A QUIET WORD... Conversations About Men's Health

Do you need to find a new GP?  You've changed address, or your old doctor has moved on somehow, or you're just not happy with your current one.  What should you look for?  What is THE most important factor in deciding who's right for taking responsibility for your health?

Most processed foods have important information on their packaging or label.  (If they don't, they should, and you're probably better off avoiding them!)  But not many people really know what to look for when deciding if a product is actually good for them.  Here are some tips and clues.

A lot of the 'task' of seeing is controlled by the muscles of the eyes.  And like all your muscles, they need exercise.  Are you treating your eyes well, or are you falling into the trap that all too many people are in?

The term "work-life balance" carries a real depth of meaning when you realise that some people's commitment to their jobs cost them their lives.  The Japanese have a word for 'death by overwork', and laws about it.  But really, it's a danger that you ultimately are responsible for protecting yourself from.

Vitamins and nutritional supplements are big business, and as with many big businesses, there is a lot of misinformation, doubt and concern out there.  Some of it is justified, some less so.  This podcast examines some common myths about nutritional supplements, and looks at some facts behind them.

The sheer volume of bad news in the media - social and public - can be overwhelming.  It's all too easy to take the negatives to heart, and lose sight of the good in the world.  The actions of a few can profoundly affect our attitudes to many in a community, or profession, or race.  That's not healthy for us - physically, socially or psychologically.

You know how important your heart is.  And you know heart disease is depressingly common.  But did you know what the source of a lot of that heart disease is, and what simple things you can do to protect yourself?

It doesn't matter if it's summer or winter - too much UV radiation from the sun will do you damage.  Here's some information about your skin, and what can happen to it if you don't take enough care. 

Did you know laughter is one of the best (and easiest) things you can do for your own health?  And you don't need comedy - Intentional Laughter is a really powerful tool you can use to improve your life!

That unsightly red growth that's sometimes called a 'gin blossom' - it's not what a lot of people think it is.  And it's nothing to laugh about, or at!

If our brains were simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple to understand them.  Well, not quite - there are some things that we DO know, and that includes ways to help maintain mental wellness, and even recover when things go wrong!

Right across the planet, humans are getting dangerously overweight.  Why is that?  And if you're one of that growing number, what can you do about it?

There is a bewildering range of nutritional supplements on the market.  This podcast offers some tips on how to make a good choice of what to buy, and some advice of making the most of whatever you decide on.

Parkinson's Disease has been getting publicity recently, thanks in part to some high profile people being diagnosed with it.  But there's a lot of misunderstanding about what it is and who it can affect.  This podcast briefly explores those questions.

Over three million Aussie blokes have retired.  Not all of them are enjoying it.  There may be a number of reasons for that, but in a lot of cases the solution begins with you.  Is retirement on YOUR horizon?  Have you really planned for it - not just financially, but in the ways that really matter?

Earlier in the series we considered the liver.  Now let's consider the gut.  What your intestines do, and what are some ways of looking after them.  We're not what we eat, we are what we digest, and the more effective we can make that process, the healthier we can be.

As blokes we often don't take care of our liver.  We abuse it, and make jokes about how "it's evil and must be punished".  The truth is, it is a genuinely vital organ and needs to be looked after.  This podcast looks at just what your liver does for you, and why you should treat it as a friend.

Activity trackers have become extremely popular.  For the most part, that's a good thing- but remember, all things in moderation.  Don't let your bracelet control you.  Remember WHY you wanted to get fitter in the first place: life is something to be enjoyed!

To have an elderly loved one diagnosed with dementia can be a distressing, even shattering experience.  But that diagnosis may not necessarily be accurate.  Dementia can be a conclusion too easily jumped to by some medical people.  There are other possibilities - and you can help to make the difference.  How well do you know your older friends and relatives?  Well enough to save their life?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the subject of a lot of discussion, and a lot of misunderstanding.  It doesn't only affect 'people in uniform', and it affects different people in different ways.  It's not a sign of weakness, but it shouldn't be used an excuse either.  This podcast starts to examine the condition, and offers a little advice that might help sufferers and the people who care for them.

Skin care is not the same as "beauty treatment".  It's a lot more important than that.  This podcast looks at why your skin is so important, and what are some things a bloke can do to look after it.

We make jokes about poop, but we don't talk about it much otherwise.  We should, because the health of our guts is important.  Bowel cancer is only one of a range of nasties that can afflict us.  This podcast talks about what healthy, and more importantly unhealthy poop looks like.  It's one way of looking after yourself, and knowing if you might have a problem.

Menopause doesn't only happen to women.  It's a real thing for men too.  And while it won't affect everyone in the same ways, it's going to have some effects on just about everyone's body chemistry.

This podcast is an introduction to what andropause, or the mid-life crisis, really is in males.

There are a lot of different treatments and therapies out there for all the different health problems that blokes can face.

Some people will try to tell you, "Do this -it's guaranteed to work.  It worked for me!"

There are no guarantees - we're all different.  But it doesn't mean you shouldn't try things - just do it a bit cleverly.  Here's some hints on discovering what treatment works best for you...

Introducing A QUIET WORD... Conversations About Men's Health.  Author Henri Rennie wants to build better blokes, translating the technical, managing the medical mumbo-jumbo, junking the jargon!

Meet Henri, then join him on a journey to discover more about your body, your mind, the health of both, and most importantly: what you can do to help yourself!