Men's Health

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Men's Health and Nutrition

Today, men's health problems can be very complex. Due to the physiological nature of their sex, men are at an increased risk for multiple diseases that can be potentially devastating to over-all health. Examples of factors contributing to health are: gender, heredity, work environment, stress, and diet.

A man cannot change his genetic heredity and gender. It is quite difficult and often times impossible to change a career (and the stress afforded with it). For most male adults, having a lifestyle of health and wellness means having a longer and better productive working career. They can, however, modify their diet. Adequate nutrition along with moderate daily exercise (20 to 30 minutes) improves health and wellness. This decreases the risk of illness, disease, and long-term medication dependency. Prevention is the best prescription for any man to avoid long term ill-health, and nutrition plays a vital role in disease prevention. Eating the 5-a-day recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, and avoiding foods with a high content of sugar and fats (i.e., sodas, cookies, fries etc.) are essential. Keep the body hydrated by drinking eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day. Water is an essential part of a healthy diet. Dehydration is a common cause in an astounding number of diseases. Drinking beverages that contain water is no substitute for water. Coffee, soda, alcohol and even tea contain dehydrating agents that rob the body of its ability to absorb nutrients from your food intake. So remember to drink plenty of water and supplementing your diet with a nutritional program to provide the necessary nutrients will strengthen your body's cells ability to work better.

In the October 2008 edition of MEN'S HEALTH magazine says that if you're looking to become healthy by changing your diet intake you might want to consider this...MEN'S HEALTH states that "If you want to lose weight, it seems like a good idea to trade candy bars for granola bars or to swap bacon and eggs at breakfast for the classic bagel."

Sadly, it's just not that simple. Consumer's knowledge of nutrition is rising, so food marketers are desperate to attract the right kind of attention from the eating public. So they're twisting nutritional buzzwords to trick us into eating the kinds of foods that can actually make us fat. We need to be more careful than ever to make sure we're feeding ourselves and our families the best real health foods—not sugar-infused calorie bombs disguised as weight loss foods.

Below is a short list of the dietary phonies. They make look good on the front label, but they'll get you in the end if you're not careful:

You eat this:	Granola bar	200 calories	15 g sugar
Eat this instead:	1 oz. cheddar cheese with Triscuits	150 calories	5 g sugar

You eat this:	Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom	190 calories	30 g sugar
Eat this instead:	Plain yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in	110 calories	15 g sugar
Note: Pass on these over-sweetened yogurt cups; they contain as much sugar as a soft drink. Almost all of that comes directly from the "fruit," which is swimming in high-fructose corn syrup. Yogurt and fruit is a great way to start the day, but do it yourself by mixing a cup of nonfat plain yogurt with a half cup of fresh fruit.

You eat this:	Bagel with cream cheese	700 calories	13 g saturated fat, 40 g fat
Eat this instead:	Cheese omelet	425 calories	6 g saturated fat, 18 g fat

You eat this:	Dried fruit	175 calories	45 g sugar
Eat this instead:	Fresh fruit (apple, peach or plum)	70 calories	15 g sugar
Note: OK, so dried fruit won't totally derail a good eating, but it's far from being a harmless snack. First, because the dehydrating process sucks most of the volume from the fruit, you can eat cups of the stuff, and 600 calories later, still not feel any fuller. More troubling, though, is the fact that Sun-Maid and Ocean Spray add sugar to the fruit, making Craisins closer to candy than Mother Nature's original intention. The choice is clear. Stick to the original, straight from the tree.

You eat this:	Fish sandwich	600 calories	11 g saturated fat, 30 g fat
Eat this instead:	Grilled chicken sandwich	300 calories	4 g saturated fat, 13 g fat
Note: Fish is good for you except when it's battered, fried, robed in cheese, and bathed in tartar sauce. The lesson? Even the biggest star can be sabotaged by the supporting cast. For this, avoid any menu item with the word "crispy," the restaurant industry's favorite euphemism for "fried."

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Below is a short, general list of men's health concerns. The information provided addresses how nutrition can build wellness and improve health to live a better quality lifestyle.

Obesity

Heart Disease

Cancer

Bone and Joint Disease

Diabetes

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