Healthy Aging For Men

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2 AnswersMany believe that the only true anti-aging tip for men is to live a healthy lifestyle. This would include eating a healthy diet, which minimizes or eliminates sugars, alcohol, and processed and fatty foods. Daily low-impact exercise, adequate sleep and measures to deal with stress, including meditation and music, would make this list as well.
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1 AnswerDr. Harris H. McIlwain, MD , Rheumatology, answered
An effect of aging in men is that it may take longer to achieve an erection, even though it is usually possible. The erection may be less intense. This can be used to extend the time of foreplay. It becomes more important to try to separate out the difference between physical limits on sex such as those resulting from medical problems and changes in appearance. Then you can learn to ignore the physical problems in sex brought on by aging. This can increase the pleasure of sexual activity without limits by aging.
Because of the drop in sensitivity of the skin of the penis, men may need longer and more direct stimulation to achieve an erection than in earlier years. Visual stimulation may be less effective and psychologic thought processes that formerly aroused and caused an erection may be slower or less effective.
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1 AnswerDr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answeredMen are particularly at risk of the aging effects of being unhappy. Studies of twins in Finland indicate that predictors of satisfaction in life are major determinants of the death rates for men. These predictors include how happy they are with their lot in life, no matter what it may be; whether or not they are lonely; and whether or not they have a general interest in life. A general dissatisfaction with life predicts not only adverse health behavior (such as smoking, not watching one's diet, and not exercising) but also mortality rates, especially among men. In fact, this appears to be one of the major differences between men and women. Men who are dissatisfied don't practice healthy habits, whereas women who are dissatisfied with life don't have the same mortality risk. Apparently, women continue to practice healthy habits and do not "give up."
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1 AnswerDr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answeredWhen comparing the RealAges (physiologic age) for thirty-five-year-old men, a man who is married is 6.3 years younger than a bachelor and 5.8 years younger than a man who is separated or divorced. Studies in three countries found that a successful marriage had more of an effect on arterial aging than even total cholesterol or bad (low-density lipoprotein [LDL]) cholesterol levels. That is, men who were happily married were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than unmarried men, even if the LDL cholesterol readings for the married men were much higher. Clearly, being married is enormously beneficial to a man's RealAge.
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1 AnswerDr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answeredGetting fired or laid off ages us even more than work does, no matter how much we may have grumbled about our jobs. Losing a job can make your RealAge (physiologic age) as much as five years older. Such loss is especially significant for men in the middle or late stages of their career; job layoffs and firings seem to have an especially pernicious aging effect on these men, moreso than on women. Most likely, this gender gap has to do with traditional social roles, in which men are taught to believe that their job is the most central part of their identities. Men who have lost their jobs, and even those who have retired of their own free will, are more than twice as likely to have a major aging event than men who remain continuously employed.
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2 Answers
It's important for both men and women to eat a healthy diet and exercise as often as possible. As you age, increasing weight-bearing exercise and fiber intake can also help.