Health & Fitness
Healthy Lifestyle For Men: 7 Helpful Tips For Healthy Living
In the United States, men die on average 5 years before women. Meanwhile, such a disturbing fact is consistent with most populations in other countries. The most occurring causes of death for men globally are heart (cardiovascular) disease, cancer, and unintentional injury. Sadly, even though men’s healthcare trends signify an overwhelmingly worse status than females, most researchers, hospitals, and government policies have often understated the importance of men’s health.
Moreover, men’s health comes well behind women’s health concerning prevention and early detection. That’s also because men, based on statistics, pay less attention to their health than women. Men are also the more likely of the genders to smoke, drink, or take more risks, which often leads to a less healthy lifestyle.
Meanwhile, men are just as susceptible to diseases like diabetes, stroke, depression, cancer, and heart diseases as women. What implications does any of all that have on society? We delve more into men’s health in this piece and give practical health tips for men.
Why Men’s Health Is Important
We understand this isn’t about the latest sports news, sportsbook, MMA odds, or English Premier League standings. It’s your health we’re talking about here. Yes, those stories about the latest gadgets, toys, online betting, or plain work (depending on what gets you in ‘town-hall discussion’ mode) are good. But your health is vital – not just for you, but for society.
As progressive as we are in the 21st century, gender roles still contribute significantly to the way societies operate globally. The early death of a male head of a household has significant implications. First, early male death has highly negative implications on their spouse’s socioeconomic status. Then, the early death of a male head of a home could eventually affect his kids’ overall educational and financial status when they become grown-ups.
Early detection and preventive measures for men’s health are crucial. Early detection of ailing health conditions increases men’s chances of successful treatment by focusing on observing symptomatic patients early enough. Preventive measures are superior – prevention is better than cure – and taking note of these seven healthy tips for healthy living can go a long way in giving men a healthy lifestyle.
7 Healthy Tips For Healthy Living For Men
The following health tips can help you stay healthy. While the list isn’t exhaustive, the points here are useful in starting to improve your physical and mental health.
1. Regularly See Your Doctor
We’ve said that men are notorious for staying away from the hospital and neglecting strange symptoms. Ensure you don’t allow complacency to take a harmful toll on your health by scheduling periodic checkups with your doctor and keeping these appointments. Some risk factors for heart diseases are excessive weight, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol levels – you need to avoid getting into any of those conditions.
Additionally, your doctor could recommend changes to your lifestyle, medications, or other treatments which can help address any discoveries the checkup made that could endanger your health.
The following are some specific checkups you want to schedule with your doctor.
- Blood Sugar Checks – Annually checking your blood glucose level is one of the best ways of diagnosing diabetes before it gets too complicated. Annually check your blood sugar level to avoid or check any risks of diabetes.
Your doctor may suggest a new exercise regimen, lifestyle management, or diet tips to address any signs of increased glucose levels in the blood. Where these practices aren’t enough, they might suggest oral medicines or insulin to manage the condition.
- Skin Checks – Men with a family history of skin cancer or who had critical sunburns at a younger age have a higher risk of skin cancer. Ensure to check the health condition of your skin annually with the doctor to avoid the risk of cancer. Meanwhile, consistently using sunscreens can help preserve your skin for longer.
- Colonoscopy – A colonoscopy is rife in men and women above 50 years when the risk of colon cancer increases. Other risk factors for colon cancer apart from age include a medical history of inflammatory bowel diseases or a diet high in animal fat. Consider getting a colonoscopy every three years.
- Other Health Checkups for Men – Other crucial health checkups men could regularly take include an echocardiogram, a liver enzyme test, a TSH test, lung screenings, a prostate cancer test, etc. Whenever you have the opportunity to carry out these health checkups, take them to prevent grievous medical conditions or manage diseases early.
2. Get Your Vitamins
Men can get the vitamins and minerals they need for optimum health by taking a well-balanced diet. Eat foods rich in a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Many of these foods and fruits provide heart-healthy fiber and natural antioxidant compounds that can help reduce the risk of certain diseases.
Moreover, men can also benefit from taking a daily multivitamin or other food supplements. Your nutritionist or doctor may suggest you supplement your diet with fish oil capsules having omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D3. You could speak with your nutritionist about the potential benefits and threats of including a multivitamin or other food supplements in your foods.
3. Avoid Unhealthy Habits
It is important to avoid unhealthy habits that might hurt your health. For instance, smoking is considered dangerous, and it is highly recommended that you make every effort possible to stop smoking and embrace a healthier lifestyle. Moreover, secondhand smoke is deadly. Smoking and secondhand smoke could lead to other health conditions such as lung infections, heart diseases, and emphysema. Both also increase men’s chances of developing different types of cancer.
Alcohol consumption and recreational or habitual drug use are other health-endangering habits. If you take alcohol, take alcohol responsibly. Meanwhile, it’s vital to stop using recreational drugs because they cause many health conditions. For instance, cocaine causes strokes and heart attacks. Injected drugs can also lead to severe skin breakdown and infections at injection spots.
Men who smoke, drink too much, or take controlled substances could speak with a doctor or psychologist to help them develop a plan to quit. Your specialist may recommend medication, therapy, strategies, or other treatments to stop these harmful habits.
4. Keep Your Waist Healthy
If your waist measures above forty inches, it could be a cause for concern. A length above forty inches increases your risk of obesity-related diseases. For instance, men with large waists have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
The best way for most men to reduce belly fat is to reduce the calorie content of their foods. More exercises are also helpful in keeping a healthy waist. Consult your doctor to help you develop a weight-loss plan that works for you.
5. Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise reduces the risks of heart disease and helps to improve your overall physical and mental health. Try to get at least two and half hours of moderately-intense aerobic exercises or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercises weekly. Aerobic exercises include jogging, swimming, basketball, tennis, and other sports.
6. Protect Your Skin
Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is one of the most dangerous cancers. Spending time in the shade, using sunscreens, or covering your body with protective clothing shields you away from the UV rays of the sun and reduces your risk of developing melanoma. It’s also crucial to avoid tanning beds, which are harmful UV radiation sources.
7. Check Your Mental Health
Checking your mental health annually or once every three years is crucial in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s also crucial to maintain an open and keen relationship with your psychologist, as they will help you navigate your mental health situation.
Conclusion
Men who engage in riskier activities and select lifestyle options are already at increased risk of health complications. Moreover, the risks of men’s health complications drastically increase when you consider that more than two-thirds of American men don’t visit the hospital regularly unless seriously ill.
Despite the growing information about healthcare, men still fall behind women in caring for their health. However, men don’t have to worry about all those scary health statistics. Taking note of the seven healthy lifestyle tips for males in this piece can help prevent serious health challenges and help men live healthier lives.
Recent Comments