The body requires routine maintenance to make it last a long time and to function well throughout a persons life expectancy. Using the body as it was intended and minimizing abuse also increases its ability to perform. When we buy a car, we expect to routinely change the oil, filters, rotate the tires, and avoid driving too aggressively to keep the car running smoothly and last a certain length of time. As in life, accidents happen and cosmetic injuries occur.
Our bodies suffer through illnesses and accidents and many are unavoidable. Taking care of your body also includes scheduled maintenance and screening examinations to detect illnesses at an early stage, which increases the potential for cure and a return to health.
A healthy lifestyle is not just an absence of disease, but an opportunity to enjoy the years of life available to each person.
Prostate problems
The prostate is a unique male organ. It is located beneath the bladder and connects it to the penis. Its function is to produce part of the seminal fluid that is alkaline, which helps lengthen the life span of semen when it enters the vagina. The prostate also has involuntary muscles that contract to help expel semen during ejaculation.
A common condition in men that is part of the normal aging process is benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH or enlarged prostate). The urethra is a tube that passes through the prostate and drains the bladder. A man with an enlarged prostate (BPH) often has difficulty emptying the bladder because the urethra is being compressed by prostatic tissue. This compression of the urethra makes it difficult for the bladder to generate enough pressure to overcome the obstruction (enlarged prostate). Over time, the bladder itself begins to weaken making urination even more difficult.
Symptoms of BPH include:
- Urinary frequency (urinating more often)
- Urinary urgency (the feeling that he has to empty the bladder urgently or risk wetting himself)
- Urinary hesitancy (difficulty starting the urine stream)
- Urinary straining (requiring more pressure or bearing down to empty the bladder)
- Poor urine stream and dribbling
- Treatment of BPH (which may include medications or surgery) depends upon the man, any underlying medical conditions, and the severity of symptoms.
Testosterone
Sexual health and function are important parts of a healthy lifestyle. The ability to participate in sexual intercourse depends upon the brain, hormones, nerves, and blood vessels that supply the penis. A variety of mechanisms and feedback loops need to work for an erection to occur. There are numerous causes of erectile dysfunction (ED, impotence) including:
- diabetes,
- peripheral vascular disease,
- spinal cord injury, and
- multiple sclerosis.
Impotence is also a complication of prostate cancer treatment, which can include surgery and radiation.
Smoking is an independent risk factor for developing impotence.
Treatment of erectile dysfunction depends upon the cause but may include medications (for example,
tadalafil (Cialis), sildenafil [Viagra], and vardenafil [Levitra, Staxyn], testosterone replacement therapy and, for some men, prosthetic devices surgically inserted into the penis.
Testosterone levels that are required for puberty, muscle, and bone development in young adulthood gradually decrease over a mans lifetime (sometimes referred to as Low T). Testosterone levels need to be at a certain level to maintain body and brain function. Numerous theories exist about the use of testosterone therapy routinely in older men, but these theories have not been widely accepted. There are however, a few health care practitioners that use testosterone to prevent aging.
Heart disease
Heart disease is the number one killer of men in the United States.
The heart is like any other muscle, requiring blood to supply oxygen and nutrients for it to function. The heart needs are provided by the coronary arteries, which begin at the base of the aorta and spread across the surface of the heart, branching out to all areas of the heart muscle.
Heart attack
A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when a plaque ruptures, allowing a blood clot to form, which can be life-threatening. The blood clot completely obstructs the artery, stopping blood flow to part of the heart muscle, and that portion of muscle dies.
Cancers
Lung cancer is the number one killer among cancers in men, and most are preventable. Smoking causes 90% of all lung cancers and while the number of smokers in the United States has decreased in the past generation, 20% of teenagers smoke and will be the future victims of lung cancer. It is harder to stop smoking than it is to stop many other addictions; nicotine in tobacco is a very addictive drug. Tobacco in its various forms including smokeless or chewing tobacco is related to a variety of other cancers including cancer of the mouth, throat and larynx.
Stroke (cerebrovascular accident, CVA)
A stroke (cerebrovascular accident [CVA]), occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is disrupted, causing brain cells to die. Blood flow can be compromised by a variety of mechanisms. This can occur because blood supply has been cut off (ischemia) or because there has been bleeding in the brain (hemorrhage). Ischemic strokes occur due to a variety of reasons including the gradual narrowing of a blood vessel in the brain, debris that can break off from the carotid artery in the neck, or from a blood clot that embolizes (or travels) from the heart.
Diabetes
The pancreas makes insulin to help cells use glucose for energy. Diabetes describes the situation where insulin function in the body is abnormal.
Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in people younger than 40 where the bodys immune system destroys the insulin producing cells in the pancreas.
More than 80% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
Poorly controlled diabetes increases blood sugar levels in the bloodstream and in the long-term, affects the small blood vessels in the body, which can lead to multi-organ failure. Poorly controlled diabetes can cause vascular disease leading to heart attacks, strokes, limb amputations, kidney failure, blindness, and nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy).
Diabetes prevention and control include eating a well balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and routinely exercising, and keeping active.
Influenza and pneumonia
A healthy lifestyle and healthy body makes for a strong immune system that can fight common infections like influenza (flu). It is important to follow public health recommendations for routine immunizations to reduce the risk of contracting the flu, and its complications such as pneumonia. However, pneumonia is not limited to just viral causes. Bacterial pneumonia is ranked with influenza as one of the major causes of death in men by many researchers. Fortunately, a pneumococcal vaccine has proven effective in preventing one of the most common bacterial causes of pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Kidney disease
The kidneys filter impurities from the blood and dispose of them in the urine. They are also important in maintaining electrolyte balance in the blood. Even in healthy people, aging gradually decreases the efficiency of kidney function. Kidney failure is often a result of years of poorly controlled high blood pressure and diabetes.
How to stay healthy
Being proactive about your health is an important starting point in maintaining health. Some steps are self-evident but a person may need help in taking the first step. The ability to recognize that living healthy is a life-long commitment is an important key to longevity. Nobody is perfect, and the ultimate goal is to have more good habits than bad. Failing to meet a goal does not give permission to quit trying. Doing well one day is not a license to stray the next.
Here is a checklist to promote a healthier lifestyle and living a longer, healthier life.
- Stop smoking
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Engage in some type of physical activity every day
- Eat a heart healthy diet
- Maintain good control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes
- Get routine medical care and physical examinations
- Get recommended screenings for prostate and colon cancer
- Perform routine home testicle exams
- Keep mentally active
- Maintain close relationships with a circle of friends
- Seek help if you have symptoms of depression
Your Health Is our Concern!
Mawuena Workartey/ Ghanahospitals.org
