Dietary Beauty and Bodybuilding Guide for Men, Physiological Mechanisms of Zinc Deficiency-Induced Infertility, and Benefits of Bee Products

In addition to referring to the dietary health care of young women, young men should also pay attention to the following points regarding their diet and fitness: (1) Appropriate intake of meat: Young men have significantly higher energy expenditure than women of the same age, so they should eat more meat to supplement their body's needs. Generally, they should eat more lean meat. Animal offal has a high cholesterol content and should not be consumed in excess. (2) Pay attention to calcium intake: The importance of calcium is often overlooked by young people. Calcium deficiency can also lead to discomfort in various parts of the body, and in severe cases, it can induce various diseases. Therefore, during adolescence, young people should also pay attention to consuming foods rich in calcium, such as soy products, seafood, dairy products, sesame paste, and bok choy. (3) Avoid excessive drinking: Li Shizhen, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, once pointed out that drinking a small amount of alcohol can "clear the blood vessels, dispel heat, kill evil, and expel poison." However, excessive drinking can cause alcoholic cirrhosis and induce various diseases such as heart disease. (4) Prohibit smoking: Smoking is no different from drug use. Cigarettes contain dozens of carcinogens and other harmful substances that are extremely harmful to the human body. Long-term smoking can lead to dull and loose skin.

Zinc is one of the important trace elements for maintaining human health, promoting growth and development, metabolism, regulating the immune system and brain cell function. The total amount of zinc in a normal human body is about 3 grams. Although the content of zinc in the human body is very small, it is inseparable from human health and reproductive physiology. (1) The effect of zinc deficiency on the development of male sex organs: Zinc plays an important role from the beginning of fertilization in the development of the embryo and from the birth to the entire growth period from newborn to adolescence. At the beginning of life, after the sperm and egg fuse, the fertilized egg proliferates through mitosis, which rapidly increases the number of cells. The prerequisite for cell mitosis is that the genetic material DNA is replicated into two copies, so that each cell after division gets a complete copy of DNA. The enzymes required in the process of DNA replication and transcription, as well as more than 80 important enzymes in cells, are zinc-containing enzymes. Therefore, zinc is needed throughout the development of the embryo and fetus to maintain the activity of these enzymes. If the pregnant mother is zinc deficient, it will lead to fetal malformation. Zinc deficiency in adolescence will cause growth and development and sexual development disorders. As early as 1961, American doctors discovered a type of adolescent nutritional dwarfism caused by zinc deficiency in Iran, Egypt and other places. Patients not only had short stature, severe anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, but also low sexual function, incomplete development of secondary sexual characteristics, and incomplete development of pubic hair and genitals. With zinc treatment, the above symptoms could disappear or return to normal. (2) Zinc deficiency can lead to male infertility: Studies in the past ten years have found that the fertility problems of some patients with low fertility are related to the lack of trace elements. The trace elements known to be related to fertility are mainly zinc, copper, selenium, manganese and magnesium. They not only participate in maintaining the composition of sperm, but also participate in maintaining the stability of the sperm survival environment and are closely related to sperm maturation. Among these trace elements, zinc deficiency is the most common. Data shows that zinc is positively correlated with the quality of semen and the density of sperm. Scientists have found that the seminiferous epithelium in the testes that produces sperm must have enough zinc to provide raw materials. Therefore, zinc deficiency in the human body can cause the seminiferous epithelium to atrophy. Such people can have a significantly reduced sperm count when their semen is tested. Low sperm count is a major factor leading to infertility. Zinc also has the function of giving sperm good motility. Therefore, zinc deficiency will reduce sperm motility and lead to infertility. For male infertility caused by zinc deficiency, it can be treated by oral zinc supplements such as zinc sulfate. After zinc supplementation, the patient's serum zinc, plasma testosterone content and sperm count in semen will increase exponentially, thereby restoring fertility. (3) Dietary prevention and treatment of zinc deficiency: The only correct way to prevent and treat zinc deficiency is to have a balanced diet. In layman's terms, it means eating a variety of foods. As long as you don't pick and choose your food, you can get enough zinc from your regular diet. The zinc supply in my country is 15 mg for adults. If each person eats 120 grams of animal food every day, they can get 4.2 mg of zinc; if they eat about 1 kg of grains and vegetables, they can get 10-15 mg of zinc. So, they can get 14.2-19.2 mg of zinc every day, which is enough to meet the supply standard. The best strategy to prevent and treat zinc deficiency is to expand the range of dietary structure as much as possible. Based on expert advice, food sources can generally be obtained from the following three categories: ① Animal-based food sources: seafood, fresh oysters, clams, seaweed, snails, river shrimp, animal liver, kidneys, beef, mutton, lean pork, chicken, duck, etc. ② Plant-based food sources: A. Vegetables: Chinese cabbage, white radish, green beans, edamame, broad beans, mung beans, cowpeas, peas, bok choy, shepherd's purse, leeks, celery, eggplant, amaranth, green garlic, potatoes, pumpkin, cucumber, etc. B. Fruits: apples, bananas, lychees, arrowhead, walnuts, nuts, etc. C. Agricultural and sideline products: rice, corn, wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat, peanuts, sesame, potatoes, tea, cocoa, whole milk powder, etc. ③ Drug sources: Polygonum multiflorum, Platycladus orientalis seed, peach kernel, tortoise shell, turtle shell, zinc sulfate, zinc gluconate, zinc acetate, zinc chloride, N-acetylproline zinc, as well as zinc-fortified beverages, zinc tablets, etc.

