Best Herbs for Men's Health
With women it seems that they are somehow protected from certain health problems until post menopause, but men start to be susceptible to health and appearance changes much earlier, sometimes as early as 35.
These changes in their appearance and sexual ability start earlier, but are much more gradual. Their health starts changing more quickly around 50 on the average but it is still much more gradual than the steep decline experienced by women after menopause. Statistically, men live 5 years less than women, however..
Importance of Gut Health
Many of these changes like heart health changes and decline in physical ability can be lessened by having a healthy active lifestyle and by taking care of the digestive system in particular, which prevents toxic build ups and the parasites and other squatters that feed on undigested food trapped in the intestines. This affects overall health drastically. I covered this in detail in the Natural Indigestion Remedies blog. Taking care of the digestive system is of paramount importance at any age.
Hippocrates often said all disorders begin in the gut. And although we don't consider aging a disorder it comes about along the same processes as that of disorders of structure or function. They all end in a breakdown of tissues in the body and an inability to restore the damage. So things that reduce the destruction of tissue, like preventing the buildup of toxins or free radicals or keeping things too clean for intruders to thrive, can make all the difference. Intruders create toxins and free radicals and can continue the breakdown of the body all without any noticeable symptoms.
Although doing the above may seem extremely inconvenient, nothing could rival the results you would get if you would do it. Details are in the Natural Indigestion Remedies blog.
Another supremely effective thing is exercise using weight resistance. It is essential to tell the body that it still needs calcium in the bones and strong tendons and ligaments as well as strong muscles. Otherwise it can skimp on maintaining these things and will reduce muscle mass. The saying "What you don't use, you lose" is particularly more applicable to the aging process than it is anywhere else.
Prostate Health
Men seem to have more problems with their urinary systems than women. Or maybe it's just that women have urinary incontinence too, but it is amongst their other more talked about problems. Oh I just realized, it is also that it happens in men so much earlier, so it would get more attention in an active, still working lifestyle.
Men have extra problems with the urinary system largely because the main tube that carries urine from the bladder out, called the urethra, goes through the prostate.
The prostate is part of the reproductive system. In men there is an overlap of systems. The prostate's main function is to create the fluid that nourishes and transports the sperm called the seminal fluid. The urethra carries both the urine and the semen out of the body. Not at the same time of course. The sphincter muscles operate in a way that makes that impossible. Either the bladder is open to the urethra or the prostate is, never both.
The problem occurs when the prostate enlarges and affects the flow of urine because it in effect squeezes on the urethra. This causes the bothersome symptoms of incontinence. This can be lack of a steady flow, or a weak flow of urine. It can even cause a split stream to come out. It can cause urine to be left in the urethra which dribbles out later when it's least expected. There are many other symptoms and combinations of symptoms, but basically any problem with normal urination is included here.
All this can interrupt sleep because it can send one to the bathroom many times a night, sometimes with great urgency and sometimes with nothing much coming out despite this great urgency and uncontrollable leakage. It can become a disturbing set of affairs.
Options for Prostate Health
Men do have the option of surgery to help with this problem, but it doesn't always fix it. The prostate may not have been the total problem. It may be no different than the female version in that instance. Surprisingly, strengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor helps the problem in men as well as women. There are Physical Therapists that specialize in this.
Maybe the exercise increases blood flow to the area and the immune system gets in there more. And maybe this kind of exercise strengthens all the sphincter muscles involved, even the internal ones.
Herbs to help the tissues of the urinary system include:
- Saw Palmetto
- Cranberry
- Nettle
- Cayenne
- Reishi Mushroom
- Corn Silk
- Horsetail
- Gosha-jinki-gan, GJG, Japanese mixture of 10 herbs
- Hachi-mi-jio-gan, HE for short, Japanese mixture of 8 herbs.
- Bladderwrack
- Ashwagandha
- Turmeric is beneficial to the brain and nervous system as well as the circulatory system. Because of its high antioxidant capability and its ability to squelch the over reactions of the body it can help improve the tissue condition of the urinary system and the prostate.
