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While many of our HTMA clients and followers are women, we have had our fair share of guys that have wanted to get on the path to better health and wellness. Many things are “unisex” as far as treatments and recommendations go but I wanted to put together a post that can be used as a go-to for all the guys that want to heal themselves. There are many things that are great for holistic health for men.
There has always been a stigma against men that they don’t ever ask for help when it comes to their own health. For some, this is still true! But in the last few years that has been a HUGE shift and more people are taking responsibility for their own health and wellness. This is everything from changing their diet to working on emotional trauma. As we get out of the trend of telling our boys to “man up” or “take it like a man”, we can really start to realize that men need healing too and there is NOTHING wrong with that.
Basic Health Suggestions
Just like with everyone else, foundational care is crucial for men too. For us at Sassy Holistics, foundational care includes healing the gut, liver, and adrenals plus working on nutrition, underlying issues (infection, traumas, etc), and reducing stress overall. For basic health I would usually recommend starting with gut and liver support. If you’re dealing with bloating, food intolerances, constipation, insomnia, hair loss/thinning, or mood issues then I would definitely start with some basic gut and liver support:
Basic Gut and Liver Support for Men:
- Apple cider vinegar is one of the easiest and most popular ways to help increase stomach acid and utilize your nutrients better. Most people dilute 1-2 Tablespoons of ACV in 4-8 ounces of water about 15 minutes before meals. This helps prep your stomach for incoming food, and it will help with digesting your food better immediately. If you can’t stand ACV on its own, try making switchel!
- Bitter Herbs stimulate the production of stomach acid, digestive enzymes, AND bile flow! We have bitter taste buds on our tongues for a reason- we are meant to use bitter foods to aid our digestive processes. Current diets tend to lack that bitter taste. We love Herb Pharm Better Bitters sprays. Super easy to use- just spray your tongue 4 times before each meal. That’s it!
- Bioray Liver Life is our favorite liver healer hands down. Within 15 days of being on the full dose, the liver can heal by about 50%! It’s super strong and one of the best supporters for men that are working on overall health and wellness.
- Dandelion root decoctions or tea– One of the EASIEST ways to help the liver is dandelion root tea. Go for ROOT for longer term use though, not the leaf (leaf is the majorly diuretic part of the plant). Dandelion can help those healing from cancer, infections, hepatitis, and its main purpose is to help cleanse the body. It can be helpful for hypoglycemia, UTIs, blood pressure regulation, acne, weight loss, anemia, jaundice, constipation, and more. Dandelion cleans toxicities from the blood, lymph system, kidneys, liver and urinary system. Since dandelion is a bitter herb, it is amazing for digestion.
Read more about Foundational Care Support Here!
Hormonal Balancing for Men
Women are copper dominant, but men are zinc dominant. Copper is essential for estrogen balancing and zinc is essential for testosterone and progesterone. Men are also at risk for having an imbalance with copper and zinc thanks to our modern world. We need healthy adrenals and a strong liver to balance copper and zinc. For many people, we have to balance copper FIRST before zinc normalizes since copper is a main reason why zinc levels are lower.
One big issue that I have noticed over the years is that men tend to be heavy metal magnets. I see heavy metals on HTMAs for men a lot more than I do for women (same goes for kids- boys tend to have more issues with heavy metals). I have not seen specific reasons for this before but I suspect it has a lot to do with the relationship between zinc and heavy metals. Heavy metal toxicity (especially mercury and cadmium) can interfere with zinc absorption. This could be why boys are more often affected with vaccine injury than girls too. Just my own theory though with what I know and have seen.
Balancing Copper and Zinc
Everyone needs the same basics when working on copper and zinc balancing: work on minerals, support the adrenals, and work on liver healing. You can get an HTMA and a blood panel for copper serum, ceruloplasmin, and zinc plasma/serum to help with determining the exact issues going on with these minerals. HTMA is essential because it will help to show the strength of your adrenals and we can get an idea of how stressed out your liver is too.
While RDA’s aren’t a great way at determining nutritional needs, I always thought it was interesting that the zinc RDA for men was 15mg while for women it was 8mg. Men need a LOT more zinc than women do due to the need for testosterone and progesterone.
The suggestions above for gut and liver support can be big helpers with copper/zinc balancing as well. I would also do your best to work on liver support and bile flow as much as you can, plus make sure you are getting a good amount of fiber in your diet. Fiber helps us to clean out the bile- bile is what picks up excess copper, hormones, heavy metals, and other toxins to be excreted.
