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Strategic Minerals | Vitamin E Until recently, advice about dietary minerals was a pretty sexist business. As if there was something deficient in being female, women were encouraged to seek out calcium, iron, folate, and other minerals. Yet at the same time, men were assumed to be fully equipped with all they need to flourish. The truth, of course, is that neither men nor women are necessarily short on essential minerals. It simply depends on what we eat. But it's equally true that both men and women can have health problems if they don't get the right amounts of the right minerals. The real revolution, though, is that in the past few years we've finally gotten a pretty good idea what minerals men need. And no one should be surprised to learn that men's needs are just as significant as are women's. We've also learned that these minerals interact in complex ways. One may not work well without another, or an excess of one may suppress another. So it's best not to use supplements. You're better off seeking food sources that include these strategic minerals. Calcium Copper Magnesium Potassium There's also a mineral that men should avoid getting too much of: iron. Men with high levels of an iron-related substance in their blood are much more likely to have heart attacks. For that reason, avoid supplements containing iron, and try to drink fruit juice, skim milk, or tea when you eat meats that contain iron, since the beverages will inhibit iron's absorption. I
know, it sounds complicated. Actually, though it can be pretty simple:
Just look through the food sources for each mineral, and be sure to
include one (no excuse here for loading up on beer and steak) serving
in each category every day. Each year, American men swallow their fair share of around a half-billion dollars worth of vitamin E. That much we know. What we don't know, however, is how much hype they're swallowing at the same time. Vitamin E is one of the "antioxidant" vitamins, so called because it helps prevent aggressive substances called free radicals (toxic chemicals or cholesterol, for example) in your body from damaging (oxidizing) healthy cells. It has been touted as a cure everything from heart disease, to cancer, to impotency, to the very process of aging. It's only human—and especially male!—to look for a silver bullet, so let's examine these claims to see what vitamin E can and can't do for you. Heart
Disease Cancer Sexuality Aging Don't get the impression that vitamin E doesn't work. The evidence is strong that taking a 400-international-unit supplement every day will help protect you from heart disease and cancer, and there's little evidence to suggest that it will do you any harm. (People with bleeding problems shouls consult their doctors before taking vitamin E.) I take it, and most of the doctors I know do, too. The reason I present a fairly critical review of vitamin E is because it is not a silver bullet. Guys, popping a pill per day doesn't give you a license to make a burger and fries your regular lunch. Nor does it let you off from the need to get regular, moderate exercise. Vitamin
E can help, but it's only part of your live-better plan.
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