Male hormones are tricky things, nowhere near as tricky as female hormones but still complex. It affects the drive and vigour in men and imbalances can lead to fatigue, low confidence, depression, loss of strength, lowered work and sports performance impotence and depression. A few nutrients that effect hormones are glutathione, zinc, vitamin K2 boron, folate and selenium.

Where do these nutrients come from? Avocado is a great source of glutathione and boron and almonds are a great source of boron too. Lentils and green leafy vegetables are a great source of folate. Men who won’t eat green vegetables are literally choosing disease. Brazil nuts (from South America) are by far the best source of Selenium but also a good source of Boron. Pumpkin and squash seeds are a great source of Zinc as is spinach, mung beans, mushrooms and cashews. Oysters are the best source of zinc but they are also potentially quite toxic so you shouldn’t rely on a lot of them. Vitamin K 2 is a really crucial nutrient for the transport of calcium into the bones where it should be rather than the arteries where it does damage.

Pomegranate has been found to be excellent for arteriosclerosis, skin cancer prevention and bladder and prostate function. Healthy adrenals and pituitary are really an important part of healthy hormone levels too. Its obviously much more complex than I can discuss here, and its also a lot more complex than just having testosterone injected for life and thinking it will solve the issue without making the necessary lifestyle changes. Low testosterone is like the canary in the coal mine. It’s the warning of systemic issues rather than the problem itself.

There are numerous other great sources for nutrients that influence male hormones, if you would like a list e-mail me and I will be happy to send it out to you. I wonder how many of these issues would be solved over time by simply having one meal a day of raw salad including some of these foods.

Last night I saw a documentary about the difficulty of losing weight. A skin surgeon who was slim was the documentaries compare. Researchers were able to demonstrate two main things. Firstly there are different reactions in the brain when overweight people are exposed to images of high fat, high sugar junk food than in the brains of people with healthy weight. It is just more appealing to them. The second thing was there are hormonal differences which produce differences in appetites. The overweight people as a result of these hormone differences never really feel full so they keep on eating. After surgery to essentially remove the stomach, the overweight people were able to achieve a feeling of fullness, stopped eating excessively and lost weight.

The conclusion was that people that are overweight aren’t responsible for their condition because it is dictated by hormones and brain patterns. Well guess what. Hormones and brain patterns can change without removing organs. We are the master of our ship and the captain of our destiny. We are not hopeless helpless victims of our hormones, brain patterns, or anything else people like to blame.

I’m not suggesting it’s not difficult. It is immensely difficult. But you can do it, and you can remain whole without having organs removed. Yes you can! But if you believe the conclusions of this type of research you are beaten before you start. Of course if you have developed strong habits over a lifetime they are hard to break and don’t change overnight.

A hairdresser once told me she had a client who was a General Medical Practitioner. This G.P. had worked overseas in undeveloped countries and assured her if she knew anyone who had trouble losing weight she would take them on one of her overseas trips to Rwanda and would guarantee to solve their weight problem. I have no doubt she is right. Dropping the refined carbohydrates is a great start, you can probably avoid Rwanda.