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The month of November is a great time to get active and healthy. This year, the American Heart Association (AHA) has set an ambitious goal for men: by 2035, 75% of U.S. adults will be physically active for 30 minutes at least once per week. If you’re looking for ways to reach this goal, we have good news: lots of fun ways to increase your activity level this fall! Here are nine easy ways you can make sure you’re staying active throughout November/December:
Get screened
Genetic testing can help your health in three significant ways. First, it can help you make informed decisions about your health. And if the results come back positive, you could take preventative measures early on and then get regular screenings for the rest of your life.
Genetic testing is a great way to help your family learn more about their health. And suppose any of your family members have potentially passed along troublesome genes. In that case, you could all benefit from getting tested and then making changes to your lifestyles that can help improve them.
Screening can also identify issues when you aren’t experiencing symptoms, so your provider can be proactive about preventive treatment. Today, we’re lucky to have some tremendous accessible genetic screening options, like JScreen. By providing convenient, at-home access to cutting-edge genetic testing technology, patient education, and genetic counseling services
Step up your workout routine
Exercise is a vital part of good health and is especially important for men. Exercise can help prevent heart disease and diabetes, as well as high blood pressure. It has also been shown to improve your mood and cognitive function, which means you’ll be generally happier!
Exercise can help you lose weight by burning more calories than sitting around watching TV or playing video games. And if that weren’t enough, exercise is linked with better sleep quality and longer life expectancy (and decreased risk of death from all causes).
Quit smoking
Quitting smoking is a significant step toward improving your overall health. It’s easy to see how it causes cancer, heart disease, lung disease, stroke as well as diabetes, and erectile dysfunction. Quitting smoking is also essential for men’s health because it helps reduce stress levels in the body which can lead to weight gain or obesity over time.
Schedule Your Annual Physical (every year)
It’s easy to forget to have your annual physical, but it’s also essential. You should schedule your annual physical at least once a year. The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that men over 50 get checked for high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes; those with an existing illness should also be tested for those conditions. If you want to be sure you are up-to-date on all these screenings, ask your doctor when they last completed their checkups or look them up online (many local hospitals offer this service).
Know your family health history
If you’re a man, you must know your family health history. Knowing this can help prevent disease and other health issues in the future. For example, if there are many cases of heart disease in your family (or if a relative has had it), then staying fit and healthy is more important than ever before because bad habits could lead to heart problems later on down the road.
It’s also essential for men to learn about their family members’ habits to determine what exercise regimen would be best for them—and it may not always be cardio!
Eat Healthy/Eat the Rainbow
“Eating the rainbow” is a great way to get your daily dose of vitamin C, one of the essential nutrients for good health. But it’s also easy to eat healthy when you know what foods are high in vitamins and minerals without reading labels.
Here are some simple tips for eating healthy this November:
- Eat various foods, including vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins and minerals, like carrots, lettuce, or berries (preferably organic).
- Avoid processed foods such as white bread, which have been stripped down of all their natural nutrients by heating them at high temperatures before packaging them up into slices or loaves—this can cause inflammation in your body which leads directly back towards heart disease risk factors like obesity! Stop eating these types too often because they’re loaded with sugar alcohols like sorbitol which aren’t good for us either.”
Manage your stress
Stress is a normal part of life. But if you’re feeling stressed out, it can lead to depression, anxiety, and heart disease. Stress can also contribute to diabetes and high blood pressure—all of which are severe conditions that require professional medical attention!
Stress may also cause weight gain in the form of fat around your belly area (visceral fat). This type of weight is hazardous because it produces hormones like cortisol which increase inflammation in the body causing metabolic syndrome (a cluster of risk factors for heart disease).
Get adequate sleep
Sleep is essential for your health, and you must get enough of it. You should aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night. If you can’t meet this goal, try to ensure you get at least 6 hours of quality sleep per night.
Reduce Your Alcohol Intake
One of the most important things you can do to stay healthy this November is to reduce your alcohol intake. It’s been proven repeatedly that drinking too much can lead to health problems, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Men who drink one drink per day (one 12 oz beer, a 5 oz glass of wine, or a 1.5 oz shot) would have an average blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0% and 0.05%. If you’re trying not to get drunk during this month but still want some fun in life without having a hangover or going into withdrawal mode afterward – then try these tips:
Wrapping Up
This guide covers a lot of ground, but the bottom line is that you can have a healthy lifestyle by adopting some of these simple changes. If you’re not where you want to be with your health, it’s time for self-reflection!
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This content is brought to you by Mae Lewis.
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