Your lifestyle can affect you in ways you may not realise one common health problem for men that is normally caused by their lifestyle is erectile dysfunction (ED) more than 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70 experience ED in some form at some point. However there are a few things that you can do to overcome this problem, ED is most commonly caused by other health conditions, side effects from medication or your lifestyle. Most men will have heard of Viagra which is use to treat ED you can also buy Cialis and Levitra as well but your doctor is the best person to discuss this with and they will be able to help you the best option for you.

Some lifestyle factors that can cause ED include:

Smoking
Being overweight
Drinking too much alcohol
Not being physically active
Using recreational drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, or heroin

As well as lifestyle factors there are also psychological factors that can also cause ED these include:

Depression
Stress at work, at home, or in social life
Anxiety about sexual performance
Relationship problems

If you suffer from ED caused by your lifestyle you are also more prone to suffer from the psychological affects as well.

To help combat ED you can make changes to your lifestyle, obvious ones are quitting smoking, stop taking recreational drugs, cutting down on how much alcohol you drink and maintaining a healthy diet, as well as that make sure you exercise frequently. If you are suffering ED from psychological problems then seek help for that, either learning to relax or getting counselling, you need to remember that although Viagra is now easily available it’s not a cure and only help out ED and not the root cause, so it’s always important to look at your lifestyle and make so changes.

It may seem shocking, or not so shocking to some but a quarter of women are now a size 18 or bigger which is an increase of 45% in five years which is more than 6 million women now on the verge if not are obese. This means there has never been a better time to get people to understand the importance of a healthy diet, it doesn’t have to mean you go on a diet where you count calories and never eat a chocolate bar again which is what stops most people, instead it’s about having a better understanding of food and what it does to you.

A health balanced diet must consist of:

Carbohydrates – You need these to provide energy.
Proteins – These are important for growth and repair.
Fats – These aren’t as made as they are made out to be, fats provide energy and also contain fat soluble vitamins.
Vitamins – You need small quantities of these to help keep you healthy.
Mineral salts – If you want health teeth, bones and muscles you must make sure you incorporate these.
Fibre – Is very important, your body needs it to help your intestines function properly.

It is important to make sure you consider these as part of your diet however you need to remember that you shouldn’t consume anything to excess as this can have a detrimental effect, so although the above are good for you, you need to remember everything in moderation.

If you follow a healthy diet you will protect yourself against numerous problems such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, healthy eating will also help control your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure as well as preventing blood clots and fatty deposits building up in your arteries.

Getting on top of your weight problem and combating it is a huge milestone for anyone who is overweight, the next one is keeping up with your healthy diet and lifestyle, and this is where many people struggle. Anyone who has had weight problems knows only too well that once you have lost the weight you need to keeping it off is very hard and trying not to go back to your old bad habits.

As summer is upon us one thing that many people worry about is sticking to your diet when your away, if you don’t you run the risk after enjoying ‘treats’ whilst away not been able to get back into your old routine. Just because you are on a diet or you are on a new healthy eating plan doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your holiday whilst keeping your healthy eating habits intact and lose pounds.

Because you are away, either here in the UK or abroad you will have to modify your eating habits and be creative and smart about your choices, you will find yourself dining out a lot, eating at different time to when your body is use to or just having a huge range of food in front of you.

The main thing to remember is that you are on holiday and your are there to enjoy yourself, and being on a diet shouldn’t stop that, you just need to make good choices such as go for foods that are baked, grilled or barbequed and never anything that is deep fried, if you’re going somewhere tropical, make the most of the fresh foods available such as fruit, salad, vegetables and fresh seafood. You also need to remember portion control especially if you are dining at a buffets tempting as it maybe to put all this lovely fresh food on your plate you need to remember your intake, especially if you are doing less exercise than you would do at home.

You can also make the most of exercise when you are away, bring your trainers and explore where you are by foot, or if you have a hotel gym make the most of it, you don’t have to do as much as you would at home but a little is better than nothing, but most of all remember to have fun and don’t let your diet dominate your holiday.