Getting Zinc in Your Diet
Zinc is a critical nutrient that many people are deficient in. Zinc is needed for hundreds of enzyme reactions in the body and is extremely important for our health. It is very easy in this day and age to become zinc deficient because of a few factors. We tend to “waste” zinc while we are stressed, so we burn through it quicker. Vegetarian and vegan diets are very low in zinc, but the SAD diet is also very low in zinc.
We need sufficient stomach acid to even digest and utilize zinc, so even if people are getting enough of it they might not be absorbing it well. Although even with sufficient stomach acid, we do not absorb zinc very well! So this is why working on gut and liver healing is CRUCIAL if you want to actually fix your nutritional deficiencies.
Supplemental zinc can cause issues for many people. Too much isolated zinc can actually create a copper deficiency over just the span of a few weeks. There are many ways to get a good amount of zinc in your diet (and remember- working on gut is essential so you can utilize your zinc!).
You can find zinc in oysters, beef and lamb, wheat germ and pumpkin seeds. Look for the best quality beef, lamb, and oysters that you can find. Grass-fed beef is a lot easier to find these days luckily. Check out this post here for clean eating tips. We also have a great option to get a high quality oyster supplement now for those that don’t like actually eating them! Earthley has the Oyster-Min Capsules! Get your zinc in balance with copper, iron, B12, and other crucial nutrients to help with hormonal balancing, sleep, better energy and more.
Perfect Supplements also has this plant protein powder now that is a great source of zinc, phosphorus, protein, fiber, and more. It is a Complete Protein Powder with all 9 essential amino acids, it has 17 Grams of Protein per serving; 224mg of Magnesium per serving ;270mg of Potassium per serving. Just 3 Ingredients: Pumpkin Seeds, Hemp Seeds, and Sacha Inchi! Packed with phytonutrients! Use the code SASSY for 10% off your whole order.
Herbal Support for Men
There are many herbs that are amazing for men’s health luckily. We do use and recommend a few big ones in our HTMA protocols when needed and we have seen that they can be so amazing for our male clients!
Oatstraw Herbal Infusion
We love using herbal infusions for everyone that will use them! While most of the infusions are fine for men, we have seen that oatstraw tends to fit men better than the other main herbs. Oatstraw is the infusion that is highest in magnesium and zinc, helps with detoxing heavy metals, and is amazing at healing the nervous system. Click here to read my post on herbal infusions to learn more.
Oat Milky Seed Tincture
Oat milky seed has many of the same benefits of Oatstraw, just in tincture form. Infusions are best used for the action of the herb PLUS you get a very high amount of minerals and vitamins. Tinctures are more for the action of the herb. But oat milky seed is the BEST herb out there for restoring the nervous system, building up energy stores, and it can also well known for supporting men’s hormonal health (and increasing libido). Herb Pharm has a great quality tincture for oat milky seed.
Saw Palmetto
Saw Palmetto is a popular herb to use for prostate health. It’s main use is to help with Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy. Because it is great for the prostate, it actually can help with preventing prostate cancer as well! Saw palmetto can help with holding onto testosterone better in the body, and it can also support the health of the male urinary system in general. You can use saw palmetto on its own, but Herb Pharm also has a tincture specific for Prostate health here.
Nettle Root
If you have been following Sassy Holistics for a while you likely already know that we love nettle leaf for herbal infusions. Nettle leaf is amazing on its own and is great for nearly everyone, but nettle root is more specific for men’s health. Like saw palmetto, nettle root is great for supporting a healthy prostate. You can find nettle root with saw palmetto in the Prostate Health tincture from Herb Pharm or in this tincture from Herbalist & Alchemist. Nettle root is also amazing for joint support, urinary tract health, respiratory issues, and gout.
BioRay’s Red Rooster
Red Rooster is a tincture that is specific for balancing hormones for men, and can also be used in addition to Loving Energy. Red Rooster can also help with boosting overall endurance, even with athletic performance.
Herbalist and Alchemist
H&A is another company that we LOVE, and they have an amazing line of herbal tinctures specific for men based on their needs too.
Earthley’s Nourish Him Naturally
This awesome formula from Earthley is amazing for overall health and wellness for men. It is formulated with nutrient dense herbs that support adrenal, heart, and prostate health. This tincture can help with supporting better energy levels, better sleep, more balanced hormones, and overall better health. Check it out here!
Want to learn more about liver healing and copper balancing?
The body is a whole and we must treat it as such! I have my Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences, certificates in Herbal Studies from Herbal Academy, and I am constantly learning more about health to help my clients and followers.
My goal is to help you unleash your own inner healer! You already hold the power to heal inside you. My role is as a guide to help you realize this potential.
