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Men’s Health
Intro: The Nugent, the science behind health and nutrition. Welcome to this episode of The Nugent Report, a definitive source for objective information on health and nutrition featuring Dr. Steve Nugent, the renowned psychologist, author, public speaker, an expert on science, health, wellness, and nutrition. Be sure to visit our website at DrNugent.com. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at The Nugent Report.
So, we’re going to talk about men’s health, and that includes mental health. So, we’ll talk about some psychology. Keep in mind that in less than one-hour presentation, we couldn’t possibly cover all of these things in detail. That just can’t be done. So, this is kind of an overview of what I feel are very important topics as it relates to men’s health. And so we’re also going to talk about brain health, prostate, and hormonal health, we’ll talk a little bit about the nutrition of aging as well. There are a few things that a lot of people just don’t know when it comes to men’s health. And I would say including, and especially men don’t know a lot of this stuff. Let’s start with the way people think.
Now, a lot of how we think is determined by the way our brains are structured. And so I’m going to throw in a little bit of neurobiology for all of you, which I hope that you’ll find both informative, and hopefully even maybe a little bit entertaining to learn some of this information, that there are indeed, structural differences between male brains and female brains. And before I go too much further, you know, I get way too many emails to get into circular conversations with folks about differences between men and women. I’m just not going to go there, folks. I’m going to present to you as a scientist, and I’m going to give you facts, and I hope that these facts will help you make good decisions about your health, that’s where it will be. Okay? Because, gosh, I’m getting so many emails now, I can’t possibly answer all the emails. I want to but I can’t.
So, structural differences, it is indisputable that there are structural differences between the brains of men and women. That’s not an argument. And there are also certain behaviors, which are innate behaviors. And these behaviors are to a very large extent, based on the structural differences in our brains. Now, some people get a little uptight about that, because then they think, “Oh, my gosh, are you saying that we have certain behaviors that simply can’t be changed?” Well, I would say that there are certain survival behaviors that can’t be changed. For instance, you do need to eat. If you don’t eat, you will not survive. So, there are innate messages coming from the brain through your genetic code that tells you that you must eat.
So, there are certain innate behaviors that you can modify, like, how much do I eat, when do I eat, but push comes to shove, at the end of the day, you’re going to have to eat. Okay. So, what I’m trying to say to you all, is that there are innate behaviors. And that means, and if we say this in modern terms, genetic behaviors. So, there are things that are printed into your genes that tell you how to behave. These are not things that you learn. So, the old nature versus nurture argument is what we’re talking now. And these are not things that you learn, these are things that are actually printed in your genes before you are born. And these are passed on to you from your parents, these survival behaviors. Okay.
Scientists now say that at least 50%, of all of your behavior, of all of your behavior that is seen as psychological behavior, at least 50% of it is genetic, it is actually programmed into your genes, telling you how to work. Again, folks, don’t freak out and think that thinking sets of absolutes and say, “Oh, that means this behavior, that behavior could never be changed.” You can learn to modify your behaviors. But there are certain aspects of genetic behavior which you cannot be at the very end at the final point, you can’t change certain behaviors. That’s the way that is.
So, if you were to look at the general behaviors of — and I’m going to speak in broad generalities. Because there are specific differences from one human being to another. So, I’m not implying here that everybody has precisely the same behavior if you’re a man or precisely the same if you’re a woman, that is not what we’re saying. So, there are specifics, which can be different, not only within a gender but in any individual. Okay. So, in a general sense. Broadly, and generally, males tend to be resistant to preventive health measures. We’ll talk a little bit more about that.
Generally speaking, females, as a general population tend to be very proactive about their health. Women are thinking about proactive measures, men, typically, and there are exceptions, of course, but men typically are not thinking about proactive measures for their health. The average male is like, “Well, if I hurt, I’ll go get a painkiller. Or if I need to get a drug or surgery, I’ll do that. Otherwise, everything that my female partner says is nonsense.” Okay. So, that tends to be the general. And again, there are exceptions. But in general, the overwhelming majority of patients who go to see a natural practitioner, so an integrative health practitioner, or a naturopath, or I’m not sure if you have chiropractors in Australia. Anyone who’s doing natural health measures or offering dietary supplements, the majority of the patients they will see will be female.
In fact, an overwhelming majority of the people who buy dietary supplements are female. Generally speaking, when I was in practice, what I observed is that men tended to be less cooperative as patients and women pretty much had to drag them in, to get their health taken care of. And it forced them to be seen, because well, there are men, and you know, they are tough, and they’re just, you know, “This is all nonsense. If I’m in pain I’ll go get a surgery, or a medication.” That is, unfortunately, innate, thinking, that is part and parcel with the structure of the male brain, as it is compared to the female brain. I’ll give you more on that as we proceed. Some of you may find this interesting. In fact, I could easily do a full hour on the differences in the structures in the brain, between men and women, and I think a lot of you would find those pretty interesting. But just stick on the topic I was asked to speak about.
So, give you some examples, the portion of the brain or the portions I should say, of the brain, which make a person open to proactive health behaviors tend to be significantly larger in females in their brains, then in the male brains. There are certain behaviors, which, again, are innate behaviors. So, these are pressed into your genetics, if you will, certain behaviors that can’t be changed. But there are behaviors that men can learn to change. So, if there’s nothing to and you know, people tend to — the psychological studies are very clear on this, by the way. Human beings in almost every case, tend to follow the path of least resistance. And that’s a survival mechanism, by the way, that’s an innate survival mechanism. So, it’s not good or bad, it simply is. And part of the makeup of the male brain is to not be open to these behaviors, but they can learn. And that’s important. So, ladies, there is hope for you to help your men become better stewards of their own health. You can help them with that. And ladies, your men do need help, you’ll learn more as we proceed. And that, again, is probably why someone in Australia recognized that there needs to be a Male Health Week because people need to be aware of these things.
Now, you hear all the time about well, humans are smarter because our brains are bigger. That’s actually not true. People like absolutes and they like simplification so that sounds simple. The human brain is larger than a chimpanzee brain. Therefore, humans are smarter than chimpanzees. Sorry, wrong. That’s just wrong. Male brains are larger than female brains in human beings. Does that mean that men are smarter than women? I think most of the ladies will say no, that’s probably not true. Okay. So, I did mean to have a little humor here, but the idea is, gorillas have much larger brains than humans. But I don’t know of any gorillas in the space program, so it’s not just about the size of the brain, it’s about the brain structure. And it’s about the complexity within each of those structures that has their own separate functions.
