There Are No Such Things As “Bad Foods”

Don’t eat this! That’s bad for you! How many times have you heard stuff like that? Don’t eat this, don’t eat that, stay away from this, and cut out that, etc., etc. It could get a bit frustrating at times, doesn’t it.

I was actually listening to someone giving a weekly talk about nutrition. What he has to say is usually valid, except that he could take it to the extremes. One night, he was talking about Vitamin Water, and how the water is fine — except that it has sugar! Oh my! When two ladies walked into the session late and saw the Vitamin Water sitting on a table, they were joking amongst themselves, “I bet he says that it would make you gain 8 pounds!”

Yes, they were joking, but he has a reputation of saying that there are foods out there that you should just stay away from, because they are “junk.” You don’t want to put all this “junk” in your body. He has even taken it to the level where you really shouldn’t eat anything that has a nutrition label. Fruits, veggies, and whole meat don’t have nutrition labels. Cereals, breads, etc., all have nutrition labels. Why should you eat something that has been packaged and tampered with?

But he’s not the only one who could take his views to the extreme. Others are just like him teaching that there are foods you need to stay away from. And even for me, it could become frustrating because simply put, if the food doesn’t do anything for the body, then don’t eat it.

My take on this view is that there are really no bad foods. Now, there are foods with some bad stuff in it, but the food overall isn’t bad.

Think about it this way. ALL foods come from nature, everything from candy to the food from McDonald’s. Everything is natural, and everything has at least ONE ingredient that the body could use. And all foods have at least one of the following essential ingredients: carbs, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Lollipops are liquidized sugar. Our bodies need the sugar. Meat has protein. We need protein. French fries has fat. Our bodies need fat. All foods have something that the body could use.

The problem with our health has little to do with what we eat as it does with how much of it we do eat. Eating only French fries would mess you up. But eating only carrots would do the same thing. Too much fat is just as bad has having too much of one vitamin. Both lead to health problems.

So, taking this into consideration, would eating a Snickers bar really hurt you? Does it have nothing that the body could use? It has sugar, fat, and protein. Yes, it has a lot of sugar and a lot of fat, but would it hurt to eat it once a day? Probably not if your overall diet for the day was good. Would eating a deep-fried butter ball from a state fair kill you? No, the body could use the fat and sugar from it, and if your overall diet is good, it won’t harm you.

What if you ate something that has bad stuff added, such as artificial dyes and preservatives? This is where we need to recognize how complex your body is. It’s able to filter out toxins (and toxins are anything that the body can’t use). Now, everybody is not going to agree on how well the body could filter out these toxins, but if you’re overloading your body with the bad stuff, it could do well in getting rid of whatever it doesn’t need.

Think about this. What’s the point of always trying to sanitize your hands if they are going to keep getting dirty?You wash your hands after you’ve used the bathroom and immediately turn the water off — and the handle has germs! After washing your hands, you literally just picked up germs again. And then you grab a paper towel. More germs. You opened the door of the bathroom by touching the handle, then you rub your hair, drink from the water fountain, etc., etc. Your hands are full of germs again. But the good news is that your body has an immune system to cover this problem so that you don’t have to stress over keeping yourself germ free.

Same thing with food. The body could filter out what it doesn’t need through the liver and kidneys. As long as you’re not overloading the body with toxins, your body is good to go. Enjoy that non-organic cheesecake!

Now, I’m BIG on organic foods and limiting the “junk.” However, I also don’t advocate avoiding the foods that you love. What I am saying is what most health experts would suggest: do everything in moderation. Vitamin Water with sugar is not a problem. A Snickers bar is not the problem. Your HABITS are the problem. Your body suffers because of your bad decisions, not because you ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Sex Is Healthy For Your Prostate

Since many of my male patients are over the age of 40, there comes a time when I, as their doctor, have to have “the talk” with them. Most of my male patients had a similar talk with their fathers, or a significant elder, when they were adolescents about the “birds and bees” and how sexual activity pertains to maturing and developing healthy, intimate relationships.

