Getting healthy and staying healthy is as much about nutrition as it is about exercise. Men who want to get into bodybuilding or just be healthier and happier overall can often address their body needs with the way they eat. This includes getting enough antioxidants to prevent certain cancers, such as prostate cancer. They also need protein-rich foods to build muscle and repair their bodies, foods that promote testosterone, and foods containing substances that stimulate blood circulation.
If you’re interested in knowing which foods to eat to cover all of those needs, read through this list of the 15 best foods for men. At the end of this article, I’ll recap by sharing three quick tips you can remember to help you boost your own health quickly.
15 Top Ideas For Healthy Food For Men
- Pomegranates
- Brazil Nuts
- Turmeric
- Spinach
- Quinoa
- Cayenne Pepper
- Broccoli
- Beef
- Strawberries
- Kale
- Eggs
- Pine Nuts
- Citrus Fruits
- Poultry
- Cherries
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are packed with nutrients that could help boost men’s health in several ways. These fruits have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. Eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice could help combat prostate cancer. The strong antioxidants could help improve erectile dysfunction, too.
Pomegranates are also good for heart health, which is important because heart disease is the number one killer of men in the United States. Pomegranates contain flavonoids that slow the occurrence of atherosclerosis, and the anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants help protect the heart. Eating pomegranates could also lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and improve blood flow to the heart.
Brazil Nuts
Brazil nuts contain high amounts of selenium, a trace mineral that has several health benefits. Selenium boosts immunity, lowers inflammation, helps maintain a proper thyroid function, and has a strong antioxidant effect. It’s also necessary for producing testosterone and developing healthy sperm in men.
However, too much selenium can be dangerous, so it’s important to get just enough of it every day. Brazil nuts are one of the best sources of selenium. Adolescent and grown men need around 40-70 mcg of selenium every day. An ounce-sized serving (picture around 6 Brazil nuts) contains 543.5 mcg or around 988% of the daily recommendation for selenium.
The selenium in Brazil nuts could also help protect the heart.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a root herb in the same family as ginger. It has a bright orange-yellow flesh, and it’s often used to flavor dishes such as yellow curry.
Turmeric has several health benefits, and many of them are linked to one of its key compounds, called curcumin. Turmeric is effective at reducing inflammation, and it has some antidepressant effects. It’s also great for the skin, joints, and for the digestive system.
When it comes to food for men’s health, turmeric helps protect the heart and lungs, and it could help protect against prostate enlargement and inflammation. Turmeric could also be used to treat erectile dysfunction naturally. Some animal studies suggest it could be more effective than Viagra or Cialis.
Spinach
Spinach is a well-known green, leafy vegetable with several properties that make it great for building health in almost anyone. It’s a low-calorie, high fiber vegetable that fits well with ketogenic eating or bodybuilding dietary requirements. It’s also rich in vitamins, like vitamin A and folate. A cup of raw spinach provides 16% of the daily requirement for vitamin A, 15% for folate, 9% for vitamin C, and 121% for vitamin K, which is important for bone health.
Spinach is also rich in minerals that have a huge impact on men’s health and libido. Spinach is a good source of magnesium, zinc, manganese, potassium, iron, calcium, and selenium. Nutrients like manganese and iron help create a healthy blood flow to all parts of the male body.
Quinoa
Quinoa is a seed that’s packed with nutrients like amino acids, fiber, and minerals. These seeds swell up when cooked in water, and they often make a nice substitution in dishes that call for white rice.
A cup of cooked quinoa provides around 16% of the daily recommendation for protein, as well as 19% for dietary fiber. It contains several essential amino acids, including valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and histidine. It’s great for bodybuilding diets.
It’s also rich in several minerals and vitamins that help boost men’s health. A cup-sized serving provides 18% of the daily recommendation for zinc, 9% for selenium, 51% for manganese, 30% for magnesium, and 15% for iron. It’s also a good source of folate and several B vitamins.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne is a mildly hot, thin, red pepper that’s used as a spice in many dishes. This pepper contains relatively high levels of capsaicin, a compound with several health benefits. Capsaicin helps increase metabolism, and it could have a positive impact on blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, so it protects heart health. Check out this list for more foods for heart health.
Cayenne peppers have anti-inflammatory properties, too, and they could be used to help treat congestion in the body. It’s also a natural stimulant for circulation to all parts of the body. In many parts of the world, cayenne pepper is also thought of as an aphrodisiac.
Broccoli
Besides being a delicious side dish, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables contain a substance called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound that helps protect against many types of cancers, including prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and liver cancer.
There’s another plus to eating broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, too. These veggies help to lower estrogen in the body, which has a positive impact on testosterone levels. Broccoli is also a high-fiber food, so it positively impacts cholesterol and helps to protect the heart.
Broccoli is a good source of several other nutrients that impact overall health, too. It’s rich in vitamin A, several B vitamins, folate, vitamin C, and vitamins E and K. It also contains minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc.
Beef
Beef is an excellent source of protein and B vitamins, which are necessary for building muscle and maintaining general body health. A four-ounce serving of 97% lean beef provides 25 grams of protein or around 50% of the daily recommendation. It also contains 106% of the daily recommendation for vitamin B12, which is important for a healthy sperm count.