For busy white-collar men who use their brains extensively, it is important to pay attention to nourishing their bodies. In the past, people were used to using stews with Chinese medicine to nourish their bodies. This method was effective, but it took several hours, and not everyone had the time to do it consistently. Therefore, people are looking for a product that can achieve the goals of fitness, strengthening the body, and beautifying the skin without taking up too much time. This product is bee products, which are a natural tonic. There are many kinds of bee products, including honey, fresh royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis, and many other varieties. (1) Honey: This is the most traditional and pollution-free green food. It is said to contain 12 kinds of minerals, 10 kinds of vitamins, and 16 kinds of acids. It has many functions such as hematopoiesis and sterilization. Women can also use it to make face masks. Honey has different functions depending on the type of flower. For example, acacia honey focuses on nourishing the heart and kidneys and beautifying the skin; Codonopsis honey is more inclined to nourish blood and strengthen the kidneys; jujube honey nourishes the stomach and replenishes deficiency and balances yin and yang; honeysuckle honey is prominent in clearing heat; osmanthus honey is known as the king of honey and has a variety of effects on regulating the internal environment of the human body, and has a pure and fragrant taste; citrus honey is good for sobering up and diuresis. (2) Fresh royal jelly: It is a milky white paste secreted by the mammary glands of worker bees. Its unique taste is composed of sour, sweet, astringent and spicy flavors. It is the most popular tonic in recent years. Frozen royal jelly is called fresh royal jelly. Because royal jelly comes from the essence of plants in nature, it contains more than 70 kinds of nutrients. Its nutritional level is higher than that of human colostrum and normal milk, and it is equivalent to the embryonic tissue fluid of animals. It contains a lot of anti-aging substances and has a certain curative effect on various liver diseases, diabetes and other diseases. (3) Pure bee pollen: Bee pollen is also known as edible cosmetics. There are records of its effects as early as more than 2,000 years ago. It has multiple benefits such as low fat, high protein, complete nutrition, and pure natural, containing various amino acids, vitamins, and more than 80 kinds of active enzymes needed by the human body. At present, there are several products of pure bee pollen, such as camellia pollen, codonopsis pollen, rapeseed pollen, and buckwheat pollen. Camellia pollen is a beauty pollen; codonopsis pollen has good nourishing properties; rapeseed pollen has a high content of flavonoids and anthocyanins, so it has significant effects on arteriosclerosis, varicose veins, and ulcers, and can also enhance capillary elasticity and prevent stroke; buckwheat pollen contains flavonoids, which have auxiliary effects on cardiovascular diseases, promoting wound tissue healing, and anti-cancer. In 2001, fresh bee pollen was widely used in the fields of beauty, medical treatment, sports, and nutritional health food internationally. (4) Propolis: also known as the treasure of skin health. It is said that propolis has certain effects on skin pruritus, neurodermatitis, radiation dermatitis, etc., and can be antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, improve subcutaneous tissue blood circulation, and can also treat psoriasis.