Male plastic surgery has always been embraced to some extent by Hollywood movie actors. Now, however, more and more men who are not movie stars, or are not even that famous (in other words—Joe Q. Public) have begun to care about their appearance. It is no longer considered unusual if a man decides he wants to undergo any plastic surgery procedure.
In fact, many men may have undergone a form of male plastic surgery but did not consider it as such. That procedure is hair transplantation. Think about it. Hair follicles are surgically removed then surgically implanted in places where hair has thinned or completely disappeared. Surgery is involved; therefore, hair transplantation can be considered one of many types of male plastic surgery.
Other types of male plastic surgery include many which may have once only been requested b women. These include tummy tucks, removal of excess skin, and male breast reduction. Male breast reduction is one of the types of male plastic surgery that may be frequently chosen by men who suffer from an abnormal growth of male breast tissue. Besides the improvement in physical appearance, removal of excess male breast tissue may actually help prevent the occurrence of breast cancer (yes, men can get breast cancer, just like women.)
Men who have undergone gastric bypass surgery and have experienced extreme weight loss as a result often choose plastic surgery to remove excess skin. Men who are on a regular weight-loss program will often choose liposuction, another form of female and male plastic surgery designed to remove excess fat deposits from the abdominal area. The resulting flatter belly look may be just the thing to inspire them to continue the weight loss routine.

Men’s skin care is becoming a more and more talked-about topic. The days when only a woman went to an esthetician or a dermatologist have given way to both men and women visiting these professionals.
There is a difference between an esthetician and a dermatologist. An esthetician most often must hold a State license in order to perform men’s skin care; however, an esthetician is not a medical doctor. As such, an esthetician cannot prescribe medication. In addition, an esthetician may not be allowed to perform certain medical procedures, such as wrinkle-reducing or skin-plumping injections, unless they are supervised by a dermatologist.
An esthetician can administer facials and perform certain types of microdermabrasion. An esthetician can also suggest and sell products that do not require a doctor’s prescription. A dermatologist, on the other hand, is usually a licensed medical doctor, whose specialty is in women’s and men’s skin care. A dermatologist can perform medical procedures, including removing moles, warts, and other skin growths. A dermatologist can also detect and surgically remove skin cancers, both non-malignant and malignant.

An esthetician is seen for routine men’s skin care, such as facials and other minor skin treatments. A dermatologist is seen for routine check-ups for the purpose of preventing skin cancer, as well as treating chronic and problematic conditions that may arise.

According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins, suggests that migraine sufferers have an increased risk for stroke later in life. What’s interesting is that the risk is further increased if the migraine sufferer experiences an aura before the headache strikes.

It’s unknown why migraines increase the risk for stroke later in life. It’s not that the migraine itself causes the stroke because it’s not happening during a stroke.

How to Decrease Your Risk for Stroke

While it may be difficult to control your migraine attacks, you can take steps to decrease your risk for stroke.

• Ask your doctor about migraine prevention medication – it may not help your risk for stroke but it will help lessen your attacks.
• Take steps to lower your stress levels with stress management.
• Check your blood pressure regularly and if needed, take high blood pressure medication.
• Smoking increases your risk for stroke so quit if you are a smoker.
• Ask your doctor about taking a daily aspirin.
• Talk to your doctor about your risk for stroke if you use birth control or hormone replacement.
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes regularly
• Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods
• Avoid alcohol in excess, moderation is beneficial

Photo: littledan77

Stroke Diagram

Research finds that getting enough folic acid in your diet with or without supplements can lower your risk of stroke and in some people, heart disease. However, it’s important to note that other studies have found that people who took in too much folic acid actually increased their risk for heart disease. So, what can you make out of these findings? If you eat healthy, you won’t need to take supplements which could inadvertently put you at risk for a heart attack.

How Folic Acid Helps Decrease Risk for Stroke

Homocysteine is associated with heart disease and stroke. Folic acid lowers blood levels of this amino acid, which is why it can decrease your risk for stroke, while it does not for heart disease.

In a study by Wang and Colleagues from Chicago’s Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, folic acid decreased the risk of stroke in people who did not have a history of stroke, took folic acid supplements for more than three years and had significant decreases in homocysteine levels.

Getting Enough Folic Acid

Since many foods are fortified with folic acid, you don’t have to go far to get your daily recommended amount. The following are foods you can eat for folic acid:

• Enriched white bread
• Enriched pasta
• Whole wheat bread
• Beans
• Peas
• Orange juice
• Spinach
• Asparagus
• Cereal
• Collards
• Grapefruit or pineapple juice

Photo: ConstructionDealMk ting

Hypogonadism is a term used to describe decreased levels of testosterone in males. Testosterone is the hormone which causes male sexual development, especially during puberty. Symptoms of hypogonadism can appear as early as birth, because testosterone is important for male sexual development all during a male’s life. A male baby, who is born with sexual organs that are too small, even for an infant, may be suffering from hypogonadism. (In severe cases, the sexual organs may be so small that it is difficult to tell if the child is male or female).
If the male sexual organs are normal in size at birth, but a young boy fails to enter puberty, or even show signs that he is entering puberty, this is another symptom of hypogonadism. Low testosterone levels at puberty may delay or even prevent normal sexual development in an adolescent.
Hypogonadism will cause a lack of hair growth on the face and body, as well as normal development of muscle mass. In addition, an adolescent with hypogonadism may not experience the normal deepening of the voice, and may also develop too much breast tissue.
Hypogonadism is diagnosed through a physical exam, in which a physician checks for the symptoms listed above, as well as a blood test to check testosterone levels. In addition, tests may also be performed to check for abnormalities in pituitary gland function.

