Healthy Men's Handbook

We tend to shy away from prioritising our health and wellbeing, often because we’re too embarrassed to talk about certain problems, so we opt to bury our heads in the sand and hope the issue will go away on its own. Many of us also come from a long line of parents or caregivers who didn’t feel comfortable talking about bodies or sex, let alone mental health. That’s why we’ve decided to go back to basics and start at the very beginning! Once you’ve explored the male anatomy, we’re going to take you on a journey that delves into a whole range of men’s health issues. Understand the role of essential hormones; discover the importance of fitness and nutrition; and become more in tune with your mental health. We explain…

It might seem a cliché, but many of us don’t really think about our health until something triggers us to have to. That could be a set of worrying test results, being diagnosed with a health condition, or simply realising we’re not able to do the things we want to do. By the time we reach that point, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get back on the path to better health and what to focus on first. If you’re already in good health, then you can still learn what it takes to maintain that, and what the warning signs are for potential problems in the future. We’ve put together this guide to help you get started on optimising your health and wellbeing. We start at the…

We’ve tried to get as much health-related information into these pages as we can, and we look at a lot of serious conditions in detail. We also give some advice on lifestyle interventions and possible medical treatments. However, this book has not been written by medical professionals and is not intended to replace any advice that your doctor gives you. It’s also not a diagnostic tool, so if you think you have any symptoms or signs of any health condition, you need to make an appointment and get checked out. Most of the advice we give is based around lifestyle changes that anyone can benefit from, such as healthy eating and physical activity, but as with anything, listen to your body and do what’s right for you. It’s always better…

It might have been a while since you last saw a detailed diagram of the reproductive organs and read an explanation of how it all works. It’s useful to have a refresher at the start of this book, before we deep dive into how to keep your body healthy and understand the various health conditions that can impact you throughout your life. Here we give you a quick guide to your internal and external reproductive organs, which help with urinary function, sexual function and reproduction. The male reproductive system is located within the pelvis, alongside the bladder and rectum, with some external parts. The penis is the most obvious organ. It runs from its root, where it is attached to the pelvic floor, down its length and to the glans…

Adolescence marks the period of time when a young boy develops and matures into his adult body, and the process by which this happens is puberty. It’s a time of huge developmental, hormonal, physical and emotional change, but it’s also a necessary step towards becoming a man. We’ll outline here what happens during puberty and how these changes influence our adult experiences. Going through puberty means preparing the body to be able to one day reproduce; it’s the time at which we reach sexual maturity, at least from a biological standpoint. It’s a slow process that happens over many years, with different aspects of development happening along a rough timeline. Medical professionals use a staging system called Tanner staging, also known as the Sexual Maturity Rating (SMR), which helps them…

Growing pains can happen from a young age right up until early puberty, usually between ages 3 and 12 years old. It’s very common to have growing pains, which feel like an aching or throbbing in the muscles deep in both legs. It’s most likely to occur in the evening and overnight, then ease off during the daytime. Despite the name, they’re not actually related to growing at all, though the specific cause is unknown – they are harmless and will go as a young boy gets older. They can be more common in children who are active and engage in a lot of sport. They can usually be relieved by massaging the sore areas, using common painkillers or heat pads. If pain is felt in the joint, or it’s just…