Supplement Therapy for Men’s Health By Bahar Mahmoudi

Bahar Mahmoudi is an International Pharmacy Graduate and Natural Health Practitioner

Looking for a healthy boost during Men’s Health Month? These supplement picks offer the perfect way to ensure you’re maximizing your nutrient intake every day of the week!

• Multi vitamin: Start with agood multiple-vitamin.  Think of multiple-vitamins as the foundation for nutritional supplementation.  You likely won’t get enough of some nutrients from your multiple-vitamin.

• Minerals: The same way you start with a multiple-vitamin for vitamins, you should start with a good mineral complex for minerals.  Multi-vitamins often contain minerals as well as vitamins, so be careful you don’t double up.

• CoQ10: Thiswas traditionally thought to be critical for heart health only.  Studies have now discovered that there are CoQ10 receptors throughout the body, making it important to overall health. Beyond cardiovascular health, CoQ10 is a potent antioxidant that plays an important role in energy production, oxygen utilization, and protection against oxidative stress.

• Alpha Lipoic Acid: Thisis a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger. ALA is unique because it’s water and fat soluble—this is relevant because it means that it can work from both inside and outside of cells. It detoxifies, helps the body to eliminate heavy metals, and promotes the production of glutathione, the king of all antioxidants.

• DIM(diindolylmethane): This is an extract taken from cruciferous vegetables that promotes hormone balance and cellular health. Specifically, research has shown that DIM helps the body to safely metabolize estrogenthrough safe pathways, which may reduce risk factors for cancer (particularly breast cancer for women, and prostate cancer for men).

• Folate(folonic acid): This is the natural version of folic acid. Natural folate is preferable because it’s highly bioavailable, and more stable than folic acid.On supplement labels, natural folate will usually show up as “5-MTHF”.  Folate is critical to controlling homocysteine, a major cause of arteriosclerosis.  It’s also important for nerve and hormone function.  It promotes the production of enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, antibodies, vitamins, and cell membranes, and supports healthy immune function, detoxification, energy production, DNA repair, brain activity, mood stabilization, and a healthy inflammatory response.

• Melatonin: This is a hormone that plays a vital role in mood stabilization, balancing circadian rhythms (thereby facilitating a good night’s sleep), and endocrine system regulation. It supports a healthy immune system, reduces inflammation, and is yet another antioxidant.  Depending upon lifestyle habits, 0.25 to 0.5mg/night may be beneficial.  Melatonin levels can be checked via saliva test to check for deficiency.

• Probiotics: This promote a healthy gut. A healthy gut means better digestion, increased nutrient absorption, and a stronger immune system.  A good probiotic should contain numerous species of the “good” microorganisms that you need for a healthy gut.