A Man's World

Here is an excerpt from Feed Your Tiger: The Asian Diet Secret to Permanent Weight Loss and Vibrant Health: Chapter 15. "The Male Animal"

Overweight, overworked, and sedentary men are headed towards diabetes, heart trouble, or prostate cancer. Working on his feet all day, Sam had developed occasional lower abdominal discomfort and difficult urination, signs of prostatitis. I decided to design a weight loss program to protect men from their worse nightmares. Prostate problems challenge sexuality not to mention survival. This chapter covers specific foods and herbs that protect energy, endurance, and sexuality, while they encourage weight loss.

How are sexual vitality and weight related? Chapter 21. offers insights on the physical relationship of weight and fertility. For now, we can consider the psychological aspects. The concept of body armor is popular among Reichian and other psychoanalysts, who believe that people hold emotions in particular areas of the body. Chinese herbalists would agree and call those areas of stuck Qi. Men hold emotional tension, along with edema and fat, in the lower abdomen. Antiseptic, diuretic herbs that promote urinary comfort reduce local edema and pain. Most Chinese doctors recommend that men age 40 - 60, especially if overweight, use herbs to promote prostate comfort and function several weeks a year as a kind of health insurance.

Asian herbs that promote urinary and sexual well being are useful for weight loss in many ways: They reduce uric acid and thereby reduce joint pain. Several Asian herbs, quite expensive in health food stores, enhance beneficial hormones, fertility, libido, and sexual comfort. They also firm muscles, reduce belly fat, and inspire exercise. Asian herbs can make you feel fit and sexy. Many women readers hope to protect men friends and relatives from illness and to improve their quality of life. A cook can easily simmer an herbal brew, pour it over a tea, or add it to juice or soup stock. Some diuretic, aphrodisiac herbs work equally well for women. They reduce urinary and lower back discomforts and rekindle libido left dormant by a mountain of work, anxiety, fatigue, and illness. Asian tonic herbs trusted for generations can become part of your family's daily slimming routine.

NOTE: In most cases, herbs known to affect hormones should not be used by children under age fourteen, by people with active cancers, or by pregnant women.

Prostatitis: Causes and Natural Treatments

Prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate gland, causes intense pain, urinary complications, sexual dysfunction, infertility, and a drastic reduction in the quality of life. According to The Prostatitis Foundation, located in Smithshire, Illinois (www.prostatitis.org) strides have been made in the treatment of prostate cancer and BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), diseases which affect mostly older men. However, prostatitis, a non-fatal disease affecting young men in their prime of life, has been dismissed or ignored. At best, the western medical community offers a life-long course of antibiotics. The Prostatitis Foundation created in 1995 to encourage prostatitis research and provide information on successful treatments, has a lively informative chat session with men affected by the disease.

Doctors do not agree on the causes of prostatitis. Some factors include: bacterial or viral infections, immune causes, physical causes, stricture, tumors, excess uric acid or prostate stones, cancer, candida or other yeast infections, and food allergies. This lack of agreement about the cause of prostatitis leads to divergent therapies ranging from drugs and surgery to alternative methods including diet, herbs, relaxation techniques, and massage.

Acute Infections

If you have acute symptoms such as fever, severe pain during or after urination or sex, and pus or burning discharge, consult a specialist for a diagnosis. The cause may be a bacterial infection from hospital germs or a sexually transmitted disease. Many specialists agree with Dr. John Krieger of the University of Washington in Seattle who suggests that patients should be treated regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. That means if you live in the United States, Canada, or Europe, your doctor will most likely treat prostate discomfort with antibiotics. At the same time, experts agree that very often medicines do not help at all. Little or no success with antibiotics was reported in the patient chat rooms at www.prostatitis.org. However, foods, herbal remedies, and massage therapies where reported at length.

