Mens Health
A MAN'S BODY
A man's body maintains its unique physiology by using certain nutrients. Men tend to have different bone and muscle mass, which requires them to have different nutrition than a woman.
15 FACTS ABOUT THE PENIS by mike zimmerman
1. Smoking can shorten your penis by as much as a centimeter. Erections are all about good bloodflow, and lighting up calcifies blood vessels, stifling erectile circulation. So even if you don't care all that much about your lungs or dying young, spare the lil guy.
2. Doctors can now grow skin for burn victims using the foreskins of circumcised infants. One foreskin can produce 23,000 square meters, which would be enough to tarp every Major League infield with human flesh.
3. In mens health, an enlarged prostate gland can cause both erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. If you have an unexplained case of either, your doctor's looking forward to checking your prostate. Even if you're not.
4. The average male orgasm lasts 6 seconds. Women get 23 seconds. Which means if women were really interested in equality, they'd make sure we have four orgasms for every one of theirs. How about that for your "Mens Health".
5. The oldest known species with a penis is a hard-shelled sea creature called Colymbosathon ecplecticos. That's Greek for "amazing swimmer with large penis." Which officially supplants Buck Naked as the best porn name, ever.
6. Circumcised foreskin can be reconstructed. Movable skin on the shaft of the penis is pulled toward the tip and set in place with tape. Later, doctors apply plastic rings, caps, and weights. Years can pass until complete coverage is attained. . . . Okay, we'll shut up now.
7. Only one man in 400 is flexible enough to give himself oral pleasure. It's estimated, however, that all 400 have given it their best shot at some point.
8. There are two types of penises. One kind expands and lengthens when becoming erect (a grower). The other appears big most of the time, but doesn't get much bigger after achieving erection (a shower).
9. An international Mens Health survey reports that 79 percent of men have growers, 21 percent have showers.
10. German researchers say the average intercourse lasts 2 minutes, 50 seconds, yet women perceive it as lasting 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Are we that good or that bad?
11. Turns out size does matter: The longer your penis, the better "semen displacement" you'll achieve when having sex with a woman flush with competing sperm. That's according to researchers at the State University of New York, who used artificial phalluses (ahem) to test the "scooping" mechanism of the penis's coronal ridge. Next up: curing cancer.
12. The penis that's been enjoyed by the most women could be that of King Fatefehi of Tonga, who supposedly deflowered 37,800 women between the years 1770 and 1784—that's about seven virgins a day. Go ahead, say it: It's good to be king.
13. Better-looking men may have stronger sperm. Mens health studies of spanish researchers showed women photos of guys who had good, average, and lousy sperm—and told them to pick the handsomest men. The women chose the best sperm producers most often.
14. No brain is necessary for ejaculation. That order comes from the spinal cord. Finding a living vessel for said ejaculation, however, takes hours of careful thought and, often, considerable amounts of alcohol.
15. The most common cause of penile rupture: vigorous masturbation. Some risks are just worth taking.
6 WAYS TO HELP AVOID PROSTATE CANCER
- Develop a mens healthy lifestyle. This is the first step in trying to avoid the prostate cancer process.
- Take daily vitamins. They will help your body in many positive ways.
- Try to avoid fatty foods
- Drink plenty of water. Water cleanses the body and is good for overall health
- Eat more lycopene. This is an antioxidant found in tomatoes, grapefruit and watermelon.
- Soy can also help a man with his prostate. It's weird but true.
6 WAYS TO RUN FASTER AND INJURY FREE
1. Mens health injuries are made worse whenever your heel strikes the ground. "It acts like a brake, slowing you and creating stress," says Rick Fishell, a running coach at Athletes' Performance in Carson, California. To prevent this, pull your toes up toward your shins as soon as they leave the ground, and aim to land on the balls of your feet.
2. Hips The correct stride length is shorter than you may think. Your feet should land beneath your hips, says Fishell. Any longer and you're "reaching," which adds destructive force. Strong glutes (butt muscles) will pull your legs back under your hips as your feet hit the ground and safely propel you forward.
3. Abs Contract your abs so they can help you maintain good form (chest up, shoulders over hips). But don't flex consciously, Fishell says. By doing that, you could distract yourself. Instead, activate your core by performing a dynamic warmup (jump squats, for example) prior to running.
4. Shoulders Keep your shoulders back and shoulder blades pulled down toward your back pockets. Move your arms from your shoulders to save energy. Swinging your arms improperly can throw off your alignment and increase your risk of injury.
5. Hands They should be lightly cupped. If you make a fist, your forearms will tense up and impede proper shoulder motion. Don't carry your iPod or water bottle in your hand, because that could cause your torso to rotate instead of remaining straight and rigid.
6. Elbows Swing them at about 90 degrees, pulled close to your body. If your elbows flare out, your arm action will be less efficient and your upper-body mechanics will suffer.
NUTRIENTS YOUR BODY NEEDS
Vitamin D
This vitamin's biggest claim to fame is its role in strengthening your skeleton. But vitamin D isn't a one-trick nutrient: A study in Circulation found that people deficient in D were up to 80 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. The reason? D may reduce inflammation in your arteries.
Mens Health: Vitamin D is created in your body when the sun's ultraviolet B rays penetrate your skin. Problem is, the vitamin D you stockpile during sunnier months is often depleted by winter, especially if you live in the northern half of the United States, where UVB rays are less intense from November through February.
Magnesium
This lightweight mineral is a tireless multitasker: It's involved in more than 300 bodily processes. Plus, a study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that low levels of magnesium may increase your blood levels of C-reactive protein, a key marker of heart disease.
Mens Health: Nutrition surveys reveal that men consume only about 80 percent of the recommended 400 milligrams (mg) of magnesium a day. "We're just barely getting by," says Dana King, M.D., a professor of family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. "Without enough magnesium, every cell in your body has to struggle to generate energy."
Vitamin B12
Consider B12 the guardian in men's-health: In a British study, older people with the lowest levels of B12 lost brain volume at a faster rate over a span of 5 years than those with the highest levels.
Mens Health: Even though most men do consume the daily quota of 2.4 micrograms, the stats don't tell the whole story. "We're seeing an increase in B12 deficiencies due to interactions with medications," says Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., director of a USDA program at Tufts University. The culprits: acid-blocking drugs, such as Prilosec, and the diabetes medication metformin.
*To avoid sorness and injury, people who visit Mens Health and want to increase physical activity should always start out slowly and build up to give the body time to adjust*