3 common health concerns from male clients that I meet in my clinic.
Every client is at different stages of health and every client will have different symptoms and causes. Some may be already on medication and others looking to avoid having to take it. Therefore every client receives a personalised nutritional protocol with foods and lifestyle advice and support tailored to meet individual needs.
- Heart Disease – typically High Blood Pressure & High Cholesterol
- Heart disease is thought to cause up to 12.5% of male deaths
- Important metrics to review are Blood Pressure and Cholesterol markers
- Blood Pressure readings consist of 2 numbers. An optimal reading is considered to be 120/80
- Systolic (the top number) measures the pressure your blood is pushing against your artery walls when your heart is beating.
- Diastolic (the bottom number) represents the pressure in your arteries in between heart beats
- High Blood Pressure is known as Hypertension. Stage 1 Hypertension is considered when your Blood Pressure measures 140/90-160/100 in a clinic setting. As the Blood Pressure increases further, the greater the risk of heart disease
- Cholesterol is recorded in several ways: Total Cholesterol; Triglycerides; HDL, LDL, HDL:Cholesterol ratio, Non HDL cholesterol; cholesterol:HDL ratio. It is important to review all these markers in order to understand what is going on with cholesterol and where there is a risk.
- Causes: There are a range of lifestyle choices that may play a role in increasing blood pressure and cholesterol. These include smoking, too much alcohol, being overweight, sustained stress for a long period, poor diet, especially a diet high in salt. In addition there are some genetic variants that may increase susceptibility to both high blood pressure and high cholesterol
- Symptoms that might be a sign of high blood pressure include: blurred vision; nosebleeds; shortness of breath; dizziness; headaches. If you have these symptoms it is always best to consult your medical practitioner to investigate further.
- However in some cases there are no obvious symptoms of high blood pressure and there are no apparent symptoms of high cholesterol. Thus it is important to have regular checks of both!
2. Poor Gut Health
- Poor Gut health is very common and is thought about 20% of the population may be experiencing it any given time. It is so important to maintain a healthy gut, not only to eliminate any digestive discomfort but also to ensure that we are able to absorb nutrients from the foods we eat to enable our bodies to function well (from our brains to our muscles to our heart).
- Symptoms of poor gut health include acid reflux, diarrhoea, constipation, stomach bloating, excessive flatulence, stomach cramping and can often result in individuals feeling exhausted with little energy to do anything as well as some ‘brain fog’. Sometimes it can affect peoples lives so much that they become anxious about socialising because they ‘ cannot trust their gut’.
- Causes – there are many causes of poor gut health, from poor diet to stress, to food poisoning and medications, to excess alcohol, smoking, excess sugar, bacterial infections, allergies and food intolerances
- In clinic we often undertake some private gut microbiome tests to look for the root causes of symptoms and ensure that the results are incorporated into the personalised nutrition plan.
3. Weight Loss
- According to some research it is thought almost 70% of men are overweight to varying degrees. Whilst obesity is measured by BMI (anything that is 30 or above is considered obese for men), it is also important for men to consider their waist measurement as well as their waist to height ratio and the waist to hip ratio.
- Waist measurement – ideal measurement for men should be 94cm or less
- Waist: Hip – ideal is 0.9 or less
- Waist : Height(cm) – ideal is considered 0.46-0.53
- It is considered the higher any of these measurements are, the greater the risk becomes of diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease
- Causes of excess weight gain include poor diet; not enough fibre; too much sugar, too much alcohol, poor diet, lack of movement, high levels of stress
- Symptoms – whilst being overweight does not always bring symptoms it may contribute to increasing risk of serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, as well as gut issues, poor energy levels, mood swings
If you or someone you know is struggling with any of these issues and symptoms and is open to reviewing and balancing their nutrition to optimise their health then why not get them to reach out today and arrange a free introductory call.
The November Mens Health campaign provides support for many more male health issues ranging from prostate cancer to depression, so be sure to look out for articles and events that are relevant for you.