Getting the right haircut can make a big difference in a man’s appearance. It is important for a man to pick the right style in order to look their best. Getting the perfect haircut might not be as simple as it sounds, however and men may wish to try these tips to achieve a great haircut.

Firstly, men should ensure that they choose the right salon for the job. There are a wide range of hair salons to choose from. Men who are willing to spend the money can even choose a salon that allows them to enjoy drinks while they get their hair cut. Ultimately, word of mouth is very important when it comes to choosing the right salon. Acquiring recommendations may require some men to overcome their hesitance to openly talk about style. However, recommendations from friends are the best way in which a man can find a good hair salon.

Next, it is important for a man to know precisely which type of cut they desire and how to describe it to a professional. The majority of men choose to take a picture of their desired hairstyle into the hair salon with them. It is possible for a man to explain the hairstyle in words. However, when it comes to verbal requests for a haircut, men must detail the specifics and should not forget areas, such as the neck and sideburns, at this stage.

Following a haircut, the hair will be styled. Hair products can assist men in polishing a new look. It is not necessary to break the bank to get good hair products. Cheap, generic products can achieve the perfect look. Men should not be afraid to be daring when it comes to requesting a new hair style. If in doubt, they should look up celebrities and determine the most fashionable styles.

It’s not really a topic men like to discuss, especially between their friends however in your group of friends or in your office at least one man does/will suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED). Many men also believe ED is something which only affects old men, however it can strike at any age, so how do you know if you have erectile dysfunction?

Well ED is the inability to get and maintain an erection that is sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse. Sometimes ED may just be temporary, however because there are a number of causes you could suffer from ED permanently. ED is not to be confused with premature ejaculation which is where a man ‘comes’ too quickly or retarded ejaculation which is where a man cannot reach climax.

Many men are probably aware what the treatments for ED are, the most famous one is Viagra or ‘the little blue pill’ as it’s also know other ED treatments include Levitra, and Cialis. However all of these treatments come with side effects so you should always visit your doctor before taking them.

ED in young men tends to be caused by anxiety, you know, worrying about having sex if you’re not experienced, worrying about causing pregnancy and problems with condoms. This type of ED is something you normally grow out of with experience! For those in middle age, ED can be caused by stress, such as work or home life, cutting down on these types of stresses (if you can) can help. It can also be caused by diabetes so it’s always good to seek regular health checks. Finally for those older, you will find that the chance of having ED increases because of general health deterioration.

So what should you do if you suffer from erectile dysfunction? Well don’t jump straight on the internet to buy drugs from a dodgy retailer, god knows what you might end up getting, visit your doctor first, sometimes speaking to someone can actually help. If you still find that you need ED drugs then make sure you buy them from pharmacies and reputable online sellers such as www.ukmedix.com, where you can also get advice.

We have been told time and time again, that snacking regularly is bad for us. But is it as bad as it’s made out to be?

No doubt you have heard the saying, that snacking between meals ruins your appetite and now we are even being told that snacking is the demon behind the modern-day crisis of obesity.

But if you an active kinda guy, then neither of the above may necessarily be true. On average, men need to consume an extra 600 calories more per day than women. Factors such as height, weight and occupation, can push this figure even higher still.

Basically, snacking can be a good thing. It can give you the extra calories you need, whenever you need them.

Snacking is pretty much essential if you miss a meal, as busy men are liable to do. Many of us regard meals as a low priority when we’ve got a hundred other things to do.

Snacking is not a problem, if you lead a busy life. However, it then because a problem if you choose to snack of the wrong types of foods.  Another advantage of snacking is that it gives you energy for specific occasions, like a workout or football game, for example.

Now, experts are actually saying that having three big meals is a mistake, and that instead we should have three smaller meals and some snacks, too.

Digesting large meals is hard work for your body and can actually make you feel lethargic. However, eating five times a day isn’t for everyone and can often be bad for those people who are prone to over-eating. But if you lead an active life, then this can be a very effective way of maintaining energy.

The American Dietetic Association suggests that if you’re truly hungry, a small snack could be a good way to ‘tide you over’ until you are ready for a big meal. If you don’t snack when you feel hungry, your blood sugar can drop sharply.

The dangers of snacking

The dangers of snacking are pretty basic. If you snack at the wrong times, with the Snacks high in fat, wrong foods, you are highly likely to gain weight.

What should men snack on?

There are a few rules for snacking. First, your snack shouldn’t be the sugary, carbohydrate-heavy type. This will only send your blood levels soaring.

When it comes to snacking, you should try high-fibre cereal topped with fresh fruit, picking at slices of lean ham, turkey or beef, or dipping into a punnet of cherry tomatoes throughout the day. This is extremely health and is almost certain to keep your hunger at bay.