Chinese formulas suitable for short term use contain herbs that have antibiotic, antiinflammatory, and diuretic properties. Some include akebia (mu tong); pyrrosia flower (shi wei); plantago seed (che qian zi); dianthus herb (qu mai); lygodium spore (hai jin shu); gardenia flower (zhi zi); magnesium salts (jua shi); tetrapanax pith (deng xing cao); licorice root, jurinea root (mu xiang); and laxative rhubarb, which reduces uric acid. These are ingredients found in Akebia Moist Heat Formula, an herbal pill made by Health Concerns, which is recommended by herbal doctors for urinary tract infections or inflammations accompanied by frequent and painful urination. For pus and constant pain, additional antibiotic herbs such as isatis (ban lang gen) are added. Such formulas are normally recommended for urinary tract or kidney infections, cystitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, vaginitis or bladder stones. The herbs also help to relieve prostate swelling and pain. Individual differences are always recognized in Asian medicine especially concerning the cause of symptoms, the type of treatment chosen, and the recommended dosage. To avoid further debility, weak or elderly persons are regularly given tonic herbs at the same time as antibiotic and antiinflammatory herbs.

The point is to contact your herbalist early, at the first sign of symptoms, not just before scheduled surgery. More than likely, a man will have chronic irritation for a long time before developing acute symptoms.

Chronic Prostatitis: Common Symptoms

Ignored by many doctors and most men, chronic prostatitis is the inevitable link between prostate discomfort and our modern lifestyle- a rich, fattening diet, stress, late hours, fatigue, and irritating stimulants such as coffee coupled with no exercise, low sexual energy, and emotional frustration. Bottle up a male animal, stuff him into an emotional straight-jacket, make him stand or sit for hours, and he tenses up.

Do you have pain or discomfort in the penis, testicles, above the pubic bone, in the lower back, down the leg, in the groin or perineum, during or after ejaculation, or while sitting? This condition often involves:

* feeling there is a golf ball in the rectum that can't be dislodged

* urinary frequency and urgency

* dysuria or burning during or after urination

* a need to urinate even after urination

* a sense of pelvic discomfort

* no evidence of infection in the urine or prostatic fluid

* no evidence of disease in the prostate or in the pelvic floor

Diet and Herbs for Prevention and Treatment

If you sit or stand many hours daily and work under tension, post this sign at work and in your kitchen. These foods reduce your risk of developing prostatitis:

Increase fresh fruits and vegetables especially asparagus, broccoli, parsley, cilantro, cooked tomatoes, adzuki beans, fresh fish, and tea.

You should avoid shellfish, alcohol, fried and hot spicy foods, coffee, and smoking. An irritating diet, constipation, and lack of exercise increases acids and toxins in the body that cause inflammation. Anyone with urinary or prostate discomforts should do very well using either our basic or comprehensive diet. Dragons need additional tonics such as astragalus or reishi mushroom tea or extract taken daily. Bears will love eating lots of berries. According to Abluquerque physician and researcher Dr. Tieroana Low Dog, all berries especially strawberries and blueberries, when eaten regularly, reduce urinary tract infections. Blueberries are considered cooling by Chinese herbalists. They contain a chemical similar to aspirin.

According to diet author Pritikin, elevated cholesterol causes crystals that settle in the prostate and cause additional swelling. The sensible thing to do is avoid red meat and soft cheese and other high cholesterol foods. Cholesterol-lowering foods, such as dried beans, oatmeal, oat bran and any fruit with a peel may help. Whole grains provide B vitamins. Thiamin and riboflavin help your body's cells release energy and are important for general vigor. Niacin from peas and beans dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow and are important for making testosterone. Most people consume enough vitamins, but alcohol depletes thiamin. Thiamin is found in whole grains, asparagus and raw nuts. Riboflavin is found in bananas and broccoli. Nuts, seeds and rye products are useful because they contain plant hormones and oils that decrease swelling, congestion and inflammation of the prostate. Pumpkin seeds contain oils that ease discomfort and pelvic pressure.

Asian herbalists suggest to increase garlic along with herbs to prevent hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol and triglycerides. Garlic treats chronic bacterial and fungal infections. Plain garlic can be irritating not to mention odorous. An herbal combination works better. For example, Astra Garlic pills contain odorless garlic, astragalus, he shou wu a moistening blood tonic, ganoderma (reishi mushroom), and hawthorn berry, known to reduce cholesterol. Included to increase circulation are tang kuei and salvia root. Atractylodes strengthens digestion, reduces local edema, and has anti-coagulative properties.