Well, here we come to the idea of I’m sure this term has been used in Australia. I know it’s been used like crazy in the United States, getting in touch with your feminine side. So, the idea throughout most of human history until really, about the mid to late 1960s, we would say, well, men behave this way and women behave that way. Okay. And then, of course, we had to start saying to the men, it’s okay to get in touch with your feminine side. Because folks, there are certain behaviors and I know that somebody will misunderstand this and somebody is going to get upset, folks, really, my only purpose is to help people not to argue with them. So, please don’t email on this. Okay? The fact is, there are certain behaviors, which are more female, and certain behaviors, which are more male, and that has to do with the structures of the brain, which then has to do with their genetic behaviors.
Now, generalization is usually not a good thing to do, but here we have to generalize for the purpose of this presentation. And what I want you to all understand is that even though a male fetus is a male fetus, the brain of a male fetus begins as a female brain. All human brains begin as a female brain. Now, what happens as the fetus is developing within the womb, is that testosterone, because it’s a male, testosterone levels begin to sort of flood through the brain tissue. And, believe it or not, if you can just imagine this, if you can visualize it, the testosterone actually shrinks some of the areas of the female brain, which the result of this then is a male brain. So, there are certain aspects, and guys, I don’t want you to get depressed. Okay. Because there’s more of this presentation, but I want you to understand, we men all started with female brains, all of us. Okay. There’s no exceptions here. So, testosterone actually shrinks certain areas of the male brain in the fetus, areas like communication centers, empathy centers, and so on. And we’ll talk more about that in a few minutes.
Now, there can be variations in brain matter within the same gender. So, what do I mean? So, you will have some females as an example, who will exhibit more male behavior. And you will have some males who exhibit more female behaviors. And I don’t want you, folks, to go on to extremes and all that, but just understand what I’m saying that in a single gender, there can be variations in the proportion of genetic male and genetic female behaviors. Okay. All right. Here’s a couple of examples. I mentioned the empathy centers. So, generally speaking, and there are exceptions, of course, and remember, that men can learn so men can change, men can improve. All right? And I do mean improve. Because if you add new pathways through a process, that’s called neuroplasticity. So, neuroplasticity is a reality. It’s not a question. It’s a reality. If you work an area of your brain consistently, day after day, after day, you will actually grow new pathways in that portion of your brain. You will actually cause that portion of your brain to actually get bigger, to expand.
So, men can learn behaviors that are not innate to them, that are not genetically programmed to them. Some men will learn more than others and this will be to a great extent based on something called selection pressure. So, we go back to a path of least resistance. If you have a bunch of men who have no female influences around them. And they all have stereotypical male structure and stereotypical male behavior, they have no reason to create new neural plastic pathways, they have no reason to, because you follow the path of least resistance. But when men associate with females, now they have a reason to begin to adapt certain behaviors and we may say getting in touch with your feminine side. All right. Hopefully, this is coming through clearly for everyone and no one’s getting upset with me, I hope. But I’m just telling you the science behind this neurobiology.
So, the areas devoted to communication in females is almost double the size of what it is in males for empathy, for saying, I feel so badly for you, I feel your pain, I feel that you’re hurting. So, empathy is almost double the size in females than it is in males. And that’s why you will often have the responses that you have from males. It’s not that males are bad people. It’s the way their brain is structured. And once again, they can learn and can create new pathways. And they can eventually become just as empathetic as any woman once they’ve created those new pathways. And the same thing goes with communication. And the reason scientists believe that the reason that the communication centers are bigger than females, is because the anthropological evidence, going back to our earliest ancestors indicates that females were the caregivers, females were their nurturers.
Now, they didn’t just give birth and breastfeed. And by the way, breastfeeding was always the first few years of life until very recent times. And so there was a real bond there between the mom and the child, for sure. And that was because they were getting the nutrients that they needed from breast milk, it was the best source for any baby. It still is, by the way. Please don’t email me about breastfeeding time. Okay. I’m just stating the scientific and anthropological factor. I don’t want to fight with anybody about it. So, the anthropological evidence indicates that the majority of males functioned as hunters and hunters need to communicate less. If you’ve ever been hunting, you have to keep your mouth shut. You got to keep quiet, you got to be as quiet as you can be. And if you’re hunting with a group of men, you used hand signals, gestures, and nods. You don’t talk. So, if scientists are correct about this, then that would explain why the communication center in women is far larger than it is in men.
Now, can men expand their communication center? Of course, they can’t. Of course, they can. We go back to neuroplasticity again. But men, here’s the saving grace for us. Our section of the brain for visual-spatial is much larger than it is for women. And you know what that means? That means we can throw a spear better than the average woman can any day. It’s actually been tested and it’s been shown that men can throw spears better and more accurately than women when it has to do with the structure in our brains. And again, this supports the scientists who believe that throughout most of human history before farming began that males were hunters and women were nurturers and caregivers. And this is why we scientists believe that women today, even as our society has changed, and women now have very different positions in society than ever before in history as far as we know, this, again, is about neuroplasticity. So, females can change behaviors, males can change behaviors. But generally, this is why women are more aware and they are more proactive about the health and the well-being of their family. You know, males are like, “Well, didn’t I tell you I loved you last year? Do I have to say it again? Don’t you just know it? Do I have to say it? Do I have to say it?” Okay. I’m exaggerating a little bit, obviously. But there are certainly differences between men and women.
So, convincing men to take care of themselves can be a really tough job. In fact, the only time that men tend to want to initiate this themselves, once again, with the exception of very rare men who really are tuned in to preventive health. But for most men, it’s only about power. So, bodybuilding is a great example. Men will voluntarily do bodybuilding, but that’s because the result is a psychological perception of an increase in power. So, as the body is built up, stronger, now you have more power versus other males who are less built up. This is an innate behavior. And males perceive that and it’s not always the case because we don’t want to stereotype and say that all women are only attracted to muscular men, scientific study actually proves this is not true. But some women are exclusively attracted to men who are more muscular. And so men perceive this as if I build myself up, I have a better shot at getting the mate I want. Okay. And as I mentioned before, women usually have to drag their men into seeing a health care practitioner.
Well, in most categories, and this is why you need a Men’s Health Week. Men don’t know this. In fact, I think most women probably don’t know this either. But in most categories, men require more nutrition than women. Now, men tend to think of it the other way around. “I don’t need that supplement stuff, just need a steak and a beer.” Right? Well, no, that’s not the case. That’s not what science says. All vitamins, and most minerals, not all minerals but most minerals can be dosed by body weight, and/or body size. Generally speaking, men tend to be larger than females. I’ll cover that in a little more detail in a moment. Now, exceptions to this are going to be if women are menstruating, they’re going to need more nutrients that contribute to hemoglobin because they’re losing so much iron when they menstruate and of course, men don’t go through that. If women are pregnant, they are feeding to people, not just themselves. So, they have an increase in nutrients required and of course, if they’re breastfeeding.