If you find yourself a bit peckish before playing sports, oatmeal is a great snack. It has a healthy balance of protein and good carbohydrates. This releases glucose into the bloodstream more slowly, which then avoids peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels.) If you prefer energy bars, go for ones that are low in fat and sugar and made from whole oats.

Smoothies are another fabulously healthy way to see you through the afternoon. Made from a mix of fruits and either yoghurt or soya milk. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a healthy snack!
And finally, there’s chocolate. Yep, you heard that right. But it has to be the dark stuff, rich in heart healthy flavonoids. Milk chocolate is too high in sugar and fat.

Get snacking

Forget what you heard, snacking can be beneficial for most men! Snacking gives extra energy and helps you to avoid low-sugar lumps. Remember, this is only true if you snack on the right things!

Many men have to put up with a receding hairline when they get older, some because they are suffering from male pattern baldness (MPB) others because it’s just getting thinner as they age. It’s a fact of life and for most of us there really isn’t much we can do about it, without spending a lot of money.

Those in the entertainment business seem to have quite a hair phenomenon with receding hairlines now becoming advancing hairlines. Because celebrities feel that their hair is important, they take hair loss very seriously and in recent years actors whose thick and glossy mains have become less so have look to treatments to reverse this.

One treatment is using Propecia for hair loss, it is a synthetic 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, in Layman’s terms it prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the body and it is used for the treatment of male pattern hair loss on the vertex and the anterior mid-scalp area.

Another treatment is surgical hair restoration or hair transplant as it is known in the media. This is a surgical technique which involves moving individual hair follicles from your body to the balding parts of your head. It is follicles that are genetically resistant to balding which are transplanted to bald scalp. 

A number of male celebrities have been known to use the latter treatment such as Jude Law, Elton John, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson and John Travolta to name but a few. However you would probably be hard pressed to get confirmation from the celebrities themselves that they had undertaker hair loss treatment at all.

Taking Propecia is cheaper than hair transplant surgery, with medication bought from reputable sights such as www.ukmedix.com however there are a number of side effects with taking it. This is probably why many celebrities chose hair transplants because they can afford the treatments and there are fewer side effects.

For many men, erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs save their sex lives and marriages however GP’s in the south of England have been urged to only prescribe a twice-monthly prescription of ED drugs. A panel of NHS managers who make rationing recommendations for areas covering Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire decided that there should be a twice-monthly limit on erectile dysfunction drugs.

But currently there is no NHS guidance stating that ED drugs should be limited and that according to research people have sex four times a month, for ages 40 to 60 this is about once a week. Those who buy ED drugs such as Levitra online won’t find a restriction its thought that it covers men who have ED drugs on prescription. It was found in the latest document from the South Central Priorities Committee that they want to limit the use of ED drugs because the committee “has considered the evidence of clinical and cost-effectiveness, and the financial impact on the health economy of treatment for erectile dysfunction” and recommends patients are treated ” with a frequency of dosing of two times per month using the drug with the lowest acquisition cost”.

According to Dr Paul Roblin who represents GP medical committees in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire the guidance was “getting in the way of GPs having a sensible dialogue with patients about their requirements. Local priorities committees don’t understand the only restrictions on GP prescribing come from the national black list and grey list,” he said. “They sometimes portray recommendations as a rule that has to be obeyed, and that’s not true.”

Many GPs will most probably still continue to prescribe erectile dysfunction drugs on a patient to patient basis as many currently do now and it’s unlikely that this recommendation would spread to the rest of England.

What is Cialis?

Cialis is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) its medical name is tadalafil and it works by relaxing muscles and increasing blood flow to the penis. It is one of the three main treatments for ED the other two are Viagra and Levitra which you may have heard of.

You can take Cialis in two ways, either a daily use tablet or a thirty six hour tablet. The daily does means that you can attempt sex anytime between doses however you may need to take it for 4-5 days before it starts to be effective. The thirty six hour tablet or the ‘weekender’ as it can be known by some is one tablet which you take and lasts thirty six hours and works within at least thirty minutes after taking.

What should I do before taking Cialis?

Before taking Cialis you should speak to your doctor who will know if there is a reason as to why you shouldn’t.  You can’t take Cialis if you are taking any medicines which contain Nitrates, these are usually found in heart medications.

What should I do while taking Cialis?

If it is safe for you to take Cialis you should avoid drinking alcohol whilst taking it, as well as avoid drinking grapefruit juice both can produce dangerous side effects plus you shouldn’t take any other ED medications like Viagra or Levitra at the same time.

