Ask a red-blooded, all-American guy what he wants for dinner, and he's likely to ask for a steak or roast. Ask for a second choice, and it might be a burger or chop. Keep asking, and you may eventually come up with chicken or fish. But despite persistent questioning, our average gent is not likely to request beans.

It doesn't have to be that way. Beans were a staple of the Native American diet, and they remain so in much of Latin America and elsewhere in the world. That may be part of the reason they're neglected in the United ...

Every man desires to live long," wrote Jonathan Swift, "but no man would be old." Much has changed over the centuries, but the desire to retain youthful vigor during the golden years has endured. Fortunately, modern medicine has developed a plan for successful aging. It includes getting regular physical activity and mental stimulation; eating right; controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels; staying lean; building strong interpersonal relationships; and avoiding tobacco and other risky exposures and activities.

A wise lifestyle can help extend life and slow the aging process — but it takes effort and discipline, especially for gents ...

 

Rest and relaxation. It's such a common expression that it has become a cliché. And although rest really can be relaxing, the pat phrase causes many men to overlook the fact that exercise can also be relaxing. It's true for most forms of physical activity as well as for specific relaxation exercises.

Exercise is a form of physical stress. Can physical stress relieve mental stress? Alexander Pope thought so: "Strength of mind is exercise, not rest." Plato agreed: "Exercise would cure a guilty conscience." You'll think so, too — if you learn to apply the physical stress of exercise ...

I am a 72-year-old male in excellent health. I have been diagnosed with a 3.7-centimeter aortic aneurysm. My doctor recommends an ultrasound every six months. Are six-month checks adequate? And when should surgery be considered?