Wisdom is supposed to grow with age. But when it comes to males and health, it is often instead a case of older men behaving badly. This group are notorious for their reluctance to visit their GP, as well as having a marked preference for the pub over the gym.
Figures released last week showed that older men have the fastest growing risk of the most deadly form of skin cancer. Every year in the past two decades, melanoma cases have jumped by 12 per cent in men aged 60 and over, say analysts at Public Health England. The lead researcher, Professor Julia Verne, blames much of this on men being ignorant about sun protection and not wearing SPF creams.
But older men don’t have to be their own worst health enemies. Scientists have been uncovering a wealth of ways in which they can boost their bodies, their morale and their libidos. These are simple steps, which not only can hold ageing and disease at bay, but also restore the glow and joy of youthfulness. What more could an old boy want?
Dig the garden
Men in their fifties who do three hours a week of heavy gardening can outlive their sedentary peers by 2.3 years and moderate exercisers by more than a year. The benefit is as significant as giving up smoking, according to a British Medical Journal report. The benefits are long term, and emerge within five-to-ten years’ time, say the researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden.
Get to know your GP
Family doctors often complain they don’t see men between the age of their last childhood vaccination and shortly before they die in old age. Above 50, it’s time to get into the habit of having regular MoT tests for the major causes of infirmity. These include screening for high blood pressure and cholesterol, prostate and bowel cancer, and possibly osteoporosis. Catch them early and they can be cured medically, or even by lifestyle changes.
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Volunteer
Doing volunteer work for two-to-three hours a week lowers symptoms of depression, as well as improving health and adding years to life, according to an examination of 50 previous studies involving men over 50. The report, in the Psychological Bulletin, found that volunteering makes people feel better about themselves and more connected socially. It adds that there’s no need to spend more the three hours a week volunteering, as the benefits rapidly tail off after this.
Drink more water after 55
Men’s bodies begin to lose their ability to hold water in the mid fifties. The level can drop to around 54 per cent water, compared with 61 per cent in younger males. As the water content of your tendons falls, they get stiffer; cartilage degenerates and the synovial fluid content of the joints is reduced, making them stiffer. The answer is to drink more than ten glasses of 200ml each a day. This should keep desiccation at bay.
More orgasms are good for your prostate
Older men who orgasm ten or more times a month are better protected against prostate cancer, say University of Nottingham investigators in the British Journal of Urology International. They believe that sexual activity in later life releases toxins from the prostate gland that can cause cancer. The orgasms are beneficial, regardless of whether there is a partner present. Other research suggests that regular sex with a partner may also boost longevity in older males, as the rush of feel-good hormones may boost health by lowering blood pressure and improving cardiac health.
Cut your caffeine after 50
Caffeine in tea, coffee and cola can increase the amount of calcium that older men lose from their bodies via urine, thus increasing the risk of them developing osteoporosis. Men over 50 should limit their consumption of caffeinated drinks to only one or two cups a day. They should also try to boost their intake of dietary calcium through dairy, nuts and oily fish such as sardines and salmon.
More vitamin D will boost your testosterone
As men age, the levels of the male hormone tend to drop. In later years, the levels can plummet, resulting in loss of muscle and sex drive. But sunshine can help. In 2011, Austrian researchers found that upping your blood levels of vitamin D by getting out in the sun can bolster levels of the hormone. Eating eggs, avocado, olives, coconut, and coconut oil, as well as raw nuts such as pecans, almonds, and Brazil nuts, can also help.
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Lift weights to reduce cholesterol
In sedentary men over 50, muscle loss begins to accelerate until they lose about a tenth of it every ten years. The process is called sarcopenia. But much of this can be halted through regular light weight training, which won’t only boost your muscle tone. Muscles play many important roles in men’s bodies: they burn energy faster than fat, thus keeping weight down. Muscles also keep sugar out of the bloodstream, cutting the risk of diabetes, and they also reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Don’t be grumpy
The Victor Meldrew stereotype couldn’t be farther from the truth for many older men. A study earlier this year in the journal Psychology found that four-fifths of men aged 50 said life had got better for them, as many of the hassles of life, such as childcare and mortgages, had declined. Men whose morale had slumped by the time they got to 70 tended to have suffered from poor health and loneliness. Getting active and having fun in later life isn’t self-indulgence, it’s a duty to self and society.
Aerobic exercise will boost your memory and fight high blood pressure
Moderate aerobic exercise, such as running, climbing stairs, or riding a bike has important benefits for ageing men. It seems to stimulate neurogenesis — the growth of new brain cells. Columbia University research shows that older males who did an hour’s aerobic exercise four times a week had better function in their dentate gyrus, where memories are formed. Such exercise can also delay or reverse ageing in arteries by preventing them from becoming stiff — the prime cause of high blood pressure.
Protect your heart with folic acid
Folic acid is important in helping to prevent heart disease in older men. But about 40 per cent of them fail to consume their recommended daily amount. You can take it as a supplement but it’s better to get it from food. Researchers at Oklahoma State University said part of the reason for low folic acid in older men was that many of them are not eating breakfast cereals, most of which are fortified with folic acid as well as B12, a vitamin that helps the body to absorb folic acid.
Runners beware
Older men who run marathons are at significantly greater risk of cardiac arrest. As men age, their circulations get less efficient, and so does the way in which their muscles use blood. This in turn cause atrial fibrillation — a condition that causes an irregular heart rate, which can result in lethal strokes. A large-scale study of older runners in the journal Heart has found that running between 8km and 32km a week can be beneficial, but longer distances are harmful.
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Avoid taking supplements
It’s tempting in older age to rely on costly supplement pills such as vitamins to keep the effects of ageing at bay. However, many studies have shown that supplements can cause widespread physical problems, while offering only marginal help. For example, a large study in the publication, Rejuvenation Research, last year, pointed out that omega-3 supplements raise the risk of prostate cancer in men. Sensible eating and exercise regimes can be far more beneficial, it concluded.
Over sixties should play football
Men in their fifties, sixties and older should consider playing football in order to get their recommended half-hour of strenuous exercise five times a week, says Peter Reddy, of Aston University’s School of Life and Health Sciences. A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports of men aged between 63 and 78 playing regular football found that they have stronger than normal physiques and high levels of psychological satisfaction. You can find senior teams seeking players on ukfootballfinder.co.uk