And a great example here is among women who are pregnant, 65 milligrams of vitamin C, minimum, that’s a minimum not a maximum, minimum per day, for females who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. For men, it’s 90 milligrams. So, we see that the male has a significantly larger requirement for vitamin C than the adult female does. The exception, of course, is if the adult female is either pregnant or nursing. Pregnant women need 120 milligrams, minimum, not maximum, minimum of vitamin C. So, what I’m showing you here is men in almost, not every category, but almost every category require more nutrition than women. Yet, the majority of people who buy dietary supplements are women, not men. And scientific surveys show that men tend to make less healthy dietary choices than women.
Now, some of you ladies are probably chuckling as you’re listening to this, but it’s true. Men, as a group, tend to choose less healthy food than women do. So, what does this mean? Men require more nutrition and are probably getting less from food than the women are. This makes it even more important to have a Men’s Health Week down there in Australia. Let’s start with brains. There are two things that if you don’t have them working, right, there’s not much point hanging around. If your heart’s not working, you can’t hang around and if your brain’s not working, why bother hanging around? Because if there’s no brain, I mean, there’s no you, right? So, the nutrients for the brain are the same for men and women. There’s no difference. DHA omega-three. So, when you take an omega-three supplement, you are taking both DHA and EPA, but it’s the DHA portion that you need for the brain.
Magnesium, oh, folks, I could do 300 pages on magnesium. Honestly. The average person has no idea how important that mineral is. And the problem that we see everywhere, first of all, is not just that, nobody seems to know how important it is, but only approximately 1% of the magnesium in your body can be found in your blood and your medical doctor has been taught to test for magnesium by checking your blood. Well, he or she cannot check for more than 1% of your total. In other words, checking your blood for magnesium doesn’t actually tell you how much magnesium you have. It doesn’t tell you how much functional magnesium you have for your body. That presents a very, very big problem.
And when I was in practice, I always recommended to every physician I taught and I’ve been teaching doctors for more than 30 years that they don’t bother with a serum, serum means blood. So, they don’t bother with a serum magnesium test, but instead that they use a red blood cell magnesium. Now, that will not be a test covered by most insurance companies in the countries where insurance companies pay for that sort of thing. And all countries are different to how you do this sort of thing. But red blood cell magnesium is the way to find out how much magnesium you have, not serum magnesium, some calcium is fine, but serum magnesium is not fine. Okay.
In addition to that, the brain requires some B vitamins that are super important for brain function, B1, B6, folate, B12. In fact, those four vitamins, those four B vitamins are crucial to making you feel happy. I mean, vitamin B1, I actually call it all the time I call it the happiness vitamin. If you have enough B1, it’s pretty hard not to be happy, it’s pretty hard not to smile. It’s that important for the chemicals in your brain that determine whether you’re happy or sad. Okay. Now, also you’ve got to have vitamin A, C, and E, for your brain. It happens that depression is a very big problem for men. Men and women both suffer from two kinds of depression. One type is situational. So, that depends on events going on in your life, events going on around you.
The other type is chemical, you could also make the case for a structural. And that would be brain structure causing the improper production of chemistry to keep you from becoming depressed. Okay. So, you could make the case for that as well. So, when we talk about depression, if you’re talking about chemical depression, that’s a different thing than situational depression. Now, nothing is going to change a bad situation except time and healing, and sometimes counseling, and sometimes the help of a friend, or just somebody taking you in their arms and just giving you a good, sincere caress and hug. And so they can feel that you care and that you love them. And sometimes, that’s all that you can do with situational depression. And we all have situations in our lives, that can make us feel very sad.
The thing with males is they have a different aspect of situational depression, which goes beyond those things that all women experience and all men experience. And that is depression based on achievement. Again, the structure of the male brain, and I’m not saying that there are not females that have this portion of structure in their brain, because there are. So, again, there are differences within genders. All right. So, don’t try and absolute me on these statements I’m making. But generally speaking, in general terms, the structure of the male brain lends itself to be focused on achievement. And if a male does not make that achievement, he will become unhappy, depressed, and sometimes so severely depressed, that the result is suicide. In fact, males are three to four times more likely to successfully commit suicide than females. And almost all of this is achievement-based.
Males have, in their structure of their brain, they have an innate program that says they must achieve, they must win, they must be number one, they must succeed, they must have recognition of their importance, they must have recognition of their self-worth, in whatever that achievement is. When a male can’t have that he has a chemical cascade that makes them depressed. Literally, the thought and the chemistry together. This for many men will cause them to actually take their own lives because they feel worthless. Because it’s so hard to help a male who is in this mindset, it is so difficult to help a male feel any degree of self-worth, if they have failed in whatever their achievement goals were. And I’m not talking about little things like scoring the points at the football game. That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about big things, big important things.
We see this particularly in males who feel that they have failed in relationships, males who feel that they have failed as providers, and I could go on for two hours on this, but I won’t. We see this particularly high in men who are 65 years of age or higher. Because men are also going through a different portion of their chemistry. Everyone’s heard of the midlife crisis, everyone’s heard of that. The midlife crisis for men generally starts somewhere in the mid-50s, and goes up through the upper 60s. And men will come to this realization that, “You know what, I am not that strong, energetic, young male I used to be. There’s no way that I have any time left in my life to make the achievement that I always thought I would make. I’m just going to take my life.” And this is why we see so many males over the age of 65, that is the highest suicide rate, highest group of suicide of any groups. And that’s as bad as depression gets, folks, you can’t get worse than that. Supplements can’t change a situation, there’s no way that a supplement can help that man get the recognition he desperately needs, or to help that man achieve the goal that he has not achieved.
But when the chemistry that’s generated from missing that achievement, from not making that goal, from not having that sense of self-worth, that’s how a male sees his sense of self-worth. And there are exceptions, of course, there are those rare exceptions, but I’m talking in general terms now. What will happen is the chemistry produced, the negative chemistry that’s produced is going to cause that male to require more magnesium and more B vitamins than he required before the depression. So, it’s not that the supplement changes the situation, won’t do it. The situation is the situation. Other things can be done, as I mentioned before, in terms of counseling and caring and recognition, and various things that can be done. But that change in chemistry will make that man require more magnesium and more B vitamins. So, keep that in mind as we proceed.
But women innately, as I mentioned before, it’s a program in women. And yes, of course, there are exceptions, there are some women, you see the news story, which is rare, folks, it’s so rare, where you see a woman who murders her children or something like that, but that is so unbelievably incredibly rare. The only reason that anyone even knows about it is because it makes a news story. It’s so rare. Generally speaking, women are innately programmed to care. They are innately programmed, to be proactive, for the health, and the welfare, and the well-being of their families. And men, well, men, I’m sorry to say this, but men are not innately programmed that way. Now, can men learn that? Of course, they can. And generally, you learn through experience. And some would say you learn through failure, and I would go with that as well. Even when you fail, you still learn.