It may surprise you to know that I also talk to my male patients about the importance of sexual activity but from a much different perspective – one that can save their life by keeping their prostate healthy. You read that right – regular sexual activity can keep your prostate, and the rest of you, healthy well into your old age. Let me explain how.

Seminal Fluid and Your Prostate

As a doctor, I recommend regular prostate screening to my male patients over 40. This includes getting a physical prostate exam and blood work to determine their PSA, prostate specific antigen, levels to be sure they are not developing prostate disease.

At this examination time, I also like to talk to my male patients about recent studies cited in the British Journal of Urology that have shown that regular clearing of seminal fluid from the prostate through ejaculation can help prevent prostate cancer.

Many urologists believe that they see a direct cause and effect between how often a man ejaculates and his development of prostate cancer. Indeed, when my own father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the first question his urologist asked him was how often do you have sex? Since my mother had died years before, and my father had not re-established another relationship, his level of regular sexual activity had dropped to zero.

As I explain to my patients, the prostate gland is responsible for producing seminal fluid, the fluid that carries their sperm. The prostate draws zinc, potassium and citric acid from the general blood supply and then concentrates it about 600 times. Researchers speculate that likely any carcinogens that are in the blood are also drawn into the prostate along with the other elements it uses to create seminal fluid. Without regular ejaculation, the amount, and length of time seminal fluid stays, in the prostate can become a risk to your health. According to the urologists theory, your chances of prostate cancer increase.

However, if you’re a man who does not ejaculate regularly, these fluids build up in your prostate and the prostate is then constantly immersed in stagnant, cancer-promoting fluids.

What’s A Guy To Do?

When I have this discussion about prostate health and sexual activity with my patients, many of them confide that they do not have a regular sexual relationship with a significant other. Some of them are divorced, some are widowers, and some are just single and casually dating occasionally without sexual intercourse involved.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating that anyone start engaging in risky, promiscuous sexual activity just to keep their prostate healthy! Rather, as I tell my patients, if you don’t have a regular sexual relationship with a significant other, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with engaging in masturbation once or twice a week until you develop a loving, intimate relationship with someone. In fact, it’s actually good for other aspects of your health as well. It can decrease stress, help you sleep, and lower your blood pressure.

How Much Sexual Activity Is Good?

As I also counsel my patients, don’t get into the thinking that if a little sexual activity is good for your prostate, more and more sexual activity will be even better for it. Not true. In fact, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine that focuses on all processes in the physical body being in balance, your sexual activity and release of seminal fluid need to be balanced as well.

Too frequent ejaculation can lead to what urologists call “nonspecific prostatitis”, or inflammation of the prostate, as inflammation has been proven recently as setting the stage for disease to set in. So how much ejaculation is beneficial? Here’s a general guideline for men over 30:

1. 30-40: 3-4 times a week.
2. 40-50: 1-2 times a week.
3. 50-60: At least once a week.
4. 60′s and over: At least once every few weeks.

Trouble Ejaculating? Try Exercise and Nutrition

Exercise is always beneficial to a man’s sexual health as it helps him keep his weight normal. Obesity is one of the frequent causes of ejaculation problems due to lowering of testosterone. Regular, aerobic activity 3-4 times a week coupled with some weight training 2-3 times a week can do a lot to keep your weight normal and your hormone levels stable. In addition, it helps to keep blood and lymph circulating in the lower part of a man’s body.

Your prostate diet may also be to blame for poor testosterone production and the ability to ejaculate properly. Make sure your diet includes enough zinc, protein and vitamin C, the very building blocks of testosterone and seminal fluid. In addition, watch for xenoestrogens (environmental estrogen) in your diet from microwaveable foods packaged in plastics and/or through drinking water and/or sodas in plastic bottles that may have become heated and released bisphenol A.

As I tell my patients, protecting your prostate health through regular ejaculation, whether it’s through sexual activity in a shared relationship, or your own personal privacy, is a completely natural and health promoting thing to do. It’s all about keeping your body in natural balance!