New Research in Prostate Cancer - Exercise Good, Soy Bad, Walnuts Good; Smoked/Salted Fish Bad, Fish Oil Good, Or Not

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States and other Western countries. In general, if we live long enough, all men get some form of prostate cancer, 90% of which are largely non-aggressive.

It is believed that exercise is important in limiting the recurrence of prostate cancers (and breast cancers, for that matter) after initial treatment. There have also been several studies showing a preventative effect of exercise in those with benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH). Now there is a study that identifies in real time the bio-chemical response that inhibits prostate cancer cell growth and/or proliferation.

There have been a few observational studies linking the intake of soy products with reduced risk and/or reduced recurrence of prostate cancer. However, there also have been several studies suggesting the estrogenic properties of soy (particularly the isolflavones genistein, daidzein) can not increase the risk but also the aggressiveness of prostate tumors.

On the other hand, walnuts have been shown to be an effect prevention food, which would be part of a good anti-inflammation diet (one of the top ways to delay or prevent the occurrence of most cancers). Similarly, oily fish and fish oil supplements have also demonstrated strong prevention properties.

However, a recent study found that high levels of EPA, DPA, and DHA (the primary omega-3 fatty acids in fish) are associated with a serious increase in risk for aggressive prostate cancers.

Presented below are all of these articles or summaries of the research.

Effect of Acute Exercise on Prostate Cancer Cell Growth 

Helene Rundqvist, Martin Augsten, Anna Strömberg, Eric Rullman, Sara Mijwel, Pedram Kharaziha, Theocharis Panaretakis, Thomas Gustafsson, Arne Östman 

Abstract 

Physical activity is associated with reduced risk of several cancers, including aggressive prostate cancer. The mechanisms mediating the effects are not yet understood; among the candidates are modifications of endogenous hormone levels. Long-term exercise is known to reduce serum levels of growth stimulating hormones. In contrast, the endocrine effects of acute endurance exercise include increased levels of mitogenic factors such as GH and IGF-1. It can be speculated that the elevation of serum growth factors may be detrimental to prostate cancer progression into malignancy. The incentive of the current study is to evaluate the effect of acute exercise serum on prostate cancer cell growth. We designed an exercise intervention where 10 male individuals performed 60 minutes of bicycle exercise at increasing intensity. Serum samples were obtained before (rest serum) and after completed exercise (exercise serum). The established prostate cancer cell line LNCaP was exposed to exercise or rest serum. Exercise serum from 9 out of 10 individuals had a growth inhibitory effect on LNCaP cells. Incubation with pooled exercise serum resulted in a 31% inhibition of LNCaP growth and pre-incubation before subcutaneous injection into SCID mice caused a delay in tumor formation. Serum analyses indicated two possible candidates for the effect; increased levels of IGFBP-1 and reduced levels of EGF. In conclusion, despite the fear of possible detrimental effects of acute exercise serum on tumor cell growth, we show that even the short-term effects seem to add to the overall beneficial influence of exercise on neoplasia.

Full Citation: 

Rundqvist H, Augsten M, Strömberg A, Rullman E, Mijwel S, et al. (2013) Effect of Acute Exercise on Prostate Cancer Cell Growth. PLoS ONE, 8(7): e67579. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067579

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Soy protein supplementation does not reduce risk of prostate cancer recurrence

Posted on July 9, 2013 

Among men who had undergone radical prostatectomy, daily consumption of a beverage powder supplement containing soy protein isolate for 2 years did not reduce or delay development of biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer compared to men who received placebo, according to a study in the July 10 issue of JAMA.

"Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the second most frequent cause of male cancer death in the United States and other Western countries but is far less frequent in Asian countries. Prostate cancer risk has been inversely associated with intake of soy and soy foods in observational studies, which may explain this geographic variation because soy consumption is low in the United States and high in Asian countries," according to background information in the article.

"Although it has been repeatedly proposed that soy may prevent prostate cancer development, this hypothesis has not been tested in randomized studies with cancer as the end point. A substantive fraction (48 percent - 55 percent) of men diagnosed as having prostate cancer use dietary supplements including soy products, although the exact proportion is not known. However, no evidence exists that soy supplementation has any prostate cancer-related benefits for these men. Soy contains several constituents, including isoflavones, which possess anticancer activities in laboratory studies."

Maarten C. Bosland, D.V.Sc., Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues examined whether daily consumption of a soy protein-based supplement would reduce the rate of recurrence or delayed recurrence of prostate cancer in men at high risk of recurrence after radical prostatectomy. The randomized trial was conducted from July 1997 to May 2010 at 7 U.S. centers and included 177 men. Supplement intervention was started within 4 months after surgery and continued daily for up to 2 years, with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurements made at 2-month intervals in the first year and every 3 months thereafter. Participants were randomized to receive a daily serving of a beverage powder containing 20 g of protein in the form of either soy protein isolate (n=87) or as placebo, calcium caseinate (n=90).

The trial was stopped early for lack of treatment effects at a planned interim analysis with 81 evaluable participants in the intervention group and 78 in the placebo group. Overall, 28.3 percent of participants developed biochemical recurrence (defined as development of a PSA level of ≥0.07 ng/mL) within 2 years of entering the trial. Twenty two (27.2 percent) of the participants in the intervention group developed confirmed biochemical recurrence, whereas 23 (29.5 percent) of the participants receiving placebo developed recurrence. "Among participants who developed recurrence, the median [midpoint] time to recurrence was somewhat shorter in the intervention group (31.5 weeks) than in the placebo group (44 weeks), but this difference was not statistically significant," the authors write.

Adherence was greater than 90 percent. There were no differences in adverse events between the 2 groups.

"The findings of this study provide another example that associations in observational epidemiologic studies between purported preventive agents and clinical outcomes need confirmation in randomized clinical trials. Not only were these findings at variance with the epidemiologic evidence on soy consumption and prostate cancer risk, they were also not consistent with results from experiments with animal models of prostate carcinogenesis, which also suggest reduced risk," the researchers write.

"One possible explanation for these discrepant results is that in both epidemiologic studies and animal experiments, soy exposure typically occurred for most or all of the life span of the study participants or animals; there are no reports of such studies in which soy exposure started later in life. Thus, it is conceivable that soy is protective against prostate cancer when consumption begins early in life but not later or when prostate cancer is already present. If this is the case, chemoprevention of prostate cancer with soy is unlikely to be effective if started later in life, given the high prevalence of undetected prostate cancer in middle-aged men."

Source: The JAMA Network Journals

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Several studies over the years have found that walnuts decrease the risk of prostate cancers and the incidence of aggressive cancers. Here is another study in that lineage.

Prostate Cancers Are Fewer, Smaller On Walnut-Enriched Diet

July 16, 2013 — New research from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio indicates that eating a modest amount of walnuts can protect against prostate cancer.

The study is described in the journal Cancer Investigation. Researchers at the UT Health Science Center injected immune-deficient mice with human prostate cancer cells. Within three to four weeks, tumors typically start to grow in a large number of these mice. The study asked whether a walnut-enriched diet versus a non-walnut diet would be associated with reduced cancer formation. A previous study found this to be true for breast cancer.

