Tip 1—Spread It Out
I am a firm believer in moderation and balance. I believe you can enjoy your treats 10 –20 percent of the time if 80–90 percent of the time you follow a healthy plan. This is the old 80/20 rule. Most Halloween candy has an extended shelf life so there is no hurry to gobble it up this week. Take a look at the amount of candy you have and plan out when you would like to enjoy it. The best way to enjoy your treats is to spread them out over time. This way you can look forward to a little bit of a treat over a longer period of time, rather than a whole lot of candy that will leave you with a belly ache.

Tip 2—Out of Site, Out of Mind
In conjunction with spreading your consumption of Halloween treats out over the next few weeks or months it is often helpful to put the treats away where you do not have easy access to them. The more effort it takes to get a snack the less likely you are to actually go and get it. If you carry your treats in your jacket, purse, car, or leave them in a bowl on the table you are putting temptation too close. Keep the stockpile of candy and chocolate out of your view, out of reach, and they will more likely stay out of your mind. And, if they don’t stay out of your mind, at least the thought of getting a step ladder to get them out of a locked pantry shelf may prevent you from actually going to get them.

Tip 3—Eat Preventatively
You may be thinking that the first two tips sound great but they are essentially ways to address willpower. What about something that may actually help my physiology? The most important way to impact your cravings is by “eating preventatively.” What I mean by this is a strategy of eating through the day that successfully decreases your desire for sweet “pick-me-ups.”

Eating preventatively involves eating a meal or snack every 2–4 hours. Each of these meals or snacks contains an appropriate amount and type of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. This strategy is designed to prevent blood sugar fluctuations that lead to cravings. When your blood sugar drops because you ate too much refined carbohydrates or because it’s been too long since your last meal/ snack your body has built in mechanisms to cause cravings for sugar.

Your brain runs off sugar and when your blood sugar goes too low your body shifts into what is called gluconeogenesis. This literally means to create new sugar, and this new sugar comes from your body’s protein structures like bone, muscle, and connective tissue. Think about the timing of when you crave sugary chocolaty treats. Is it when you’ve just eaten a balanced meal or is it when your blood sugar has dropped due to some sort of less than ideal dietary habit.

In Conclusion
Halloween and other holidays have a lot in common when it comes to the availability of chocolate and treats. Enjoy the bounty you received this year but do your best to follow these three tips so you look back with fond memories to the treats you enjoyed rather than looking back with horror about the stomach aches you endured.

The post Too Much Halloween Candy? appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

The prostate is a golf ball-sized gland located between the bladder, rectum, and penis in the male genitourinary system. It surrounds the urethra, which is the passageway for urine from the bladder and sperm from the testis. The prostate produces and secretes a milky alkaline fluid that makes up about 25 percent of the volume of sperm. Prostatic fluid provides energy for sperm on the journey to the female egg, contains enzymes required to break through proteins, and contains a natural antibiotic to help prevent infections.

Why Does the Prostate Gland Enlarge?
The prostate gland grows slowly from birth to puberty. Between puberty and age 30 it grows more rapidly as the endocrine system enters adulthood. Between the ages of 30 and 45 the size of the prostate typically remains relatively unchanged. However, the prostate gland often begins to grow again for most men after the age of 45. Generally, the prostate will continue to grow for the rest of a man’s life. There is no known physiological reason for the enlargement of the prostate but the cause is believed to be due to an increase in androgen hormones in the body, specifically DHT.

What Are the Signs? How Is It Detected? When Should It Be Treated?
Prostate enlargement is generally associated with clinical symptoms like difficulty urinating or ejaculating, urinary frequency or urgency, incomplete emptying of the bladder, incontinence, or terminal dribbling. It is recommended that men over the age of 40 have yearly prostate exams as a preventative screening technique. If the prostate begins to harden and enlarge a preventative strategy should be implemented to help reduce or prevent further growth and development of symptoms.

Naturopathic Treatment for Prostate Enlargement

Our goal is to determine the underlying causes of prostate enlargement for each patient and formulate a treatment strategy that addresses those underlying causes. Diets high in pesticides, chemicals, cholesterol, and alcohol are associated with prostate enlargement. Diets low in essential nutrients like zinc and essential fatty acids are also linked to prostate enlargement. Several botanicals, like saw palmetto, and nutritional supplements have been shown to reduce prostate enlargement by reducing the formation of DHT. Naturopathic treatments are also indicated for people with current urinary symptoms. Hydrotherapy, botanical medicine, acupuncture, massage, and homeopathics have been used successfully for decades to treat symptoms of prostate enlargement. If you are interested in more information please consult your naturopathic physician about individualized treatment.

The post Naturopathic Approach to Prostate Health appeared first on Total Health Magazine.