Men’s Health

Men’s Health

We ask the experts for their advice on men’s health.

Professor Roger Kirby, prostate surgeon and Professor of Urology (University of London), said at an annual surgical conference of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that men treat their cars better than their bodies.

According to the Men’s Health Forum men are less likely to lead a healthy lifestyle, they are more likely to smoke, drink excessively and be overweight or obese. Statistics show that men die younger than women, have an increased risk of developing conditions such as cancer and are more likely to die from alcohol-related problems.

With this in mind, we’ve asked the experts for their advice on how men can start looking after themselves and their health.

Alison Cullen, nutritional therapist and education manager at Bioforce says: “I suggest reducing alcohol intake, cutting down on carbohydrates and exercising daily for at least 10-20 minutes. None of this takes huge amounts of effort and will pay dividends in length and quality of life.”

“The first step is asking oneself difficult questions about work, exercise, diet, sleep, and emotional health,” advises Ketan Shah, director of Jumla, formerly called veggiemart.

“Second step, identify areas of shutterstock_337043012physical and emotional health that are beginning to cause concern. Third step, contact a recommended health and/or functional medicine practitioner to discuss the issues and go over possible solutions such as dietary, supplementation, exercise programmes, meditation and relaxation techniques, and minimising or removing causes of environmental toxins in the home and work. Fourth step, remain committed and maintain continuous awareness of one’s own progress and regress. Self awareness is key.”

The prostate can be a troublesome gland as men age and prostate disorders include prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer. BPH, a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, can lead to lower urinary tract symptoms such as sexual difficulties, bladder discomfort and difficulty passing urine.

To help keep your prostate healthy, increase your intake of vitamin C and lycopene. Vitamin C helps to ease benign prostate hyperplasia symptoms by reducing swelling and promoting urination. Lycopene, found in tomatoes, helps to absorb the damaging free radicals that can harm our cells. Research also suggests that lycopene helps to lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Cullen also recommends supplementing with saw palmetto for a healthy prostate, she explains why: “Professor Kirby gives it as his opinion that the male hormone testosterone, which is behind conditions such as BPH, is to blame for making men afraid to show weakness, not to mention influencing them to take risks and over-indulge in food and drink.

“It’s the inflammatory type of testosterone that causes the benign prostate trouble that most men experience eventually. Saw Palmetto has been shown to be of benefit in this situation, preventing the healthier type of testosterone from converting to the inflammatory type, and reducing the way it attaches to prostate tissue.

“The effect is usually an improvement of symptoms of BPH, without the troubling side effects that some men experience when taking medication for this problem.”

On top of their prostate, men struggle to look after their cardiovascular system; heart disease is still the leading cause of death in men, particularly over the age of 50. Men are also more likely to have a heart attack, heart failure or a stroke than women.

To help keep your heart healthy you should increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids, coenzyme Q10, vitamin D and magnesium – they all contribute to supporting a healthy cardiovascular system.

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