For many obese people losing weight can seem like an uphill struggle, no diet seems to work and you find it hard to exercise, so what else can you do? Many people find that their doctors struggle to provide them with specialist advice on diet and exercise, which is why an increase in the number of prescription weight-loss drugs being given out in England is continuing to rise.

For many taking diet pills such as Acomplia, Reductil and Xenical is a last resort after many years of struggle, research shows that weight loss pills cost the NHS £47 million last year, an average of £32 per prescription. Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Dealing with patients who are grossly overweight is very difficult, but pills are not the solution. What these patients need is a balanced diet and expert dietary advice from a dietician and often psychological support, to change their behaviour long-term. But the availability of these services is not great and doctors resort to prescribing medication under patient pressure.”

Whatever the solution being overweight and obese causes long term health problems and often the damage cause can be irreversible, but because there is no quick fix solution this will be a matter that won’t go away which is why weight loss is serious buisness.

There are many problems faced for young people who are obese, not only physical health but also psychological, the importance of a healthy diet early on can mean that you face less of a risk of developing other health problems when you are older.  New research has found that men who are obese by the age of 20 have double of the risk of dying prematurely, which is a worrying prognosis for young people in the UK because a third of them aged five to 13 are already considered obese.

The study that was presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm followed more than 5,000 military conscripts starting at the age of 20 until up to the age of 80, here they found that at any given age, an obese man was twice as likely to die as a man who was not obese and that being overweight aged 20 had a constant effect on death up to 60 years later. They also noted that the chance of dying early increased by 10 per cent for each BMI point above the threshold for a healthy weight.

The study found that on obese participants died eight years earlier than those of normal weight, Esther Zimmermann, of Copenhagen University Hospital, who was the study leader said: ‘As the obesity epidemic is still progressing rapidly, especially among children and adolescents, it is important to find out if obesity in early adulthood has lifelong mortality effects. ‘It is the first study with such a long follow-up time and thus the first study to investigate the lifelong effect.”

For the study, mortality rates of a sample of 1,930 obese male military conscripts were compared with a random sample of 3,601 non-obese male conscripts, researchers measured body mass index (BMI) of, 35 and 46 years, and investigated that in relation to death in the next follow-up period. During the follow-up period of up to 60 years a total of 1,191 men had died, the results were also adjusted to eliminate any influence on the findings from year of birth, education and smoking.

The researchers said ‘it was unclear whether being obese at age 20 conferred the men’s increased death risk or whether the lifelong effect was due to obesity often being a lifelong condition.’  However the study did show that either way the majority of obese 20-year-olds struggled to lose weight as they got older. Dr Zimmermann said: ‘More than 70 per cent of the obese young men were still obese at the follow-up examinations, whereas only four per cent of the men in comparison group developed obesity during follow-up.’

Now that summer is here and holidays are on the horizon many people are looking to lose the bulge however doing 100 sit ups a day on their own won’t give you that flat stomach your craving, you also need to make sure you are eating well, foods that that will burn through stubborn fat and promote lean, mean muscle growth are what you need.

If you stick to a varied and balanced diet you will probably find that you will soon have the body you’re after, especially when eating protein-rich foods which help your body to build muscle and stop storing fat, below are some types of food that will have a positive effect on your diet:

- Eggs have high levels of vitamin B12 as well as they also stop lean muscle from being broken down making them a great choice for breakfast.

- Protein rich meat such as turkey and beef are great for building muscle and strengthening the immune system, go for free-range or organic look for the leanest cuts of beef, such as rump, topside or fillet.

- There are many different types of bean, kidney, lima, fava and Edamame which are full of protein as well as fibre and iron, when cooked thoroughly your body can break down the proteins essential for keeping your muscles toned and your waistline slim.

- Unprocessed carbohydrates are much better for you than un-processed carbs, so make sure you stick to fibre-rich, unprocessed whole grains, including wholegrain bread, pasta, rice and cereals.

- Adding fish that are full of omega-3 fatty acids to your diet will increase muscle mass and stop your body from storing fat on your waist, they also your immune system.

Altering your diet to lose weight can be tricky and looking for foods that are not only low calorie but also full of nutritional value and tasty can be hard and can sometimes put people of their diet quite easily.

