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.

My Favorite Pesticide

There have been a number of agricultural chemicals that were declared safe only to be found highly toxic and harmful to human health later on. This leaves questions hanging over the approval process. How can chemicals like dioxins, Agent Orange, and glyphosate be passed through an independent assessment process and approved. How can they be declared safe for the public and approved worldwide. Glyphosate (round up to you and me) has recently been declared probably cancer forming. Media reports said that was based on a split vote by the World Health Organisation Committee where half the committee said it was definitely carcinogenic the other half said it was probably carcinogenic so the declaration still reflects the best possible comment for Monsanto but the least protective to the public.

Monsanto immediately challenged the WHO finding and asked why their findings didn’t agree with Monsanto’s’ own research. It’s not rocket science.  If an independent researcher wants to do research on Monsanto’s’ genetically modified products they have to sign non-disclosure agreements so Monsanto can control the release of the research before they will even allow access to their patented seeds. Farmers are not allowed to make them available either. They too are tightly control by legal agreements. Monsanto is a prodigious litigant. In May 2013 over 2 million people in 52 countries and 436 cities and towns throughout the world participated in protest against Monsanto, their chemicals and patented G.M. foods. If you didn’t hear much about it you may ask yourself why. You would think that’s pretty newsworthy.

If you would like to try my completely natural, home-made pest repellent formulae shoot me an email request and I’ll send it to you.

There is a great soup that I highly recommend at any time of the year but especially in winter. Miso. What I love about Miso is along with other fermented foods, it’s great for the gut and this recipe helps to feed the thyroid. When people think of probiotics to aid the intestinal flora they usually think of Acidophilus and Bifido-bacterium. They are both good things (if they aren’t swimming in sugar like many commercial brands). The problem is there are literally tens of thousands of bacteria that are required to make a healthy gut micro-biome. This means fermenting food is better than just supplementing with just one or two different types.  When I muscle test and find weakness with the Teres Minor, Pectoralis major Claviclular or Quadriceps muscle I recommend Miso soup. I also recommend it when you are hungry.  It’s easy to make and is said to be strengthening. There are many different types of miso. I recommend brown or dark miso for soup which is salty and more savory. Whole food chef T.V. Tony Chiodo recommends it for breakfast, as a pick me up, or as a light evening meal. When you use wakame you may boost your iodine levels which is essential for many organs including the thyroid.

Miso soup

Finely slice half an onion

Thinly slice 3 mushrooms, dried shitake is good, soak for ten minutes in one cup of water

Julienne half a carrot

Two pinches of dried wakame seaweed (Tasmanian if possible)

Half a Chinese radish thinly sliced

Tablespoon of miso

Greens-Sliced chinese cabbage, bok-choy, or kale. 1 cup

2 tablespoons of thinly sliced spring onion

Boil the onion, wakame, mushroom and soaking liquids with 4 cups of water. Cover and simmer for ten minutes. Add the cabbage and chinese radish and simmer for 3 minutes. Take some broth and dilute the miso, add in with the greens. Serve in bowls topped with spring onion. Serves 4

My three Grand Dogs

I love my sons three dogs. They have their own unique and totally different personalities. They love me because they associate me with food and walking. They go crazy when I come around to take them for a walk and we have had to train them not to jump all over us from over excitement. The reason they love walking is because that is what they are meant to do. A dog in nature loves to wander around, get his exercise, hunt, chase, and play.

We have a place on the river where we can let them off the leash. They love running free off the leash even more than walking. It’s just a joy to watch them charge up and down in the mud along the river, climb the 2.5 metre banks and charge off again. The reason its so good and so right is because that’s the way it is in nature.

Of course not everything that occurs in nature is great. What we aim for in health care is an optimised natural environment. Its good not to get eaten by a tiger, but it’s bad not to walk, solution…walk, but walk where there are no tigers.

A dog, or a human for that matter, can’t be healthy without natural food, the right exercise, the right rest, work and play balance. Get the balance right and health is the normal natural state. These are needs we have from nature and they can’t be ignored except at the expense of your health. You cant cheat nature.