Five Top Men's Health Concerns and How
Acupuncture Can Help
Acupuncture has been used to treat men's
health concerns for thousands of years and is
growing in popularity. The reason for this
growth in popularity is that many health issues
that men face, such as high blood pressure,
prostate problems and depression, respond
extremely well to acupuncture treatments.
Here is a list of five health issues that affect
men and how acupuncture can help:
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is the leading men’s
health threat with heart disease and stroke
topping the list of the first and second leading
causes of death worldwide. By integrating
acupuncture and Oriental medicine into your
heart healthy lifestyle, you can dramatically
reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Taking small steps to improve your health can
reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease by
as much as eighty percent. Steps to prevention
include managing high blood pressure, quitting
smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing
stress and improved sleep - all of which can be
helped with acupuncture.
Acupuncture has been found to be particularly
helpful in lowering blood pressure. By applying
acupuncture needles at specific sites along the
wrist, inside the forearm or in the leg,
researchers have been able to stimulate the
release of opioids, which decreases the heart’s
activity and its need for oxygen. This, in turn,
lowers blood pressure.
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in men.
Tobacco smoke causes ninety percent of all lung
cancers. If you are ready to quit smoking,
acupuncture can help.
Acupuncture has shown to be an effective
treatment for smoking. Acupuncture treatments
for addiction and smoking cessation focus on
jitters, cravings, irritability, and
restlessness; symptoms that people commonly
complain about when they quit. It also aids in
relaxation and detoxification.
In one study on substance addiction, a team from
Yale University successfully used auricular
(ear) acupuncture to treat cocaine addiction.
Results showed that fifty-five percent of
participants tested free of cocaine during the
last week of treatment, compared to twenty-four
percent and nine percent in the two control
groups. Those who completed acupuncture
treatment also had longer periods of sustained
abstinence compared to participants in the
control groups.
Prostate Health
The prostate is prone to enlargement and
inflammation as men age, affecting about half of
men in their sixties and up to ninety percent of
men as they approach their seventies and
eighties. If left untreated, benign prostate
gland enlargement, which presents with symptoms
such as frequent nighttime urination, painful
urination, and difficult urination, can lead to
more serious conditions such as prostate cancer,
urinary tract infections, bladder or kidney
damage, bladder stones, and incontinence.
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can be used to
treat prostate problems to relieve the urinary
symptoms and prevent the more serious conditions
from occurring. The few studies completed on
acupuncture and prostatitis show positive
results with participants noticing an marked
improvement in their quality of life, decrease
in urinary difficulties, and an increase in
urinary function.
Depression and Mental Health
Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death
among all men; for young men it's higher. While
experts previously thought depression affected
far more women than men, it is now believed that
that men’s tendency to hide depressed feelings
and not seek professional help has skewed the
numbers.
When suffering from depression, brain chemicals
and stress hormones are out of balance. Sleep,
appetite, and energy level are all disturbed.
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can alleviate
symptoms associated with depression and mental
health issues by helping to rebalance the body’s
internal environment.
The growing body of research supporting the
positive effects of acupuncture on depression,
anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain syndrome is
so strong that the military now uses acupuncture
to treat troops with post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and combat stress syndrome.
Sexual Health
While sexual health concerns may not be life
threatening, they can still signal significant
health problems. Two-thirds of men older than
seventy and up to thirty-nine percent of forty
year old men report having problems with their
sexual health.
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are well known
for improving men’s sexual performance; in fact,
there have been medical textbooks devoted to the
subject. Chinese Emperors took their sexual
health quite seriously and would consult with a
team of physicians if they experienced any
difficulties in the bedroom.
Acupuncture can be used to treat premature
ejaculation, low sperm count, diminished sperm
motility, erectile dysfunction, male climacteric
(menopause) and increase libido.
Call now to see how acupuncture and Oriental
medicine can improve your health and well being!
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In This Issue
- Five Top Men's Health Concerns and
How Acupuncture Can Help
- Foods Men Should Eat Every Day
Foods Men Should Eat Every Day
Adding nutrient-rich super foods to the
diet can give men a healthy boost. Here are
some foods that can help maintain muscle
mass, prevent prostate cancer, and more.
Spinach: Popeye
had this one right.
Spinach is one of the most nutrient-dense
foods in existence. Spinach can help protect
against prostate cancer, reduce the risk of
heart disease and stroke, lower blood
pressure and strengthen muscles.
Yogurt: Eating
yogurt that contains live bacterial cultures
everyday improves digestive health, boosts
the immune system, provides protection
against cancer and may help you live longer.
Not all yogurts are probiotic though, so
make sure the label says “live and active
cultures.”
Avocados: Avocados
are a good source of vitamin K, dietary
fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and
copper. Rich in potassium, avocados contain
more of this nutrient than bananas.
Potassium is needed to regulate nerves,
heartbeat and, especially, blood pressure.
An added bonus for men: Avocados inhibit the
growth of prostate cancer cells.
Walnuts: When
it comes to their health benefits, walnuts
are the king of nuts. Richer in
heart-healthy omega-3s than salmon, loaded
with more anti-oxidants than red wine, and
packing half as much muscle-building protein
as chicken, walnuts are one of the all time
super foods.
Blackberries: Blackberries
are packed with Vitamin C, calcium and
magnesium with more than double the amounts
than their popular cousin, the blueberry.
Vitamin C is a powerful stress reducer that
can lower blood pressure and return cortisol
levels to normal faster when taken during
periods of stress. Magnesium and calcium act
together to help regulate the nerves and
muscle tone. Too little magnesium in your
diet can cause nerve cells to become over
activated and can trigger muscular tension,
soreness, spasms, cramps, and fatigue.
Blackberries also score high on the oxygen
radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) scale
assesses the antioxidant content of food:
the higher the score, the better the food’s
ability to neutralize cell-damaging free
radicals that lead to cancer.
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