Treatment for hypogonadism includes supplementation of testosterone, which can be administered via injections, pills, a skin patch, or topical gel. Pituitary hormone treatment is warranted if an improperly functioning pituitary gland is the cause.

Every summer, you hear how important it is to wear your sun block so you don’t suffer from the harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. However, the very same sun block that is supposed to keep you safe is also affecting your ability to absorb vitamin D from the sun, which could cause vitamin D deficiency if you don’t get it from other sources.

Sun Block, Skin Cancer, Vitamin D Deficiency and You

If you’re confused to what you should do, it’s a matter of weighing the risks and benefits. If you don’t wear sun block, you run the risk of developing skin cancer. So the risk is much higher of  not wearing sun block is much greater than not wearing it and absorbing vitamin D to avoid vitamin D deficiency. This is especially true if you make sure you get your vitamin D from other sources.

What to Eat for Vitamin D

The following foods/drinks will give you the vitamin D that your body needs:

• Milk
• Swiss cheese
• Tuna fish
• Salmon
• Mackerel
• Sardines
• Margarine fortified with vitamin D
• Cereal fortified with vitamin D
• Egg yolk
• Liver
• Beef
• Cod liver oil

Photo: pedrosimoes7

You’ve probably heard many times that whole grains are good for your health, but now a recent study shows that it can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes.

The study found that people who ate at least two servings of brown rise each week were less likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes compared to people who only had brown rise once a month. Dr. Qi Sun, of Havard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues report that about 50 grams a day of brown rice will lower someone’s risk for type 2 diabetes 16 percent and whole grains lowered risk even more to 36 percent.

Genetics and Whole Grains

Type 2 diabetes does run in families and can have an effect on whether someone develops the disease. However, whole grains can help the body process sugars better, which will decrease the risk for diabetes development even with the genetic component.

Whole Grain Foods

The following is a list of whole grain foods:

• Brown rice
• Whole-wheat flour
• Oatmeal
• Cereal
• Whole-wheat bread
• Popcorn
• Whole-wheat pasta
• Buckwheat
• Barley
• Quinoa
• Whole oats
• Wheatberries
• Millet
• Bulgar (cracked wheat)
• Wild rice

Photo: RuTemple

Dr. Polyxeni Dimitropoulou of the University of Cambridge conducted a study that yielded some interesting results. It focused on the early sexual activity of men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

About the Study

The study took prostate cancer diagnosed men and asked them a series of questions about their sexual activity in their twenties, thirties and forties. Some of the questions included:

• Age of virginity loss
• Frequency of sex and masturbation
• How many sexual partners
• History of sexually transmitted diseases

The Results: More Sex and Masturbation Higher Risk of Prostate Cancer

The results indicated that men who had a large amount of sexual activity (sex and masturbation) in their twenties and thirties were more likely to suffer from prostate cancer later in life. The results did not indicate there was an association with amount of sexual activity in the forties linked to prostate cancer. The study went even further to distinguish whether it was more sex or more masturbation that increased the likelihood of prostate cancer, finding that more masturbation increased risk.

Other Findings

The study also looked at sexually transmitted diseases and found that certain ones further increased the risk as well as produced a more aggressive form of the cancer.

Implications of the Study

It’s difficult to say whether sexual activity directly causes someone to suffer from prostate cancer. There needs to be much more research in the area to find out if the cancer cells are actually set off by the hormone levels associated with sexual activity. It is an interesting hypothesis and there may be some influence. However, it’s important to keep in mind that prostate cancer is still a genetic form of cancer and lack of sexual activity doesn’t mean that someone will not develop it later in life.

Photo Courtesy of: Osvaldo_Zoom on flickr

According to a study by Assistant Professor Jochen Schmitt of Dresden University Hospital and Dr. Christian Apfelbacher of Heidelberg University Hospital and Dr. Joachim Heinrich of the Institute of Epidemiology of Helmholtz Zentrum Minchen, children who had eczema in the first two years of their life were much more likely to suffer from emotional problems around the age of 10. However, it’s unclear from the study if it’s the actual skin rash that is causing the psychological abnormalities or if it’s the secondary symptoms that cause such a traumatic effect on children’s mind.

Secondary Effects of Eczema and Psychological Disorders in Children

Children who experience eczema have an increased risk for allergies such as hay fever and asthma. They are also more likely to have sleep disorders.

These conditions can cause children to feel stressed and that could be the real reason why they are experiencing psychological problems later on in childhood. Not sleeping enough with a sleeping disorder can cause someone to feel anxious and depressed. Suffering from chronic allergies can depress someone when they can’t do certain things or partake in activities that others can easily without suffering from an allergic reaction.

So while eczema may not be the direct cause of mental health problems in children, it may have some influence in the overall development of these problems. There needs to be further research in this area for a direct correlation between eczema and psychological problems among children.

Photo:Pink Sherbet Photography

The days when a man wasn’t supposed to worry about how his skin looked are rapidly disappearing. It is now becoming more apparent that men’s skin care needs to be addressed just as much as women’s skin care.
To this end, many cosmetic and skin care companies are beginning to manufacture and market skin products for men. These include body washes that thoroughly clean and remove odor, but do not strip the skin of natural oils, and shaving products which protect the face during the shaving process.
It is no longer enough, however, to concentrate on men’s skin care only during the cleansing and shaving routine. Men are also being encouraged to use skin products for men that include sunscreen. Men are not immune from skin cancer, and, in fact, the incidence may be higher, especially in those men whose occupations require them to be outdoors frequently. Skin cancer is not gender-exclusive; it can strike both sexes.
Because the use of skin products for men is becoming more accepted, younger men may find themselves with a distinct advantage over older ones. By starting a skin care regimen early, it is possible that skin cancer occurrences in men may see a decline in the coming years.