Tough Guys Don't Go To The Doctor

So, they'd better stick to good health habits, such as exercising and not smoking in order to have a lower lifetime risk for heart failure. A study, appearing in the July 22/29, 2009 issue of the The Journal of the American Medical Association showed the results of data from 20,900 white men who participated in the National Physicians Health Study I.

They looked at the impact of health habits – such as not smoking, exercising regularly, maintaining a normal body weight, eating breakfast cereal, and eating fruits and vegetables – on heart failure. During an average follow up of 22.4 years, researchers found that men who didn’t adhere to any of the habits were twice as likely to develop heart failure as those who adhered to four or more of the habits.

An editorial accompanying the study said the findings, while not surprising, are important to public health. It said officials should do more to promote healthy lifestyle habits as a way to help prevent heart disease.

So ladies, what do we need to do to help our tough guys?

• Be a role model - show them ways to fit exercise into their lives, and participate in it with them! A walk together after dinner can do wonders for your waist and your relationship.
• Stay away from fast food - find some healthy recipes that cook up fast and keep eating out to a minimum.
• Pack your lunches - throw in some leftovers from last night with some cut up veggies and a piece of fruit or two. It saves money and guarantees you'll be eating healthier than stopping in at the corner restaurant for a quick bite or giving in to the temptations at a vending machine.
• Encourage them to get their yearly screenings - especially once they hit 40! They should be going to the dentist one to two times a year for a cleaning, to the optometrist at least once every three years, and their family doctor yearly for blood work, and after 50 for a colonoscopy. Let them know that their health is important to you and it should be important to them!