|
Male
Vitality
By Dr
Michael Elstein
Index
page
| New theories | Preventing
heart disease | The
healthy diet
'Wonder
nutrients' for the cardiovascular system | Opening
your heart
Protecting
your prostate | Losing
your hair? |
Antioxidants |Summary
New strategies for
preventing heart disease, prostate problems and baldness.
It is no small irony
that the man who sings one of the greatest hits 'Times,
They Are a Changing' recently found himself in hospital,
a casualty of a serious heart affliction.
As we catapult into
the new millennium besieged by information which changes
much more rapidly than Bob Dylan could ever have imagined,
it is men who are now seeking to make those healthy
choices that women have long since embraced.
This is happening none
too soon as statistics indicate that, at the moment,
men are not in good shape. Men live shorter lives than
women. They die more frequently from heart disease and
one in four men over 55 years of age will experience
some form of prostate disease.
These statistics may
be reversed and men have finally begun to realise this.
Ischaemic heart disease
and prostate cancer can be prevented by utilising the
best that modern science and natural therapies have
to offer. In fact, the union of these once adversarial
disciplines has lead to the development of some exciting
new health breakthroughs in the areas of cardiovascular
and prostate health.
The heart is probably
our most vital organ, as it supplies energy to our whole
body. It is also the organ that demands the most nourishment,
both physically and emotionally and, consequently, it
is most vulnerable to deprivation of these nutrients.
Before we take a look
at the new information concerning heart disease and
the strategies that you can incorporate to optimise
your cardiovascular health it is necessary to review
the old theories.
Until recently preventing
atherosclerosis, which is the progressive hardening
and subsequent blockage of blood vessels, included no
cigarettes, increasing exercise, reducing consumption
of saturated fats and having a normal blood pressure.
Cholesterol became the arch villain and the accumulation
of low density lipoprotein (LDL) which transported cholesterol
from the liver to your cells, was seen as the major
cause of blocked arteries.
High density lipoprotein
(HDL), which removed cholesterol from the tissues, established
itself as the good guy and a huge industry developed
around lowering cholesterol and LDL somewhat aggressively,
while raising HDL was considered beneficial.
Although this approach
has achieved some success, there are still a large number
of people who suffer from coronary artery disease and
these are mostly men.
We also know that reducing
cholesterol only accounts for a fraction of the problem
and this is not without risk. Studies have found that
people with low cholesterol have a greater likelihood
of dying from such diseases as cancer and digestive
disease.
This is because antioxidants
such as vitamin E and beta-carotene circulate in the
bloodstream along with cholesterol in lipoproteins.
Low serum cholesterol results in reduced serum antioxidant
capacity and less protection against free-radicals that
are the nasties responsible for degenerative disease.
As males have high
levels of oxidative stress due to high metabolic rates
and physical activity levels, the consequences of reduced
antioxidants are more dramatic. Reduction in cholesterol
levels has also been associated with an increase in
depression and violent death.
Cholesterol is the
building block for sex steroid hormones. Reducing cholesterol
could result in diminished libido and declining fertility.
Cholesterol is synthesised in your liver so that when
you consume lots of cholesterol rich foods, which are
found in animal fats, your liver compensates by producing
less cholesterol. It is only when your body is over-saturated
with cholesterol that this regulatory mechanism breaks
down.
There are other important
factors only recently discovered which also account
for the development of atherosclerosis.
Index
page
| New theories | Preventing
heart disease | The
healthy diet
'Wonder
nutrients' for the cardiovascular system | Opening
your heart
Protecting
your prostate | Losing
your hair? |
Antioxidants |Summary
Bondi
Family Health Centre
Phone 02 9365 1333
Int: 612 9365 1333
260a Bondi Road
Bondi NSW 2066
AUSTRALIA
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