Man To Man

Natural Health, March, 1999 by Rob Ivker

Straight Talk On Your Health and Life

I Need More Fat?

I've always thought that too much fatty food causes weight problems and heart disease. But now I hear that good fats can help prevent prostate problems. Please explain.

Dietary fats confuse many people today. Fats are a necessary part of a healthy diet. They serve a number of important functions: They carry oxygen, absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), and nourish the skin, mucous membranes, and nerves. But the kinds and proportion of fats you eat are as important as the total amounts. Men often consume too many saturated fats--found in large amounts in red meats--which can lead to heart disease and certain cancers. They also consume dangerous amounts of fats known as trans fats, which are found in fried foods and hydrogenated oils such as margarine (look for hydrogenated oils on the labels of everything from corn chips to chocolate). According to Walter Willet, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, increased intake of trans fats in recent decades has been correlated with a dramatic rise in prostate cancer. Meanwhile, men (most Americans, in fact) consume too little of a particular group of essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in cold-water fish (such as herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, and tuna) as well as flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds. Deficiencies of these EFAs, known as omega-3s, can lead to prostate enlargement, as well as sterility, arthritis, and eczema.

To enhance your overall health, including that of your prostate, you don't want to simply eliminate all fat from your diet. Instead, make fats a moderate part of your diet (between 20 to 30 percent of your calories should come from fats), and make omega-3s a mainstay of your fat intake.

Here's what I do to make sure I get the right amount of omega-3s and avoid harmful fats. First, I eat little red meat and I avoid trans fats (read labels). Next, I look for ways to include in my diet more omega-3s by eating cold-water fish at least a couple of times a week. And almost daily I make a leafy green salad topped with a homemade dressing that includes 1 or 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil, lemon juice from a half lemon, and some fresh herbs. On top I sprinkle a small handful of pumpkin seeds, which are high in the mineral zinc that's vital to healthy prostates, and sunflower seeds. These seeds are "fatty," but they're rich in omega-6 oils, which, when eaten in lesser amounts than omega-3s, can be part of a healthy diet. While traveling I take omega-3 (often sold as fish oil capsules) and evening primrose oil capsules (high in omega-6s), both of which can be found in any health food store.

Hair Loss Grief

I'm 35 and have recently started to lose my hair. I see from your picture that you have already gone through this. I'm having a hard time. How do you deal with it?

Since my father and maternal grandfather were both bald, I knew my chances of keeping my hair weren't great. I thought I was emotionally prepared to lose my hair at an early age. Yet around the age of 30, when I first started seeing clumps of my beautiful (well, to me it was) black hair falling into the sink, I was not a happy guy.

Losing our hair can seem like a big loss. Although I didn't realize it at the time, I went through a nearly 1 O-year grieving process not unlike what people go through after the loss of a person they love. Initially there was denial ("maybe I'm brushing too hard"); then anger ("damn, why me--my brother has a full head of hair"); then mild depression.

Depression is quickly followed by bargaining ("maybe I can do something about this"). At the age of 37 I bought a hairpiece, which I wore throughout the winter. (At least 40 percent of body heat is lost through the scalp.) It was the perfect hat. I liked the way it looked and I could take it off when I exercised and during the heat of summer. And I tried a few "miracle" cures. For a year I massaged a mixture of cayenne pepper, olive oil, and avocado into my scalp and let it sit there under a shower cap for 30 minutes, while I drank a noxious-smelling tea prepared from Chinese herbs. When I looked closely, I could see a few new sprouts of hair. My desperate and (to my wife and daughters) ridiculous efforts were all in vain, so to speak. But they served a purpose. I felt I had given it my best shot. At the age of 40, I was finally ready to accept my loss.

Acceptance is the final stage of grieving over loss, and each of us takes our own path to get there. While most people cannot take shortcuts and must go through denial, anger, depression, and bargaining, you can speed up the process. For example, it helps if you express your feelings to someone. In not talking about how I felt, I prolonged the time it took me to reach acceptance.

It is also helpful to know that as you grow older your hair loss will seem less significant. For me today, it honestly means nothing. I have other, more important things to give my attention to--things, by the way, that I do have some control over, like how I eat to maintain a healthy heart, or how much time I spend with my family.