"Welcome to Men's Health Week, Men’s Health Week aims to help you get right on top of your biggest and most important asset – your health. Our sole purpose at MHW is to get guys to think a little more and know a little more about their health. We want to encourage men to start with the small steps that can enable them to turn their health issues around. Little steps can – and will – make big differences. We just have to start."
-- Men's Health Week
Some things to discover on the Men’s Health Week website:
- Take the What’s Your Score? test to get a gauge on the health routines you already have.
- Get an intro to vital health issues for guys and things you can do to avoid some basic problems on our health information pages
- Learn more by jumping into our health quizzes or podcasts, download our useful resources and follow the expert links we have to go even deeper.
Or explore a few books you might find interesting:
- Looking after your nuts & bolts: Kiwi men's health guide By Phil Gifford
This book doesn't suggest a switch to silverbeet sandwiches, organic oat bran enemas, kale smoothies, or naked sweat lodge fasting. But read Your Nuts & Bolts and you will:* Be able to look after your heart, the magic machine in your chest * Discover ways to genuinely prolong your sex life* Learn how to get the better of bowel cancer* Stub out the habit that can wreck your health* Find out how to dodge the silent assassin that is diabetes* Get the inside oil from the man who gets the All Blacks fit* Never have to ask what actually happens in a prostate exam.
- Fast food for fit dads By Nathan Wallace
Creating meals that form part of my daily nutrition program to fuel my fitness and bodybuilding goals while also adding enough interest, fun and flavour for my young children has been a challenge - with many hits and some misses. In Fast Food for Fit Dads, you'll find my favourite recipes to get you from the fridge to the table, fast, and all are family-friendly too. Each recipe contains complete macro breakdowns to help you make healthy choices for your goals, with tips and shortcuts on how you can make it even faster, from smoothies and power breakfasts to light bites and quick dinners.
From an esteemed author known for battling gender norms and bringing down "man up" culture, comes this essential guide for men and those who love them. Miscarriage, infertility, and abortion are generally considered women's issues-and while they are far from uncommon in our society, open conversations surrounding those topics are exceedingly rare. They're seen as taboo, even distasteful. And that's just for women. When it comes to men and how they are impacted by these issues, it's almost complete radio silence. It's not that men don't think about these things or aren't affected-after all, they make up half of most couples experiencing these issues -it's that toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes in our society tell men that suffering in silence equals strength and expressing emotions is weakness. It's men not knowing how to feel, how to express those feelings, or if they're even allowed to feel this trauma beyond supporting their partner. In Men and Miscarriage, husband and wife Aaron and MJ Gouveia ask men (and others) these questions directly. Using their own personal experiences enduring four miscarriages and a medically-necessary abortion combined with interviews of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life, the couple sheds light on how these topics influence men, women, their relationships, their mental health, and examines the shame and stigma too often associated with pregnancies that don't go as planned.
- The new manhood: love, freedom, spirit and the new masculinity By Steve Biddulph
For 20 years Steve Biddulph's groundbreaking Manhood and the revised edition, The New Manhood, have had a remarkable impact around the world. Thousands of men have reconciled with their fathers, become closer to their children, improved their marriages or made sweeping changes to their lives. Women love the book for giving them a deeper understanding of their husbands and sons. Steve explores the elements of a man's life that often cause unhappiness, emptiness or frustration. Love, sex, marriage, raising children, friendship, spirituality and finding your true work are amongst many subjects dealt with in an honest and uplifting way. This is a handbook for men of all ages, and for the women who love them.
- Healthy bastards: a bloke's guide to staying healthy By Dave Baldwin
If laughter is the best medicine then Dr Dave Baldwin's Healthy Bastards is the essential remedy for every bloke with concerns about his health. It's a well-known fact that men would rather suffer great agonies in silence than visit the doctor, so using humour and plain language Dr Dave defuses any fears, misguided notions or hang-ups men may have about their personal well-being. This guide, aimed at the common man and his common health problems, explains how the different parts of the body work, major diseases and their symptoms, plus how to get them fixed or how to avoid them in the first place. Dr Dave's best patient is the somewhat disease-prone Gav McAvedy, who appears throughout the book with various complaints. Summaries and key points mean you don't even have to read the whole chapter. There is a bonus chapter on women's health to help every bloke understand his sheila just that little bit more. Flying doctor Dave, originally self published this book for his pilot patients. Now repackaged to work for the every day kiwi bloke , this accessible guide will be a sure fire hit.
