Men’s Health Month – Q&A with Dr.Pasternak

Learn about men’s health and how to maintain an active and healthy life as we interview Dr. Andy Pasternak, MD, owner of Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine.

How vital are protein supplements?

Protein is critical, and we need it. We have carbs, fats, and protein. Carbs give us energy. Protein helps rebuild muscle. What I tell people with protein is it depends on your age and how much physical activity you are doing. For example, if I go for a trail run, I will then eat something that has some protein and carbs. Carbs are used to refuel, and protein is used to help rebuild muscle and recover. Our American diet has a fair amount of protein in it, as protein supplements are primarily critical for vegetarians and vegans. There are a lot of fruits and vegetables that are good protein sources, but you have to hunt a little bit more for them. I sometimes tell people who are on vegetarian or vegan diets to supplement with a soy or protein supplement. Most of us get our protein from chicken and fish, or one of my favorites that’s been studied, which is chocolate milk. A lot of people like to spend a lot of money on protein drinks. Obviously, if you are a bodybuilder or lifting weight, that may be more critical. But a lot of us can get protein through our regular day-to-day diet. 

Should men get regular blood work?

Yes. Men tend to have a lower life expectancy. Generally, women outlive men. While women have a significant risk for heart disease, men also have a more considerable risk for heart disease. I think it’s essential for men to get things checked: blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes. It’s crucial to get routine checkups for high-risk cancers, heart disease, and strokes.

How much sleep should we really get?

Sleep is critically important. The older I get, the more I realize how important sleep is for my recovery. The amount of sleep people need is very variable. Some people can get away with not needing a lot of sleep, like 5 to 6 hours of sleep. I don’t understand the mechanics behind that, but for most people, getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep is critical, if not more. For example, I found that 8 to 8:30 hours of sleep is pretty good for me. Sleep is where your body recovers. After you exercise and have a busy day, sleep allows your body, brain, and heart to recover. So when we see people who aren’t getting enough sleep, it really puts a lot of stress on their bodies. Some people need more sleep, and physically active people require more sleep.

What are your thoughts on incorporating physical training, yoga, etc.?

It really just depends on your goals and your age. Generally, when you are younger, you can get away with just doing one activity like running. The older you get, the more critical it is for you to cross-train and do things like strength training, pilates, and yoga to keep your strength and flexibility. Once you get over 65+, strength training is valuable in helping people maintain their function. Some of the things we see in older men are pretty amazing; just doing things like getting out of a chair, getting up and out of the bathroom, and not slipping in the shower the older you get, you get muscle atrophy where you lose muscle strength. The only way to maintain that function is to do some kind of strength training to keep the muscle tissue strong. 

How would you recommend approaching recovery to someone? 

Again, it really depends on your age. Recovery is important for everybody, but the older you get, the more critical building and recovery are. I tell people that exercising makes you strong, but recovery is where you build your gains. If you just keep exercising, at some point, you need to have some recovery for your body to incorporate that training and make the muscle tissue stronger. One of the things is that as someone who is getting older, it takes longer and longer to recover, and I am more conscious of what I must do to recover. What I do with my recovery is basically just not do anything. A few weeks ago, my wife and I did a long trail running race, so for the week after, I was still active but not long enduring training.

What would be an excellent active, healthy life balance routine?

I think it depends on how much you’ve done in the past. I think someone who has never exercised, their goals on what’s healthy and what’s good is going to be different from someone who’s been a professional runner, who’s done a lot of training, and whose body is used to it. I know people who exercise every day. I have some friends who run and train seven days a week and don’t get injured. So, some of that balance depends on where people are on the spectrum. In general, if you can be active four days a week, that is an excellent place to start.

What’s with men using ozempic?

I mean, everybody is using Ozempic now. We have all these new medications, and these medications came out for people with diabetes, and they work really, really well with people managing their diabetes. But interestingly enough, it helps people with weight loss. We’ve had other medications before for weight loss, but this is the first time that drugs in the category of Ozempic that I’m actually excited about. They work, but you still have to combine diet and exercise. One of the things we do notice is people tend not to get as hungry their stomach tends to stay full longer. The biggest problem is that they are expensive, and insurance typically doesn’t cover them. I also try to tell people that these are medications for people who are truly obese and have a higher index of 30% body mass. However, we are seeing a lot of people who are not really obese but just want to lose a few pounds, and I really worry about that group. 

Anything else you would like to tell men?

One of the things I would like to tell men is to see their family doctor. For example, colon cancer, we are sadly seeing younger and younger ages. So before, colon cancer screenings happened at age 50, and now it’s at 45, and I actually see them changing that in the future.

So even though you are feeling pretty healthy and you are in your 30s or 40s. Make sure you come and talk to your doctor about any family history like diabetes and colorectal cancer. Your doctor may just want to run further blood work.

To learn more about Dr. Andy Pasternak, MD, and Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine click here.