According to MayoClinic.com, the list of major threats to men's health is surprisingly short. What's more, for the most part, you can lower your risk by taking preventive action. Fitness and diet play an important role in ensuring men age into their golden years while remaining mentally and physically fit.
Choose Whole Grains, Fruits and Veggies
MayoClinic.com lists heart disease as a leading men's health threat and notes that eating a diet rich in whole-grain foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and only limited amounts of fatty cheeses and meats can help you prevent heart disease. Avoiding fatty foods can also help you avoid cancer, stroke, and type-2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes.
Control Your Weight
You can keep your weight at a healthy level by engaging in a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise; according to MayoClinic.com, a healthy weight can help men avoid major health risks for Alzheimer's and kidney disease. Your routine can be 30 minutes five times a week of running, swimming, or playing an active sport that gets your heart rate up and your breathing faster. However, you might have to exercise more than the recommended minimum amount of 2.5 hours per week or eat less in order to maintain your current weight or attain a healthy weight goal. In addition to increasing your physical activity, you can eliminate sugary drinks and eat smaller but more flavorful meals to decrease your calorie intake.
Strength Train
According to experts at Gold's Gym, doing strength training in the weight room or with the weight of your own body can help you be stronger during everyday life, as well as help you increase your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass. A faster metabolism helps you maintain your weight. And being stronger can make working out more enjoyable and rewarding, meaning you might be more excited about heading out for your workout each day.
Increase Physical Activity
MayoClinic.com also reports that men face particular challenges getting rid of belly fat, known as "visceral fat," that lies deeper in your torso and closer to your vital organs. The website admits that doing sit-ups will strengthen your abdominal muscles, but they won't necessarily reduce your belly fat. To battle this fat, you need to lower your total body fat by increasing your overall physical activity level. In addition to your normal exercise routine, try to incorporate activity into your daily life: Park your car far from the store to walk more; walk or bike instead of driving when possible; and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
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