The Broccoli Cure

If this advice sounds too difficult, just eat lots of broccoli. You might even have broccoli with garlic sauce. Prof. Ibrahim Adnan Saracoglu recommends eating fresh and steamed broccoli for 21 days as a powerful treatment and preventive against BPH, Prostatitis, IC (interstitial cystitis), and urinary tract infections. Eating lots of broccoli has anti-inflammatory and immune-enhancing actions. Broccoli also reduces prostate stones. A minimum of 250 grams (approx.. 9oz) of broccoli should be steamed in 4 1/2 cups of water for five minutes. The broccoli cooking juice should be consumed on an empty stomach half in the morning and the other half evenings. Freshly steamed broccoli and cooking juice should be used each day. After eating it, nothing else should be consumed except water for twenty minutes.

Spice is absolutely forbidden during the Saracoglu broccoli cure. Definitely avoid coffee and animal fat. Janet, one of my women clients modified this regime for her broccoli-hater husband Ron. She simmered a cup of raw broccoli in two cups of water for ten minutes and poured it over his morning tea. Afternoons, she juiced it with other raw vegetables. He never noticed the taste. After about two weeks, he had lost five pounds, had less prostate discomfort and she told me blushing, they enjoyed sex more frequently. Health claims made for the broccoli cure include:

* Regulation of erectile dysfunctions

* Regulation of urinary functions

* Reversing infertility

* Improving libido

* Reducing the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen)

* Reducing cholesterol

* Improving bowel movements

* Regulation of blood pressure

We can add another important benefit of eating lots of broccoli - weight loss! Try to have some daily. For broccoli-haters, I recommend buying organic seeds from a local hardware store or an online source such as www.highmowingseeds.com or www.organicaseedco.com and making sprouts. Broccoli sprouts make steamed broccoli seem limp. They offer a stronger source of vitamins and minerals than broccoli spears. Sprouts are easy to make and taste crisp, crunchy and spicy in salads.

Difficult Urination

In Chinese medicine, difficult urination refers to dribbling, straining, or incomplete feeling urination. It can eventually lead to pressure or discomfort in the lower abdomen. It may become worse from muscle weakness and fatigue or some sort of congestion that slows the flow. Acid buildup from infrequent urination may lead to an itchy skin rash or irritability. A fat and sweet diet is often the cause. Creamy, sweet, and fried foods slow digestion. Smoking wrecks circulation.

If your tongue is coated with a thick or greasy, tofu coating, you will benefit from fu ling (Poria cocos), a diuretic herb recommended for difficult urination. A healthy tongue looks pink, moist and has a thin white coating, not like tofu! Fu ling works wonders: it increases urination and reduces lower abdomen bloating and tenderness, and clears itchy skin rash.

Simmer a handful of sliced fu ling in two cups of water for 20 minutes (a decoction) and drink 1 - 3 cups daily until the tongue has lost the tofu coating. Fu ling is tasteless. You might pour the decoction over tea or use it in soups or cooked barley. Using fu ling can eventually help to prevent stones and reduce prostate discomfort. Chinese doctors believe that increasing urination can eventually help to reduce lower abdomen and prostate discomfort. It helps you lose water weight too.

Gokshura: A Prince Among Diuretics

Ayurvedic doctors recommend gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) as a diuretic, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory treatment for painful urination, impotence, infertility, kidney disease, gout, and urinary stones. They also recommend it boiled with milk as an aphrodisiac. Chinese herbalists have used tribulus (***) for over four hundred years to treat a variety of liver, kidney, and cardiovascular diseases. They say it frees stuck circulation.

