Men's Health

Unless you can find lean beef from cattle that have been range-fed on grasslands, I recommend that you obtain protein from eggs, fish (especially cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel), free-range poultry, sesame seeds, and fermented soybean products such as tempeh. (Be sure to supplement your diet with zinc when you're eating soy so you can offset the high copper content in soybeans). All these are complete proteins, meaning they contain all the essential amino acids. Both bee pollen and spirulina (blue-green algae) are also excellent sources of complete protein.

Iron deficiency among men is rare--in fact, iron toxicity is more common--and we don't need to eat beef to prevent it. Iron can be found in any of the high-protein foods mentioned above, as well as in green vegetables, whole grains, raisins, dates, and figs. As a general rule, men should avoid consuming foods enriched with iron or taking supplemental iron, since too much iron is implicated in heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, liver disorders, and cancer. Although not enriched with it, red meat is high in bioavailable iron, and excessive consumption can lead to an accumulation of the mineral in the body. Symptoms of excess iron include fatigue, low immunity, anemia, lack of mental clarity, and a gray or bronze tint to the skin. If you're concerned about your iron level, ask your doctor to perform a blood test.

Arthritis Answer

I think I have early stages of arthritis. My joints are stiff a lot of the time. I'm 53 years old. Can you tell me how to keep this from getting worse, or better yet, how to cure it?

I see many men who have early-stage arthritis or who are candidates for developing this common condition. It's not surprising, since diet can be a significant contributing factor and many men pay little attention to their diets. But there are things you can do to get relief and possibly cure this condition.

First, eliminate possible allergenic foods. Common ones are dairy products, wheat-flour products (breads and pastas), and nightshade plants (tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and bell peppers). You may suspect that you are allergic to any other food that you feel repeated cravings for. Exclude these from your diet for at least a month and then add them back to your diet, one by one, at least three to four days apart. If your pain lessens after eliminating all of them, and then you experience greater pain after reintroducing a particular one, then it's likely that you are allergic to that food.

Next, go on a short juice and/or raw foods diet. Gabriel Cousens, M.D., at his Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Ariz., successfully treats arthritis by putting patients on vegetable and fruit juice fasts. I recommend that you eat only raw vegetables and fruits and drink juices (mainly vegetable, like carrot, celery, and cucumber) for three days. This will eliminate excess calcium, mineral deposits, and acids from the joints. You should not go on longer fasts, or frequent fasts, without supervision by a physician trained in fasting.