Herbs and habits that help with prostate health are:
- Saw Palmetto creates relaxation and water balance. Effective in decreasing symptoms resulting from an enlarged prostate
- Beta-Sitosterol containing plants. ß-sitosterol is found in a wide variety of plants, including nuts, avocados and plant oils. It is well known to improve prostate health by keeping “prostate growth factors” in check
- Pumpkin Seed oil can help regulate hormones related to prostate aging. It works synergistically with Saw Palmetto and has been shown to improve the quality of life.
- Dandelion shoots including the stem, leaves and flowers contain a high amount of Boron. Boron is a mineral that binds to and inhibits a substance that is known to contribute to prostate aging
- Tomatoes and other red vegetables containing Lycopene. Lycopene is a very strong antioxidant. It helps all over the body, but is particularly known to reduce the effects of damaging free radicals within the prostate. Tomatoes cooked up to 15 min can provide more lycopene because it frees it from within the cell walls. Also because lycopene is fat soluble, adding olive oil increases its absorption and it tastes great!
- Also drinking adequate water. One should drink half their weight in ounces per day. That means if you are 100 lbs, you would drink 50 ounces of water a day ideally. If you are 200 lbs, you would drink 100 ounces a day ideally. Reducing water intake doesn't really improve incontinence.
- Foods high in zinc, like pumpkin seeds, meat and shellfish
- Pygeum extract from African Cherry tree bark
- Nettle
- Turmeric antioxidant activity can prevent swelling of the prostate
Maintaining Sexual Health & Understanding Erectile Dysfunction
Another bothersome change in male health has to do with the ability to have and maintain an erection. Five things are needed for a man to have an erection. These are blood flow, nerve function, the right hormones such as testosterone in the right balance, relaxation and sexual stimulation. These functions go across 4 different systems. This is why overall health of the body can affect this ability. That is why lifestyle, diet and exercise make such a big difference.
Also the blood vessels of the penis are very small. As aging occurs it is the smaller blood vessels usually in the periphery that get clogged so the blood doesn't fully nourish like it used to. And waste can't properly escape either. This also affects how much blood can go into the erectile tissue of the penis among other things like kidney function and overall pressure in the body. So bettering the circulatory system will have an effect on the ability to get an erection as well as general health.
Systemic enzymes products have been shown to be very effective in cleaning up the smaller capillaries. Systemic enzymes are pretty much the same as digestive enzymes, except that they are enterically coated and don't release in the stomach like digestive enzymes, which break down digesting the surrounding food. They release in the intestines and can get absorbed into the blood intact, so they can work in the body's internal system. Hence the name SYSTEMIC enzymes.
These enzymes can break up obstructions in the circulatory system and restore blood flow. Enzymes are mostly expediters that catalyze reactions. Vitamins and enzymes work together. Nutrients do nothing without the proper enzymes. Either that or they do it much more slowly. Without enzymes it would take you a half an hour to bat an eyelid.
Yes enzymes are naturally made in the body, but there is a finite supply. Toward the later years when there is not as much in supply the body doles them out in smaller and smaller portions. This could be why the body slows down as we age.
Enzymes and Herbs for the Male Reproductive System
Taking systemic enzymes with supplements tends to make them more effective and faster working. You can take the enzymes right along with your herbs for enhanced effect.
This information is little known in the US, but is commonplace in Germany and India where most of the research on enzyme therapy was done. It is used by doctors and in hospitals in those countries. Dr William Wong, located in Straun Texas, brought enzyme therapy to the US and it is gradually becoming more well known, but it is by grassroots, not through official channels. Dr Wong has informative websites and podcasts that can give you a whole education in the subject.
Boost Your Vitality with Herbal Solutions
Herbs that enhance men's sexual performance and overall reproductive system are:
- Ginseng - The most well known herb to increase the male reproductive system, but is also good for females as well.
