Men's Health Week | Live Better Blog

Here at ACO we are proud to make our blog debut this week! What better week to do so than men’s health week? For our first blog post we have decided to compile some tips and tricks for men to #livebetter and #movebetter this week.

Tip #1: Be aware and be proactive!

Many men only pay attention to their health when things are going wrong, which often can be too late to enact the most effective treatment. The best thing to do is stay on top of your health! Schedule your regular checkups with your doctor and make sure to bring to their attention anything that you feel is concerning. As medical professionals, they can help put your mind at ease and keep your body running healthily.

Tip #2: Quit smoking!

If you have never smoked before or you have managed to quit, you can move on to the next tip. If not, start the process of quitting today. This process is not always a short and easy journey, but it is an important one. Studies show that, on average, it takes smokers about 30 attempts to quit before they find success. Although this might seem like a monumental task, the health risks associated with smoking are as plentiful as they are deadly, and quitting is the best way to avoid lifelong complications.

Tip #3: Cut back on or avoid alcohol use!

Frequent use of alcohol has long been associated with long-term health risks. Some signs you should probably cut back on alcohol use are as follows:

• Drinking more than three standard drinks in a day
• Drinking more frequently than not
• Feelings of alcohol dependency

On top of the long-term health risks associated with alcohol, alcohol is also packed with calories. Having a few beers can easily contribute more than a third of your daily calorie intake in one sitting. If you are looking to lose weight during this health week, try avoiding any alcohol intake and see what results come about.

Tip #4: Take care of your mental health!

Mental health and men, historically speaking, have had a rocky relationship. Too often men have been taught that struggling with mental health is a sign of weakness or a reason to be ashamed. Ultimately, the weight of mental health struggles can be overwhelming or outright impossible to face alone, and it is ok to seek out support and help. Living your life battling with mental health without help or support can be, on top of emotionally overwhelming, dangerous to your physical health and wellbeing. During this men’s health week, ask yourself, are you ignoring or repressing your mental health struggles? If the answer is yes, seek out help and support from your family, community, and mental health professionals.

Tip #5: Eat well, stay active!

Health is best maintained in the kitchen. Your diet and exercise habits have the most direct effect on your physical (and often mental) health. During this men’s health week, be sure you are eating right and getting active. When balancing your diet, remember to get a healthy mix of fruit, vegetables, and protein. Your plate should always have a generous variety of non-starchy vegetables such as carrots, peas, squash, broccoli, or any other vegetable that you enjoy. Remember to always get a variety of veggies, as they all offer varied yet equally important nutrients.

When it comes to getting active, it is important to remember that this can be anything, as long as it is consistent. Humans are not meant to live the sedentary lifestyle that our modern world tends to create for us, that is why it is important to remember to get up, move around, and get your blood pumping. Going for walks in your neighborhood, mowing the lawn, playing frisbee, or even skipping the cart and walking the golf course are all great ways to get active without disrupting your life.

Here at ACO we want to wish you a good men’s health week and we hope this article has been an interesting and informative read. Thank you for being here for the first of what we hope to be many entries in our company blog. We hope to keep the content coming and we are always open to feedback or suggestions about what we should discuss next.