Since there is a scarcity of researched evidence on how men can benefit from preventative medicine, the value of men’s preventative health care is often underestimated. Still, it’s reasonable to assume that getting a preventative health screening, following a healthy diet, and doing a sufficient amount of exercise each week, will reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and other serious illnesses.
Tip #1: Get Preventative Health Screenings
A preventative health screening checklist usually includes cancer screening, sensory screenings, and immunizations.
Standard Preventative Health Screening:
- For cancer screening, your doctor will check for colorectal risk.
- For sensory screening, your doctor will check for eyesight and hearing problems.
- For immunizations, your doctor will evaluate whether you need vaccination for pneumococcal, influenza, diphtheria, or tetanus diseases.
In addition to visiting a doctor for screening, you can also do genetic-based testing from home and screen for your risk for prostate cancer with Prompt PGS. The process is simple: order your test kit, register and activate it, then send it to a lab for testing. Prompt PGS is for any man who wants to better understand his lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer. Using the kit encourages you to personalize your own approach to screening. With a simple cheek swab, Prompt PGS allows you to analyze your genetic profile, in turn, helping you and your physician determine if and when to screen for prostate cancer
Tip #2: Follow a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet will prevent excessive weight loss or weight gain as well as reduce your risk of metabolic diseases. There are many opinions on what makes for a healthy diet, so choose a nutrition plan that makes sense for you.
General guidelines:
- Get enough macronutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
- Eat fruits and vegetables every day for phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Drink a sufficient amount of water each day to avoid dehydration. For instance, if you weigh 180 pounds, then you should drink at least 90 ounces of water.
- Avoid processed foods high in salt, sugar, or fats.
- Eat daily meals at regular intervals. Many nutritionists recommend three main meals with a healthy snack in the morning and afternoon.
Tip #3: Create a Regular Exercise Routine
Exercise physiologists often break exercise up into four main categories: aerobic exercise, strength building, balance training, and flexibility.
You can cover all these categories by choosing a comprehensive type of exercise like yoga, or you can have an exercise routine for each one.
If you prefer variety, then you could run for aerobics, lift weights for strength building, do calisthenics for balance training, and do some stretching for flexibility.
Besides deciding on the categories of exercise, also consider the intensity of each group. If you put together high-intensity workouts, then a daily routine would not give you enough time to recuperate. Conversely, if you have a moderate to mild intensity workout, then daily exercise will work fine.
3 Classes of Preventative Health Care
We can divide preventative health care into three main classifications: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
Primary Prevention. This focuses on preventing diseases from occurring in the first place by eliminating the causes of diseases and increasing resistance to illness.
Secondary Prevention. This focuses on detecting and mitigating existing conditions. For instance, if you have hypertension, you are at risk for cardiovascular diseases. By taking steps to manage your hypertension, you reduce the risk of it escalating into a life-threatening illness.
Tertiary Prevention. This focuses on reducing the effects of a disease to prevent it from getting worse. Tertiary prevention methods include treatment, rehabilitation, or surgery to halt the progression of an existing illness.
Stay Up To Date On Preventative Health
While getting a regular preventative health screening, following a healthy diet, and exercising regularly is a good start, there is always more to learn.
Preventative health is not something you learn just once and then put into action. New research findings can help you take even better care of your health. So, read books, magazines, and blogs on health prevention regularly.
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