Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process

Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process

You Are What You Eat: How To Improve Your Testosterone Through Diet

Julio Carr

You've probably heard the statement, "You are what you eat," dozens of times — but that statement is often truer than people realize. If you're suffering from problems with your testosterone levels, what you're eating may be one of the underlying causes.

A normal testosterone level for your age and sex is healthy, and not just for your sex drive — it also helps you maintain your bone mass, keeps your muscles strong and healthy, and contributes toward hair growth. A low testosterone level may require medical care and hormone replacement therapy to fix. However, you can encourage your body's natural hormone production by eating — and avoiding — certain foods.

What Foods Can Boost Your Testosterone Production?

Zinc, a mineral, and vitamin D are two of the major components of testosterone production. Increasing your intake of these nutrients can ensure that you aren't accidentally depriving your body of the building blocks it needs to remain healthy.

Some of the best sources available for these nutrients include:

  • Beef
  • Liver
  • Beans
  • Tuna, whether canned or fresh
  • Salmon
  • Shellfish (including Oysters)
  • Sardines
  • Fortified milk
  • Eggs (especially the yolks)
  • Fortified cereal

Women need 8 mg per day of zinc, while men need 11 mg per day. Everyone under the age of 70 should have about 15 mcg per day of vitamin D. Aim for these amounts as you plan out your diet.

Can Other Eating Habits Lower Your Testosterone Levels?

Just like a proper diet can gradually improve your testosterone levels, a diet that's too heavy in the wrong food items can impair it. If you're concerned about your declining testosterone level, it's smarter to limit or avoid the following:

  • Alcohol: Alcohol can damage your entire endocrine system, which is what controls your body's hormone production.
  • Aspartame: Artificial sweeteners can impair your body's ability to use serotonin, the "happy" chemical produced by your brain. In turn, this can cause your sex drive to drop and your testosterone levels to fall.
  • Processed Bread: Skip the white bread or that breakfast donut, and stick with whole grains to avoid filling up on empty calories that are devoid of essential nutrition.
  • Processed Meat and Cheese: Many animals used in the production of mass-marketed meat and cheese (like the kind found in supermarket delis) are fed hormones and antibiotics that can affect humans secondhand.

If you suspect that your testosterone levels are fading, take a good look at your diet and see if you need to make some adjustments. If that isn't the problem, however, don't hesitate to seek a physician's assessment and testosterone replacement therapy.


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Elderly Care: Helping You Deal With the Dying Process

As an elderly care worker, I have witnessed the deaths of many individuals. I have seen family members become angry, sad, and completely silent at the end. I have also seen individuals refuse to see family members out of denial. People deal with death in different ways, and the strong emotions are often unfamiliar and scary. If you have a parent or grandparent who is elderly, then I want to share with you what I know about end of life care and dying process. We are a society that does not talk about death, and this can cause great pain when a family member dies. Learn about the process and find out how to deal with your own emotions and how to love your family members at the end. If there is only a small amount of time left, then I want you to cherish the final moments.

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