Article 9: The Harmful Effects of Poor Dietary Habits on the Health of Middle-Aged Men and Suggestions for Improvement

Dietary habits affect health

Men only truly understand what "tiredness," "burden," and "being unable to control one's own destiny" mean when they truly enter middle age. Various pressures keep middle-aged men so busy that they neglect themselves, let alone eating and drinking. Eating at home is for sustenance; eating out is for social obligations. "Eating" becomes the most easily overlooked aspect of life.

As early as the 1980s, the World Health Organization pointed out that among the causes of individual death, physical fitness accounted for 20%, disease accounted for 20%, and lack of health knowledge and healthy living habits accounted for 60%; and among these 60%, diet accounted for 30%, which shows the importance of good eating habits for individual health.

Common unhealthy eating habits can be summarized in the following aspects:

Irregular eating habits

Irregular eating habits, such as frequent overeating, skipping meals, or skipping breakfast and then making up for it with a large dinner, can lead to fat metabolism disorders and endocrine abnormalities. Consuming large amounts of high-energy foods at dinner can also cause excess nutrients to be converted into fat, resulting in obesity.

Men can adopt a three- or four-meal-a-day system, with regular and quantitative meals, and reasonable distribution. They should follow the dietary principle of "eat a good breakfast, a full lunch, and a light dinner" and develop good eating and living habits.

Eating too fast

Men often eat very quickly, as if they're worried someone will steal their food. Eating too fast over a long period means food enters the stomach without being chewed properly, forcing the stomach to work much harder to digest it.

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Over time, the stomach becomes overburdened, which can easily lead to diseases such as gastritis, gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, and enteritis.

In fact, chewing slowly and thoroughly can better stimulate our sensory organs, allowing us to better appreciate the texture, temperature, aroma, and taste of food, thus fully enjoying the pleasure it brings. It can also help with balanced eating and aid digestion. In addition, putting down your knife, fork, or chopsticks while chewing and only picking them up again after swallowing also helps slow down your eating speed.

★ Overeating

Overeating increases the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to digestive disorders and decline over time. A large dinner can easily trigger angina and cerebral hemorrhage, as the increased myocardial contraction, increased oxygen demand, increased cardiac output, and increased workload after a large meal may all be contributing factors to these conditions.

Long-term overeating can also reduce the sensitivity of phagocytes and lymphocytes in the blood and tissues, weakening the body's immune system and accelerating the aging process. The experience of centenarians proves that overeating is a major enemy of health and longevity.

★ Go to sleep right after eating.

Because of their busy work schedules, leaving early and returning late every day, men often feel extremely tired. Many go to bed immediately after dinner, rarely engaging in any other exercise. However, this habit is detrimental to health. Consuming high-energy foods at night slows down the body's metabolism, reduces activity levels, and prevents sufficient activity to burn off excess calories, easily leading to overnutrition.

Therefore, men should engage in appropriate physical activity or exercise after dinner, such as walking or jogging, which can promote food digestion, increase calorie consumption, and prevent obesity.

★Excessive consumption of refined rice and white flour

Grains and legumes naturally contain a lot of dietary fiber, and vegetables and fruits are also important sources of dietary fiber. These food components can promote the formation and excretion of feces, shorten the contact time between harmful substances in feces and the intestinal mucosa, and can change the composition of intestinal flora, reducing the production of carcinogens in feces. Therefore, they can help prevent the occurrence of colon cancer, constipation, and diverticulosis.

Therefore, excessively choosing refined foods is unwise. Only by consuming a balanced diet of whole grains and refined grains, along with plenty of vegetables and fruits, can we prevent intestinal diseases, high cholesterol, diabetes, tooth decay, periodontal disease, and vitamin deficiencies. We must not forget the health wisdom of our ancestors: a simple diet ensures good health.

★ Enjoys eating meat, sweets, and fried foods

Many middle-aged men enjoy eating meat, fried foods, and sweets, but rarely eat vegetables and fruits. Meat, sweets, and fried foods are all high in calories, fat, and sugar; excessive or excessive consumption can easily lead to overnutrition and obesity.

