Scott Webb (Host): Both men and women need to take charge of their health. But today, we're focusing on men who tend to put themselves on the back burner. And my guest today is here to give us a practical guide to men's health. I'm joined today by Dr. Kevin Ryan. He's an internal medicine physician with Prisma Health.

This is Flourish, the podcast brought to you by Prisma Health. I'm Scott Webb. Doctor, it's nice to have you here today. I was telling you that I may fall under this category of, you know, men who need to take charge and understand how to take better care of themselves, their hearts, their bodies, all that good stuff.

So, let's just start there. When I say men's health, like, what does that really mean? And why do men need to maybe not put their health on the back burner? Why do we need to maybe move ourselves to the front burner, if you will?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah, Scott. Thanks for having me today. You're certainly not alone in being somebody who, you know, maybe avoids seeing the doctor. And when we talk about men's health, we talk broadly about screening for risk factors, diseases. Men's health sometimes specifically refers to prostate cancer, testosterone levels, things like that. But we also talk about things that affect both sexes, including heart disease, things that may affect your daily life in terms of if you're having joint pains. You know, we want to take a good look at everything. And so, a lot of times that includes labs and regular doctor's visits.

Host: Yeah. And I think it's, you know, just human nature. We're all humans. You're human. I'm human. There's a lot of AI out there, but we're not quite there yet here in this podcast. And I think that's what we do. We just—I don't know if we just kind of bury our heads in the sand a little bit. We don't want to know exactly how we're doing if we feel sort of okay. But maybe, like, what are some of the most important health screenings that we should stay on top of and what ages? Like, why is age a factor? And what are maybe some of the guidelines, that kind of thing?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah, absolutely. And so first, we absolutely encourage everybody to have a primary care doctor. You know, you want to establish a good relationship with somebody so that you know what's going on. Specific guidelines, you know, cancer screenings start around age 45, and that includes colon cancer screening, prostate cancer screening.

Some other things we regularly screen for, blood counts, kidney function, cholesterol levels, diabetes. Some of those start around age 40. But if you know that you have a family history or at risk of some of these things, we encourage you to come in sooner as well. So, some of it is knowing what your risks are.

Host: Yeah, right. As you say, risk factors, knowing our family history. That, we can't outrun. Of course, behavior, lifestyle is a factor, but family history is what it is, but knowing it is good. And I know, Doctor, that heart disease is a leading concern for many of us and especially medical professionals. So, what do we need to know about our risk for heart disease? And are there some things that we can do to protect our hearts early on? You know, don't smoke, stay in better shape, you know, the greatest hits.

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah, absolutely. The heart disease, you know, and hypertension combined with it is known as the silent killer, meaning that you wouldn't know that some of your risk factors are there. So, you want to have your blood pressure checked regularly. You want to have your cholesterol levels checked regularly. You're right that you want to control your weight. You want to exercise regularly. You mentioned tobacco and nicotine is a big risk factor as well. And so, it's not just smoking cigarettes, but also these days vaping, because that can contain nicotine a lot of times.

If you're experiencing symptoms, meaning if you're getting short of breath abnormally, if you're noticing some typical or atypical chest pains, things like that, those are things that should be checked out. And so, again, good to have a regular doctor who's kind of monitoring those things.

Host: Yeah. Have a doc if you can and mention these things, you know, signs, symptoms, whatever it might be. We know there are some silent things out there as well, but that's why it's good to have a primary care doctor, get these regular tests and screenings. And, you know, doctor, I think in just sort of speaking for myself and, anecdotally, it does feel like mental health, men's mental health kind of goes unspoken to some degree. Maybe what signs should men watch for, and how can they take that first step towards getting the help they need?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's one of those things that gets forgotten a lot of times. But we consider it a diagnosis just like anything else and something that needs to be treated. If you're having stress, anxiety, isolation, depression, you know, we want to know about those things. It doesn't always mean that we need to jump to medications or other things like that. We have other resources available. We have therapists who are great in terms of managing those kinds of signs and symptoms. But we don't want it to progress to a point where it's something that's affecting your daily life. And a lot of times it's very easy to, you know, minimize those kind of symptoms.