And you want to make sure that you take what you learned and improve. They say things like, “Well, you don’t really appreciate what you have until you don’t have it.” And that’s true. It is true for most human beings. And very often if a man fails in something or he loses something or someone, then he begins to change, he begins to make new neural pathways. Now, are there some men who are more programmed from birth with that? Yes, of course, of course, there are. And that, again, is individual differences within the gender as I mentioned before. But generally speaking, men need to learn these things. It’s not part of the genetic program, whereas, for women, it very clearly is.
So, step one, men need a high potency, emphasized high potency vitamin-mineral formula. Typically, the majority of men do not need iron supplementation. In fact, about 75% of people in modern countries do not need iron supplementation, which is why I have always recommended that we make vitamin-mineral products without iron on purpose. The 25% who need iron supplementation also very often need medical supervision. And what I don’t want is for people to be taking the supplement alone, if they also need medical supervision, I want them to have that. And that’s why it has always been my philosophy to make vitamin-mineral products without additional iron supplementation. Okay. So, that question comes up all the time, now, you have the answer.
Men typically don’t need it and it’s because of male dietary choices. Males tend in general, to eat a lot more meat than women. In fact, because of the pH of women versus the pH of men, the chemistry of women versus the chemistry of men, women tend to not only be more alkaline in general, but women tend to have appetites for more alkaline foods. Men tend to have appetites for more acidic foods. Men eat more meat because they have a genetic program, that says they must. They have to eat more protein because they have more muscle mass. And you can’t maintain your muscle mass unless you eat enough protein. This is again, generally speaking, why males eat a lot more meat than women do.
Before the whole cholesterol nonsense, I say nonsense, because, for 50 years or more, the entire world population was fed this nonsense that if you eat fish, you won’t get heart disease. And if you eat meat, you will. That’s complete total utter nonsense. It’s been disproven in study after study after study. But the media apparently still doesn’t know it, the general population doesn’t know it. And even most healthcare practitioners still don’t know it, even though it’s been disproven. So, before all that started, before any man was told, “Oh, if you eat meat, you’ll get our disease.” If you look at the past, you look at the records, you’ll see that men would choose meat, usually red meat, and women would choose seafood. If they had that choice in a restaurant, that would be the choice that will be made. Seafood is very easy to digest and red meat is the hardest to digest. So, that goes back to your differences in the systems. Red meat is very high in iron. In fact, the redder a meat is, the more iron it has in it. So, it’s pretty rare to find a male who is short on iron unless, of course, that male is a vegetarian or a vegan, then it can be a different story.
They need to supplement high B vitamins and magnesium in particular. B vitamins are stress vitamins. B vitamins are necessary for conversion of carbohydrates. B vitamins are necessary to produce a wide range of enzymes. B vitamins are essential to your nervous system, to your brain function, so many things. And magnesium, folks, magnesium has more than 600 functions in the human body. That’s why I couldn’t possibly cover the detail of magnesium in one block, it simply can’t be done. There’s too many functions and too many potential problems if you’re not getting enough magnesium. And males need to have a minimum, minimum of 10 grams more protein per day than females, minimum. So, males have to as a minimum average have 56 grams, females 46 grams. But the larger the male is, and the more muscle mass he has, to begin with, the more protein he has to eat. This is why sometimes you’ll see bodybuilders who eats unbelievable amounts of meat and eggs every day because they need that extra protein just to maintain their muscle mass, let alone build more muscle mass.
What about prostate health? Just as the female reproductive system which gets a lot of discussion, there’s just a zillion female products out there and so much information about female reproductive systems, not as much on male reproductive systems. And most of this, unfortunately, is driven by money. Because again, the majority of people who buy supplements are female. Most men don’t buy supplements unless they think it’s going to give them some edge, some performance edge, typically. But if a male has seen a practitioner who says, “You know what, you got some prostate stuff going on.” All right. Now, now, not before but now the male will say, “Oh boy, maybe I should buy a prostate supplement.” And men will usually go right out and do it like right away. The prostate gland required selenium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, and something called beta-sitosterol. Well, that’s a plant sterol. The plant sterols’ not a vitamin or mineral. And you have to get that separately from what you would get the selenium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin D.
If you’re missing, if you as a man are missing those nutrients, if you’re not getting enough of them, and if you’ve reached around oh, say the age of 40-ish, your prostate is going to start to grow. It’s going to grow big. And it’s going to be pretty unpleasant as it grows. And trust me on this, you will not be happy with those results. The symptoms you have are not going to be good. Your prostate health will decline if you do not have those nutrients in sufficient supply. And keep in mind once again, the average male makes less healthy dietary choices than the average female and therefore, gets less nutrition than the average female. Yet, they require more than the average female.
Well, then there’s alcohol consumption. Generally, males consume more alcohol than females. And there are exceptions, of course. But the male liver is about twice the size, on average, of the female that are on average. And this is why when you read through material, it says, you know a woman should have only one glass of wine, but a man can have two. Men can tolerate more, generally speaking, so they tend to drink more. And as a result, they are causing their body to require greater amounts of — guess what — B vitamins and magnesium in much greater quantities. And then with the liver something called choline as well, which is associated with the B vitamin group. Some argue it’s a B vitamin, some argue it isn’t. So, we’ll say it’s associated with the B vitamin group.
Step two, ensure that a high potency vitamin-mineral supplement is used, of course, that has at least 100% of the daily requirements of selenium, magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc. And make sure that as a male, you are taking a supplement that contains beta-sitosterol. Because your prostate gland will not — understand what I’m saying, I don’t like to speak in absolutes, but I’m going to say this again. Your prostate will not be healthy if you are not getting beta-sitosterol every day. You make sure you’re doing it. And then we go back to B vitamins and mood, B vitamins and feeling sad, B vitamins and being depressed. You need B vitamins to fight that. And as you consume alcohol, you are burning those up fast.
Interesting exercise was done in Australia, actually, when they saw this to be a real problem among Australian men because of alcohol use. And what they did was they mandated that synthetic vitamin B1 be added to all grain products. So, all products that make bread and muffins and buns and whatever sort of correct term is used in Australia to describe those bread products, those grain products. That’s why you have that mandated by your government because it’s that important.
And finally, what about aging? Well, as you age, you are digesting your food less efficiently whether you’re a man or a woman. You’re making less digestive enzymes every year of your life starting around the age of 40. And most people are not taking a digestive enzyme product, so they’re not supplementing what they need to digest their food as well. We can argue, and I think it’s a strong argument to say that because of less effective digestion. As we age, we are receiving less important nutrition, which in turn increases and accelerates the aging process. And studies on aging populations pretty much show us this across the board.
