Which book or online resources are available for a mid-30s male to get and remain healthy?

December 15, 2008 11:56 AM

Please point me to a guide for maintaining a healthy lifestyle for a male in his mid-30s.

As I move into my mid-30s, I feel like my overall health has taken a turn for the worse. Much of this, I suspect, is due to the normal effects of aging, and more yet to a typical Western diet and lifestyle. I'm mildly concerned about my health and I would like to take pro-active steps to improve and maintain my health for the long-term.

A few months ago I read Younger Next Year, a book addressing this subject for men ages 50 and older. It was a fairly well-written book which condensed the general things a man should know about health into a few straightforward rules, the most provocative of which was to exercise at least 6 days a week. I appreciated that the book assumed the reader wasn't a complete dunce; the nutrition chapter admionished the reader to not eat "crap," while assuming a reasonably smart person would know what that "crap" would be (and explaining the subject in enough detail to enlighten those who were uncertain what the "crap" is.) A lot of the advice in the book seemed generally applicable to men of any age, and I may very well adopt/adapt these guidelines for healthy living. My specific question: I'm interested in seeing whether anyone can recommend similar books or online resources that are specifically geared for younger men.

Anecdotal replies within this thread would be welcome, but there are already many good replies in this recent thread. Indeed, there is no shortage of AskMe questions that address weight gain, loss of alcohol tolerance, exercise, diet, and similar subjects concerned with maintaining health and aging gracefully, and this site is a valuable resource for me in that respect. It would be ideal to supplement those replies with a well-written, reasonably comprehensive guide for maintaining my health for, hopefully, decades to come. It occurs to me that such a resource need not be gender-specific, but I think a book oriented to men would be more helpful than one not so oriented.

posted by cheapskatebay to health & fitness (4 comments total)

While not exclusively for men, You: The Owner's Manual absolutely blew my mind with the information it contained. It covered stuff I'd never heard of in a health class and really gave me some great information. They now have other editions including You: On a Diet and You: Staying Young which seem like they might have some great information for you.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 12:13 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

- Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
- Exercise
- Don't smoke or take drugs
- Don't drink to excess

You don't need a book.
posted by TrashyRambo at 2:23 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm a mid-30s male too.

So I'll provide you with an online resource by sharing my own habits in this comment.

--Lift weights. This is the point in life when muscle tissue starts to break down. Take action now to head this off at the pass.

--Before you buy food, look at the list of ingredients; if you see one that you can't pronounce or don't understand, don't buy it.

--Protein is your friend.

--Fruits and vegetables are your friends too.

--Cold-water fishes such as salmon and mackerel are more than just your friends. They're guardian angels. Try to have these at least three times a week. Omega-3 fatty acids are have damn-near magical effects on human health.

--If you take sugar with your morning coffee or tea, wean yourself from this habit. And stay away from those milkshake-like drinks they serve at Starbucks. Those are sugar bombs. Coffee should be appreciated on its own merits, not as a caffeinated sugar delivery device.

--Smoothies and fruit juices taste awfully nice but they're not that good for you. Have some real fruit instead.

--Shoot for at least eight hours of sleep a night. I used to sleep for six-ish hours a night and try to compensate with morning coffee and it really wore me down.

--Minimize the levels of stress in your life. If a job or interpersonal situation feels toxic or is a source of unremitting stress, do what you can to fix the problems and if you can't fix them, get out of that situation. Emotional stress sends a whole shitload of destructive hormones throughout the body and that takes a toll on your physical health after a while.
posted by jason's_planet at 4:46 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

--Vitamin pills can help you plug holes in your diet. But you shouldn't rely on them too much. You should be satisfying your nutritional needs with real food. Real protein sources. Real vegetables. Your body evolved to get its nutrition from actual food. Not from little pills. If you're eating donuts and pizza every day, a pill at night isn't going to make you healthy.
posted by jason's_planet at 4:51 PM on December 15, 2008