Host: Right. Yeah, the whole "Just rub some dirt on it. You'll be fine," right? "Just get back out there." I mentioned earlier not too long ago about lifestyle, behavior, lifestyle. Let's talk about some of the lifestyle habits, if you will, that we can address that are within our control, right? Diet, exercise, sleep, alcohol, all those things can impact our health, and can we do to help ourselves?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Right. So, we already briefly mentioned, tobacco, nicotine use. Alcohol use goes along with that as well. The most recent surgeon general recommendations on that are really for little to none alcohol. And that's just because they've noticed that with every extra drink, your risk of not only liver disease or things like that, but also multiple types of cancer increases, correlated very well with the amount of alcohol you're taking in.

Other things like sleep you mentioned is important, and that kind of goes along with stress levels that we talked about. Diet and exercise are huge. So, recommendation is for 150 minutes of exercise every week. And that can be broken up, and it doesn't have to be anything extensive. It could be a mile or two walk or doing some light weights at home.

In terms of diet, we want to focus on avoiding frozen foods, processed foods, you know, trying to eat healthy generally speaking. A Mediterranean or a DASH diet is a good one to follow in terms of a heart-healthy diet. And you want to track your calories and watch labels and things like that.

Host: Sure. Yeah, I'm going to cut my grass after we're done, and I feel like I'm going to get a few steps in there, get some exercise. So, it doesn't always have to be some formal thing at the gym, right? Or pickleball matches. Like, just getting moving is a good thing, right?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah, exactly.

Host: That's great. You know, I'm sure, Doctor, that testosterone and energy levels come up a lot, and I'm in my mid to late 50s. We'll just leave it there broadly. And I notice I don't have as much energy as I used to have. So, what's normal and when should someone consider being evaluated?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah. And so, sometimes those symptoms can be vague, and we talk about testosterone, we talk about hormone levels, sometimes thyroid, things like that. We know that those levels change with age, but it doesn't have to be something that's normal necessarily. And so, if you're experiencing excessive fatigue, reduced libido, your metabolism is slowing, like you're not feeling right, that's the time that you should probably get checked out.

And those are levels that we can check with regular lab work. Sometimes supplementation in terms of medication, things like that are necessary. We always discuss the risks and benefits of those kinds of things. And so, again, that's why it's important to kind of follow regularly. But if you have concerns, we want you to come into the office obviously.

Host: Sure. If you could give, you know, one piece of advice for long-term health and prevention of some of the stuff we've talked about here, what would it be? And maybe how can men build a plan they can actually stick to? That's my problem is I always—you know, I start something. And then, I lose track, and it just seems like a lot of work. So, how can we build a plan that we can stick to?

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: Yeah. And so first, if you don't have a primary care provider, certainly I would seek one. There's plenty that are available, especially within the Prisma network. It's good to have somebody that you can turn to and who knows your health and can follow that over time. Primary care providers act as like the quarterback. And so, they coordinate care, they speak with the specialists, they're your umbrella. And so, they kind of capture everything in terms of your health. And you can establish a plan with them that's reasonable, something you can stick to. You know, we're not talking about making major changes all at once. These things happen over time. But also, if you're having concerns or symptoms, don't write them off. You know, don't say, "Oh, I'm fine. I'll, you know, I'll be better tomorrow." If it's something that's concerning to you, you should be seen by a provider

Host: Yeah, of course. And if it's something really emergent and scary, you know, call 911, get to the ED. But for a lot of these other things, having a doctor, being tested, being screened, knowing your family history, all the things we've talked about today. I really appreciate your time and your expertise. Thanks so much.

Dr. Kevin G. Ryan: All right. Yeah. Thanks for having me.

Host: For more information and other podcasts just like this one, head on over to prismahealth.org/podcast. This has been Flourish, a podcast brought to you by Prisma Health. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well.