One study that I found was interesting had more than 4,000 people in it above the age of 51. And some of them took supplements, and some took them occasionally and some didn’t take them at all. Now, what they found was that almost nobody in this aging population was getting enough nutrition every day. But they found that the group that use dietary supplements was getting about 80% of what they needed, but even that was not enough. So, they’re eating and taking supplements and still coming up short. And the thing that the population tested was coming up short of universally across the board, there were other nutrients but the big one was magnesium. Again, brain health, nervous system health, heart health, the list goes on. And of course, vitamins A, C, and E, which are required to help you fight the aging process.
Outro: Thanks for listening to this episode of The Nugent Report. Visit our website at DrNugent.com for more objective facts about health and nutrition and email your questions and feedback to info@DrNugent.com. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at The Nugent Report. Stay informed. Get the facts with The Nugent Report.
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第6集 男性健康–Dr. Nugent报告
简介：Dr. Nugent报告，以科学方式分析健康与营养。欢迎收听本期“Dr. Nugent报告”，本节目由Dr. Steve Nugent主讲，为您提供健康和营养方面的优质客观信息。Dr. Steve Nugent是著名的心理学家、作家、公共演说家，也是科学、健康、保健和营养方面的专家。请访问我们的网站DrNugent.com。并在Facebook、Twitter和Instagram上关注@TheNugentreport。
本期我们来探讨一下男性健康，包括男性心理健康。我们会涉及一些心理学知识。但请大家理解，由于节目时长不足一小时，我们无法细致尽述所有方面。因此，我主要概述我认为重要的男性健康方面的问题。我们还将探讨大脑健康、前列腺和荷尔蒙健康，也将略微探讨一下衰老营养方面的知识。很多人并不了解男性健康方面的一些事，尤其是男性自己都不太了解这些事。让我们从人们的思维方式说起。
很多时候，我们的思维方式都取决于大脑结构。因此，我会在这里讲一些神经生物学方面的内容，希望大家能够从这些信息中获得一些信息和乐趣：男性大脑和女性大脑确实存在着结构差异。在进一步探讨之前，我想说，我收到的很多电子邮件都在反复谈及男女差异。我不会谈论这些问题，朋友们。我将以科学家的身份向大家介绍，将给大家呈现事实，我希望这些事实能帮助大家在健康方面做出正确的决定，这就是我的目标。我现在正收到大量电子邮件，我无法一一回复。我希望可以一一回复，但我办不到。
说到结构差异，男性和女性大脑之间存在结构差异，这点无可辩驳。这没有什么好争论的。还有一些行为属于先天性的，它们在很大程度上是源于大脑的结构差异。现在，有人可能会表示担忧，心想，“天哪，你的意思是，我们根本无法改变自身的某些行为？”我想说的是，只是一些生存行为不可改变。例如，我们需要进食。如果不进食，就无法生存。因此，来自大脑的先天信息通过遗传密码命令我们进食。
因此，一些先天行为可以改变，比如，进食量、进食时间，但归根结底，人必须进食。好。我想说的是，一些先天行为是存在的。这意味着，如果用现代术语来说，那就是遗传行为。一些东西被印在我们基因里，告诉我们如何行事。这些东西无法习得。因此，我们现在讨论的是古老天性与后天培养。这些东西不是学习而来，而是在出生前就已经印在基因里。它们是父母遗传过来的，是生存行为。
科学家们说，所有行为，尤其是所有心理行为，至少有50%是遗传而来，它们被编入基因，告诉我们如何行事。大家不要担心，不要想得那么绝对，不要心想，“这意味着这种或那种行为永远无法改变。”我们可以学会改变自己的行为。但遗传行为的某些方面确实无法改变，事情就是这样。
我们可以看一下一般行为——我将谈一下普遍状况，因为人与人之间存在具体的差异。我并不是暗示，因为你是男性或女性就一定会具有某种行为，我不是这个意思。一些具体行为会有所不同，不仅性别之间会存在差异，个体之间也会存在差异。从一般意义上讲，从广义上讲，男性往往会抗拒预防性保健措施。我们之后会更多地探讨这个问题。
一般来说，女性往往会积极主动地关注其健康。女性会采取积极主动的措施，男性虽然也有例外，但通常不会采取积极主动的健康措施。男性一般会说，”如果疼痛，吃片止痛药就好了。如果需要药物或手术，我照做就是了。伴侣说的都是些无稽之谈。”好。一般情况往往就是这样。当然，也有例外情况。但总的来说，去看自然医生的，也就是综合保健医生或者是理疗师，我不确定澳大利亚这里有没有脊椎按摩师，大多数都是女性。在提供自然保健手段或膳食补充剂的医生那里，大多数患者也都是女性。