Beef is also a good source of iron, with 15% of the daily recommendation for iron in a four-ounce serving, as well as 36% for selenium.
Fattier cuts of beef could also fit well with a ketogenic diet. This is interesting mostly because eating a ketogenic diet has been shown to have positive impacts on sex hormones in overweight men.
Strawberries
Strawberries are surprisingly rich in vitamin C. One cup of fresh strawberry halves provides 99% of the daily recommendation for vitamin C, which is more than the vitamin C in an orange. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, and it could also boost libido. A cup of strawberries also contains 26% of the daily recommendation for manganese, which helps increase blood flow in the body, and it’s a good source of zinc, selenium, and iron.
Strawberries also contain flavonoids that help combat cancer, and some compounds in strawberries help lower blood pressure.
Kale
Like broccoli, kale is a cruciferous vegetable that’s rich in sulforaphane. It’s also a green leafy vegetable like spinach, so offers a wide range of health benefits.
Eating kale tends to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It’s also a good source of potassium, which helps keep the heart in rhythm. A cup of raw kale provides around 73 mg of potassium. Kale helps prevent heart disease in another interesting way, too: it’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids. One cup of kale provides around 10% of the daily recommendation for omega-3 fatty acids, which lower inflammation in the body and are great for supporting heart health.
Like broccoli, kale helps boost testosterone by reducing estrogen. Kale is also rich in other health-enhancing nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamins A and K, and minerals like manganese, magnesium, and zinc.
Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein for building muscle, and they fit well into a ketogenic lifestyle, too. One whole boiled egg provides 13% of the daily recommendation for protein, with no carbohydrates. Eggs are rich in iron, potassium, and calcium, too, and they’re one of the few food sources for vitamin D.
One egg provides around 5% of the daily recommendation for vitamin D. Vitamin D affects men’s health in several ways, including healthy testosterone levels, proper muscle development, and good mental health.
Eggs are a great source of vitamin B12, too. One egg provides 15% of the daily recommendation for vitamin B12, which is necessary for producing healthy, viable sperm.
Pine Nuts
Pine nuts are often considered gourmet food. In areas where pinion pine trees grow, many people gather pine nuts themselves. It takes a lot of work to gather pine nuts, but the health benefits may be worth it.
When it comes to men’s health, pine nuts are effective at helping to protect the heart. Pine nuts are rich in healthy fats, including monounsaturated fats that could help people lose weight, reduce inflammation, lower the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, and help prevent heart disease. Interestingly, monounsaturated fats also increase the production of testosterone.
Pine nuts also help protect against some cancers. Pine nuts have anti-inflammatory effects, which are important for combating cancer, and tree nuts like pine nuts have been shown to be effective at helping treat prostate cancer.
Pine nuts are rich in several nutrients that are important for men’s health. It's one of the foods that include magnesium, which helps support heart health and could be beneficial for treating erectile dysfunction. An ounce-sized serving of pine nuts provides 17% of the daily recommendation for magnesium.
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are known for their rich content of vitamin C, which has strong antioxidant effects, improves the immune system, protects against some types of cancers, and boosts testosterone. An orange provides around 91% of the daily recommendation for vitamin C.
Besides vitamin C, citrus fruits also contain fiber. One orange provides 13% of the daily recommendation for fiber. Fiber has several health benefits for men, including lowering blood pressure, which could help prevent heart disease. Fiber is also associated with a healthy gut microbiome, which, in turn, could be associated with increased male fertility.
Poultry
Like beef and eggs, poultry is rich in protein, which is great for men who want to build muscle and stay healthy. Poultry, especially chicken and turkey, is specifically rich in some amino acids, such as tryptophan. Tryptophan is a natural mood regulator and a precursor to serotonin, which promotes great sleep that can, in turn, increase testosterone production.
Poultry is also a great source of other nutrients that help promote overall health. For example, a cup of cooked, diced chicken breast provides 10% of the daily recommendation for potassium, which is necessary for a healthy heart rhythm, as well as 10% for vitamin B12 and 69% for selenium.
Cherries
Cherries, which are sometimes thought of as an aphrodisiac food, contain several compounds that make them healthy for men. Cherries are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances, which boost heart health, protect against some cancers and could speed up recovery following a workout.
A cup of raw cherries provides 7% of the daily recommendation for potassium, as well as 12% for vitamin C and 4% for magnesium. This serving size also contains 11% of the daily recommendation for fiber.
Three Tips For Boosting Men’s Health Immediately
Now that you’ve read through the 15 best foods for men, let’s talk about three ways you can boost your health immediately. These tips focus on getting more foods from the list above to get you the best benefits as quickly as possible.
Tip #1: Focus On Proteins
Eating more beef, eggs, poultry, and other protein sources provides you with enough protein and amino acids to build your muscles. Eating protein-rich seeds like quinoa can provide another protein boost, along with fiber and a variety of other nutrients.
Tip #2: Go For Dark Berries
Strawberries pomegranates and other berries contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that promote heart health and protect against cancer. While they’re not berries, cherries contain many of the same substances.
Tip #3: Load Up On Cruciferous Veggies
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts all contain sulforaphane, which protects heart health and reduces the risk of some cancers. These veggies also contain healthy nutrient profiles that help promote overall health.
The Best Mexican Tequila
Leave a Reply