Health Tidbits for Men
Gout. Give gout the boot -- calcium eases "big toe-itis". New research suggests that getting enough calcium may prevent gout, a toe-targeting disorder that favors men. If you are a man over 40 with a family history of gout, aim for 1,000mg of calcium daily. That much calcium reduces the risk of gout by 40-percent. (Data presented after a study on 48,000 men over 12 years by the American College of Rheumatology).
Men and Chocolate. Chocolate contains large amounts of the same beneficial plant chemicals that now have burnished the reputation of tea. In fact, just one ounce of chocolate has about as much of these plant chemicals as a cup of brewed black tea. One large, ongoing study of the benefits of exercise found that men who eat chocolate in moderation (one to three bars a month) live longer than those who eat none!
Gaining Muscle. Most men need to consume an additional 2,500 to 3,500 calories a week to gain one pound of muscle each week. You can pump iron until you're blue in the face, but if you don't augment your training efforts with enough food and fluid, the laws of human biology dictate that you will not get any bigger. When it comes to gaining muscle, the most important thing is eating enough calories to fuel both your exercise and the metabolic processes needed to build muscle. Most men who have trouble gaining weight and strength are not eating enough, or are eating too much of the wrong foods.
Yoga for Men. Men often push aside the stress that they feel and give little importance to relaxation techniques. One of the results is the tendency of men to develop heart disease at an earlier age than women. Yoga has many benefits that can help men to learn how to relax. The participant works through a series of poses to improve strength, flexibility, and breathing. Learning how to breathe from the diaphragm can help throughout the day to release tension. Also, many male athletes forget about flexibility focusing only on strength and performance. A yoga class is a great way to work on flexibility if you do not work on it on your own. There are many types of classes, so check around to find the class that suits your goals. If you wish to incorporate strength training into yoga, check into power yoga. You would be surprised at how this challenges even the strongest of muscles! It feels good, too.
Take Care of Your Heart. A study published in the journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 272, no. 18, pp 1439-41) showed that men with the highest levels of carotenoids had up to 60 percent fewer heart attacks and deaths. Carotenoids are the pigments which give fruits and vegetables their color. To date, over 600 have been identified and more than 60 can be found in food. There is increasing evidence that many carotenoids (alpha carotene, beta-carotene cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthin) have powerful antioxidant properties which could help to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Furthermore, increasing your consumption of foods containing these substances increases your body's tissue levels.
To maintain a healthy heart, start to increase your carotenoid levels by eating more of the following foods: Carrots, peppers, pumpkin, apricots, parsley, spinach, kale, sweet potatoes, tangerines, oranges, papaya, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, okra, and corn.
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