Results

Three of 16 mice (18 percent) eating the walnut-enriched diet developed prostate tumors, compared with 14 of 32 mice (44 percent) on the non-walnut control diet. Also of note, the final average tumor size in the walnut-fed animals was roughly one-fourth the average size of the prostate tumors that developed in the mice eating the control diet.

"We found the results to be stunning because there were so few tumors in animals consuming the walnuts and these tumors grew much more slowly than in the other animals," said study senior author Russel Reiter, Ph.D., professor of cellular and structural biology at the Health Science Center. "We were absolutely surprised by how highly effective the walnut diet was in terms of inhibition of human prostate cancer."

Percentage of diet

The mice consumed a diet typically used in animal studies, except with the addition of a small amount of walnuts pulverized into a fine powder to prevent the rodents from only eating the walnuts. "The walnut portion was not a large percentage of the diet," Dr. Reiter said. "It was the equivalent to a human eating about 2 ounces, or two handfuls, a day, which is not a lot of walnuts."

Study co-author W. Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, published a study in 2011 that showed fewer and smaller tumors among walnut-fed mice injected with human breast cancer cells. Dr. Hardman formerly was a faculty member at the Health Science Center.

"The data to date suggest that using walnuts on a regular basis in the diet may be beneficial to defer, prevent or delay some types of cancer, including breast and prostate," Dr. Reiter said.

Full Citation:
Russel J. Reiter, Dun-Xian Tan, Lucien C. Manchester, Ahmet Korkmaz, Lorena Fuentes-Broto, W. Elaine Hardman, Sergio A. Rosales-Corral, Wenbo Qi. (2013, Jul). A Walnut-Enriched Diet Reduces the Growth of LNCaP Human Prostate Cancer Xenografts in Nude Mice. Cancer Investigation, 31 (6): 365 DOI: 10.3109/07357907.2013.800095

A Walnut-Enriched Diet Reduces the Growth of LNCaP Human Prostate Cancer Xenografts in Nude Mice

Russel J. Reiter, Dun-Xian Tan, Lucien C. Manchester, Ahmet Korkmaz, Lorena Fuentes-Broto, W. Elaine Hardman, Sergio A. Rosales-Corral, and Wenbo Qi. 

ABSTRACT 

It was investigated whether a standard mouse diet (AIN-76A) supplemented with walnuts reduced the establishment and growth of LNCaP human prostate cancer cells in nude (nu/nu) mice. The walnut-enriched diet reduced the number of tumors and the growth of the LNCaP xenografts; 3 of 16 (18.7%) of the walnut-fed mice developed tumors; conversely, 14 of 32 mice (44.0%) of the control diet-fed animals developed tumors. Similarly, the xenografts in the walnut-fed animals grew more slowly than those in the control diet mice. The final average tumor size in the walnut-diet animals was roughly one-fourth the average size of the prostate tumors in the mice that ate the control diet.

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Several studies over the past couple of decades have shown that oily fish or fish oil can help reduce the risk of prostate and other cancers. A few smaller studies have found the opposite. 

First up here is a study that looks at the consumption of fish or fish oil over the lifespan. After that is a recent study that suggests high levels of EPA, DHA, and DPA (constituents of fish oil) increases the risk of aggressive prostate cancers by up to 70%. Scary stuff. 

Consumption of Fish Products across the Lifespan and Prostate Cancer Risk

Johanna E. Torfadottir, Unnur A. Valdimarsdottir, Lorelei A. Mucci, Julie L. Kasperzyk, Katja Fall, Laufey Tryggvadottir, Thor Aspelund, Orn Olafsson, Tamara B. Harris, Eirikur Jonsson, Hrafn Tulinius, Vilmundur Gudnason, Hans-Olov Adami, Meir Stampfer, Laufey Steingrimsdottir

Abstract 

Objective

To examine whether fish and fish oil consumption across the lifespan is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer.

Design

The study was nested among 2268 men aged 67–96 years in the AGES-Reykjavik cohort study. In 2002 to 2006, dietary habits were assessed, for early life, midlife and later life using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Participants were followed for prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality through 2009 via linkage to nationwide cancer- and mortality registers. Adjusting for potential confounders, we used regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) for prostate cancer according to fish and fish oil consumption.

Results

Among the 2268 men, we ascertained 214 prevalent and 133 incident prostate cancer cases, of which 63 had advanced disease. High fish consumption in early- and midlife was not associated with overall or advanced prostate cancer. High intake of salted or smoked fish was associated with a 2-fold increased risk of advanced prostate cancer both in early life (95% CI: 1.08, 3.62) and in later life (95% CI: 1.04, 5.00). Men consuming fish oil in later life had a lower risk of advanced prostate cancer [HR (95%CI): 0.43 (0.19, 0.95)], no association was found for early life or midlife consumption.

Conclusions

Salted or smoked fish may increase risk of advanced prostate cancer, whereas fish oil consumption may be protective against progression of prostate cancer in elderly men. In a setting with very high fish consumption, no association was found between overall fish consumption in early or midlife and prostate cancer risk.

Full Citation: 

Torfadottir JE, Valdimarsdottir UA, Mucci LA, Kasperzyk JL, Fall K, et al. (2013, Apr 17). Consumption of Fish Products across the Lifespan and Prostate Cancer Risk. PLoS ONE, 8(4): e59799. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059799

See also:

Zhennan Gu, Janel Suburu, Haiqin Chen, and Yong Q. Chen. (2013). Mechanisms of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Prostate Cancer Prevention. BioMed Research International, vol. 2013, Article ID 824563, 10 pages. doi:10.1155/2013/824563

On the other hand, a major study published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute argues that high blood levels of omega-3 fats correlates with a 70% increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer - a frightening proposition for those of us who eat a lot of fish or take fish oil supplements.

The flaw with this study is that they only measured blood levels of fatty acids without any correlation to diet or supplement intake. Further, it only looked at associations with aggressive or non-aggressive prostate cancers. This isn't the only study to show these results, so it's worth taking into consideration. However, there needs to be more effort to assess confounding variables that may have influenced the results.

Fish oil supplements linked to prostate cancer

Thursday July 11 2013

There is little evidence to support the use of omega-3 supplements

"Taking omega-3 fish oil supplements may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 70%," the Daily Mail reports.

The story, covered widely in the media, comes from a large and well designed study that also found that high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were associated with a 44% increase in the risk of slow growing prostate cancer.

Supporters of fish oil supplements have claimed that they can reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack, and dementia as well as improving cognitive function and mental health. But there is little conclusive evidence to justify these claims.

The findings match previous studies that have found a similar link between high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and prostate cancer.

It is worth bearing in mind that this study did not assess participants’ diet and use of supplements. Researchers measured blood levels of fatty acids and analysed the association with prostate cancer risk. However, it is likely that the very high levels of fatty acids found in some participants’ blood came from supplements.

If you are considering taking an omega-3 supplement get medical advice first.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Ohio State University and was funded by the National Cancer Institute. It was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

It was covered fairly in the papers, with the Daily Mail including comments from independent experts.

What kind of research was this?

This was a case-control study that looked at the association between blood levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and the risk of prostate cancer.

In this type of study, cases of people who have a particular outcome – in this case, prostate cancer – are matched against a random group of people who do not develop the condition.

