What are the preventive health products for men?

First of all, we need to clarify two fundamental misunderstandings. First, the health products we often talk about are health foods, not medicines at all. They have no effect in preventing or treating diseases, and they absolutely cannot replace medicines.； Second, there is no "universal preventive supplement/drug" that is suitable for all men. Whether you choose health products or preventive medications, you have to choose them based on your own diet, physical examination indicators and doctor's advice. Taking carelessly can easily lead to pitfalls.

Many male friends around me always hold the idea that "it never hurts to make up a little bit," and they have gone through too many pitfalls to count. When maca and oyster peptides became popular in the past two years, merchants claimed that they could replenish energy and improve sexual function. When I was preparing for pregnancy, a little brother born in 1995 spent more than 2,000 to buy a three-month supply of imported oyster flakes. After eating it for two months, it had no use other than getting angry and nosebleeds. No, when he went for a pregnancy test, he found out that he was suffering from low sperm motility caused by zinc deficiency and staying up late for a long time. The doctor asked him to take zinc tablets that cost more than ten yuan a bottle. He also corrected his problem of staying up late and playing games. Within three months, his indicators were all normal.

Of course, this does not mean that all supplement products are completely useless. Take lycopene, which is the most frequently asked question. Some small-sample studies have shown that long-term supplementation by men with unbalanced dietary intake may have certain benefits for prostate health. However, a large-sample cohort study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 2021 also showed that for men who already eat enough tomatoes, watermelon and other red fruits and vegetables in their daily diet, additional lycopene supplementation does not reduce the risk of prostate disease. I have a colleague in his 40s who took lycopene for more than a year for fear of developing prostate problems. During the physical examination, the problem of prostate calcification did not improve. In the end, he drank less liquor and stood up and walked for two minutes every hour to relieve the feeling of swelling after sitting for a long time.

If you have basic disease prevention needs, such as a family history of high blood pressure or hyperlipidemia, and want to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems, don’t focus on health supplements. My distant uncle heard from a salesperson that deep-sea fish oil can open blood vessels and lower blood lipids, so he secretly stopped the statins prescribed by the doctor and took imported high-purity fish oil for more than half a year. His LDL soared to 4.7 during the last physical examination, and he was almost hospitalized for a cerebral infarction. The doctor said that the Omega 3 in deep-sea fish oil is at best a part of dietary supplements. To truly prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, you have to take prescription drugs according to the doctor's instructions. Even fish oil has limited auxiliary effects and cannot replace drugs at all.

If you usually eat takeaways that are heavy in oil and salt, often stay up late to socialize, eat less vegetables, whole grains, eggs and milk, and your physical examination shows you are deficient in vitamin D, B family or trace elements, then you can just supplement with multivitamins and mineral tablets that are approved by the national medicine. There is no need to buy online celebrity imported health products that often cost hundreds. I worked overtime for a month recently and developed herpes repeatedly on the corners of my mouth. I was diagnosed with vitamin B2 deficiency. I bought a small bottle from the drugstore for 3 yuan and took it for a week. It was much more effective than the imported multivitamins worth several hundred yuan given by my friend before.

Having said that, if you really want to prevent your health, don’t always think about taking some supplements once and for all. Stay up less late at night, smoke less cigarettes, take time to run twice a week, and have a full physical examination on time every year. It is more reliable than how many health supplements you take. If you really need disease prevention, seek medical evaluation first. Don’t buy and eat blindly. Excessive supplementation will increase the burden on the liver and kidneys, and the gain will not be worth the loss.