— From Editor Craig Jackson
Are erection problems an inevitable part of growing older?
How about prostate cancer? And do you have to put up with premature ejaculation — or worse: the inability to reach orgasm when you’re with your partner?
Our resident doctors are here today to tell us why these problems do NOT need to be an inevitable part of our lives…
Dr. Steven Lamm reveals the system he’s created after years of research that will keep you in shape for a long, healthy sex life now and in the many years to come!
And Dr. Z has some sobering news about the shockingly high rates of prostate cancer— and what simple steps you can take TODAY to ensure your healthy future.
Finally, Dr. Jeffrey Fuhr dispenses advice on how to use humor as a tool to combat both premature ejaculation and difficulty reaching orgasm. Which I think you’ll agree are NOT funny problems!
In Shape for Sex
— By Dr. Steven Lamm, M.D.
Why can’t men be in shape for sex their entire lives?
I became an expert on male sexual health problems partly because I’m a man, but mainly from being an internal medicine specialist with a powerful curiosity for how and why things work and why they become impaired or simply fail to function.
From my own ongoing exercise and hardness studies, I have found that many of the declines in hardness often attributed to age are actually the result of sedentary living and poor nutrition.
My point is that hardness problems, even erectile dysfunction, are not inevitable.
There are a number of simple steps any man can take — at any age — to not only improve your current level of hardness, but to ensure a long and healthy sex life in the future…
Sex is a Measure of a Man’s Health
According to a new study of 2,400 men from researchers at the University of Bristol in England, men who reported three or more orgasms per week enjoyed a 50 percent reduction in heart attacks and strokes compared to those who have sex less often.
On the surface, it looks as though the principal message of this study is that having sex reduces the incidence of heart attack and stroke and lets you live longer.
In fact, just the opposite is true: being healthy allows you to have sex as much as you want.
Having sex three times a week serves as an important marker that you are healthy and in good physical shape — you’re certainly more sexually fit than people who can’t have sex three times a week.
A Hard Man is Good to Find…
Beyond that, the strength of a man’s erection — your hardness — is the true barometer of your overall health.
I first started realizing this years ago when I noted the powerful and unmistakable link between failing erections and common medical ailments, including obesity, high cholesterol levels, hypertension, depression, sleep disorders, diabetes, and heart disease.
In treating men with these chronic complaints, it had become almost routine that by the second or third office visit, the patients began describing sexual issues that were actually bothering them more than the original medical complaint.
The reason for their prior reluctance in seeking help was that they just felt they had no one they could speak to who would completely understand their complaints.
It became clear to me that the quality of a man’s erection was damaged by more than just chronic illness.
There was a strong psychological component to sex as well, and I routinely began examining the psychosocial history of my patients. Job problems, money worries, relationship issues, and deaths in the family typically created serious hardness issues for many, exacerbating preexisting problems even more.
The 5 Steps to Hard, Healthy, and Happy
The following five steps are the absolute “musts” when it comes to your sexual fitness. By focusing on these key areas of your physical and psychological health, you’ll not only improve the quality (and quantity!) of your erections, but of your overall health as well.
STEP 1: Improve heart function
A strong heart can pump more blood through the body with every beat. Like the other muscles, the heart becomes stronger through regular physical activity, specific supplements, and smart eating.
A fit heart will also pump more blood at this maximum level and can sustain it longer with less strain.
Recent studies have reported that the “elasticity” of the heart, which is created through regular physical activity, is critical to maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system.
STEP 2: Improve cholesterol levels
Cholesterol, the waxy substance found in the bloodstream, helps form cell membranes, some hormones, and a variety of tissues.
With proper eating, supplements, and exercise, you have the ability to boost protective HDL (the “good” cholesterol) levels, while lowering LDL (“bad” cholesterol) blood levels.
A high HDL level is considered to be extremely protective against coronary heart disease — and hardness problems.
STEP 3: Prevent or combat obesity
Most men not only eat too much, but they also eat too much of the wrong foods — fast food, fried food, sweets, and “empty calories” with no nutritional value. To top it off, we are not as physically active as we should be during the day.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that we have become a nation of fat people. Almost 35 percent of Americans are considered obese. And that’s not the end of it.
Obesity is a primary risk factor for heart disease and is linked to many other ailments as well, including diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, certain cancers, gallstones, and degenerative arthritis.
You can add erectile dysfunction to this list.
Even small weight losses are associated with a decrease in cardiovascular risk, improved hardness, better glucose tolerance, lower blood pressure, and an enhanced cholesterol profile.
Who knew that skipping “Super Size” could help you super size!
STEP 4: Boost self-esteem
Your psychological well-being is as important as your physiologic health. Feeling healthier and harder can raise your self-esteem, making you feel more confident, assertive, and attractive.
STEP 5: Boost sexual intimacy
Just as a hard erection is a barometer of a man’s overall health, having regular sex is a barometer that indicates the overall health of a relationship. Sex, which includes intercourse and erotic touching, is an essential component to an intimate and healthy relationship.
