Deciding to make a positive change in your diet and to start an exercise routine is a step forward towards a healthy and happy life. However, the abundance of mens health misconceptions and myths make it hard to differentiate between fact and fiction. Myths affect the daily lives of even the most educated men, from concerns about chronic diseases to hair styling. Here are the 5 most popular misconceptions and myths you shouldn’t believe:
1. Eating few calories burns up fat
Simply lowering the amount of calories you eat will not allow you to permanent burn fat. Not eating enough will slow down your metabolism, cause the organism to go into crisis mode and assimilate everything. Furthermore, when you start eating normal again you will gain fat, because your body is expecting another crisis period. The best thing you can do to keep your metabolism and stamina up is to eat healthy food and exercise. If you take calories from chocolate or junk food, you will end up with a slow metabolism and no energy.
2. Hair myths
There are many mens health myths regarding hair. Some believe that styling your hair causes baldness, when in fact the loss of hair is influenced by hormones and genetics. Condemning the blow drier or styling products for hair loss is illogical. Another well-known myth is that regular shaving results in thicker facial hair. This belief is socially accepted by both men and women. Shaving does not make the hair follicles enlarge, it will just give them a blunt coarse tip.
3. Active people can eat anything
Many men believe that if they exercise daily, they can eat anything. Training hard and then eating a large hamburger will just supply your body with the calories burned during the workout. Having an unhealthy diet can determine you to over-train to compensate, causing high levels of cortisol that trigger abdominal fat buildups. Read more mens health tips in order to improve your eating habits; that doesn’t mean you’ll have to give up on burgers altogether, but you should stop doing it too often and replacing them with something healthier, like grilled fish.
4. Only old men have prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is more common in older men above 45. The average for prostate cancer-related deaths occur between 70 and 75. Nevertheless, prostate cancer affects individuals who are genetically predisposed, regardless of their age.
5. Osteoporosis affects only women
Many mens health misconception include the idea that only women are affected by osteoporosis. It is true that women are more predisposed, but men can also develop this illness. They are considered safe because of a larger skeleton structure and due to the fact that they are not affected by major changes, such as menopause. Men who don’t protect their bone health through a proper diet and exercise routine are predisposed to develop osteoporosis.
