Men’s Health Month – Part 2: Healthy Choices

Men’s Health Awareness Month – June 6, 2023

Let’s look at our daily health factors that affect our wellbeing. Diet, exercise, gut and testicular health, and blood pressure all play a critical role.

We had a look at some of the contributing to wellness in the first Men’s Health Month entry. Now we want to look at some of the factors in our day-to-day health that make a difference in wellbeing for men. We’ll also look at how some of these factors affect your hair growth (and loss).

In modern times, it’s not exactly easy to stay on top of the trends in diet and exercise. It feels like it changes every week and becomes an endless stream of contradictory information. Many people get discouraged by this and end up eating inconsistently and exercising randomly (if at all). Eating right can be a much simpler process and exercising regularly can unlock an improved version of you.

These factors in our daily lives also have an impact on the health of our hair. Let’s have a look…

Diet
There are seemingly endless diets to choose from these days. Weight-loss, weight-gain, muscle-building, low-cholesterol, etc. For anything you’re trying to do, there’s at least a hundred different options. When it all shakes out, balance is really the answer.

It may be worth considering a visit to the doctor to establish an ideal daily calorie intake. This amount varies greatly from person to person depending on lifestyle, but knowing this info is a huge step up. Once you know your ideal calorie intake, take some time to plan your diet to include a balance of the following:

• Fruits and vegetables. The more diverse, the better.
• Whole grains like barley, quinoa, oats, and whole wheat bread instead of white.
• The leaner, the better. Fish, skinless poultry, beans, tofu.
• Healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish like salmon. Less saturated and trans fats from snacks, desserts, and fried foods.
• It is recommended to include 25-38 grams of fiber per day for men. Many of the foods listed above contain fiber, making this a pretty attainable target.

It doesn’t need to be so complicated, so put away the scales and measuring spoons. Just have a good look at your diet and ask yourself – is this balanced?

Hydration
Everyone knows it’s important to stay hydrated, and yet it’s astounding how many dehydrated people are out there walking around. Hydration is crucial for all your bodily functions. Digestion, circulation, transportation of vitamins and nutrients, all of it. It also happens to be vital for the health, growth, and look of you hair.

One common issue for both men and women is mistaking diuretics for hydrating liquids. Coffee, tea, pop, energy drinks, and alcoholic beverages are all contributing to dehydration instead of helping you stay hydrated. So consider exchanging some of those drinks in your daily routine for a glass of water, which will more effectively contribute to overall health and wellbeing.

Diet and Your Hair
The health of your hair is greatly dependent on your diet. In the interest of maintaining strong, healthy hair growth, ensure that you’re getting enough of those hair-friendly nutrients in your diet. The most important nutrients to promote hair growth are:

• Biotin (B7) – found in leafy greens, nuts, seeds, beans, and eggs.
• Iron – found in red meat, poultry, seafood, spinach, lentils, and beans.
• Vitamin D – best way to get vitamin D is by getting out in the sunshine!
• Omega-3 fatty acids – found in fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel as well as avocados, walnuts, and flax seeds.
• Collagen – produced naturally in the body and available in supplement form.

Deficiencies in these key nutrients can lead to hair loss over time. A hair analysis test can identify any deficiencies in your diet, allowing you to tailor your diet and supplementation to the needs of your hair.

Exercise
We don’t want to sound like a broken record, going on about the importance of exercise in your life. However, it’s a narrative that doesn’t go away for one simple reason – it’s true. Staying active and exercising regularly is invaluable to your physical and mental health.

…and for Your Hair?

As far as hair is concerned, exercise plays an interesting role and can help to prevent hair loss and thinning. Exercise is proven to be an effective outlet for stress, which as we’ve learned, is one of the top contributors to hair loss. Being active also increases blood flow and improves circulation, which helps the body deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicles.

Regular exercise also helps to balance out hormone levels in the body. Certain hormones like DHT (dihydrotestosterone) can lead to hair loss if levels become too high. Hair loss caused by DHT is specifically prevalent in men. Activity will help to balance these hormones and will contribute to mitigating hormonal factors in hair loss.

Improving Your Sleep
In the first part of our blog series for Men’s Health Month, we talked about the importance of sleep and how it can how a profound impact on not only your hair, but your overall wellbeing. Regular exercise has shown to improve the quality of your sleep. Including how fast you fall asleep, how long you can achieve restful sleep, and the number of times your sleep cycle is being disrupted. Long story short, staying active keeps your body in a state where it’s prepared for high-quality sleep, and that’s going to pay dividends.

For the average adult male (aged 18-64), it is recommended that you try to engage in at least 150 minutes of physical activity throughout the week. Realistically, that’s not too daunting when you break it up to about 21 minutes per day. So get the bike out of the garage, dust of the street hockey pads, or grab some new running shoes and get out there.

Diet and exercise will forever be the key to truly feeling good. So maybe it’s time to look at ways you can improve your diet, and start being a little more active. Your life, and your hair, will thank you for it!