Some foods like the ones below on their own are low in calories:

Cottage cheese – 100g = 98 calories
Plain boiled pasta – 100g = 110 calories
Prawns – 100g = 100 calories
Baked beans – 100g = 80 calories
Custard – 100g = 100 calories
New potatoes – 100g = 115 calories
Chickpeas – 100g = 115 calories
Tinned tuna in water – 100g = 100 calories
Tofu – 100g = 73 calories

The main thing to remember when looking at calories is that although foods like the ones above are low in calories what you have with it can have a lot of calories such as dressings or sauces, full fat options often contain the most like mayonnaise and cheesy sauces so make sure what you have with your low calorie food is also low calorie.

Also for those who like a glass of wine with a meal:

Glass of wine
An average glass (115ml) of dry red wine = 83 calories
An average glass (115ml) of white wine = 77 calories

We are always told what to eat to keep us living longer, but sometimes some super foods can be very expensive however there some everyday foods that can help without breaking the bank.

Red cabbage – This vegetable is high in vitamin C, calcium and sulphoraphane, another cancer-fighting chemical, the deep red colour in red cabbage comes from flavanoids, an antioxidant that protects against cancer.

Soya beans – Contain all nine amino acids as well as been a rival chicken, red meat or eggs as a protein source. Edamame as they are also known are also high in vitamin C and fibre and other health boosting and curative properties that can help in the battle against heart disease.

Swiss chard – Is available all year round with many health benefits, dark leafy green vegetables should feature prominently in your diet because they contain phytonutrients and fibre which keep your digestive system healthy. Swiss chard also has high levels of vitamin K which promote bone health and the vitamin C in it boosts your immune system.

Prunes – Great for anyone who has a high red meat intake, prunes, which are packed with antioxidants counteract the red meat. The nutrient ferulic acid and the natural sugars in prunes combine to keep your system clean and potentially protect you from bowel cancer.

Frozen berries – Antioxidant-rich delights such as blueberries and raspberries are great to eat all year round and freezing the fruit after its harvested keeps the nutrients locked in, plus its much handier to have a supply in your freezer rather than buying fresh.

red cabbage

Picture courtesy of adie reed

Recent research has revealed that a lack of sleep can cause you to put weight on around 60 per cent of British adults are overweight or obese and as previously thought overeating or lack of exercise was the main cause but it now seems sleep deprivation is also a major factor.

Dr Shahrad Taheri, a consultant endocrinologist at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital said “We have done a series of studies looking at weight and sleep, and studying the metabolic rate. We discovered that people who sleep for significantly less than seven hours a night often end up being obese.” During the research they also found that if people who sleep for fewer than 4 hours a night are 73 per cent more likely to gain excess weight, while restricting sleep can lead to cravings for up to 900 extra calories a day. This extra increase in food intake can cause an increase in weight of up to 2lb a week. The cravings are caused by hormones that regulate appetite they are stimulated when you don’t get enough sleep leading to higher levels of ghrelin the hormone that triggers appetite, and lower levels of leptin that tells your body it’s full.

Many doctors recommend getting at least 8 hours of undisturbed sleep a night to reduce the chance of extreme weight gain.

Tens of thousands of Britons have been advised to discontinue the use of the fat-busting drug Reductil after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s recent decision to suspend its licence. The announcement came after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) assessed the drug and recommended the suspension of its licence in Europe where they found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, over a six-year period after tests, in which 16 percent of 10,000 patients who took it showed an increase.

In 2009 nearly 86,000 Britons to the weight loss drug which alters the brain’s chemical messages that control a person’s craving for food. Many experts say although threatens the health of the obese, its side-effects are mostly not fatal. Dr June Raine, of the MHRA, said: “Evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes with this medicine that outweigh the benefits of weight loss, which is modest and may not be sustained in the long term after stopping treatment.”

UK doctors have been asked to stop prescribing the drug and review its use in patients who are already taking it although the Reductil licence suspension decision by the UK regulator still requires a formal sanction by the European Commission. There are other weight loss drugs available like Xenical which are just as effective, which stops the absorption of fat and controls fat intake.