Male Order Health

The human male has a distinct physiology that brings its own health opportunities and challenges. In this special report we look at the natural and preventive health strategies a man can use to stay healthy for a lifetime.

- Karen Bridgman

We all have male and female qualities within us, but men and women do have physical differences that mean differences in how their health plays out over a lifetime. The days of men refusing to talk about their health are, hopefully, behind us but some men can still be less than enthusiastic about supporting their own health. It’s worthwhile bringing together in one spot all that we know about male health and how that health can be supported with natural measures. It all begins, of course, with the fundamental nature of the male anatomy.

MALE BASICS

Anatomically, the male reproductive system comprises the testes and the penis with a system of ducts and glands, including the prostate. The testes are a pair of egg-shaped glands that sit in the scrotum on the outside of the body next to the penis and it’s these (stimulated by the action of pituitary hormones) that produce both sperm and the male hormone, testosterone. The brain, through hormone regulation by the pituitary and hypothalamus, plays a critical role in the control of the male reproductive system.

In young men, the prostate is about 20g (the size of a walnut) but it becomes enlarged as men age. The prostate doubles in size between the ages of 21 and 50, then doubles again from 50 to 80 years old, although it’s not fully understood why this happens. The growth of the prostate relies on testosterone and, if it grows too large, it can slow or stop the flow of urine.

Testosterone