事实上，购买膳食补充剂的绝大多数是女性。一般来说，根据我行医时的观察，男性患者往往不太配合，女性需要把他们强拉过来解决他们的健康问题。她们要强迫男性接受治疗，因为男性总要做出坚强的样子，他们只会说，”这些都是无稽之谈。如果感觉痛苦，我会去做手术，或服用药物。”遗憾的是，这是一种先天性思维，与男性大脑结构相关，区别于女性大脑结构。我下面会给大家提供更多这方面的信息。有的人可能会觉得很有意思。事实上，关于男女大脑结构的差异我可以讲上一小时，我想很多人应该会很感兴趣。但我需要专注于本期主题。
我可以给大家举一些例子，与男性大脑相比，女性大脑中有更多区域主导积极的健康行为。我再说一遍，一些行为是先天性的。它们被编入了基因，某些行为无法改变。但男性可以学习改变某些行为。人具有一定的倾向——顺便说一下，心理学研究得出了明确结论。在几乎所有情况下，人都倾向于遵循阻力最小的路径。这是一种生存机制，一种先天的生存机制。这没有好坏之分，只是简单的事实。男性大脑的部分构成不接受这类行为，但他们可以去学习。这点至关重要。女士们，你们还有希望，可以帮助男性转变为更好的健康管理者。大家可以帮助他们做到这点。女士们，你们的男性确实需要帮助，你们在后面会学到更多这方面的知识。可能正是因为如此，澳大利亚有人觉得有必要设立一个“男性健康周”，因为人们需要了解这些事情。
大家经常听到：人类更聪明是因为我们的大脑更大。这种说法实际上不正确。人们喜欢把事情绝对化和简单化。人类的大脑比大猩猩的大脑大，因此，人类比大猩猩聪明。抱歉，这种说法是错误的。男性大脑大于女性大脑，这是否意味着男性比女性更聪明？我想大多数女性会给出否定回答，这可能不是事实。好。我想在这里穿插一点幽默：大猩猩的大脑其实远远大于人类大脑，但据我所知，大猩猩从未参与过太空计划，所以，相对于大脑的大小，大脑的结构更重要。这涉及到每个结构的复杂性，每个结构都有独立的功能。
下面我们来看一个澳大利亚一定也在使用的术语。美国在疯狂使用这一术语来展现女性化的一面。在人类历史的大部分时间里，我们会说男人要这样做，而女人要那样做，直到上世纪60年代中后期才有所改变。后来我们对男性说，你们可以展现自己女性化的一面。朋友们，我知道有人会误解我的意思，会感到不高兴，但我唯一想做的，是停止大家的争执。所以，不要发有关这个问题的邮件给我。好吗？事实是，一些行为的主体大多是女性，而另一些行为的主体大多是男性，这些与大脑结构有关，与他们的遗传行为有关。
以偏概全通常不太好，但为了完成本期节目，我们需要进行概括。我想告诉大家，男性胎儿的大脑一开始也是女性大脑。所有人类的大脑最初都是女性大脑。当胎儿在子宫内发育时，睾丸激素会充满男性胎儿的脑组织。不管你信不信，大家可以想象一下，可以发挥自己的想象力，睾丸激素实际上会使女性化的区域收缩，最终形成男性大脑。具体表现在一些方面，但是，朋友们，我不想让你们感到沮丧。好。讨论还要涉及很多别的内容，但我想让大家明白，男性大脑都是从女性大脑发展而来，所有人都一样，没有例外。在胎儿时期，男性大脑的某些区域会在睾丸激素的作用下而缩小，如沟通中心、同理心等区域。几分钟后我们会进一步讨论这个问题。
同性别的大脑物质也会有差异。什么意思呢？比如说，有些女性会展现更多男性化的行为，而有些男性会展现更多女性化的行为。朋友们，我不希望大家走极端，你们只需知道，在同一性别中，遗传性男性行为和遗传性女性行为的比例可能会存在差异。好。我举几个例子。我之前提到了同理心。一般来说，当然也有例外，男性可以学习、可以改变、可以提升。对不对？我说的确实是提升。通过一个过程增加新的通路，这叫做神经可塑性。神经可塑性是一个事实。不是一个问题，它是一个事实。如果日复一日坚持不懈地锻炼一个大脑区域，这个大脑区域会发育出新通路。实际上，这个大脑区域会变大，会扩展。
男性可以学习那些并非与生俱来、编入基因的行为。一些男性学到的更多，这在很大程度上是基于选择压力。我们回到阻力最小路径。如果男性周围没有女性的影响，并且又有着典型的男性结构和男性行为，那么，他们便没有理由创造新的神经可塑性通路，因为他们会跟随阻力最小路径。当男性与女性交往时，他们就有理由开始适应某些行为，去接触自己女性化的一面。好吧，希望大家都能理解我的话，并且都不要生我的气。我只是在讲述这种神经生物学背后的科学。
在共情方面，女性的沟通区域几乎是男性的两倍，她们更善于表达：我为你感到难过，我能感觉到你的痛苦，我能感觉你正经历痛苦。女性的同理心是男性的两倍。因此，难怪男性会给出那种反应。这并不是说男性很坏，这跟他们的大脑结构有关。还是那句话，他们可以学习，可以创造新的通路。如果创建好这些新通路，他们最终可以变得和女性一样具有同理心。沟通也是如此。科学家认为，女性沟通中心更强大的原因，可以追溯到我们的祖先，根据人类学证据，女性的身份是照顾者和养育者。
现在，女性不再只负责生育和哺乳。顺便说一下，生命的最初几年总是需要母乳喂养，这种现象直到近代才得到改变。妈妈和孩子之间存在一种真正的纽带，这是因为婴儿必须从母乳中获得所需的营养，母乳对于婴儿来说就是最佳食物。当下依然如此。请不要给我发电子邮件，询问有关母乳喂养时间的问题。好吧，我只是在陈述科学和人类学方面的因素。我不想与任何人争论这个问题。所以，人类学证据表明，大多数男性担任猎手的角色，而猎手所需的沟通较少。打猎的时候需要保持安静。必须保持安静，尽可能地安静。如果是和一群男性一同打猎，只需用到信号、手势和点头。根本不需要说话。如果科学家们在这一点上是正确的，那么就可以解释为什么女性的沟通中心远远大于男性。
男性能否扩大自己的沟通中心呢？当然不能，又当然能。我们再次回到神经可塑性这个话题。各位男性朋友们，我们还有一个仅剩的优点——男性大脑中的视觉空间区域远远大于女性。大家知道这意味着什么吗？这意味着，男性投掷长矛的能力超出一般的女性。实际上，已经有测试表明，与女性相比，男性投掷长矛的能力更优秀且投掷得更准确，这与大脑结构有关。而且这再次支持了科学家们的观点，即在农耕社会开始前的大部分时间里，男性是猎手，女性是养育者和照顾者。因此，科学家们认为，今天的女性也是如此，即使我们的社会已经发生了变化，当下的女性在社会中的地位超越了任何历史时期——这也是神经可塑性的功劳。因此，女性和男性都可以进行行为改变。但总的来说，这就是女性对家人的健康和福祉会更有意识，更积极主动的原因。男性总是说，“我去年不是说过我爱你吗？我有必要再说一遍吗？难道你不知道吗？我有必要说出来吗？真的有必要吗？”好吧，我显然是有点夸张了。但男性和女性之间肯定存在差异。
