Men’s Health Week runs from June 10-16, encouraging men to get on top of their wellbeing – both physical and mental. To kick off the week, we’ve compiled a selection of stories on men’s health, from heart care to prostate cancer to hair loss.
Men’s Health Week: Expert advice on how to take care of men’s wellbeing
NZ Herald
6 mins to read
Mens Health Week runs from June 10-16 and encourages men to take stock of their wellbeing, both physical and mental. Photo / Getty Images
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Can exercise help prevent prostate cancer?
A new study adds to growing evidence that exercise is an important part of preventing prostate and many other cancers.
In recent years, one of the most provocative questions in cancer research has been whether a regular exercise habit can prevent certain cancers from taking hold.
The answer, as with any question related to cancer, is complicated. But a recent study published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine offered a glimpse of how regular physical activity affects the risk of prostate cancer, the second most common and second most fatal cancer in the United States for men.
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Bear Grylls on men’s mental health, crying and new app Mettle
The former SAS soldier’s recently launched app, Mettle, aims to improve men’s mental health at a time when it’s in crisis, writes Nick Harding.
For a seemingly fearless adventurer and former SAS soldier tough enough to survive a back-breaking parachute accident and climb Everest 18 months later, Bear Grylls is surprisingly candid about his emotions.
“The last time I cried? Last night watching the movie Maestro,” he offers. “I cry a lot and I cry more as I’ve gotten older.”
In fact, Grylls, 49, says crying is cathartic and every man should do it.
“If men weren’t designed to cry, we wouldn’t have tear ducts. Nature and the good Lord don’t give us many things that don’t have a purpose. We have tear ducts, so we are meant to cry,” he proclaims.
Grylls is talking about emotions because he is a man on a mission. Having conquered the world’s highest peak, trekked Antarctica, rowed the Atlantic and paddled down the Thames naked in a bathtub, he is tackling his biggest challenge yet, the male mental health crisis.
Why modern life is making men lose their hair – and how to prevent it
Male pattern baldness is affecting an increasing number of young men, and lifestyle factors may be to blame. Here’s how to treat it.
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Androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness affects 30 per cent of men under 30, and about 80 per cent of men over 70, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
Many young men find hair loss extremely distressing, says the consultant trichologist Anabel Kingsley of hair specialists Philip Kingsley.
“I have had a couple of young men who have refused to get into photos with friends, they’ve been teased about it because it’s more acceptable to tease men. They will laugh but then be privately really self-conscious. I’ve met young men who have gone into depression. One man loved swimming but refused to swim because when his hair was wet his baldness became more visible.”
Kingsley says genetics are behind the condition but the way we live can exacerbate the issue.
What is an enlarged prostate? And why don’t men like to talk about it?
Jeremy Grummet is a urologist and adjunct clinical associate professor in the Department of Surgery at Monash University. His article for The Conversation, republished in the Herald, explains what men need to know about the prostate
Conversation about how often you have to get up at night for a piddle is probably not the most scintillating discourse. But there’s a much bigger reason men don’t like to talk about prostate conditions.
My experience as a practising urologist suggests most men don’t like talking about their enlarged prostate because they actually have no idea what their prostate even is or does, let alone how it can cause problems when it gets bigger with age. They’ve heard of it, of course, they know it’s somewhere down there and that it can get cancer in it, but mostly I suspect that’s about the extent of it.
So, let’s get back to basics and explain to these guys (you?) what the prostate is, what it does, and what can happen when it enlarges due to benign prostate hyperplasia (enlargement).
How men can beat the post-40 testosterone drop and maintain virility
Testosterone levels are on the decline, largely due to poor diet and lifestyle. Fortunately, there are ways to increase this vital hormone, writes personal trainer Matt Roberts.
Testosterone is a vital hormone that’s crucial for so many functions. It is responsible for growth, repair and sexual function, so maintaining a normal level is important. Men need testosterone for strong bones, building muscle and virility. But this sex hormone isn’t just in men – women, too, have it, but at lower levels.
In men, testosterone levels peak in the early 30s, before starting a gradual descent from that point onwards. But now, a large new research programme from the University of Massachusetts has shown male testosterone levels at the age of 54 are a staggering 22 per cent lower than only two decades ago, with scientists laying the blame on our poor diet and lifestyle.
If this is a real generational change – and testing within my own facilities would back those numbers up – we need to rapidly address the problem and raise the bar again. Our vitality depends upon it, so what should you do to reboot this essential hormone?
Ten ways to support your mental health in 2024
These simple and proven strategies will help you manage stress and find meaning in the new year.
Since the height of the pandemic, there has been a cultural shift in the way we talk about mental health. It’s as if the years of isolation and uncertainty helped us understand how vital our emotional needs were to our overall wellbeing.
Now that we’re paying more attention to our inner lives, it’s also essential that we take action. Fortunately, there are a number of things everyone can do to nourish their mental health and find moments of joy.
Here are some of our favourite tips from the past year.
