Ideally we could get all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients from eating a balanced, organic, whole foods based diet but due to many factors such as reduced food quality, poor digestion, and just the everyday stresses of modern living a perfectly healthy diet and lifestyle are not always attainable for a lot of men. Today we will look at the top supplements, nutrients, and lifestyle factors that can uniquely impact men’s health goals by boosting muscle strength, metabolism, and sexual performance while helping to prevent heart attacks and cancers.

Sleep is of utmost importance for men. Poor sleep quality is associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, low testosterone, infertility, depression, diabetes and a lack of energy.

Several hormones including growth hormone and testosterone are active while we sleep. Growth hormone and testosterone are integral to building muscle and are essential to retain muscle throughout life. If sleep is poor try supplementing with anti-stress herbs like ashwagandha during the day and magnesium at night.

Increase performance in the gym and the bedroom with l-arginine, one of the most important amino acids for men. Arginine supplementation improves liver function, athletic performance, and muscle growth as well as enhanced immunity and the reversal of erectile dysfunction. Arginine accomplishes these tasks by helping create nitric oxide which widens blood vessels and allows more blood, oxygen, and nutrients to reach tissues. Typical dosing can range from 500mg to 5g per day for optimal performance.

Optimal Vitamin D levels are essential for a variety of reasons, but for men, studies show it can raise testosterone levels by as much as 25%. It’s no coincidence that sex steroid hormones peak in the summertime when vitamin d production from sunlight is highest. Vitamin D also has vast impacts on mood as it activates the genes that produce both dopamine and serotonin. Optimizing vitamin d levels is helpful for bone strength as it increases the absorption of calcium and magnesium. Optimize your vitamin d levels with sun exposure or try taking 2000 to 5000 iu daily.

Boron is a relatively unknown trace mineral with huge impacts for men. In several studies, daily supplementation with boron increased testosterone up to 28% while decreasing estrogen by 39%. Men with the highest levels of boron were shown to have a 65% less chance of getting prostate cancer. Remarkably boron also reduced PSA, a marker of prostate size, by 89%. Many of boron’s benefits stem from its ability to greatly lower inflammation.

Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory fats found in fatty fish like salmon and studies show that men with highest omega-3 intake have the lowest risk of heart-attack as well as reductions in prostate and colon cancers. Omega-3 is also essential for brain, nerve, and eye health, so it is vital to help against eye degeneration and Alzheimer’s later in life. Look for a fish oil supplement with 1000 mg of omega-3 per serving.

For these supplements and more to help fuel your unique health journey come by The Shoppe and talk one of our helpful nutrition specialists today.

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