www.RenegadeHealth.com – This is a fun show… I’ll tell you that. Might be the best to date! Great information, some humor and a great question from a reader about how to keep iron levels regulated with you’re a vegan or vegetarian and you’re not eating red meat. I also take on the popular diet book “Eat This, Not That”. BTW If you have a health question please go ahead and either post it directly in the comments box or go up top to the “Ask Kev” tab and ask away. I’ll be answering your …
Food and Sexual Potency
You are what you eat. That has been proven by philosophers and ancient medicinal practioners and upheld by recent research in the science of nutrition and medicine. Let me throw another old saw, ‘’a sound mind in a sound body’’ does wonders for your sex life. Let me disabuse the thought if you have been having one, this is not an article on aphrodisiacs. This is all about natural foods that improve your overall health and at the same the same time boosts your potency.
Let me list out what needs to be a part of your diet. Eggs and lean meat are a must as both have zinc, iron and the amino acid, Arginine. Lack of this essential amino acid will have a deleterious effect on your overall health apart from a reduced libido. Alternate meat with fish and sea food. Fish are high in essential fatty oils and are important for healthy prostaglandins.
If you are a hard core vegan, then see that you have a combination of legumes or beans along with whole grains like rice (brown rice is best)
Do not take vitamin or other supplements unless your doctor tells you to do so. Stuffing yourself to the gills with massive vitamins supplements will do more harm than good.
One particular product that I have no hesitation in recommending is Bee pollen. You can get it any of the well-known health food stores. Bee pollen is actually semen- like product whose purpose is to pollinate and it is believed to be rich in a number of essential nutrients. But keep off hydrogenated oils they will effectively put a spanner in your sexual life. To go back to the old saw that was quoted at the beginning of this article, “a sound mind in a sound body”, you cannot avoid exercise and exercise in moderation is vital for your sexual life and your general health.
Am a Doctor from Hasslet University, Limburg, Nederland. After graduation, I moved to India, to the Auroville commune in Pondicherry to be with my parents who were involved in alternate housing projects in the Auroville International Community. I taught at a local Medical College and worked in rural women’s health and reproduction program in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. www.asksexpert.com
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Move Over Fish Oil – Vegans Bring in the Spirulina
Move Over Fish Oil – Vegans Bring in the Spirulina
For all those vegans (and non-vegans) out there who are hesitant to supplement with fish oil there’s an even better solution for you.
It’s called spirulina and it is one of the most incredible foods our planet has to offer. Spirulina is a blue-green algae. Spirulina usually grows in waters of lakes naturally alkaline localized in arid zones.
Spirulina has unparalleled health benefits (explained later) and is an incredibly sustainable food source. For instance, according the journal Human Nature, spirulina presents a fast reproduction rate, dividing itself three times a day! Therefore, an area exclusively aimed at spirulina growth may produce 125 times more protein if compared to an area of the same size aimed at growing corn and 70 times more protein if compared to the breeding of cattle.
Furthermore, the spirulina presents some advantages in relation to other algae and seaweeds such as presenting no problems with digestion and no toxicity to humans. This can’t be said for other seaweeds such as Chlorella.
Spirulina – the omega-3 food choice for vegans!
Now let’s get to the good stuff. If you’re a vegan and looking for an alternative to fish then spirulina is what you want. This is because algaes, like spirulina, are athe original source of omega-3 fatty acids. Algaes are what small, bottom-feeding fish consume. These fish are then eaten by larger ones, and then eventually by humans. Cold water fish, which are well-known for their omega-3 fatty acids, owe their “omega-3 fame” to the consumption algaes such as spirulina, even if indirectly.
Here are some more incredible nutritional characteristics of spirulina. For starters, spirulina is the probably the highest vegetarian protein source consisting of 60-70% protein! It is also rich in chlorophyll and carotenoids, vitamins (vitamin A, especially) and tons of important minerals from deep in the seabed. An important note (especially for vegetarians and vegans) is that spirulina is a terrific source of vitamin B12 and iron.
