“Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.” –LeBron James
It is Men’s Health Awareness Month and we did some research for you. Everything from doing a prostate exam to how much sex you should have per week is on the table. Like the quote from LeBron “the King” James most of us failed on our diets. But, there is hope and today is the first step. Reading this article is the next one. And, we created a quick 5-tip program to keep you healthy.
#5 eat whole foods
I’m not going to lie here. I like pizza, Doritos and Shake Shack (In-an-out in the West) as much as anyone. But, it’s just not good for you. Packed with salt, fats, white flour, sugar and even hormones, processed foods can have a major impact on your health. “Do your best to eat whole foods (fruits and vegetables) that are usually found around the perimeter of grocery stores. There you will find more fruits and vegetables” according to Dr. Dave Rosner, DO. “Whole foods that have not been processed help balance hormones including testosterone.”
#4 PSA test
PSA stands for Prostate-Specific-Antigen test. Say that five times fast. According to the American Cancer Society “people in higher risk categories should start doing these tests around age 40.” When asked about the process Dr. Rosner explains “it’s done by your physician and consists of a simple blood test and basic exam, where the focus is for nodules, masses and lumps.” Though this might be tough to think about, there is upwards of 100% survival rate in 5 years with early detection, according to Cancer.net. Moral of the story? Go get your prostate checked.
#3 fiber
Avocados, almonds, raspberries and even apples all have good amounts of fiber. And with increasing research into maintaining a healthy gut, fiber is a good thing to have onboard. It’s amazing how little fiber we get in our diets on a regular basis. According to the USDA Guidelines between 2015-2020, daily recommended intake for men ages 30-50 is 30.8 grams per day. Are you getting enough fiber? Might want to put the chips down and add some roughage to the diet.
Quick tip: go to your local grocery store in the pharmacy section and ask for gummy fiber. They not only taste good, but can help get you on track.
#2 colorectal exam
Okay, we’re not going into detail here. Suffice to say, if you don’t eat enough fiber this could become an issue. Go see your local physician and ask them. It’s nothing to be nervous or embarrassed about. But, you could have some major issues (including cancer) if you ignore it.
#1 have more sex
Completely serious on this one. “I recommend to my patients to have sex 3-5 times per week,” says Dr. Rosner. There is also the eh-hem “manual means” by which you can achieve similar results. And, Dr. Rosner is not alone…in a study conducted by Harvard in 2003 with over 29,000 men found that ejaculating 20+ times a month had a “33% less incidence of prostate cancer.” If that’s not music to your ears, I don’t know what is!
At the end of the day it’s all about choice. Diet, physical exams and of course sex. All of this is good for the inside of your body. For the outside and particularly your skin, it can be confusing with what to do. With thousands of skin care products out there we created an algorithm that custom tailors existing, medical grade skin care for men. Since men have thicker skin (at least on our face) we need different types of products. Click here to take our skin care quiz, which will not only tell you what you need, but make it very easy to get it delivered to your doorstep with instructions for use. Until then, use your fiber, have some sex and go see your physician.
To your health,
Team Reflect
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