Men's Health Archive

A new study challenges the conventional wisdom that heart-healthy omega-3 fats from fish, walnuts, and other sources are good for the prostate and that artery-damaging trans fats are bad for it. Suzanne Rose, editor of Harvard Health’s Annual Report on Prostate Diseases, explains.

Study finds that men with the highest blood levels of omega-3s were more likely to develop high-grade prostate cancer than those with the lowest levels, and that men with the highest blood levels of trans fat were less likely to develop the disease than those with the lowest.

Paying attention to heart health can be good for a man's sex life.

Trouble getting or keeping an erection can be an early warning sign of heart disease, much as heart disease can signal a man's current or future sexual problems. When either one appears, the other is likely to be lurking nearby.

When sildenafil (Viagra) was introduced in 1998, it revolutionized the treatment of male sexual dysfunction. For one thing, this important but intensely personal issue came out from under the covers, as men began to approach sexual woes as medical problems, not personal failings. For another, the most common problem got a new and more accurate name, as erectile dysfunction (ED) replaced impotence, a term that's derived from the Latin for "loss of power." Above all, sildenafil and its rivals, vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis), provide effective and safe treatment for about 70% of men with ED.

It's encouraging progress, but since some 18 million American men have ED, there are about six million who won't respond to the ED pills. Men who use nitrate medications for heart disease cannot even try ED pills, and some men have adverse reactions or simply do not want to use medication for ED. Other modern treatments are available, but since ED is an age-old problem, some gents prefer to try old remedies instead of new therapies.

Because stretching cold muscles can lead to injury, it’s best to stretch after your muscles have been adequately warmed up — either at the end of your workout or after you’ve completed your warm-up. Stretching at the end of your workout can be a good way to cool down. Stretch several times a week for […]

Emerging scientific evidence suggests that engaging in a few hours of exercise a week — including strength training, stretching, and balance exercises — may reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED).

Researchers have found an inverse relationship between physical activity and BPH syptoms: simply put, men who are more physically active are less likely to suffer from symptoms of an enlarged prostate such as frequent urination, urgency, and a weak urinary stream.

Extra fat that accumulates around the abdomen goes by many names: beer belly, spare tire, love handles, apple shape, middle-age spread, and the more technical “abdominal obesity.” No matter what the name, it is the shape of risk.

Mindfulness meditation can ease stress. It also seems to do a lot more, like help with physical and psychological problems from high blood pressure and chronic pain to anxiety and binge eating. New research shows that mindfulness meditation changes the way nerves connect.

Men have long been encouraged to have routine tests for prostate-specific antigen as a way to detect prostate cancer early. Although early detection should save lives, it doesn’t seem to work that way for slow-growing prostate cancer. The longest-running trial to date shows that PSA testing doesn’t help men live longer.