Joe Spano, M.D. has been a leading holistic physician in Naples Florida for over thirty years. Dr. Spano was teaching balanced living and healing through nutrition, music and guided imagery decades before most of the medical profession accepted these modalities. His article below helps answer the question, what is health.
"Health can be defined as wholeness and harmony in body, mind and soul. Disease occurs when there is imbalance and loss of harmony. Death occurs when vital life processes come to a halt.
Death in men is caused primarily by two disease processes: cardiovascular (heart attack, stroke) and cancer. Heart disease is the number one killer with hundreds of thousands of deaths occurring each year, often in the prime of life. About 300,000 men will die from cancer. Lung disease and accidents are the other top contenders.
Strategies to insure a man's good health would quite naturally have to address the prevention of heart attacks and malignancies. Risk factor reduction is crucial.
Obesity, high blood lipids, i.e. cholesterol and triglycerides, hypertension, diet high in animal fat, family history, sedentary life and tobacco consumption predispose to heart attack and stroke. Cigarette smoking accelerates atherosclerosis and increases the clotting tendency of blood.
The malignancy men fear the most is prostate cancer and about 30,000 men will succumb to this disease this year. Approximately 180,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in a twelve-month period. Prevention and early detection is of paramount importance.
Risk factors for prostate cancer include:
obesity, family history of the disease, African-American race, large bone mass, age greater than fifty years, environmental exposure to toxins and certain chemicals, multiple sex partners, history of sexually transmitted diseases, tobacco use, and a diet high in animal fat and low in fruit and vegetables.
Stress is a known factor in the causation and progression of most diseases of mankind...especially operative in heart disease and cancer. Harmful stress is at an all time high due to adverse world events such as war and terrorism. The media repeats ad nauseam anxiety and fear evoking news. Work, stress, financial problems, strained family relationships and even traffic are examples of stressors for men.
Stress triggers release of adrenaline raising blood pressure and increasing the tension in the walls of the coronary arteries sometimes leading to rupture of plaque resulting in heart attack.
9-11 led to a significant hike in the number of heart attacks that day. We all know of someone who has dropped dead upon hearing bad news. There is an undeniable link between stress and heart disease.
Stress also leads to elaboration of hormones and chemicals which impairs the immune system influencing the development of cancer, reduces male hormone production and altars b rain function. It accelerates aging, too.
Men react differently to stress than women do. They are more likely to show aggressive behavior, use drugs and alcohol and become hypertensive. In denial of stress, men become hostile and angry, emotions which are toxic to the heart. Anger in men may be a cover for depression as men, unlike women, usually externalize by blaming others and disconnecting from their feelings. To reduce the psychic pain, men often will self medicate with drugs and alcohol, strike out in rage at others and isolate themselves from loved ones.
Non-pharmaceutical antidotes to stress include relaxation-training, meditation, breathing exercises, massage therapy, guided imagery, hypnosis, Tai Chi, yoga and laughter. There are volumes of medical literature attesting to the benefits of meditation. Dr. Herbert Benson's landmark book, The Relaxation Response, is recommended. Exercise is great for stress reduction and depression. Other techniques beneficial to men and emotional health are support groups, biofeedback and crani0-electrical stimulation. Herbs that may help would be Rhodeola, Valerian and Theonine. Kava although effective in producing calm cannot be recommended at this time due to reports of liver toxicity.
Men with serious emotional difficulties obviously need professional help. However, most men will be in denial so a family intervention may be needed. Awareness of male depression is increasing and hopefully this will help avert suicide which is much more common in men than women.
The role of risk reduction is the pathway to longevity and a life of quality to the end. The benefits of regular exercise cannot be overemphasized. Multiple studies from many countries show that there is significant death reduction with exercise in all age groups, one study indicating a forty five percent lower mortality rate.
One should exercise a minimum of thirty minutes three days per week , and it is best to include both aerobic and anaerobic forms. Before initiating any exercise program one should be get a medical checkup. Have a personal trainer design a program for your unique needs.
Proper diet is known to reduce the threat of cardiovascular disuse and cancer. Fruits and vegetables, small amounts of lean met or poultry, restricted salt and refine sugar intake, cold water wild fish three times per week and eliminate of dairy products except organic yogurt are all important. Tomato products, including catsup are rich in a chemical called lycopene, which promotes prostate health by reducing DNA damage. Soy products may help prevent prostate cancer and help the heart, too. Broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage contain Indole-3-carboinol which has a protective effect on the prostate. It is available as a supplement in capsule form.
Epigallocatechin, a polyphenol in green tea that appears to be toxic to prostate cancer cells, is a boon to tea lovers. You can get the extract of green tea, which is more potent. An additional plus is assisting weight loss via its thermogenic (fat burning) effect. Black tea with its anti-oxidants benefits the heart. Omega 3 fatty acids found in cold water fish, walnuts and soy beans has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Inflammation in the body tissues is felt to play a major role in the development of scanner, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Ground flax seed rich in lignans and Omega 3, protects the prostate and is highly recommended in men with prostate issues. Take fish oil daily as recommended by the American Heart Association."
These valuable tips from Dr. Joe Spano show how simple lifestyle behaviors ranging from meditation to nutrition can create the wholeness and harmony in the body, mind and soul that brings us health.