Vegetables and fruits are low in calories and rich in vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. These substances can promote the breakdown and metabolism of fat, eliminate fat accumulation, and help prevent obesity. Therefore, middle-aged men should eat less meat, sweets, and fried foods, and more vegetables and fruits.

★ Excessive intake of sugary foods

Some people have a sweet tooth or a large appetite, which they should limit after middle age. Excessive sugar intake not only easily leads to obesity, but also increases the burden on the pancreas due to decreased pancreatic function after middle age, potentially causing diabetes.

Therefore, in addition to the carbohydrates needed for daily life, men should not eat extra sweets and should limit excessive sugar intake. If men feel they are not eating enough, they can eat more fruits and vegetables that are low in sugar and high in fiber.

★ Prefers overly salty or spicy foods

A preference for strong flavors and excessive sodium intake can easily increase the sodium ion content in the blood, increasing the burden on the heart and leading to diseases such as edema-related obesity and hypertension.

Middle-aged men should gradually reduce their sodium intake, limiting it to less than 6 grams per day. Men with hypertension, coronary heart disease, or kidney disease should strictly control their sodium intake, focusing on a low-sodium diet.

★ Frequently consume smoked, grilled, or high-temperature processed foods

Many people enjoy smoking, grilling, and high-temperature processed foods, such as sausages, cured sausages, roast lamb, smoked fish, smoked meat, and toast. However, the charred parts of food are carcinogenic. High temperatures not only denature proteins in food, but also cause amino acids to decompose and produce many heterocyclic amines.

Furthermore, various fuels, such as coal, gasoline, and firewood, produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during combustion, among which benzo[a]pyrene is a major carcinogen. When enjoying delicious barbecued or fried meat skewers, people should be aware that they are also ingesting a certain amount of carcinogens. Such foods should be consumed in moderation to avoid developing a habit.

Lack of exercise is a major enemy of health.

Many middle-aged men travel by car and use elevators, spending long hours sitting and often in a "static" state. A statistic from the Ministry of Health also shows that the proportion of urban residents participating in exercise in my country is characterized by "high at both ends and low in the middle," with only 16% of middle-aged people having an exercise habit, while 53% of the elderly have an exercise habit.

Life lies in movement, and this is especially important for middle-aged men. Studies have shown that after the age of 35, men's muscle strength decreases by 10% to 20% every 10 years; after the age of 40, the functions of the entire body generally decline. However, actively participating in physical exercise can delay the aging of various organs, improve health, prevent diseases, invigorate the spirit, and improve mental state.

Conversely, a lack of necessary leisure activities or physical exercise will obviously lead to muscle atrophy, poor physical condition, and poor health.

First, a lack of exercise can cause muscles to become weak and relaxed, making them more susceptible to sports injuries. Sometimes, even a simple action, such as bending down to pick up a pencil or changing a light bulb on the ceiling, can cause a person who lacks exercise to strain their back or neck.

Secondly, due to a lack of exercise and proper training, people who sit for long periods and rely on cars for transportation are prone to overuse injuries to the muscles and ligaments in their neck, shoulders, back, and waist. Over time, these injuries can easily develop into musculoskeletal diseases such as cervical spondylosis, frozen shoulder, and lumbar disc herniation.

Third, people who lack exercise are much more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and heart disease than people who regularly participate in physical exercise.

Fourth, lack of exercise can weaken the body's immune system. Prolonged lack of exercise can lower the body's immune system function, reducing its ability to fight off germs and viruses.

Fifth, with a fast-paced and high-efficiency work style, men are prone to a series of mental illnesses, mainly characterized by mood changes, such as anxiety and depression, which are closely related to a lack of exercise.

For health damage caused by lack of exercise, simply getting injections, taking medicine, or relying on various so-called "supplements" to passively improve one's physical condition is futile.

Men need to get moving.

If middle-aged men adhere to the principles of scientific approach, gradual progression, and exercising within their capabilities when participating in physical exercise, and persist consistently, their physical condition will definitely improve significantly. Getting moving is the best way to improve physical fitness! Middle-aged men must change their lifestyle and start exercising.