What are the side effects of Cialis?

There are a few side effects which can occur whilst taking Cialis, one of the most common ones are:

Headaches
Indigestion
Backache
Muscle pain
Flushing
Runny nose
Dizziness
Change in your eyesight

Levitra is a treatment for erectile dysfunction, they come in tablet form or orodispersible and they contain the active ingredient Vardenafil. Vardenafil is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor and it prevents the action of a chemical in the body called phosphodiesterase type 5. Levitra like other medicines can be sought from your GP however you can buy Levitra online from a reputable seller.

Erections are gained when signals from the nervous system and chemical messengers are released within the tissues of the penis; one of the chemical messengers is called cyclic GMP. Cyclic GMP is what causes the blood vessels in the penis to widen and allow more blood to enter the penis, making it hard and erect.

However Cyclic GMP is normally broken down by another chemical in the body called phosphodiesterase type 5. Which as previously mention what Vardenafil prevents so Cyclic GMP is not broken down which results in the blood vessels are kept dilated for longer, improving blood flow to the penis and maintaining an erection.

You can Levitra with our without food, however it’s not recommended that you take it with a meal which is high in fat because this could delay the onset, all tablets should also be swallowed whole. You should take the tablets 25 to 60 minutes before sexual activity. The orodispersible tablet which melts on the tongue should be taken approximately 60 minutes before sexual activity because they can take longer to work.

There are some things you need to be aware of before taking the tablets and some side effects can be caused: You shouldn’t take Levitra and drink grapefruit juice because it may increase the level of this medicine in your blood and increase the risk of side effects. Also if your erection lasts longer than four hours (priapism), consult a doctor immediately, treatment should not be delayed as it could cause damage to erectile tissue in the penis.

There are some other cautions to those taking this medicine:

Elderly men
Disease involving the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease)
Obstruction of blood flow out of the heart, e.g. due to narrowing of the aorta (aortic stenosis)
Abnormal heart rhythm seen on a heart monitoring trace (ECG) as a ‘prolonged QT interval’
Low blood potassium levels (hypokalaemia).
Bleeding disorders, e.g. haemophilia
Active peptic ulcer
Physical abnormality of the penis, such as severe curvature, scarring or Peronei’s disease
Conditions such as sickle cell disease, bone cancer or leukaemia in which there is an increased risk of prolonged erections (priapism)

Anyone who has had a heart attack in the last six months, a stroke in the last six months or anyone who has severe heart failure should not take Levitra. It also shouldn’t be taken by women, children or adolescents under 18 years of age or anyone who has been advised against any form of sexual activity such as someone who has severe heart disorders such as unstable angina.

As mentioned earlier you should also make sure you buy Levitra online from reputable sellers or get them from your GP. It’s also important to note you always should seek advice from a doctor before taking any kind of medicine, but especially treatments for erectile dysfunction. You also shouldn’t take any more than one treatment for erectile dysfunction at any one time.

The purpose of Movember is to raise awareness about a variety of men’s issues, particularly prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer in men in the UK, accounting for nearly one quarter of all new male cancer diagnoses. So, how much exactly do you know about the disease?

Each year, Movember tries to gets as many people involved as possible to help raise awareness and make support charities for prostate cancer a success.

The current risk for men developing prostate cancer in the UK is 1 in 10. This is why being aware of the disease, understanding the treatments and preventative measures are important for everyman, everywhere.

So, what is prostate cancer?

Although there are around 200 different types of cancer, prostate cancer is unique to men and occurs when there is an abnormality of a cell within the prostate gland. Age is an important factor, so before you start to panic, it has to be mentioned that this type of cancer occurs mainly in men over the age of 60. Over 80% of cases are related to men aged 60 years of age and over, to be exact.

It is rare for prostate cancer to be diagnosed in guys under 35. However, it is never too early to begin living a healthy lifestyle. This means healthy eating and a good exercise regime. This will help limit your chances of developing the disease.

Symptoms of the disease

The prostate gland is about the same size as a walnut, and sits under the bladder. This means, there is only one effective way of checking it – and that is with a doctor’s latex covered finger in the rectum. There’s no way avoiding this, it is just something that must be done if you want to put your mind at rest. The cancer is treatable if caught early, so when put into prospective, the initial examination may not be so bad.

However, there may be various signs to look out for before seeking medical advice, these include:

-A weak or reduced flow of urine. This could mean needing to go to the toilet more often, especially at night.

-Difficulty passing urine or having to rush to the toilet

-Pain in the testes when passing urine or ejaculating

Other prostate problems

You should just remember that there are other conditions that can cause problems such as inflammation or infection of the prostate, which can cause some of the symptoms listed above, including stinging when passing urine. So, there is no need to panic until after you have seen your GP!