The goal is to be hard, healthy, and happy. And everyone, no matter your age or physical condition, can enhance your overall health and hardness by following these simple guidelines.
The choice to live better, longer, and harder is yours to make. Now it’s up to you: take charge of your life and make a commitment to hardness.
The “Magic Potion” for Prostate Health
— By Dr. Z, N.D.
We all know someone who’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer… whether it’s been a father, a grandfather, a friend, or even yourself.
After all, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers that men get. It is estimated that as many as one in six men in North America will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. And many will die of it.
Plus, of course, prostate cancer rates are skyrocketing as the population ages. The vast majority of prostate cancers occur in men between the ages of 40 and 90.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start taking action NOW.
Whether you’ve crossed the threshold of 40 or not, there are steps you can take now to help prevent prostate cancer later in life — or even help treat it if you’ve already been afflicted.
Recent research on Omega-3 fatty acids shows that these fats may help to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer as well as reducing aggressiveness of existing cancers.
What exactly are these magic “fatty acids”?
Omega-3 fatty acids are “essential” fatty acids, which means that your body needs them but can’t manufacture them. You must instead get them from your diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids are critically important to the health of your entire body and play crucial roles in cell membrane function as well as in inflammation and hormone balance.
Omega-6 are the other essential fatty acids — but you don’t need to stock up on these!
A healthy ratio between Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats is very important. The healthy ratio is one-to-one… but unfortunately, the average North American diet contains about 20 times more Omega-6 than Omega-3 fats!
This is especially troublesome because evidence indicates that a diet rich in Omega-6 fats increases your risk of prostate cancer, whereas a diet rich in Omega-3 decreases your risk.
Up to FIVE times the risk…
Without going into too much detail, what’s important to know is that Omega-6 fats increase inflammation through Cox-2, an inflammatory enzyme that has been linked to prostate cancer.
A recent study showed that men who consumed the highest amount of long chain Omega-3 fatty acids had a 63 percent reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer compared to men with the lowest amount of long chain Omega-3 fatty acids.
Men with low long chain Omega-3 fatty acid intake as well as a special, more aggressive, genetic variant of Cox-2 had a more than five-fold increased risk of advanced prostate cancer. But men with a high intake of Omega-3 fatty acids had a substantially reduced risk, even if they carried the COX-2 variant.
So even if you’re genetically at risk for prostate cancer, you can take steps to combat it by simply changing your level of Omega-3 fatty acid intake.
How to change your diet to PROTECT yourself from prostate cancer
It’s simple: you can drastically decrease your risk of prostate cancer by increasing your Omega-3 fatty acid intake by half a gram per day.
Half a gram per day. That should be pretty easy.
That means you could simply start eating dark fish, such as salmon, one or more times per week. And do your body a world of good.
Long chain Omega-3 fatty acids are found in the following foods:
- Salmon
- Herring
- Sardines
- Tuna
- Mackerel
- Bluefish
- Some marine algae
There are also shorter chain Omega-3 fatty acids that can be found in foods like walnuts and flaxseed. While these types of Omega-3 fatty acids are also good for you, your body can’t utilize them as efficiently as the longer chain variety.
But wait! It’s NOT just a matter of eating your fish!
Don’t forget: the optimum ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids is one-to-one.
So while you work on increasing your Omega-3 intake, you also need to think about lowering your Omega-6 intake.
That’s because Omega-6 fatty acids are found in seeds and nuts — and the oils extracted from them. Corn, soy, and safflower oils are used in most of the fast foods and junk food in the North American diet, including cookies, crackers, and sweets.
Almost 20 percent of the calories in our diet are estimated to come from refined soybean oil alone via fast food.
The key is to eat your delicious grilled salmon steak INSTEAD of your greasy drive-through hamburger… put sardines on your pizza… and have a tuna salad for lunch.
The many side benefits of Omega-3s
Aside from helping to prevent and possibly treat prostate cancer, Omega-3 fatty acids have also been linked to:
- All aspects of cardiovascular health
- Cognitive performance
- Brain and nervous system development in fetuses and babies
- Treatment of anxiety, depression, and Attention Deficit Disorder
- Treatment of age-related cognitive decline
- Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
- Treatment of arthritis, allergies, eye health, and skin health
… The benefits of this “magic potion” seem endless! So tuck into some dark fish today, and keep your prostate healthy and your body running like a well-oiled (fish oiled!) machine.
See You Next Time!
With the right information, you can take charge of your health and set the stage for a sexually active, cancer-free life well into your later years.
I hope these words of wisdom from our contributing doctors help you make the small changes NOW that will make all the difference to your health and happiness a few years from now.
We’d love to hear what you think about the articles in the “Just For Guys” Newsletter! Just email editor@justforguys.com with your comments, questions, or concerns.
And don’t forget to visit us at JustForGuys.com to contact our experts directly!
To better living,Craig JacksonEditor, JUSTFORGUYS.COM