Health - Men Part 2

Lifting weights is all the exercise I need
Some structured weight-lifting routines can improve cardiovascular fitness, but the “best cardio exercise is aerobic,” says Dr. Louis Teichholz, chief of the division of cardiology at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

Aerobic exercises include jogging, biking or using a treadmill, Stairmaster or an elliptical trainer.

At the same time it’s important to include strength-training in a regular routine because men lose muscle power as they age.

Too many guys also think they have to train like they’re going for a marathon when just walking can be enough, doctors say.

“Any exercise is better than no exercise,” says DeVane.

“For preventing heart attacks it’s the best thing you can do," he says, "just try to be consistent.”

Prostate cancer treatment is worse than the disease
Macho men like to play dare devil, but even the toughest guys turn squeamish when it comes to their prostate, the small reproductive gland located above the rectum and below the bladder.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for males over 40 and is expected to kill an estimated 30,000 men in 2005, according to the American Cancer Society. African-American men are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and to die from it.

But many guys are still too timid to discuss it with their doctors.

"Men fear that if something is wrong and you find it, the consequences of the treatment would be worse than the disease," says Crawford. Fears of impotency and incontinence keep older men from getting tested, even though they may face greater risk because of family history or age.

There is debate whether prostate cancer screening saves lives or not, but many doctors are pushing men to get tested regularly. "Because men are living longer, the amount of prostate cancer we’re diagnosing is increasing," says Seballos.

While the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test can produce false-positives, when used with a digital rectal exam it can be effective at catching prostate diseases that need to be treated.

Treatments have improved and survival is most likely when cancer is caught early. As Crawford explains, "the biggest cause of impotency is death."

I don’t have to worry about fertility
It is commonly assumed that men’s behaviors will not affect the conception process — that fertility issues are up to the woman. Wrong, says fertility specialist Dr. Lawrence Werlin of Coastal Fertility Medical Center in Irvine, Calif. Behaviors like smoking, binge drinking or strenuous heat-conducive exercise like cycling can all negatively impact male fertility.

The occasional beer is no problem, but for men who drink heavily on weekends, the sudden toxic effect can impair sperm, says Werlin.

Also, hot tubs, Jacuzzis and saunas can be damaging to sperm, so men should be careful to avoid submerging in anything hotter than body temperature. “If it feels hot on your skin, too hot for the sperm,” says Werlin.

The good news is, a man’s sperm regenerates about every 90 days. The bad news is, if you damage the boys now, it could take three months to impregnate your partner.

Taken from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10452114/page/2/