Health tips for men

When we talk about health, there is so much said about women’s and children’s health. Also, when it comes to taking care of their health women are known to be more pro-active than men. We have our periodic checkups, gynecologist appointments, and are more self-conscious when it comes to looking after our bodies. Whereas with men, they generally visit a doctor when they are ill and not proactively to monitor their health. And probably this could be one of the reasons why the life expectancy of women is higher. According to the latest U.S. report, life expectancy for the ladies is 81.2 years compared to 76.4 years for males

And since Father’s Day as well as world yoga day is right around the corner, here are the top tips for men to help them take charge of their health.

Visit a doctor at periodic intervals

Like women do, post the age of 30 make it a practice to visit your doctor at least once every year to get yourself checked. Have regular cholesterol and blood pressure tests. Both high cholesterol and high blood pressure are described as silent killers. Research shows that cardiovascular disease appears to be the leading cause of most preventable deaths in men over 40, and monitoring is the only way to find out if you have a potential problem.

Have a nutritious diet

Women are the ones known to count calories and monitor their intake more than men. And as we all know that ‘We are what we eat’. Thus, taking care of your diet is very important. Make sure you have a well-balanced meal. Avoid junk food and outside food and try to have more home cooked meals. Also include a fruit, salad and nuts in your diet daily.

Check your smoking and alcohol consumption

Keeping a check on your smoking and alcohol consumption is very important. Smoking causes more than one in 10 deaths worldwide and leads to serious diseases like tuberculosis and cancer. Similarly, with consuming alcohol, approximately 10 percent of people who start drinking socially will become alcoholics. Thus, it is best to avoid both smoking as well as consuming alcohol if possible and otherwise keep a check on it and try to minimize it as much as possible.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercising has many benefits – both physical as well as mental. It helps reducing the risk for high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis. Also, it helps us being fitter mentally by releasing hormones that help reducing stress, elevates our mood, keeps us fresh and reduces the risk for depression. So, choose any form of exercise that you like, be it hitting the gym or playing some sport or cycling or running – whatever you enjoy the most and maintain a routine to include it in your daily schedule.

Monitor your stress levels

Stress is one of the major issues that many men face – trying to balance work and family and meet everyone’s expectations.  Also, the genetic makeup of men is not such that they discuss feelings with family and friends easily and unburden themselves. Thus, practicing stress relieving techniques is very important. Here are some simple breathing exercises to help relieve stress and keep you fresh and energized throughout the day.

Care for your prostate

The prostate grows as you grow older. So, watch out for symptoms like urinary problems. Make sure if you experience anything unusual, you visit the doctor immediately.  A healthy, low-fat diet will reduce the likelihood of prostate growth and may reduce the risk for prostate cancer.

Develop a hobby

Like women try and get some “me” time, this “me” time is equally important for men. Following a passion or developing a hobby is one of the best ways to focus on something other than routine life. Be it biking or trekking or gaming or painting or playing music – whatever makes you happy. Spend some time weekly on something other than normal routine and this is the key to maintaining good mental health and reduces the chances of depression.

This post is part of the blog train for World Yoga Day called “On track to good health”. Thanks, Sneha of  Blogsikka for introducing me. I would like to hand over the baton to Mayura to continue our journey to good health. A National Award winner in Digital Marketing & PR, Mayura Amarkant is the co-founder of Sarvashreshtha Solutions, a digital solutions & software company. She owns and manages a lifestyle & parenting blog: diaryofaninsanewriter. It contains freshly curated content for the modern reader. Visit her blog to know more.