The research was part of a large randomised controlled trial called SELECT, looking at whether selenium and vitamin E supplements reduced the risk of prostate cancer. (It found no benefit from selenium and an increase in prostate cancer in men who took vitamin E.)

The researchers point out that omega-3 supplements are widely used and that ongoing trials are looking at their possible benefits for cancer and heart disease prevention. Their previous study from 2011 suggested a link between high blood levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and high grade (aggressive) prostate cancer.

What did the research involve?

The researchers included 834 men from the original trial, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, of which 156 were diagnosed with high-grade (aggressive) cancer.

The researchers randomly selected 1,393 men who matched the case subjects on age and race, with a ratio of 1:3 for black men and 1:1.5 for other men. The men completed questionnaires about their backgrounds and health at the start of the study, while staff measured height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI). Blood samples were also collected and blood levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (also called polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs) were assessed. These were:

• eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
• docosapentaenoic acid (DPA)
• docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

They categorised blood levels of these fatty acids into quartiles (four equal groups of 25% of the study group).

Researchers also looked at blood levels of omega-6 fatty acids – linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA) – and of trans fatty acids.

Using standard statistical methods, the researchers analysed the associations between overall blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and prostate cancer risk overall, and by grade. They also looked at the association between prostate cancer risk and blood levels of individual omega-6 fatty acids. They adjusted their results for other confounders that might affect the risk of prostate cancer, such as family history.

They also carried out a meta-analysis to compare their results with similar studies.

What were the basic results?

The researchers found that, compared with men whose blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were in the lowest quartile, men in the highest quartile had:

• 44% increased risk of low grade prostate cancer (HR (hazard ratio) = 1.44, 95% CI (confidence interval) = 1.08 to 1.93)
• 71% increased risk of high grade prostate cancer (HR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.00 to 2.94)
• 43% increased risk of total prostate cancer (HR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.88)

These associations were similar for the individual omega-3 long-chain fatty acids, EPA, DPA and DHA.

A higher blood level of linoleic acid was associated with a reduced risk of low grade prostate cancer (HR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.99) and total prostate cancer (HR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.59 to 1.01). Linoleic acid is found in various vegetable oils.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers say their study confirms previous reports of increased prostate cancer risk among men with high blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. They say the consistency of these findings suggests that these fatty acids are involved in the growth of prostate tumours.

Recommendations to increase omega-3 intake “should consider its potential risk”, they argue.

They also say that the findings are surprising, given that omega-3 fatty acids are thought to have anti-inflammatory properties, pointing out that inflammation plays a role in the development of many cancers. Further research is needed into the possible mechanisms, they say.

Conclusion

This was a large, well designed study that supports previous research linking high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids with prostate cancer risk. However, it cannot show that fish oil supplements cause prostate cancer and it is possible that other confounders affected men’s risk (although the researchers tried to take these into account).

The research did not look at the participants’ diets or whether they took omega-3 supplements. Still, it is unlikely that the high levels of these fatty acids found in the highest quartile would be the result of diet alone. Adults are advised to eat two portions of fish a week, one of them oily, as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Despite claims that fish oil supplements can help prevent numerous conditions including cancer, dementia, arthritis and heart problems, there is little hard evidence for them. Although they are “natural” products (albeit in a processed form), this does not mean they are safe or suitable for everyone.

While omega-3 supplements are sometimes advised for people who have had a heart attack this supplement is typically used under supervision of a healthcare professional.

If you are thinking of taking omega-3 supplements, talk to your GP or the healthcare professional in charge of your care first.

Analysis by Bazian. Edited by NHS Choices. Follow Behind the Headlines on Twitter.

Links to the headlines

• Taking omega-3 fish oil supplements may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 70%. Daily Mail, July 11 2013
• Omega-3 supplements 'could raise prostate cancer risk'. The Daily Telegraph, July 10 2013
• Omega-3 capsules ‘raise risks of prostate cancer’. Metro, July 10 2013
• Omega 3 fatty acids 'play a role' in prostate cancer. ITV News, July 10 2013. 
• Prostate cancer risk linked to 'healthy' fish oil fatty acids. Daily Mirror, July 11 2013

Links to the science

Brasky TM, Darke AK, Song X, et al. Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer Risk in the SELECT Trial. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Published online July 10 2013

Oily fish

Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may be good for the heart, but you can obtain enough from your diet. It’s not common for someone to need supplements for their health.

A healthy diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish (such as mackerel). Babies, children and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to have children should have no more than two portions of oily fish a week.

Those not in these groups can eat up to four portions a week. This maximum level is recommended to avoid overexposure to marine pollutants. Read more about eating fish and shellfish and your health.

Here is the abstract for the article presented above:

Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer Risk in the SELECT Trial

Theodore M. Brasky, Amy K. Darke, Xiaoling Song, Catherine M. Tangen, Phyllis J. Goodman, Ian M. Thompson, Frank L. Meyskens Jr, Gary E. Goodman, Lori M. Minasian, Howard L. Parnes, Eric A. Klein and Alan R. Kristal

+Author Affiliations
Affiliations of authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH (TMB); Cancer Prevention Program (TMB, XS, GEG, ARK) and SWOG Statistical Center (AKD, CMT, PJG), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA; Department of Urology, University of Texas–San Antonio Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX (IMT); Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA (FLM); Department of Environmental Health (GEG) and Department of Epidemiology (ARK), University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (LMM, HLP); Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH (EAK).

Correspondence to: Theodore M. Brasky, PhD, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1590 N High St, Ste 525, Columbus, OH 43201 (e-mail: Theodore.Brasky@osumc.edu).

Abstract

Background Studies of dietary ω-3 fatty acid intake and prostate cancer risk are inconsistent; however, recent large prospective studies have found increased risk of prostate cancer among men with high blood concentrations of long-chain ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ([LCω-3PUFA] 20:5ω3; 22:5ω3; 22:6ω3]. This case–cohort study examines associations between plasma phospholipid fatty acids and prostate cancer risk among participants in the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial.

Methods Case subjects were 834 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, of which 156 had high-grade cancer. The subcohort consisted of 1393 men selected randomly at baseline and from within strata frequency matched to case subjects on age and race. Proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between fatty acids and prostate cancer risk overall and by grade. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results Compared with men in the lowest quartiles of LCω-3PUFA, men in the highest quartile had increased risks for low-grade (HR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.93), high-grade (HR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.00 to 2.94), and total prostate cancer (HR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.88). Associations were similar for individual long-chain ω-3 fatty acids. Higher linoleic acid (ω-6) was associated with reduced risks of low-grade (HR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.99) and total prostate cancer (HR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.59 to 1.01); however, there was no dose response.

Conclusions This study confirms previous reports of increased prostate cancer risk among men with high blood concentrations of LCω-3PUFA. The consistency of these findings suggests that these fatty acids are involved in prostate tumorigenesis. Recommendations to increase LCω-3PUFA intake should consider its potential risks.

Fathers Pass Obesity to Their Offspring (and Their Offspring)

Here is yet another reason for men to stay fit and healthy (besides reducing the risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cognitive diseases) - the sperm of obese men pass on obesity genes to their children and grandchildren. If you won't or can't commit to fitness for yourself, do it for your children and grandchildren.

