COVID-19 vaccine: Get the latest updates on children’s doses, booster shots and more. Learn More

How to Prevent 4 Common Men’s Health Conditions

A doctor holding a pen and clipboard talking to a patient

Someone could write a colossal book about all the health conditions men become more susceptible to as they age. Still, there are four conditions in particular that men are at significant risk of being diagnosed with as they advance in years. Here are four common men’s health conditions, the risk factors for each, and prevention tips.

1. Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men. The American Cancer Society estimates that one out of six men will eventually be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer occurs predominantly in men in their 60s, and there is often an absence of apparent symptoms during the early stages. Although it can be a severe disease, most men don’t die from prostate cancer.

Risk Factors
Age is the most significant risk factor. Men under 40 years old are rarely diagnosed with prostate cancer. It’s found mostly in men above 65, but it can occur at an earlier age.

Prevention
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables because they contain protective vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help your body fight against all types of cancer. In addition, it would be best to minimize saturated fat intake and exercise regularly.

2. Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes either cannot properly use insulin or their pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin in the body. Without enough insulin (or inadequate usage), glucose (sugar) builds up in your system because it cannot be stored in your body’s cells or used for energy.

Type 2 diabetes is a severe condition that can lead to

  • kidney, heart, and nerve damage
  • small blood vessel damage
  • blindness
  • heart disease, and more
Risk Factors
People who are at very high risk include:

  • those over 45 years of age
  • those who are overweight
  • people who are inactive
  • people with family members who have diabetes
  • those who carry more body fat around the abdomen

Your race is also a factor. It is unknown why, but African Americans, Asian Americans, and American Indians are at greater risk than Caucasians to develop type 2 diabetes.

Prevention

You cannot control factors like age, race, or family history. However, a healthy lifestyle can significantly protect you from type 2 diabetes. Exercise regularly, eat lots of vegetables and fruits, eat primarily low-fat foods, and keep sugar intake to a minimum.

Drink mostly water, and keep sugary flavored drinks to a minimum. Choose diet sodas if you must drink soda (which you shouldn’t), and trade in sugary fruit juices for lower-calorie juices and/or no-sugar drinks like Crystal Light.

Eating unprocessed foods that are low in sugar and exercising regularly aids in keeping your blood sugar levels stable, which is very important to prevent or control diabetes.

3. High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

High blood pressure affects one of every three adults in the U.S. It can lead to kidney or heart failure, stroke, and other undesirable outcomes. The scariest part is that there are no symptoms in many cases. For this reason, high blood pressure has been nicknamed “the silent killer.”

You can have the condition and not even know it!

Risk Factors

The risk factor list is a bit lengthy:

  • being overweight
  • being inactive
  • consuming too much salt and sugar
  • chronic stress
  • smoking
  • excessive drinking
  • age (mid 40s – 50s)
  • race (African Americans particularly)
  • family history of high blood pressure
  • certain chronic conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and kidney disease

Prevention

Once again, eating healthy and exercising are the two most important things that you can do to prevent hypertension.

  • keep your salt and sugar intake to a minimum
  • don’t smoke
  • take steps to lower your stress levels
  • be aware of your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers

4. Heart Disease

Heart disease includes several conditions, but it usually refers to plaque build-up in the arteries. The more plaque clogging your arteries, the higher your risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.

Here are some alarming statistics to chew on…

Risk Factors

Diabetes, being overweight, lack of physical activity, smoking, and alcohol abuse are all risk factors for heart disease.

Prevention

  • eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and limit your intake of saturated fat
  • exercise at least three times per week
  • don’t drink excessively
  • don’t smoke  

Final Thoughts

The main point of this article is that you can prevent almost every health condition by eating well and exercising. Of course, it’s impossible to guarantee that you will never deal with any health issues, but you can (and should) do whatever possible to keep yourself healthy.

 

Works Cited:

"Diabetes." Www.heart.org, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/diabetes?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjryjBhD0ARIsAMLvnF_tLhfJOHU9TluAiFRiX943-k0YYWh1ip3DAeO4ZfZCvoClSFTHW10aAh9WEALw_wcB. Accessed 25 May 2023.

"FastStats." Www.cdc.gov, 21 Feb. 2020, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mens-health.htm.

"Overweight & Obesity." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019, www.cdc.gov/obesity/.

World Health Organization. "Hypertension." World Health Organization, World Health Organization: WHO, 16 Mar. 2023, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension.

 

Tomah Health