Iron is the most common mineral deficiency in the world. Since spirulina contains high iron concentrations its bioavailability has been tested in comparison to ferrous sulfate which is the typical iron supplement. One such comparison was revealed in the journal Nutrition Research, spirulina fed rats absorbed 60% more iron than rats fed the iron supplement!
So next time someone asks you where you’re getting your protein, iron, or B12 from just tell them you’re eating an incredible blue-green powder called spirulina.
Aside from human breast milk and evening primrose oil, spirulina is the only food source rich in gamma linoleic acid (GLA). The GLA content comprises 25% of the total polyunsaturated fatty acid content of spirulina, a number that is much higher than the GLA content of evening primrose oil (only 7%)!
The Importance of GLA
GLA is essential fatty acid that has numerous benefits to the body. Along with omega-3 fatty acids, GLA has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Both are excellent skin fatty acids for preventing and treating eczema, psoriasis, wrinkles, rashes and more. Research has confirmed that GLA has positive effects in breast cancer treatment; they enhance lubrication in those with Sjogren’s syndrome; help relieve PMS symptoms, breast pain, skin conditions (including eczema and psoriasis, and wrinkles), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children; improve cardiovascular health, mental health; and much more!
A British study published in 2000 observed women who had locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer (when cancer cells spread elsewhere in the body). They found that women with breast cancer who were taking Tamoxifen (a drug that blocks estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer) and received GLA demonstrated faster clinical response than those taking Tamoxifen alone. Study participants received 3 grams of GLA. The researchers concluded that GLA was a useful adjunct to primary Tamoxifen treatment with no serious side effects: “… this study suggests high-dose oral GLA to be a valuable new agent in the treatment of hormone-sensitive breast cancer.”
Spirulina’s Effects on Blood Lipids and Cholesterol
Numerous studies on rats have shown that spirulina has powerful effects on blood lipids and cholesterol. Almost all these studies show a reduction in LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and fat deposits in the arteries upon consuming spirulina.
A human study investigating the cholesterol-lowering effect of spirulina published in Nutrition Reports International looked at 30 male volunteers who had mild hyperlipidemia and mild hypertension. They were divided into two groups. Group A subjects were given spirulina at 4.2 g/day and group B subjects the same amount of spirulina for 4 weeks and, then were observed for the next 4 weeks without spirulina.
The results showed a statistically significant reduction of LDL-cholesterol in Group A subjects after 8 weeks. The LDL-cholesterol also fell significantly in Group B subjects after 4 weeks of spirulina consumption, but thereafter increased to its baseline value after administration of spirulina was discontinued.
Anti-Cancer and Anti-Radioactive Properties of Spirulina
Several animal studies have shown that spirulina inhibits tumor and protects the body from cancer propagation.
There are also unpublished reports from scientists and doctors about the radioprotective effect of spirulina in experiments conducted on child victims of the Chernobyl radiation. In a study involving 49 children, 3-7 years old, in Beryozovka, administration of spirulina for 45 days resulted in an increase in T-cell suppressors and beneficial hormones. In addition, the radioactivity of the urine decreased in 83% of the children!
These are just some of the powerful benefits and healing powers possessed by spirulina. So whether or not you supplement with fish oil, I would highly recommend spirulina as an addition to your diet for lifelong health, strength, and vigor!
References:
Furst PT. Spirulina – a nutricious alga, once a staple of Aztec diet, could feed many of the world hungry people. Human Nature 1978;3:60.
Nakaya N, Honma Y, Goto Y (1988) Cholesterol lowering effect of Spirulina Nutr. Rep. Int. 37: 1329-1337.
Johnson P, Shubert LE (1986) Availability of iron to rats from Spirulina, a blue-green alga. Nutr. Res. 6: 85-94.