Dad's sperm passes obesity on

THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
TUESDAY, 16 JULY 2013

The sperm of an obese father can increase the risk of the next two generations being obese, even if they're eating healthily.

New research from the University of Adelaide shows that the sperm of obese fathers could increase the risk of both their children and their grandchildren to inherit obesity.

In laboratory studies, researchers from the University's Robinson Institute have found that molecular signals in the sperm of obese fathers can lead to obesity and diabetes-like symptoms in two generations of offspring, even though the offspring are eating healthily.

The results of the research are published online in The FASEB Journal.

"A father's diet changes the molecular makeup of the sperm. With obese fathers, the changes in their sperm - in their microRNA molecules - might program the embryo for obesity or metabolic disease later in life," says the lead author of the paper, Dr Tod Fullston, who is an NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellow with the University's Robinson Institute, based in Dr Michelle Lane's Gamete and Embryo Biology Group.

"For female offspring, there is an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese. What we've also found is that there is an increased chance of both male and female offspring developing metabolic disease similar to type 2 diabetes.

"This is the first report of both male and female offspring inheriting a metabolic disease due to their father's obesity," he says.

The study also extended into the second generation of progeny, which showed signs of similar metabolic disorders, including obesity, although it was not as severe as the first generation.

Dr Fullston says even if the obese father does not show any signs of diabetes, metabolic disease similar to diabetes was being seen in two generations of their descendants.

"It's been known for some time that the health of a mother before, during and after pregnancy can impact on her child's health, but the father's health during this period is often overlooked," Dr Fullston says.

"If our laboratory studies are translatable to humans, this could be a new and as yet unexplored intervention window into the epidemic of childhood obesity.

"A focus on the mother's health is extremely important, but we're seeing that the father's health is also important for conception. It's possible that by showing additional attention to diet and exercise in the father, this could have a positive impact on his future children and grandchildren."

~ Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Have We Entered the Era of Gender Fluidity? Quite Possibly . . . .

I have written quite a bit on this blog about the idea of gender fluidity (see here, here, here, and here, as a start), but I did not believe there would be any cultural apparent move in that direction for quite a while. I was - I am very pleased to say - incredibly wrong.

That is what I learned in this short clip from NPR's All Things Considered.

A growing number of young people are standing in solidarity with their transgender and genderqueer peers. They do so in a number of ways, one of which is to answer (when asked about themselves) with their name, their age (or year in school), and their preferred gender pronouns (he/his/him or she/hers/her). To do so is to acknowledge that cisgender (see this page for an explanation of gender terminology) is only one of many possible gender identities, to stand against the traditional notions of a gender binary. Better still, some young people are rejecting gender labels of any kind.

The nature of gender fluidity transcends and includes gender normative structures - all forms of gender expression become available to each person, either one at a time or simultaneously. In this model, the need for labels on gender expression ceases to be relevant.

Young People Push Back Against Gender Categories

by MARGOT ADLER
July 16, 2013 4:53 PM



All Things Considered
7 min 50 sec | Download

As society has become more accepting of gays, lesbians and even transgender people, a new generation of young people is challenging those categories in favor of a more fluid understanding of gender. They refuse to be limited by notions like male and female.

Prolactin - The Brain Chemical That Can Kill Libido in Long-Term Relationships

This is an interesting article on prolactin, a chemical (hormone) both men and women produce this chemical, which performs a wide variety of roles in the human body. Here is a little from Wikipedia on prolactin:

Prolactin ... stimulates the mammary glands to produce milk (lactation): Increased serum concentrations of prolactin during pregnancy cause enlargement of the mammary glands of the breasts and prepare for the production of milk. Milk production normally starts when the levels of progesterone fall by the end of pregnancy and a suckling stimulus is present. Sometimes, newborn babies (males as well as females) secrete a milky substance from their nipples known as witch's milk. This is in part caused by maternal prolactin and other hormones. 

Prolactin provides the body with sexual gratification after sexual acts: The hormone counteracts the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual arousal. This is thought to cause the sexual refractory period. The amount of prolactin can be an indicator for the amount of sexual satisfaction and relaxation. Unusually high amounts are suspected to be responsible for impotence and loss of libido (see hyperprolactinemia symptoms). 

Highly elevated levels of prolactin decrease the levels of sex hormones — estrogen in women and testosterone in men.[3] The effects of mildly elevated levels of prolactin are much more variable, in women both substantial increase or decrease of estrogen levels may result.

For men in particular, increased levels of prolactin are seriously problematic. As is stated above, prolactin in men decreases testosterone, which decreases libido and sexual function. That is the context of this question/answer article from Alternet (originally from The Guardian [UK]).

"I Love Her But the Sex Has Died": The Brain Chemical That Can Kill Libido in Long-Term Relationships

Trying to sustain a long-term relationship that is also sexual presents humans with a chemical catch-22

July 9, 2013 | By Carole Jahme 

Writer Carole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers' problems.

From an anonymous male, aged 40+

I have been in several very loving, amorous, "serious" relationships as an adult, none frivolous and none (at least on a conscious level – who the hell knows what's going on with me subconsiously) with the intention of being short-term.

Inevitably, however, my sexual attraction for my partner wanes to the point where we become virtually non-sexual. This can happen in less that a year after the relationship started. This condition consistently contributes to the relationship falling apart. My emotional feeling of love stays constant, and the breakup is traumatic for both of us. Add to the mix my undeniable enjoyment of and never-failing satisfaction with masturbation, and it seems to be a recipe for disaster. Is there an evolutionary take on any of this?

Carole replies:

Trying to sustain a long-term relationship that is also sexual presents humans with a chemical catch-22.

Studies on the length of relationships have shown that couples in harmonious, stable and trusting long-term relationships have higher blood levels of oxytocin (a chemical that regulates attachment, promotes cooperation and facilitates sensations of joy and love) than people who are not in compatible relationships. These happy couples also reap other benefits in terms of longer lifespan, lower rates of alcoholism, depression and illness, and more rapid recovery after accidental injury.

But there are conflicting chemicals at work in sexual relationships that sometimes prevent them from ever becoming long-term. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the limbic system – the brain's primitive reward centre. It mediates both the sex drive and addiction to drugs. Brain scans have shown that the rapid rise in dopamine levels during orgasm is similar to that seen in a heroin high. But dopamine falls rapidly following orgasm in both males and females and is replaced with rising levels of a hormone called prolactin.

Both are part of the brain's "dopaminergic" reward system.

At first, rising prolactin causes sleepy post-orgasm contentment. (Interestingly the amount of prolactin produced is far greater after sex with a partner than after masturbation. Thus there is little prolactin relief for those who masturbate.) But once this sleepy feeling of satiation has passed, prolactin may go on rising and cause problems for couples wanting to sustain a long-term sexual relationship. In both men and women excess levels of prolactin can cause loss of libido, anxiety, headaches, mood swings and depression.

High prolactin is associated with sensations of despair. When the prolactin levels of newly caged wild monkeys were monitored, the hormone was seen to rise once the animals realised they were trapped. Levels of the hormone were much higher in monkeys incarcerated for months compared with wild animals that had only just been caged. Science has yet to determine how long prolactin continues to rise and remain high in humans after orgasm, so this is speculative, but in a relationship with lots of sex it could mean levels are elevated for weeks or even months.