I asked my brother Dr. Eric Hadady- a handsome body-builder, former Mr. New Mexico, and chiropractor in Albuquerque - if he had heard of the East Indian herb gokshura (Tribulus terrestris.) Imagine my surprise when he answered, "Tribulus is the number one hot-selling herb for athletes in the healthfood stores." He said it was rather expensive and he would appreciate knowing a cheaper source of herbal testosterone. Imagine his surprise when I told him that gokshura grew wild in the desert and was, in fact, the painful sticker he sometimes pulled out of his socks and cowboy boots. It is commonly called puncture vine or caltrop fruit.

Tribulus is a testosterone enhancer that leads to the production of the luteinizing hormone (LH). When LH levels are increased, the natural production of testosterone increases and so does sex drive. A significant benefit of tribulus is that it stimulates hormone production to a balanced level, without over-stimulating hormones. Most gym experts recommend experimenting with 750 to 1,250 mgs. per day, divided among meals for increasing testosterone. However, our use of the herb as a tea is not the same as taking a pep pill. The tea is gently diuretic and reduces congestion pain in the pelvis and groin. Tribulus' role as a liver tonic is very important. It breaks down cholesterol and fats that inhibit healthy liver function by converting them to hormones and energy. Athletes use it for increased performance and stamina.

I do not recommend going to the mesa to harvest your own tribulus. Lin Sisters Herb Shop in New York Chinatown sells dried herbs by the ounce or in handy packets of finely powdered single herbs you can add to hot water as a tea. Simmer one teaspoon of Tribulus terrestris and a handful of Polygonum aviculare twigs in about 2 cups of water for five minutes, then pour the liquid over rooibos red bush tea or another mild tea such as mint. Be careful not to spill the stickers because stepping on them really hurts. Otherwise, add one packet each of the powdered herbs from Lin Sisters to a cup of water or tomato juice. To protect the prostate and promote comfortable urination , have 1 - 3 cups daily.

Gokshura (Tribulus) and Weight loss

The increase in hormone levels particularly testosterone as a result of using tribulus will promote protein synthesis, positive nitrogen balance, and faster recovery from muscle fatigue. Its regular use as a diuretic is strong enough to reduce edema, belly fat, and eventually hypertension. In general, reducing water retention that surrounds muscles with a healthy diuretic such as tribulus makes the body look leaner and sculpted. The extra boost of energy and enthusiasm does not hurt either! Tribulus has no adverse effects to the central nervous or cardiovascular systems. No known negative effects presently exist when Tribulus is used as a dietary supplement. If you use the diuretic tea for more than a few days, make sure to use a mixed mineral supplement to replace lost electrolytes. NOTE: Do not take the herb during pregnancy.

Prostate Gland Pills (A.K.A. Kai Kit Wan)

News groups at the prostate.org website among others are abuzz about the success of Chinese herbal remedies for reducing prostate pain and infection. Among the most frequently mentioned is a Chinese patent remedy called Kai Kit Wan (A.K.A. Prostate Gland Pills.) Most Kai Kit Wan users at www.prostatitis.org agreed that several month's use was necessary for the best results. That indicates to me that they started treatment late in the game. If you use the remedy at the first sign of discomforts, you can normally feel results in a few days. However, the online prostatitis chat community was delighted with their results.

A Chinese medical explanation for prostatitis includes unresolved urinary tract and sexually transmitted infections where bacteria have caused chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and tubular gland obstruction resulting in dysuria. For that reason urinary and prostate discomforts are treated with a combination of antiseptic, diuretic, and tonic herbs. The East West Trade Winds catalog lists as ingredients for Prostate Gland Pills (Kai Kit Wan): Vaccaria segetalis, patrinia, red peony, astragalus, talc, tree peony root bark, licorice, cordyalis, codonopsis, cornstarch, and FD&C red coloring No. 40. Vaccaria is a diuretic. Patrinia reduces swelling, pus, and inflammation. Peony enhances local circulation. Cordyalis treats pain and codonopsis lifts prolapsed organs and tones energy. Astragalus reduces abdominal edema and protects against cancer. A small amount of licorice is used in most Chinese herbal formulas to prevent possible side effects such as cramps caused by combining many herbs.

