Men traditionally do not usually take as good care of their health as women do. However, health problems from prostate issues, low testosterone and osteoporosis can be hormone linked and there some simple tips that can help.

There are some easy ways to make small, healthy lifestyle changes that will have a big impact on mens lives.

There are five core areas that can do that – none of them are groundbreaking or new, but they can really make a difference if regularly followed.

1. Nutrition – happily we are all more aware of the dangers of an unhealthy diet which focuses on saturated fat, sugar, processed foods, not enough fruit and vegetables, and too much alcohol or smoking.

What really will help is switching as much as you can to having a healthy Mediterranean style diet with plenty of fish, fruit and vegetables and reduced salt, sugar and processed foods.

2. Activity – use it or lose it is not just a catchy slogan – it is a reality. Having regular exercise is crucial and it doesn’t have to be in a gym.

Anything enjoyable such as golf, walking, swimming or gardening can all help.

3. Sleep – a good night’s sleep is essential for good health as it impacts so many of our other bodily functions, and increases our stress levels.

Often prostate issues can cause night time trips to the bathroom and so disturb sleep so that also needs to be checked with your doctor.

4. Mental Health – this is an area that men are not often willing to talk about but affects virtually everything we do both physically and emotionally.

Help is available from a counsellor or therapist if needed, and reduce stress levels with activities such as meditation, yoga, tai chi or any form of regular exercise that will help the body de-stress.

5. Smoking/Drinking – are habits that can raise the risk for prostate cancer,

Some research also suggests that smoking in particular has an increased risk of dying. If currently smoking there is a connection between a higher risk of high grade prostate cancer and cancer specific mortality.

Quitting smoking does reduce that risk.

Both these habits depress the immune system and that in itself is an increased risk for a number of conditions.

Prostate problems and cancer

Prostate problems do occur regularly with ageing and although women regularly check for signs of breast cancer, not many men do the same for prostate, despite significant NHS advertising campaigns.

It is important to do so as many cases of prostate cancer are discovered during routine blood work that reveals an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level – a possible indicator of prostate cancer.

The role of oestrogen in prostate cancer has been noted, the rise of ‘man boobs’ which relate to higher oestrogen levels is an indicator of this.

Although no clinical trials have been done that I am aware of, there are anecdotal patient reports of improvement by supplementing with bioidentical progesterone.

These are symptoms that need checking with a doctor:

1. Frequent urges to urinate, especially at night

2. Difficulty starting urination or holding it back

3. Weak or interrupted urinary flow

4. Painful or burning urination

5. Erectile dysfunction

6. Painful ejaculation

7. Blood in urine or semen

8. Recurrent, persistent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs

Libido and function

A healthy sex life has many benefits both physical and psychological and again this can be affected by oestrogen dominance and/or low testosterone levels.

Being aware of that in the diet, plus stress and health conditions such as diabetes can certainly affect performance and desire and so regular health checks are a must.

As progesterone is a precursor for testosterone in the body it may be helpful to consider as a supplement but there are different application methods for men – see the end of the article for more information.

Osteoporosis

This is not diagnosed often enough in men as there is a common misconception that they don’t suffer from it.

Broken bones are often treated in isolation, but if also combined with oestrogen dominance it may lead to osteoporosis and it is sensible to get this checked with a bone scan if it has occurred more frequently or close together.

Progesterone is essential for bone building and if too much oestrogen is present this will prolong the life of old bone, making it easier to break, but also delay the building of new, strong, bone.

Oestrogen dominance

The rise of ‘man boobs’ may be amusing, but it hides a serious problem. Men are being affected by the  amount of oestrogen in the food chain and xenoestrogens in the environment.

We know that oestrogen has a role to play in cancer development so reducing any oestrogen component will be helpful.

One way is to switch to organic meat but also reducing the meat intake to only 2-3 times a week can reduce the oestrogen load.

Helpful information:

In women hormone imbalance symptoms usually benefit from twice daily application with a monthly break to ensure a constant amount of hormone in the body.

However, application for men is different and best to the following sites in rotation, again with a monthly break: face, throat, back of the neck, inside thighs, inside upper and lower arms, stomach and palms of the hands.

This gives 7 sites for a different area each day and the cream only needs to be applied once daily.

As prostate cancer is a major concern, you may also find this article helpful to pass on.

https://anna.blog.wellsprings-health.com/9-ways-to-support-prostate-cancer/