How does all this tie in with your predilection for maturbation? There have been some illuminating studies of this behaviour in non-human primates. It has been found, for example, that male monkeys who masturbate tend to be of low status, whereas high-status male monkeys are likely only to experience ejaculation during sex. It also seems that the frequency of masturbation is higher in captive primates than in wild animals. You can make of this what you will.

The dopaminergic system varies among humans, some people exhibiting more reward-seeking behaviour than others, and this may go some way towards explaining why many relationships are burnt out after a year. In reproductive terms, 12 months is long enough for fertilisation to take place. It is also certainly long enough for prolactin levels to rise. Once your libido flags and anxiety sets in, the short-term reward gained from masturbating may give you a dopamine "high" without risking bringing on that post-orgasmic prolactin "low".

Chemical compatibility is essential to all good relationships. Couples lucky enough to enjoy long-term partnerships may have similar sex drives (perhaps not too much sex, or even none at all?) and dopaminergic systems that don't flood their bodies with too much prolactin. Human behaviour seems to be under the control of two evolutionary programs: one that results in fertilisation, disillusionment and a series of partners, and the other that enables humans to develop the lasting relationships that lead to long, happy and healthy lives.

References
1. Carter, SC (1998) Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrinology; 23(8): 779-818.

2. DeVries, C, Glasper, ER (2005) Social structure influences effects of pair-housing on wound healing. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity; 19(1): 61-68.

3. Coan, JA et al (2006) Lending a hand: social regulation of the neural response to threat. Psychological Science, A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science; 17(12): 1032-1039.

4. Holden, AEC et al (2008) The influence of depression on sexual risk reduction and STD infection in a controlled, randomized intervention trial. Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases; 35(10): 898-904.

5. Holstege, G et al (2003) Brain activation during human male ejaculation. The Journal of Neuroscience; 23(27): 9185-9193.

6. Heaton, JPW (2003) Prolactin: An integral player in hormonal politics.Contemporary Urology; 15: 17-25.

7. Suleman, BVM, Mbaruk, A et al. (2004) Physiologic manifestations of stress from capture and restraint of free-ranging male African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine; 35(1): 20-24.

8. Thomsen, R, Soltis, J (2004) Male masturbation in free-ranging Japanese macaques. International Journal of Primatology; 25(5): 0164-0291.

9. Guo, G, Tong, Y et al (2007) Dopamine transporter, gender, and number of sexual partners among young adults. European Journal of Human Genetics; 15: 279–287.

Omnivore - Differences Between Men and Women

From Friday's issue of Bookforum's Omnivore blog, this is an interesting assortment of links for articles dealing with the various differences between men and women.

Between Men and Women

JUL 12 2013 

3:00PM

• Rey Hernandez-Julian (Metropolitan State College of Denver) and Kurt W. Rotthoff (Seton Hall): Are Big-Time Sports a Threat to Student Achievement? 
• Another Look at the Differences between Men and Women. Mary Anne Franks (Miami): How to Feel Like a Woman, or, Why Punishment Is a Drag. 
• Valorie K. Vojdik (Tennessee): Sexual Violence Against Men and Women in War: A Masculinities Approach. 
• From the latest issue of the Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, Kyungok Sim (SUNY-Albany): The Relationship between Sex-typical Body Shape and Quality Indicators. 
• Lily Hiott-Millis on the gender book everyone should read. 
• Are women better babysitters? Surveys show that people trust women more than men as caregivers. 
• Until men are also expected to take time away from work to be with children, workers of both genders face a vicious cycle. 
• Richard Dorment on why men still can’t have it all. 
• What men want, America delivers: From Robin Thicke's latest songs to abortion restrictions around the country, America's all about men's desires. 
• Women worldwide know less about politics than men (and a response). 
• What stereotypes do Europeans of today hold about men and women's intuition? 
• Andrew Hartman on masculinity and the culture wars. 
• Connecting on Wall Street: Are male and female financial analysts evaluated on the basis of different criteria?

The New Man 138: Stutz and Michels – The Tools That Stop Negative Thoughts

Phil Stutz and Barry Michels are "Hollywood psychologists," with a new book out, The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower--and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion. Tripp Lanier spoke with them on the New Man Podcast a couple of weeks ago - here is that conversation.

TNM 138: Stutz and Michels – The Tools That Stop Negative Thoughts

25 JUNE 2013

Podcast: Download

Do you ever get negative thoughts that you just can’t seem to shake?

Do you get all fired up to make a change but then eventually end up quitting?

And are you hoping that one day you’ll have all this crap figured out and you won’t have to worry about it anymore?

Phil Stutz and Barry Michels are here to discuss The Tools that’ll pull your butt out of a rut and share how these tools have helped other guys do some amazing things. Is it too good to be true? Let’s find out.

In this interview:

• A tool to beat procrastination
• How to let go of a grudge
• What to do if you’ve lost your temper
• How to stop freezing up in social situations
• Making peace with the parts you want to hide from the world

Also:

• How to get out of the worry and negative thinking spiral
• What to do when you quit and feel like crap
• The hidden expectation that is driving us nuts
• How to stop being a personal development jackass
• The two demons that kill your motivation
• When thinking screws things up

And:

• A story about a guy who “had it all” and then hit the wall
• How did he bounce back?

Click here to learn more about The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels.

About Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

From Studio360.org:

Phil Stutz and Barry Michels are Hollywood psychologists with a roster of A-list clients. “Especially among the actors, you have people where no one’s told them the truth ever for the last eight years, 12 years — literally never,” Stutz tells Kurt Andersen. “We tell them the truth about who they are, both the strong points and the weaknesses,” Michels explains. “And we’re pretty brutal about the weaknesses, because we want people to change.” Stutz and Michels have shared what they’ve learned with the stars in a book geared to the rest of us: The Tools.

Their tactics combine Jungian analysis with cognitive behavioral therapy. One chapter deals with what Jung called the Shadow. “Everybody has a piece of them that’s insecure — everybody,” Stutz tells Kurt. “It’s not particularly rational and you can’t get rid of it.” When, for example, a screenwriter sabotages his pitch at an important meeting, it may be because he or she is trying to hide the Shadow. Instead, Stutz and Michels say, the screenwriter needs to visualize this “shameful” persona, make friends with it, and enlist its aid in judgmental situations. “Although most people think of their Shadows as the source of their insecurity, if you can change your relationship with your Shadow, it becomes the source of your confidence,” Michels says.

The pair started their careers about as far from celebrity as you can get: Michels as a lawyer with political ambitions, Stutz as a prison psychiatrist at New York’s Rikers Island. In prison, Stutz explains, what you say is nowhere near as important as what you do and how you communicate non-verbally. “There’s a whole level of communication that, within psychotherapy, is not usually dealt with.”

Click here to learn more about The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels.

What's Normal Testosterone Anyway? The Complex Truth About Low Testosterone

From Men's Journal, two articles to help men understand a little more about what testosterone is whether or not we should be supplementing with it when our testosterone gets lower with age.

