Acknowledging men’s needs, when it comes to health, is the essence of what the Movember movement is all about, and this has never been more important than it is today. Two of the most critical concerns for men are heart health and maintaining energy.

How can men find the right balance?

The pressures on men are enormous. Not only are they balancing work pressure in the modern business environment; the need to meet targets and get ahead, but also the pressures of staying fit whilst supporting their families, often as the primary bread winner. (Yes I know how important this is for girls too but let’s just look at the guys for the moment). Men’s health needs are different from those of women and their nutritional needs are different too. Their bodies work differently and they have different calls on their nutritional resources.

Looking after Men’s Health

Men are often neglectful of their own health. As a broad generalisation, they tend to think that they are indestructible and see any suggestion that they are not, as weakness – although this attitude is changing now. So what can men do for themselves, to support and maintain their health and ensure that they retain vitality throughout their lives?

Supplements to support Men’s Health

It seems that eating well is not enough to provide all the nutrition men need, so supplementation is the key to staying fit and well.

Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 is naturally present in your body (in almost every cell). It acts as an antioxidant and helps you convert food into energy. This means it can improve energy production in cells and it also prevents the formation of blood clots

• Heart Health Statistics from the Australian Government state that ‘After adjusting for age, men were twice as likely as women to have a heart attack’. Heart health is essential, both for the health of the heart muscle itself and also for energy. It is well established that as you age you get tired more easily as you become less efficient at producing energy

• High Cholesterol While the jury is still out on how safe Statin drugs may be,  there seems to be strong evidence that Statin drugs reduce your body’s natural levels of CoQ10 and that supplementing with CoQ10 can correct that deficit as well as decreasing muscle pain which often comes when taking Statins

• High Blood Pressure and Diabetes CoQ10 can also benefit blood sugar and blood pressure levels in those with Diabetes and possibly with Metabolic Syndrome too

Bee Pollen

Bee Pollen is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet and is the richest source of vitamins found naturally in a single food, so to call it a superfood is probably an understatement! To quote the director of the prestigious US Education Athletic Club in the US: “Bee Pollen allows super-stars to increase their strength and stamina up to 25 percent. This increase in strength and endurance may be the key to the secret regenerative power of bee pollen. Bee pollen causes a definite decrease in pulse rate. The whole beauty of bee pollen is that it's as natural as you can get. No chemicals. No steroids." It has also been called ‘the greatest body builder on earth’. The studies on Bee Pollen are too numerous to mention but one thing they all agree on is that it is a complete food as well as being an energy tonic.

Mr Vitamins recommends

• Nature Clinic CoQ10
• Natural Life Bee Pollen

Find out more about

Nature Clinic CoQ10 here and Natural Life Bee Pollen here And rememeber for great health and nutrition advice you can always 'Ask a Naturopath' at Mr Vitamins