In recent years health concerns have been a strong point of interest in the U.S., especially in light of issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. But for a variety of reasons, the life expectancy in the U.S. is actually going down, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The report indicates we are losing millions of Americans to preventable conditions and that we need to work harder to improve the lives of all Americans.
For men, in particular, the health statistics are less than stellar with 14.3% of men over 18 fair to poor health and 40.5% of men over 20 dealing with obesity. This can create the environment for several life-threatening conditions for men. Let’s look at three health issues men should be cautious of and what they can do to prevent them.
Men living in the Beverly Hills, California area looking to manage health issues can get help from Dr. Shawn Veiseh and his caring, experienced team. Our comprehensive practice offers exams, urgent care services, and care for a variety of chronic conditions, including some of the ones we’ll explore below.
A vital part of your cardiovascular system, your heart is a muscle about the size of your fist located left of center in your chest, responsible for pumping blood throughout your body. Heart diseases happen in a variety of ways. They are the number one cause of death for men in the U.S. regardless of race or ethnicity, with heart disease killing one in four men (357,761) in 2019 alone.
People dealing with heart-related conditions may experience several symptoms that are usually exacerbated by poor lifestyle choices, such as a bad diet, inactivity, stress, hypertension, and smoking. You can help reduce your chances of heart problems by engaging in regular exercise, not smoking, eating healthy and maintaining stress levels.
Your colon, or large intestine, is the last part of your digestive tract and vital to the proper digestion of food. With colon cancer (also called colorectal cancer) you develop small noncancerous cells called polyps in your colon that can become cancerous over time. Several factors increase the risk of this condition, including inflammatory intestinal conditions, a sedentary lifestyle, family history, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and alcohol abuse.
Symptoms of colon cancer include persistent changes in bowel habits and unexpected weight loss. It is both the third most common cancer in the Uniand the third leading cause of cancer death. Men are at a slightly higher risk for colon cancer, along with people over 50, and African Americans.
Dietary changes similar to the ones listed above can help reduce your risks. Colon cancer screening is also highly recommended for people reaching their 50’s, as early removal of polyps can help reduce future risks.
When referring to diabetes, most people are likely to be suffering from type 2 diabetes (95% of about 34 million Americans), a chronic disease that impairs your body’s regulation of blood sugar (glucose). Our bodies need sugars to fuel our blood cells, and in normal doses, we produce enough insulin in our pancreas to regulate and distribute throughout the body properly.
When we have more blood sugar than insulin can manage, it builds up in our bloodstream and leads to a wide variety of problems. Men are more likely to get this form of diabetes than women at a lower weight threshold, and more men are dealing with it undiagnosed. This disease is known for many dangerous complications in people, but for men, it can cause erectile dysfunction, overactive bladder and can also contribute to heart disease, nerve damage, and more.
A proper diet similar to the ones listed above that also reduces the number of high fructose sugars and reduces cholesterol is a good place to start. Losing weight and getting more exercise will also help a great deal to stabilize your blood sugar.
Each of these conditions is potentially dangerous if left unchecked. If you are dealing with any of these symptoms, make an appointment with Dr. Veiseh today to get control today.