Here is my educated and largely minority position:

I support testosterone replacement with a doctor's guidance and with close attention to the details of side effects and outcomes. BUT I only support this when the two best approaches have been exhausted - diet and weight training - both of which increase natural testosterone levels.

A diet with adequate protein, 1/3 of fat calories from monounsaturated fats, at least 10% of fat calories coming from saturated fats, and so on, can jack up your testosterone. All of the sex hormones are made from cholesterol (which is why we need the saturated fat), and we also need the monounsaturated fats for healthy hormone production.

Heavy weight training (4-8 reps per set, and multiple sets with the aim of 24-35 total reps per exercise) has a powerful impact on test levels.

If those approaches have been tried and given time to work (with regular checks of hormone levels), then we can look at T replacement. My caveat to this is that we also need to use an aromatase inhibitor to prevent any excess T from being converted to estrogen. An occasional dose of clomiphene can also keep natural testosterone from cessation and reduce estrogenic side effects. However, most T replacement protocols provide so little T that the risk of conversion is slight.

But I am not a doctor, so check with your own doctor before yadda, yadda, yadda.

Anyway, here ya go.

What's Normal Testosterone Anyway?

Deciphering what normal testosterone means.

While we're all being conditioned by health-care pros to "know our numbers" – from cholesterol to blood pressure – precisely what constitutes normal for testosterone seems less clear. When the Endocrine Society first set their guidelines in 2006, they did so based on the readings of some 120 males (dropping the highest and lowest few percentiles) and arriving at a range between 288-1,000 (ng./dl.), with most doctors setting the cut-off point for men at 300. But even this number is merely a guideline, and it's not unlikely that normal men with no symptoms of low testosterone would have levels in the 200 range. Most doctors agree that the number should only matter if you have multiple symptoms of low T, and like Dr. Gregory Bernstein, believe a number may be highly individualized. "Some men may live at what would be considered a low level, and that's normal for them," he says. "Whereas other men need higher levels. It goes back to the question that we don't know what truly is normal."

– Mark Healy

The Complex Truth About Low Testosterone

Illustration by John Ueland

Should you take testosterone?

Over the past few years anyone who's turned on a TV or opened up a Web browser has probably been bombarded with come-ons about low testosterone – or "low T" – and the crucial role the hormone plays in a man's health. And with good reason. After all, the problem of testosterone deficiency is in many ways the perfect medical problem: It's easy to correct with supplemental doses of the hormone, and treating it combats an array of inevitable, age-related conditions: depression, low energy, inability to build muscle, trouble sleeping, waning libido, even heart problems. Now, thanks to a savvy, shame-free marketing campaign by various companies offering testosterone gels – the "low T" business is booming. Sales of supplemental testosterone have more than doubled since 2006 and there are as many as 5.6 million men estimated to be currently taking testosterone. Men over 40 are showing up at their doctor's office wondering if their T levels are high enough, and whether they could benefit from cranking them up a notch.

But, as promising as hormone replacement is, the intricacies of our body chemistry largely remain a mystery, and there's still little consensus over which patients actually need testosterone supplements and what levels are considered abnormally low. Though the potential repercussions of the therapy – the lowering of sperm production and the possible hastening of existing prostate cancer – are understood and acknowledged, there is no shortage of men looking to take advantage of a little hormonal edge.

"You have all the drug companies pushing their formulations, and saying that testosterone replacement is the be-all, end-all," says Dr. Gregory Bernstein, a urologist at Washington Urology at Virginia Hospital Center. "But the fact is, this is sort of in its infancy still. There's a lot we don't know about testosterone."

Scott Berliner, a clinical integrative pharmacist who has been administering hormone therapy, including testosterone, for more than 25 years, believes that we need to look at the causes of low testosterone rather than merely replacing what the body is lacking. Two culprits, he says, are stress and the abundance of toxins – from the parabens and heavy metals in our deodorant and shampoos to the chemicals in our food – that raise male estrogen levels while lowering testosterone. Berliner points to a fairly complicated process called "cortisol steal" in which cortisol, a sort of superhormone the body uses to cope with stress and to process information, can throw off testosterone production by robbing the body of other hormones (namely DHEA) it would otherwise use to make testosterone. "Basically when you have a lot of stress and a lot of information to process, the body's requirement of cortisol goes up, and often the body will rob [from the DHEA] to make more cortisol rather than testosterone. That's why stress can lower libido. Combine that with the amount of toxins the average person consumes, and the process of making testosterone is disrupted." Before beginning a program of testosterone, Berliner suggests patients first limit their intake of testosterone-inhibiting chemicals by switching to chemical-free grooming products and adopting an organic diet.

Some physicians are beginning to take a more measured approach because the therapy is still relatively new and may have regrettable side effects. Exacerbating any existing prostate cancer is the main worry, and testosterone therapy is not recommended for men who have the disease or have a high risk of the disease. Bernstein exercises greater vigilance of the prostate in patients who are on testosterone therapy. "There are no studies that show that testosterone replacement causes prostate cancer," he says, "but if you're going to go on testosterone replacement, you need to be extra vigilant in your prostate-cancer screening now that we've revved up the system. These prostate cells are getting stimulated by this extra testosterone, and now you've sort of unleashed the cancer cells to start multiplying as well."

Another, more surprising, potential effect of supplemental testosterone is a drop in sperm production. So when treating patients who are suffering from low T who want to remain fertile, Bernstein prescribes clomiphene citrate (Clomid is one brand name), which stimulates sperm production in the testes as it also increases testosterone. "It's a way to stimulate the body to make its own increase in testosterone rather than taking it externally," he says. Similarly, other physicians prescribe not testosterone replacement, but a supplement of the hormonal precursors to testosterone, like the steroid DHEA.

Beyond decreased sperm production, another repercussion you don't see in the pop-up window ads asking "Is it low T?" is dependence: Once you begin taking testosterone, it's very difficult to stop because the body accommodates for the extra hormone and slows its natural production of it. In reality, replacing hormones is a lifelong commitment. Perhaps that's why some doctors are counseling patients to use caution and to look for other solutions before signing on for full testosterone therapy. Others see the gradual decrease in testosterone as a natural form of aging that we can combat by building muscle and reducing stress, even while we accept it and learn to live with it.

"I think too many people come in to see me thinking that giving them testosterone is going to be the fix for all their problems," says Bernstein, "and that's not the case. It needs to be used in the right scenario."

Dr. Ronald Swerdloff, Chief of Endocrinology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and one of the authors of the Endocrine Society's recent guidelines, which advocated prescribing the therapy only to men who both exhibit symptoms and show low levels, sees both sides. "There are undoubtedly people who are being treated that don't meet the best guidelines. But there are many people who do meet the guidelines who aren't being treated."

Nearly a Quarter of Single Parents in the United States Are Men

I am glad to see more fathers being given custody of their children following divorce or other forms of separation (The Atlantic). This is new phenomena in the family court system, where the "wisdom" was that children need their mother but the father was just a sperm donor (unfortunately, this is still true of some men).

To be clear, men raising kids by themselves struggle in many of the same ways as do moms raising kids alone. I have seen this in friends and in clients - balancing a job, parenting, a social life (mostly non-existent), and other responsibilities can be a real challenge.