- From boys to men: guiding our teen boys to grow into happy, healthy men By Maggie Dent
For boys, adolescence can be a confusing minefield and parents are often bewildered as to how to best guide their precious sons. Many parents wake one day to find that their beautiful little boys have grown into silent, withdrawn, sometimes angry and often unmotivated tweens and teens. Well-known Australian author, parenting and resilience educator, and one of Australia's favourite boy experts Maggie Dent, offers parents and guardians a compassionate and practical guidebook, packed with advice and ground-breaking techniques on how to stay calm and: communicate effectively to defuse conflict, 'unstick' an unmotivated son, teach them to cope with loss and failure, and how to recover, Help them foster healthy friendships and intimate relationships, navigate technology and the digital world.
- Lengthening the shadow: why we need to ask, 'What's happening in your world?' By Dave Burt
Continuing ill-health and countless surgeries sent Auckland businessman Dave Burt spiralling down into the depths of despair and hopelessness. Something had to change. With a mate, he enrolled for a 10-week 'ultimate body transformation' regime at the local gym. This thoughtful, insightful book is the remarkable story of how, with a wonderful woman at his side and the right support, a Kiwi bloke fought back. This ten-week diary will make you laugh and cry but above all it will provide rare insight to those struggling with depression.
Why is it that men don't go to the doctor until they are sick or something is broken? Men's health is a lot more than that--it's preventive care, cardiovascular health, sexual health, nutrition, and exercise. It's sleep medicine, relationship health, self-care, and, yes, penises. And it's about time for men to have an easy-to-follow guide of their own, especially with an increase in interest in men's health and lifestyle in the last couple of years. The book is easy to use and the go-to resource for the information men need. They'll learn that overhydrating can be dangerous; that many scientific studies have shown that men who have more frequent sex later into their lives live longer lives; that all diets will fail at some point, but which ones to go to for a jump-start when trying to lose weight; when to get screened for prostate cancer; which doctors they need to see, when and for what; that male fertility issues are just as common as female fertility issues; that a small dose of caffeine (a simple cup of coffee) an hour before a workout can improve energy; that eating well, moving more, and sleeping are the pillars to boosting immunity and overall health at any age.
- This is not how it ends: how rewriting your story can save your life By Jehan Casinader
As an award-winning TV journalist, Jehan Casinader told other people's stories ... until he lost control of his own. Severely depressed, he tried everything, from mindfulness to massage; Prozac to Pilates. Was something missing? "This is not how it ends" chronicles Jehan's four-year battle with depression, and how the power of story-telling helped him to survive. He argues that many of us think our brains are broken, but in fact, our stories are broken. Jehan began an experiment on himself. Could he rewrite his past? Could he reinvent his character? Could he create a whole new plot?
- An ABC of prostate cancer today: solutions for your prostate cancer By Alan G. Lawrenson
Parts 1 and 3 of the book are mainly focused on Alan being diagnosed with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, and the process he went through to finally have proton beam radiation therapy in Seoul, South Korea in early 2013. Part 2 of the book focuses on the treatment options available to all newly diagnosed prostate cancer sufferers. It also includes a substantial section on diet and nutritional issues that the author believes are critical components of any prostate cancer prevention and/or treatment regime. He also includes a seven-point plan to aid sufferers recovery from the disease. An important inclusion are more than 100 questions that patients should consider asking their doctors. Alternative therapies are discussed in some detail. The book should appeal to newly-diagnosed men as well as to men that have more advanced prostate cancer. It covers metastatic cancer in detail as well as the very latest therapies available to men with a challenging diagnosis. It also includes details on 24 future developments that might be the treatments of tomorrow.
- Boys don't cry By Tim Grayburn
Meet Tim. For nearly a decade he kept his depression secret. It made him feel so weak and shameful and he thought it would destroy his whole life if anyone found out. When he finally opened up, he realised he wasn't alone, and that mental illness was affecting many men around the globe - and he knew that wasn't ok. A brutally honest, wickedly warming and heart-breaking tale about what it really takes to be a 'real man', 'Boys Don't Cry' is written by one who decided that he wanted to change the world by no longer being silent. This is Tim's story, but it could be yours too.
Find more great reading recommendations on our Books and Reading page!