The normal dose for Prostate Gland Pills is 3 - 5 pills three times daily, but it can be increased as needed for a stronger effect. Soon you should feel less discomfort while sitting, urinating, and when having sex. The urine should change from colored, odorous, thick or flaky to a clear light yellow. Your lower back and abdominal area should feel relieved of tension and pain. One person on a prostate information website reported paying an outrageous $20 Canadian for a bottle of Kai Kit. In any American Chinatown or online the remedy is easily available and reasonably priced.

The Bottom Line

If you have lower abdomen edema or belly fat, hypertension, prostate discomfort or a congested feeling in the sexual area, consider using supportive Asian herbs such as Kai Kit Wan, Essence Chamber pills made by Health Concerns, or gokshura capsules or tea. Include them as part of your healthy slimming and reconditioning routine. This is important: If you are weak or if you use herbs to prevent or treat prostate problems for several months, always add an herbal tonic such as ling zhi (ganoderma mushroom) or astragalus. They are fairly neutral, which means they neither overstimulate nor drain the body. Tonic herbs do not kill germs. They help the body to be stronger and work better. You should try to match the tonic to your symptoms. Your herbalist can help you to decide on the best ones to use. Some herbal tonics are cooling (antiinflammatory) and others are warming, stimulating, and may be constipating. Here are a couple of choices.

Two Cooling, Moistening Tonics

If you have a dry red tongue, thirst, and other dehydration symptoms such as constipation and dark sparse urine, you need an herbal tonic that is cooling and moistening. One useful Chinese patent remedy is called Liu Wei Di Huang Wan. It is moistening for skin and hair, refreshing to your throat, and cleansing laxative and diuretic in larger doses. It helps ease tension, back stiffness, and muscle spasms. In China, large doses are recommended for hypertension, diabetes, exhaustion with thirst and insomnia. For example, 10 - 15 pills two or three times daily. Astra Essence is recommended as a general tonic that works well for sexual vitality. According to Health Concerns, it also improves brain function, vertigo, hearing loss, dizziness, and poor memory. It can be used for impotence, frequent urination, and hair loss. It helps to balance blood glucose in diabetes.

Sexoton: A Warming and Cooling Tonic

If you feel weak and chilled, if you have facial pallor, a pale, puffy tongue and slow pulse, you could use a warming tonic instead of those mentioned above. Sexoton Pills is a Chinese patent tonic formula for improving chronic fatigue and poor circulation. Other symptoms are cold hands and feet, pain and weakness of lower back and legs, frequent urinating, sexual asthenia, and early morning diarrhea. One herb user wrote to www.prostate.org:

After my exam, the first thing my urologist said was, "Your prostate is smaller today." The Chinese pills were anything but a placebo for the prostate! I feel better. Not quite cured, but maybe darned close. Taking Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan [Sexoton Pills] in the day or 2 before a drainage gives more plentiful EPS, and often gives a lot of white blood cells in clumps and casts, suggesting that some blockages are newly opened. I am also taking Kai Kit Wan now, which might have a similar effect by themselves.

Apparently, Sexoton worked well for him as a tonic to overcome weakness and poor local circulation and to break apart congestion. Kai Kit helped to drain the prostate fluid.

NOTE: Some rejuvenating Chinese tonic formulas, including those mentioned above, contain Chinese foxglove Rehmannia glutinosa, which provides among many other benefits, a source of arginine. Dr. Woodson Merrell, MD., director of New York's Continuum Center for Health and Healing, has written a book about arginine. He believes its use can aggravate a herpes outbreak. In that case, he recommends taking lysine to balance immunity. People with herpes can replace the above formulas with a single herb Eclipta alba. See page for details.

Good News from Stanford

According to David Wise, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist at Stanford Healthcare Services "about 95% of all cases of chronic prostatitis is a condition of chronic tension in the pelvic floor. There is no effective drug regimen or surgical procedure for abacterial prostatitis/prostatodynia. At Stanford we have had men consult with us who, in moments of desperation, have had their prostates resectioned or removed and who have taken heroic doses of antibiotics and other drugs. None of these treatments have helped them. Not infrequently, these treatments have made the problem worse or created other problems."