因此，说服男性照顾好自己会非常艰巨。极少数的男性真的会进行预防保健，事实上，男性如果主动照顾自己，只有一个原因。对大多数男性来说，是因为力量。健身是一个很好的例子。男性主动健身，是因为他们最终会获得力量增加的心理感受。与不如自己健壮的男性相比，身体强壮的男性具备更多力量。这是一种先天性行为。男性所认为的这一点，但事实并非总是如此，因为我们不想刻板地说，所有女性都喜欢肌肉发达的男性，科学研究证明这其实并非事实。但有些女性只喜欢肌肉发达的男性。因此，男性会想，如果我把肌肉练好，找到理想伴侣的概率就更大。就像我之前提到的，女性通常需要硬拉着男性去看保健医生。
大多数情况下都是如此，这也是有必要设立“男性健康周”的原因。男性不知道这一点。事实上，我认为，大多数女性可能也不知道这一点。但是在大多数情况下，男性比女性需要更多的营养。男性却不这么认为。“我不需要那些补充剂，只需要牛排和啤酒。”对不对？不对，事情不是这样的。科学不是这么说的。所有维生素，以及大多数矿物质（即使不是所有的矿物质）是可以按体重和/或体型来配量。一般来说，男性体型往往大于女性。我之后会更详细地介绍这一点。经期的女性例外，她们需要更多有助于生成血红蛋白的营养物质，因为在月经期间她们会丧失大量的铁，当然，男性不会经历这些。如果是怀孕女性，她们不仅要自己摄入，还要喂食婴儿。因此，如果是母乳喂养，她们所需的营养物质便会增加。
怀孕的女性是一个很好的例子。对于没有怀孕或哺乳的女性来说，每天最少需要65毫克的维生素C，这是一个最低量，而不是最高量。男性则需要90毫克。因此，我们看到，与成年女性相比，男性对维生素C的需求量明显更大。当然，怀孕或哺乳期的成年女性是个例外，她们至少需要120毫克维生素C，注意是至少，而不是最多。因此，我要说的是，男性几乎在所有情况下，都比女性需要更多营养。但购买膳食补充剂的大多数是女性，而不是男性。科学调查显示，与女性相比，男性的饮食选择更不健康。
一些女性听到这里可能会笑出声，但这是真的。与女性相比，男性群体倾向于选择更不健康的食物。那么，这意味着什么呢？男性需要更多的营养，他们从食物中获取的营养可能比女性更少。因此，在澳大利亚推出“男性健康周”就显得尤为重要。让我们从大脑谈起。如果缺少了两样东西，人就无法生存。如果心脏不跳动，大脑不运转，人就无法生存。因为没有大脑，就没有生命。男性与女性所需的大脑营养物质一样，没有任何区别，即DHA和欧米伽3。服用欧米伽3补充剂时，可以补充DHA和EPA，但大脑需要的是DHA。
关于镁，朋友们，我可以写一本300页的书籍，这毫不夸张。普通人都不知道这种矿物质的重要性。我们首先发现的不是镁的问题，似乎没有人知道镁的重要性；人体血液中大约只含有1%的镁，但医生却总是通过血液检测来进行镁含量测定。他们测的是仅占总量1%的镁。换句话说，血液镁检测，并不能如实得出人体的镁含量。它无法说明人体内含有多少功能性镁元素。这带来了一个巨大的问题。
在我30多年的医生培训生涯中，我总是向培训过的每一位医生建议不要为血清（即血液）检测。让他们不用费心进行血清镁检测，而是进行红细胞镁检测。在很多国家，大多数会支付此类检测花费的保险公司不涵盖这一检测，但各国的实践有所不同。但红细胞镁检测是测量镁含量的方法，血清镁检测不够准确，但血清钙检测是准确的。
除此之外，大脑还需要B族维生素，包括B1、B6、叶酸、B12，它们对于大脑功能具有格外重要的作用。事实上，这四种维生素对快乐感的产生至关重要。我实际上一直将维生素B1称为“快乐维生素”。如果B1足够，人很难不快乐，会忍不住微笑。它是一种对于大脑至关重要的化学物质，人的快乐和悲伤情绪取决于它。好。大脑还离不开维生素A、C和E。抑郁症是困扰男性的一个严重问题。男性和女性都可能患上两种类型的抑郁症，其中一种是“情景性抑郁症”。这取决于生活中的事件，周围发生的事情。
另一种是“化学性抑郁症”，也可以说是“结构性抑郁症”。这是大脑结构导致的化学成分分泌异常，从而导致抑郁。所以，这也是其中的原因。当我们谈论抑郁症时，化学性抑郁症与情景性抑郁症是不同的。只有依靠时间和治疗才能改变糟糕情况，有时咨询、朋友的帮助、拥抱、真心的爱抚和相拥也会起到帮助。让对方感觉到你关心他们，爱他们。有时，对于情景性抑郁症，我们只能做这些。在生活中，我们都会遭遇一些让我们陷入悲伤的状况。
男性的情景性抑郁症有所不同，不同于所有女性和男性的正常经历。他们的抑郁症与成就感有关。这关乎男性大脑结构；我并不是说女性没有这类大脑结构，她们也有。正如之前所说，性别内部存在着差异。所以，不要以绝对化的方式理解我的这些表述。但一般来说，男性大脑的结构专注于成就。如果一个男性没有取得某种成就，他会变得不快乐和抑郁，有时会严重抑郁，更有甚者会自杀。事实上，男性成功自杀的可能性是女性的三到四倍。而几乎所有这些都与成就感相关。
男性的大脑结构具有一个先天程序，告诉他们一定有所成就，一定要胜利，一定成为第一，一定要成功，一定要让别人认可自己的重要性，一定要让别人认可自己的价值，不论是什么形式的成就。如果无法拥有这些，男性就会经历化学物质紊乱，从而感到沮丧。事实上，这是思想和化学物质共同作用的结果。许多男性会因为没有价值感而结束自己的生命。如果男性没有实现成就目标，要帮助他们扭转这种心态非常困难，要让他们找到价值感也很难。我指的不是在足球赛中进球得分这样的小事，而是重要的大事。
比较典型的是那些经历了情场失败或无力供养家庭的男性，我可以讲解两个小时，但我不想继续。65岁以上的男性占有很高的比例。因为男性也在经历体内的化学物质变化。大家都听说过中年危机。男性的中年危机一般在55岁左右开始，一直持续到60多岁。他们会意识到，“我已经不是以前那个强壮、有活力的年轻人了，已经没有时间去取得我一直以为可以取得的成就，干脆自杀算了。”也正是这个原因，许多65岁以上的男性选择了自杀，这是自杀率最高的年龄群体。这就是抑郁症的糟糕程度，朋友们，糟到不能再糟。补充剂不能改变状况，无法帮助男性获取迫切需要的认可，也无法帮助男性实现尚未实现的目标。
但是，这种化学反应是由于无法取得成就、无法实现目标、无法获得自我价值感产生的，这是男性看待自我价值感的方式。当然，也有极个别例外，但我现在说的是一般情况。由于这种负面化学反应，男性将需要比患上抑郁症前更多的镁和B族维生素。因此，并不是说补充剂可以改变状况，它们无法改变，情况是现实存在的。正如我之前提到的，在咨询、关怀和认可以及其他方面，可以做些努力。但是化学成分的变化会导致更大的镁和B族维生素需求。希望大家记住这一点。
正如我之前所说，女性大脑天生具有这种程序。是的，当然也有例外情况，新闻中偶尔会有女性谋杀孩子或类似的报道，但这些极为罕见。大家之所以知道这些，只是因为新闻有报道。这十分罕见。一般来说，女性具有关爱的天性。她们天生会主动关心家人的健康、福利和福祉。而男性，我很抱歉这么说，但男性天生不是这样。男性可以学会这一点吗？当然能。一般来说，可以通过经验进行学习。一些人说，从失败中学习，我对此表示赞同。即使失败了，也可以学到东西。