- Ashwagandha - Increases overall health preventing problems with the reproductive system and increases testosterone when it is short.
- Safed Musli also known as Indian Spider Plant and Khiruva. It is a lesser known herb in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. It increases blood flow to the genital area and improves stamina.
- Shila Jeet also known as shilajit. I notice that spelling often varies in Indian writings. There doesn't seem to be an authority to standardize an agreed upon spelling of anything. It can be confusing. This nutrient is not a plant, but a decomposition of multiple plants into a kind of residue that is found on rock in the Himalayan mountains. It contains fulvic acid, a potent antioxidant, and more than 84 minerals. It is used for general health and is known to slow aging and enhance sexual performance and fertility.
- Kaunch Beef - no it isn't meat. It is a bean, also called velvet bean, used to balance the body systems in Ayurveda. Mucuna pruriens is the Latin name it is known by outside of India. It is used for overall health. It helps the reproductive systems in both sexes. Incidently, that also goes for the other herbs in this writing as well.
- Tongkat ali - a plant from Southeast Asia also known as Long Jack in the US. It is said to be one of the most powerful herbs in raising testosterone levels and it also effectively increases the ability to get an erection.
- Gokshura- Latin name Tribulus terrestris, also known as Gokshur and Gokharu. The dried fruit is used. It has been called Nature's Viagra by many.
- Yohimbe is a tree native to North and Central Africa. Extracts of its bark are described as an aphrodisiac.
- Maca - originally from Peru. A root used for increasing stamina, but enhances sexual function as well.
- Turmeric by its effect on the circulatory and nervous system and antioxidant activity.
- Cistanche- there are two species used interchangeably. C. tubulosa and C. deserticola. This herb has many important benefits but is becoming popular for raising testosterone levels.
- Horny Goat Weed - active ingredient icariin has been found effective in helping men get erections
- Cynomorium - was shown to improve serum levels of testosterone and reduced the rate of degradation of muscle and increased physical endurance.
I could probably add more to this list because people are at work on this problem all over the world. I just discovered a study that found 22 herbs in Ethiopia traditionally used by men to get an erection for instance. It is not my objective to overwhelm you with possibilities, but give you a good head start in the quest to enhance your health naturally.
I don't think the solution, ultimately, is in one substance, but in overall nutrition and lifestyle. But people have varying degrees of discipline and if one falls short at least there is a nontoxic way to bolster yourself to be more ahead of the game.
And you don't have to wait till aging is upon you to start. Technically, you start aging the second you are fully grown, somewhere in your 20’s. And just like your car or any other object, if you take care of it when it is new, it doesn't show the signs of aging for a lot longer than if you neglected to care for it.
Start with Herbal Roots Premium Organic Supplements
Now at Herbal Roots we will probably never carry all the herbs I mentioned even though we do bring on new products as we grow. I tell you all I do for your own information. But we do bring you the highest quality, organic herbs with no fillers or anything else besides the vegetable capsule, and our packaging is tops. We use glass bottles enclosed in a protective box.
We do carry many of the herbs mentioned though. We have amazing Ashwagandha, Korean Ginseng, a wonderful blend of Cranberry and Nettle, Turmeric, Saw Palmetto, and we just started to have Ceylon Cinnamon which I forgot to even mention as something that is an age defier. Read the Ceylon Cinnamon blog. It is terrific. I also didn't mention Garlic, Ginkgo or Mushrooms- except I did mention Reishi. That is one of the effective 8 in our Mushroom Blend.
I suggest that you get Ashwagandha and Ginseng to start with and any other herb you have any attraction to. The body has a certain wisdom about what it needs. And since herbs are really just foods you always get something out of any herb you take. And if you also take systemic enzymes this multiplies the benefit.
So mix and match till you find that perfect synergy. And then do it again for variety. When you look at the health side of things and not the debility side, it's not a serious affair. It is like reading a menu to see what you want to enjoy today. So have fun with it. Check out our store. I'd love to hear how it goes.