Risk factors

There are other things that could affect you chances of developing the disease, for example: Do family history of prostate cancer that has affected your father or a grandfather?

Another factor is which could affect the chances of you developing the disease would be, ethnic origins. It has been proven that men of Afro-Caribbean descent are three times higher than in Caucasian men. It is advised that men from these ethnic backgrounds get checked in their 40s.

Methods of diagnosis

Although it is not vital for men to be checked for prostate cancer, any man aged 50 or over, can go to their GP and asked to be examined. An initial urine test is the most common procedure. This is carried out to rule out any infections.

If the results come back with no infection, then the GP will tell the patient the pros and cons of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test. Depending on the results the patient can decide whether they want to proceed with the tests for prostate cancer.

Different treatments

Early diagnosis of prostate cancer means that the cancer can be confined to the prostate resulting in what is known as curative treatment.

There are a variety of other treatments too, the most common one being radiotherapy which is used to treat cancer that is contained within the prostate or just outside of the prostate.This is suitable treatment for men of any age.

Then there’s also another option. Surgery. During surgery the prostate is removed. There are several type of surgery.

There are some side effects of surgery. The most common of which are: urinary or difficulty getting and keeping an erection. This is not normally a permanent problem and can always be treated with medication.

Researchers at the University Medical Centre Mannheim, Germany who have been studying cancer found that Viagra has shown to reduce malignant melanoma tumours in mice or at least stunted their growth. You can buy Viagra online as a treatment for erectile dysfunction however researcher found that helping men achieve an erection is not its only use.

The Viagra or sildenafil as it may also be known was put in the water of about a dozen mice with melanoma, by researchers. Then they found after seven weeks, more than twice as many were still alive compared to an equal number of untreated rodents. The findings showed that sildenafil successfully neutralizes chronic inflammation in melanoma, plus it also combats the immune-suppressive activity of the so-called bad cells.

Viktor Umansky, immunologist at DKFZ, Germany’s largest biomedical research institute at the University Medical Centre, told the Star from Mannheim, Germany: “It very much resembles the tumour situation in the human. With melanoma it is very difficult to get something which is really stopping or retarding the tumour growth because otherwise it develops very quickly.”

Currently though researchers are still a number of years away from finding out whether sildenafil will reduce the size of tumours in humans, other studies have shown that the amount of Viagra received by mice would be equivalent to about 30 times the recommended dose used for erectile dysfunction. This could also have dangerous side effects which need to be understood first.

According to Umansky while Viagra works on men with erectile dysfunction because it dilates blood vessels, it also boosts the body’s immune system. He said: “It so happens that we cannot only block the suppressive activity of these suppressive cells the bad cells inhibit the good cells — but we can diminish the chronic inflammatory condition in these mice.”

Umansky also stated that the treatment did not completely rid the mice of tumours. He said: “While all the treated mice will eventually die from cancer, it happens much, much later than the non-treated group.”

He added: “I think it is a very good step forward.” However he urged the media not to “give people too much hope because we are still at the very beginning.”

Viagra

Picture courtesy of Felixe

Movember

What is Movember?

Movember is a charitable event which aims to raise money, and bring awareness to men’s problems, particularly focusing on prostate cancer.

Last year 111,825 people took part across the UK raising £11.7 million. This money has funded a variety of programmes run by Movember and its men’s health partners The Prostate Cancer Charity and the Institute of Cancer Research.

What do I have to do?

To get involved in Movember, men are asked to register online and start the month of November clean shaven. As their moustaches grow, they will then become walking and talking bill boards for the rest of Movember (30 days) raising awareness while doing so.

The growth of a moustache sparks conversation about men’s issues, such as prostate cancer, that are often forgotten about. Females can also get involved by spreading the word, and helping to raise the cash.

Why should I get involved?

Each year 37,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer; making it the most common cancer in men. If you take part in Movember, you could help lower that number.

The founder of Movember, JC explains : “Through the power of the Mo we are changing the actions and attitudes of men around the world when it comes to their health. The Mo is a catalyst for change, promoting both public and private conversation and through the growth of a moustache during November we will continue to increase early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment of cancer.”

The history of Movember

Movember first began in Australia in the year of 2003, since then, it has grown to become a truly global movement with more than 1.1 million people participating.

Just eight year later and there are official campaigns running in: the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Spain.

What’s going on this year?

Various towns and cities across the UK will be taking part in Movember events. There is something for everyone and the events always prove to be fun whilst you are doing it for a good cause. Get growing!

Movember moustaches