要确保领会所学到的东西并加以改进。常言道，“失去后才懂得珍惜。”这是真的。大多数人都是如此。很多时候，在经历失败，或者失去某些东西或某个人时，人才会开始改变，开始建立新的神经通路。是否有男性先天就更具有这方面的特质呢？是的，当然有。但正如我之前提到的，这是性别内部的个体差异。一般来说，男性需要学习这些东西。这不是遗传而来，而对女性而言，它显然是一种遗传程序。
因此，第一步，男性需要高效力维生素-矿物质配方。通常情况下，大多数男性不需要补铁。事实上，在现代国家，约75%的人不需要补铁，因此我一直建议制作维生素-矿物质产品时有意不加铁。25%需要补铁的人群通常也需要医疗监督。我建议大家不要单独服用铁补充剂；如果需要医疗监督，最好获得医疗监督。因此，我的理念始终是制作没有额外铁质补充的维生素-矿物质产品。好。这个问题经常出现，现在，你有答案了。
男性通常不需要补充铁的原因在于他们的饮食选择。一般来说，男性摄入的肉类多于女性。事实上，对比女性的pH值与男性的pH值及化学成分，会发现，女性体质呈现更强的碱性，而且女性倾向于摄入更多碱性食物。男性则倾向于摄入更多酸性食物。男性摄入的肉类更多，因为他们的基因程序告诉他们要这样做。他们必须摄入更多蛋白质，因为他们的肌肉质量更大。只有摄入足够蛋白质，才能保持肌肉质量。所以，一般来说，男性比女性摄入的肉类多。
关于胆固醇，我们听过很多谬论，我说它们是谬论，是因为在过去50年或更长的时间里，全世界的人都被灌输这一无稽之谈：吃鱼不会得心脏病，而吃肉会得心脏病。这简直是一派胡言。一项又一项的研究推翻了这种谬论。但媒体显然还不知道，普通民众也还不知道，甚至大多数医务人员至今也不知道，尽管它已经被推翻。在此之前，在”吃肉会得病”这一说法之前，如果回顾过去，查看记载，我们可以发现，男性会选择肉类，通常是红肉，而女性会选择海鲜。如果他们在餐馆就餐，这通常是他们的选择。海鲜极易消化，而红肉最难消化。这又回到了系统差异上。红肉的铁含量非常高。事实上，肉越红，铁含量就越高。因此，很少有男性缺铁，当然，素食男性则另当别论。
他们尤其需要补充大量B族维生素和镁。B族维生素是应激维生素，是转换碳水化合物的必需成分，也是产生各种酶的必需成分。B族维生素对神经系统与大脑功能来说必不可少，功能很多。但朋友们，镁在人体中可以发挥600多种功能。所以，我无法只通过一期节目来涵盖关于镁的多所有细节知识，这根本不可能。如果缺镁，会导致许多功能问题和潜在问题。男性每天至少需要比女性多摄入10克蛋白质。因此，男性必须至少平均摄入56克，女性需摄入46克。首先，男性的体型更大，肌肉质量更大，所以必须摄入更多蛋白质。因此，大家有时会看到，健身人士每天要摄入大量的肉和蛋，因为他们需要额外的蛋白质来维持肌肉质量；而要增加肌肉质量，则需要摄入更多。
接下来探讨一下前列腺健康。关于女性生殖系统的讨论有很多，女性产品也有很多；关于女性生殖系统的信息很多，但关于男性生殖系统的信息却并不多。遗憾的是，这其中大部分都是由金钱所驱动。因为购买保健品的大多数是女性。大多数男性不买保健品，除非他们认为保健品可以为他们带来一些优势，尤其是表现方面的优势。但是，如果医生对一名男性说，“你知道吗，你有一些前列腺问题。”男性会说，“哦，天啊，也许我需要买前列腺补充剂。”他们通常会马上行动。前列腺需要硒、镁、锌、维生素D，以及一种叫做β-谷甾醇的东西。这是一种植物甾醇，不是维生素或矿物质，必须单独获取，就像获取硒、镁、锌和维生素D一样。
如果作为一个男性缺少这些营养物质，在40岁左右，你的前列腺会开始生长。它会变大。随着它的生长，会变得非常不舒服。相信我，你会对这些症状感到不舒服。如果没有摄入足够的营养物质，前列腺健康水平会下降。再次强调，在健康饮食方面，男性一般不如女性，因此获得的营养少于女性。然而，男性的营养需求却高于一般女性。
然后是酒精摄入。一般来说，男性比女性摄入的酒精多。当然，也有例外。但平均来看，男性的肝脏大小大约是女性的两倍。因此，阅读资料上会写：女性可以喝一杯酒，但男性可以喝两杯。一般来说，男性的耐受性更强，因此酒量更大。因此，他们的身体需要更多的——猜猜是什么——B族维生素和镁。然后，肝脏里还有一种叫做“胆碱”的东西，它与B族维生素有关。有人认为，它是一种B族维生素，有人认为不是。因此，我们只好说，它与B族维生素有关。
第二步，确保使用高效力的维生素-矿物质补充剂，当然，它至少可以100%满足每日的硒、镁、维生素D和锌需求。男性需确保自己服用含有β-谷甾醇的补充剂。请大家理解我的意思，我不喜欢说得太绝对，但我要再说一遍。如果不每天摄入β-谷甾醇，前列腺不会健康。要确保每天摄入。然后我们回到B族维生素和情绪，B族维生素与悲伤和抑郁的关系。B族维生素可以对抗这些情绪。如果饮酒，这些维生素会被快速消耗。
在澳大利亚，实际开展过一项有趣的实验。实验显示，由于饮酒（这对于澳大利亚男性来说是一个切实的问题），政府强制要求在所有谷物产品中添加合成维生素B1。因此，所有面包、松饼和小面包及谷物产品（我不确定这些是不是描述澳大利亚面包产品、谷物产品的正确术语）中都含有合成维生素B1。这就是你们的政府要求这样做，因为这很重要。
最后，我们谈一下衰老。随着年龄的增长，不论男性还是女性，消化食物的能力都会下降。从40岁左右开始，人体每年产生的消化酶都在减少。大多数人不服用消化酶产品，也就是说，他们没有补充消化食物所需的物质。对此我们可以进行争辩，我认为，一个强有力的论据是消化能力变差。随着年龄增长，我们摄入的重要营养更少，这反过来又加速了衰老。老龄人口研究向我们全面展示了这一点。
我发现了一项由超过4000名51岁以上的人参与的有趣研究。他们中有些人服用补充剂，有些人偶尔服用，有些人从来不服用。研究发现，在这些老龄人口中，几乎没有人每天能获得足够的营养；使用膳食补充剂的群体获得了80%的所需营养，但即使这样也不够。他们既摄入饮食，也摄入补充剂，但却仍然缺乏营养素。被检测人群普遍缺乏各类营养素，但主要缺镁（影响大脑健康、神经系统健康、心脏健康等），当然还有维生素A、C和E，它们是帮助你对抗衰老过程所必需的。
结语：感谢收听本期Dr. Nugent报告。访问DrNugent.com，获取更多有关健康与营养的事实性信息。如有问题或反馈意见，可发送邮件至info@drnugent.com。请在Facebook、Twitter和Instagram上关注Dr. Nugent报告 。获取事实性信息，资讯先人一步。