While I am glad to see more fathers given custody of their children, it would be better for the child if both parents are involved, and preferably still married. This is why: 

Single father-headed households have a median income of $40,000, well-above the $26,000 for single mother headed households, but far below the $70,000 for married father-headed households.

It's better for everyone involved to avoid divorce if possible, and better yet not have kids if the marriage is not stable - and, by the way, having a child will not save your troubled marriage. On the other hand, if the marriage is beyond repair, the children are better off if the parents split than to be subjected to parental fighting and bickering.

What the Rising Number of Single Dads Says About Fatherhood in General

Nearly a quarter of single parents in the United States are men—a sign of how all fathers are taking a more active role with their kids.

NOAH BERLATSKY

JUL 3 2013

OakleyOriginals/flickr

If my wife and I divorced, who would get the kid?

Obviously, if only for mental health reasons, this isn't the sort of hypothetical I want to spend any significant proportion of my time worrying about. But I'll admit it did flit across my mind while reading the recent Pew paper The Rise of Single Fathers. The report shows a massive, ninefold increase in single dads raising their kids, from around 297,000 in 1960 to 2.6 million today.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to this change. Some are the same factors that have contributed to the rise of single mothers. Divorce rates have stabilized, but they're still way higher than they were in the 1960s. Out-of-wedlock births are more common and less stigmatized than they used to be, too. Marriage has, since 1960, gotten less stable, and single parenting has gotten more accepted. As a result, you've got more single parents, of whatever gender, raising kids.

But single dads haven't just increased in absolute numbers. They've also increased as a percentage of all single parents. Back in 1960, single dads made up only 14 percent of single-parent headed households. Today that number has climbed to 24 percent--almost a quarter. Men's rights advocates would have you believe that feminism has systematically prevented men from gaining custody of children. Yet, according to this data at least, it seems like the (limited, but real) feminist gains of the last 50 years have actually coincided with greater parity. It's hard to say whether this is correlation or causation, but either way, it looks like folks who want more men getting custody should be rooting for more feminism, not less.

Related Story 

 

What If Maintaining Desire Isn't a Major Goal of Your Marriage?

Again, the impetus behind the rising rates of single dads seems fairly straightforward. Another recent Pew study shows that the roles of moms and dads are converging: Women in marriage spend more than twice as much time on paid work as they did in 1965, while men spend more than twice as much time on childcare and housework. The continued gender disparities are a little startling -- women still spend on average twice as many hours on childcare as men do. But there's no doubt that men are looking after the kids in marriage far more than they did in the past. It's not a surprise that they are caring for kids when marriage ends, too.

The general trends certainly apply to my marriage -- and possibly would also apply if the marriage ended. I'm the primary caregiver in our family, mostly because I work from home and can ferry the boy hither and yon whenever the schedule calls for it, but also because the whole idea of ferrying hither and yon at the dictates of someone else's schedule (however charming that nine-year-old someone else may be) makes my wife exceedingly cranky. To be fair, she did warn me about this going in.

In any case, the point is that the considerations that make me the primary caregiver -- whether logistical or temperamental -- would, presumably, still be in play if my wife and I separated. Changing gender roles have let us organize our marriage in a way that would have looked quite odd to most people circa 1960. Those same changes make it more natural, or thinkable, for men to get the child or children in the event of a break up.

On the one hand, it's difficult to argue that more single dads is exactly a good thing. Single dads don't tend to provoke the same kind of moral panic and concern-trolling from cultural commentators that single moms do, but it's clear from the report that men raising kids alone struggle in many of the same ways, if not to the same extent, as do moms raising kids alone. Single father-headed households have a median income of $40,000 --well-above the $26,000 for single mother headed households, but far below the $70,000 for married father-headed households.

On the other hand, though, the fact that there are more single dads seems like an outgrowth of a series of developments that are positive in a lot of ways. I'm happy that I get to have a marriage where I do a lot of parenting. I like parenting. Similarly, my wife likes not having to do all the childcare the way her mom did. More single dads is a sign that guys have more roles open to them...and also, relatedly, a sign that women have more roles open to them. That the percentage of single dads is slowly approach the percentage of single moms is an indication that marriage, and society, are becoming a little more equal. Which seems like a good thing for moms, for dads, and for everybody else as well.

Five Ways to Make Mindfulness More Manly (Greater Good)

From UC Berkeley's Greater Good blog comes this article by Kozo Hattori on how to make mindfulness more appealing to men and boys. It seems men are not drawn to mindfulness as much as women, and those who are don't stick with the training programs.

From my own experience, it seems that the problem is in the presentation - too touchy-feely or something (Hattori addresses this is point 5: Make compassion training manlier). Here are the bones, the five ways to make mindfulness manlier:

1. Use pop culture to teach mindfulness to boys
2. Give boys role models of mindfulness and compassion
3. Start with boys in school
4. Meet men where they are
5. Make compassion training manlier

Here is the whole article.

Five Ways to Make Mindfulness More Manly

By Kozo Hattori | June 25, 2013

Many more women than men enroll in mindfulness and compassion training courses. How can we change that?

The men are gone.

That’s what I realize on the last class of the Cultivating Compassion Training (CCT) course at Stanford University. We’ve spent nine weeks strengthening our attention, building awareness of our bodies, and learning to confront pain in ourselves and in others—and throughout the course, male students were dropping out like 12th-seeded teams in the NCAA basketball tournament.

The author's younger son striving to achieve the same "inner peace" as his hero, Kung Fu Panda.

This gender imbalance was not unique to Stanford’s CCT. Two-thirds of students at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California, are female, according to teacher Gil Fronsdal, an ordained Soto Zen priest who was also a Theravada monk in Burma. Elad Levinson, the director of programs at Spirit Rock Mediation Center, says, “The sociodemographic of Spirit Rock consists of primarily women.”

All of these programs integrate mindfulnessmeditation—the practice of focusing attention on our thoughts and feelings without judging them. That might not sound like much, but study after study finds that practicing mindfulness can bring a host of physical, psychological, and social benefits. More recently, evaluations of programs like CCT are finding that mindfulness is a very effective way to cultivate compassionate intentions and behaviors.

Is that something that boys and men need? “Men tell you what is on their minds, but not what is in their heart,” says Levinson, who has 40 years of psychotherapy and 20 years of leading men’s groups under his belt. Perhaps not coincidentally, boys and men commit the vast majority of violent acts, from domestic violence to murder. Many struggle with expressing empathy andcompassion.

The problem does not seem to center on mindfulness. Men practice high levels of mindfulness in a variety of arenas in our society. At military boot camps and police academies, men learn to control their breathing and focus on a target before firing a weapon. Sports are a great training ground for mindfulness: Basketball players are taught to clear their mind by going through a routine when shooting a free throw. Being in “the zone” is active meditation in its highest form.

Notice, however, that in all of these mindfulness practices, compassion is removed from the equation. These boys and men are being trained for win-or-lose competition. “It has been historically dangerous for a man to be vulnerable,” says Elad Levinson, who suggests that men’s resistance to explore interior emotions like compassion is the result of hundreds of years of conditioning.

