass will give you more energy and improve energy conversion from the food you eat.
• Attend to “other” energies: Steer clear of high frequency wires, unnecessary x-rays, and other foreign energies. Keep your emotional archives clean, your heart light, and your self-image positive.

Other Considerations

Glucose is the most important and most used source of energy for our tissues and muscles. Most of this glucose should come from complex carbohydrates (grains, vegetables, beans) for best energy conversion. People with higher metabolisms or those on a muscle-building program can increase their intake of carbohydrates. Sucrose (sugar) is a combination of glucose and fructose; the glucose is quickly and easily converted into energy by our liver and muscle tissues. Note that energy from fructose (fruit and corn syrup) is converted into energy only by the liver, and any excess will be converted into fat and stored as body tissue. It’s best to stay away from excess fructose, especially high-fructose corn syrup, commonly added to juices. For long-term energy, it also helps to boost your protein levels.

Pure cocoa is an excellent antioxidant and helps normalize your circulation, not to mention improve your mood. Eat dark, bittersweet chocolate for a hit of cocoa and sucrose, but keep this in check as you can easily consume too much sucrose. Energy without caffeine is built by taking a things like ginseng, suma (South American root sometimes called Brazilian ginseng), maca (Peruvian 
root called Amazon ginseng), and organic minerals from seaweeds. Spirulina is an excellent energy source for its vitamin, mineral, and protein content, not to mention the chlorophyll.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Schizandra berry is a well-known adaptogenic herb. Due to its ability to increase strength and balance body systems, Chinese herbalists recommend the dried berry for relief from exhaustion and fatigue, and they believe that it can increase both your energy level and your life expectancy.