Men's Health 101

Here are the basics for monitoring and improving your health for men in mid-life. If you want to get a head-start on improving your health and well-being, read Hacks for Beginners. That page contains easy ways to start improving your health immediately.

Biometrics

Aside from basic life-style guidelines everyone should follow, the key is to understand your body to discover where bio hacks can be applied. Our bodies run on a combination of biomechanics, biochemistry, and electrical processes - let's call them "life processes". The human body is a complicated mechanism, processes working in synergy to maintain human life. As people age, inefficiencies in your body begin to manifest. Degradation of these life processes are very slow, taking many years or decades to manifest into noticeable changes. Many call these signs of aging, and dismiss them as unavoidable. Fortunately, with modern science and technology, we can identify the degradation or deficiencies that are the source of many health issues that can develop later.

By the time we reach age 40, these issues can start to become subtly apparent. However they are most often dismissed as temporary and ignored. With the application of biometrics, it's easier to identify the source of the issue, rather than dismissing it. Biometrics provide the key to analysis of the root cause, which in turn helps identify a possible corrective action. A common example is blood pressure. Consistent tracking of systolic (higher number, i.e. the pressure when the heart beats) and diastolic (lower number, i.e. when the heart rests between beats), will show trends. Those trends, can help identify issues before they manifest into symptoms. Monitoring biometrics is critical to bio hacking.

So what are some important biometrics? Here are some common ones:

• Heart Rate: number of beats per minute

• Blood Pressure: pressure your blood exerts as it moves through your arteries and veins

• Blood Biomarkers: blood panel that lists the amounts of important biomarkers in your blood (e.g. CBC)

Annual Physicals

When you are healthy, it may seem unnecessary, but I cannot stress enough the importance of regular annual physicals. Especially as you hit mid-life, it will provide a consistent and measurable way of tracking biometrics, and allow both you and a qualified physician to identify potential issues as early as possible. Early identification will allow you to take action, if necessary, to address the potential degradation or deficiency immediately, instead of waiting for it to manifest into a more serious problem.

Lifestyle

The average male lifespan in the United States is about 75 years. It might seem like common sense, but what you do to your body over your lifetime can have a positive or negative effect on your lifespan. Treat your body with respect - moderation is key. If you abuse any aspect of your body, you will wear it out faster. Listen to your body - it will tell you if you have crossed the line and gone beyond moderation. Practice these concepts and it will put *you* in control of your health and well being, and lessen your risk of encountering many of the issues all men face as they age.