While some argue that this is the result of a biological predisposition, contemporary research inneuroplasticity, by scientists like Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’sCenter for Investigating Healthy Minds, finds that even short-term compassion meditation training (30 minutes a day for eight weeks) alters the brain activity in regions associated with positive emotional skills like empathy. That is true for both men and women. As Davidson says, “Compassion is indeed an emotional skill that can be trained.”

We understand the benefits. The need is there. But how do we get men to participate in mindfulness and compassion training? Here are five ways to plant the seeds of compassion in boys—and cultivate its growth in men.

1. Use pop culture to teach mindfulness to boys

When my wife and I tried to teach our sons how to meditate, they immediately sat down “crisscrossed apple-sauce” and closed their eyes. “What are you thinking about?” I asked my five year old. “Inner peace,” he replied.

It turns out that he learned this technique from Po in the movie Kung Fu Panda. I wasn’t surprised: One of the reasons I was attracted to meditation at an early age stems from my love of the Japanese anime Ikkyu-san, based on the historical Zen Buddhist monk.

“If every eight year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation,” says the Dalai Lama. Some might argue with that point, but given research showing how mindfulness meditation leads to greater compassion, perhaps portrayals of meditation in action belong in the Netflix queues of young children.

Shows like Kung Fu Panda and Avatar: The Last Airbender feature characters that gain power—as well as peace of mind—through meditation. The Jedi Knights of Star Wars consistently preach mindfulness to each other, specifically as a way to foster compassion and restraint.

Parents can watch these hugely popular movies and shows with their kids and discuss the real-world roots of these practices.

2. Give boys role models of mindfulness and compassion

I meditate every day. Sometimes I meditate in my sons’ bedroom, which gives them a sense of security. “Daddy, will you ‘medtate’ in our room, please?” is a common bedtime request of my three year old.

Our sons also practice Kristen Neff’s self-compassion techniques daily. Whenever they say, “thank you,” they put their hands on their hearts and bow deeply. My wife and I want them to connect with what Bruce Lee calls the “emotional content” of their actions. Some parents at our son’s kindergarten have noticed this pose of gratitude and taught their children the gesture.

Although these actions seem trivial, research in neuroplasticity has shown how the consistent daily practice of any activity alters the brain structure of the practitioner. This is a matter of building habits—ones that will hopefully last a lifetime.

3. Start with boys in school

In a world where bullying, school shootings, and sexual violence threaten all our children, isn’t it about time that compassion training became part of the curriculum of every school?

Vinny Ferraro (center, wearing hat) of the Mind Body Awareness Project leads a workshop at a juvenile hall in the Bay Area.

The Oakland-based Mindful Schools program takes training straight to the kids. Co-founder and co-director Megan Cowan has shared a story about how a mindfulness training she led in an inner-city school engendered compassion in the students for victims during a lockdown.

Another program in Oakland, the Mind Body Awareness Project (MBA), “work in juvenile halls, detention camps, and at-risk schools in California, serving young people with histories of violence, substance abuse, and deep trauma,” as Congressman Tim Ryan writes in“Toward a More Mindful Nation.”

These programs are springing up all around the country, as Jill Suttie describes in “Mindful Kids, Peaceful Schools.” There’s also Stressed Teens in Oakland, BREATHE in Pennsylvania, the Holistic Life Foundation in Baltimore, InnerKids in Los Angeles, the Impact Foundation in Colorado, and the Lineage Project in New York City. Many of these programs teach mindfulness to at-risk and incarcerated teenagers.

Scientific evaluations of many of these programs are finding that they boost academic achievement and reduce behavioral problems. As Congresman Ryan writes:

These people and many others all over America and the world are changing the way we approach chronic poverty and disconnection. These programs reveal to our children that a negative and dangerous life is not their only option. With mindfulness skills they see that they have choices and the wherewithal to overcome the adversity in their lives. As these programs grow and lead to deep, systemic change, our country will be a safer and healthier place because of it. 

4. Meet men where they are

Rather than try to get a few good men to attend compassion training, why don’t we find areas where men are a captive audience, and teach compassion there?

Mindfulness meditation has already been incorporated into the US military’s Marine Corps. At the Quantico, Virginia base, soldiers are offered an eight-week mindfulness course in order to better deal with anxiety, stress, depression, and insomnia. “I can’t think of any aspect of my life that it hasn’t helped me with,” reports Major Jeff Davis.

Mindfulness programs are also working in prisons. The Prison-Ashram project, started in 1975 by Bo and Sita Lozoff with Ram Dass, has lead thousands of meditation workshops in more than 500 prisons. They also distribute free books and audio CDs to any inmate who requests them. Bo Lozoff’s book, We’re All Doing Time, which covers yoga, pranayama, and Tonglen meditation, has become “the convict’s Bible.” Bo, who passed away in late 2012, claims that every inmate in prison has one thing in common: “A lack of compassion.”

“Change really can happen,” says Sita Lozoff, reflecting on three decades of teaching mindfulness practices to prison inmates. “You become more peaceful.” When asked about how to get more men who are not incarcerated to practice mindfulness and compassion training, Sita simply stated, “Change the role models to make compassion something attractive.”

“Prisoners are such great role models for the rest of us,” says Jenny Phillips, director of theDhamma Brothers, a documentary about the beneficial effects of Vipassana meditation practices administered in an overcrowded, understaffed, maximum-security prison for men outside of Birmingham, Alabama. “The Dhamma Brothers suggests the possibility of freedom from that which imprisons us all,” writes Phillips in her director’s statement.

Phillips plans to release free teaching curriculum for schools to teach The Dhamma Brothers. The curriculum includes not only guides to teach and discuss the film and its companion book, but also experiential exercises on mindfulness, meditation, and cultivating loving-kindness.

Catching boys in the home, children at school, kids in front of the flat screen, and adults in institutions might just start a revolution that will end the gender imbalance of compassion.

More on Mindfulness

• Watch Jon Kabat-Zinn talk about mindfulness and compassion.
• Learn more about mindfulness and the science behind it.
• How mindful are you? Take our quiz!

5. Make compassion training manlier

Finally, we might try to make mindfulness and compassion training more attractive to men.

Part of the struggle is to simply encourage men to lead other men into mindfulness. “Men tend to go deeper when they are not with women,” claims Elad Levinson. Gil Fronsdal notes that when he taught a meditation retreat without a female co-teacher, his gender ratio sometimes reached 50-50. So maybe having male teachers leading a class for men-only would help.

We can use examples of mindfulness in military, sports training, and popular culture in order to illustrate the concepts and build credibility among men. Levinson argues that compassion trainings need to be “culturally relevant, delivered by credible people who can relate to men, and learning accessible.”

Self-Compassion pioneer Kristen Neff tells a story about how Chris Germer, who co-developed Neff’s self-compassion workshop with her, teaches a male version of her active self-soothing technique. While Neff gently puts her hands over her heart as an example of self-soothing, Chris Germer adapts the hip-hop gesture of thumping a fist on one’s chest over the heart.

The trouble, of course, is that this type of gesture doesn’t appeal to all men—and catering to male culture can be gimmicky or even part of the problem, if taken to extremes. We are just starting the discussion about how to involve men in mindfulness and compassion training, and we are still struggling to discover a language of the mind and the body that can lead them toward mindfulness.

How would you cultivate compassion in men? Please join the discussion.