The Stanford study successfully treated chronic prostatitis as a tension disorder. Painful trigger points and tender points in the pelvic floor come about because of chronically contracted muscles there. To deactivate the trigger points is a method borrowed from physical therapy called "myofascial release" or "soft tissue mobilization". This is done inside the pelvis where the therapist pushes against the trigger points, stretching the tender contracted tissue. After a number of sessions there is often a significant reduction of symptoms but only if the patient learns to stop chronically tensing the pelvic muscles. For many men, that would require no less than a personality change. Learning to relax the pelvic muscles involves a relaxation method aimed at stopping the chronic squeezing of the pelvic floor muscles. The results are so positive that below I describe a modified form of their massage.

* A Warm Bath with Epsom Salts. This old time remedy provides magnesium, which helps to ease muscle tension and fatigue. Light a candle. Soak in hot water and 1 cup of Epsom Salts for twenty minutes. Massage your feet and lower abdomen as you listen to soft music and soak.

* Massage: St John's Wort Tincture and Hypericum Ointment

St. John's wort herb has been proven effective is easing prostate discomfort. The British Journal of Dermatology (May, 2000) reported research done by Schempp; Winghofer; Ludtke; Simon-Haarhaus; Schopf; and Simon. St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) the traditional herbal medicine used for the topical treatment of superficial wounds, burns and dermatitis . . . (shows) a proliferation of T lymphocytes that may provide a rationale for the treatment of inflammatory skin disorders with Hypericum extracts. An abdominal massage with St. John's wort ointment or tincture stimulates circulation in the groin. It causes a comfortable tingling sensation. Avoid use on broken skin and very sensitive areas.

Nervous Eating, Overweight, and Immunity

Many patients and doctors are intrigued with the idea that our immune system may be causing the symptoms of prostatitis. This would make prostatitis similar to diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergies, lupus, and a number of other diseases which may be products of a misguided or over-functioning immune system. An inappropriate immune response can develop from numerous possible causes, including bacterial antigens, neuromuscular tension, or physical injuries. In my experience with lupus and multiple sclerosis patients, spicy foods, chocolate, and wine also provoke a strong rebound reaction by the immune system. Some people who have lost their symptoms regain them after eating those foods.

Asian mushrooms, well-known to Chinese herbalists and athletes, may be a key to prevention of prostate problems and their symptoms. They tend to balance and normalize immune reactions. Coincidentally, Asian mushroom can also reduce stress binging and nervous appetite for some people. Asian medicinal mushrooms are used in auto-immune illness, among other reasons, because they have many benefits.

Ganoderma lucidum (ling Zhi) acts as a panacea. It is anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-viral. It regulates blood pressure, acts as a cardio-vascular tonic, reduces cholesterol, moderates blood sugar, enhances and balances immune response, acts as a kidney, liver, nerve, lung and respiratory tonic, a sexual tonic, and reduces stress. Many health minded people take the extract or herbal pills daily. The usual dose is 10 - 20 drops or the recommended dose of pills taken twice daily. When using mushroom products, avoid having coffee or tea at the same time. Wait for 1 - 2 hours after drinking coffee, which eliminate vitamins and minerals from the body. To reduce appetite, add twenty drops of the extract to 1/2 cup of water or take it straight twenty minutes before meals or three times daily.

It is true that saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) reduces the symptoms of BPH, but it will not necessarily help with stress, blood pressure, or overweight. Supplements such as zinc, manganese, the B vitamins, and Vitamin E are getting attention for their role in sustaining mens' health. However, the West has provided few synergistic formulas that can be recommended to men for long-term use in strengthening their physiology and enjoying a fuller sex life. Our health problems are examined and treated by specialists: cardiologists, joint specialists, urologists, kidney disease specialists, and many more. Healthfood stores sell new and improved formulas for stress relief and sexual potency. There are new energy formulas, body-building supplements, multivitamins, and multimineral formulas sold daily. However, no one can deny the importance of wholesome foods, teas, and a healthy outlook. An Asian approach to male weight loss acknowledges the unity of body, mind, and prostate. To look and feel your best, to live a long full life, you can't afford to have tunnel vision.