Wellness Wednesday with Dr. Benjamin Nolasco from The Valley Health System

Joanna from iHeartRadio Las Vegas and Sunny 106.5 talks to Dr. Nolasco from The Valley Health System about men's health issues. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's Wellness Wednesday on Sunnay Window sixpoint five sponsored by the Valley Health System.
On with me today is Doctor inAlaska, Chief Family Medicine, resident
physician at the Valley Health System,and we'll be talking about men's health today,
some really important stuff. Thank youDoctor in Alaska for being on with
us today. Hi, Joanna,thank you for having me here. I'm

(00:21):
very excited for today's segment and Ican't wait. Yeah, We're going to
be diving into some really important stuff. So to kick it off, can
you provide an overview of some ofthe most common health issues that specifically affect
men, and then what are thosefactors that contribute to those issues? Yeah,
for sure, But let me beginwith what is the leading cost of

(00:43):
death in men in America? Right, and that would be cardiovascular would be
the first one, followed by cancerof course. But with cardiovascular meaning like
heart attack and stuff, there aremany factors that come into play, one
being genetic. If you're predisposed tohaving a family members or your parents or

(01:06):
grandparents having a heart attack in thepast, you know that would definitely get
passed down sometimes as well as overweightand obesity. That's definitely a number one
topic here in America because fifty percentof Americans are actually just overweight or obese,
and so that pretty much play afactor in cardiovascular Okay. And the

(01:26):
second one that I normally see inmy clinic is anxiety and depression in men.
Wow, and not too many youknow men come in you know,
thinking that, oh yeah, youknow, like I need help with my
anxiety. I'm just gonna brush itoff and things like that, And so
that's definitely one of the more commonthat I've seen, absolutely. And the

(01:46):
last thing is the most probably nottoo common or not exactly a common,
but it's what people complain about,is like having low energy, you know,
fatigue and low libido. But thereare so many things that would cause
those symptoms, not only you know, like theestosterone, but other things like

(02:07):
not having enough sleep, having anxiety, depression like what I said earlier,
and there are many more other things. Absolutely, so many factors that really
go into play. But I'm gladyou know you mentioned about sleep. It
can definitely affect a lot of things. Now, what are some of those
common misconceptions about men's health specifically thatyou see often? And then how do

(02:28):
you dress those issues? Sure,So when people talk about men's health,
people think about like, oh,yeah, you know, like working out
in a gym, you know,things like that. But actually, in
actual athlete there's a lot more thatgoes with it. And you know,
one important thing is the actual totalhealth of you know, of a person,
and so that includes like taking bloodpressure or checking your sugar, checking

(02:51):
your cholesterol, you know, prettymuch doing a whole routine checkup, you
know, just to check for anydifferent things that might come up in the
future. Right, it's good tobe proactive on those things and get frequent
checkups, right to make sure thatyour health is on the right track.
Now, can you discuss some ofthe key factors that contribute to the reluctance

(03:12):
of men, you know, wantingto seek medical help or even really discuss
health concerns openly, Because you madea good point earlier when you mentioned about
depression and anxiety. Some people arenervous to even talk to a medical professional
about that stuff, for sure.For sure, So a lot of men
are reluctant because once again, youknow, most men are the main household

(03:34):
person to you know, that allthe whole family is looking upon to you
know, pretty much take care ofthem, and so they try to you
know, not complain about little thingsand here and there that you know that
is important to actually bring, youknow, bring to your doctor. So
I always try to tell my patientsto always, you know, at any
point in time that you have tobe seen by primary care doctor, you

(03:57):
know, at least once a year, you know, just to have somebody
check you, make sure everything isgood, and you know, if there's
anything else that need needs to befixed, then that will be you know,
the time right, and you know, it's important to early detection for
everything. Right, the sooner peoplecan get in and address their issues,
the better off they will be.Now, what are some preventative measures men

(04:18):
can take to maintain good health asthey get older? And then how does
early intervention play a role in preventingcertain health concerns? For sure? For
sure? So I always mentioned toall my patients that what you know,
when is the young youngest or when'sthe earliest I can see a doctor?
Well, every time you say whencan I see a doctor? When's the

(04:39):
earliest? That means now, sure, you know, so you know,
definitely there's a lot of things thathappens that you know that we as private
care doctors, we kind of checkand we go by this USPSDF is like
a guideline that we go through forhealth screening for different things like vaccines and
klonoscopy, you know, for yourgut health and everything and other things as

(05:02):
well. Yeah, getting ahead oflike like I said, early detection,
right, I can't say that enoughin terms of so many health issues out
there. Now. You also mentionedsomething earlier about physical activity and how it
plays a crucial role in men's health. Can you discuss the importance of exercise
and its impact on men's overall health, including both physical and mental well being?

(05:24):
For sure? So physical activity isvery important in men well It ties
along with nutrition as well. Right, you can't just be physically active and
not maintaining a good balance of diet. It affects you wholly, That's what
I said. Like, as faras obesity is concerned, or overweight in
America is very you know, oneof the problems that we're having. And

(05:45):
so having a good rhythm of exercise. The guideline says now that you should
at least have one hundred and fiftyminutes of moderate intensity to severe intensity exercise
every week and that's about maybe thirtyminutes for five days every week just to
maintain what you have right now.And if you want to lose weight,
then you need more kick it up, right, That's right, kick it

(06:08):
up and then eat a healthy lifestyleor lead a healthy lifestyle with the food
that you intake. Some really importantstuff here doctor in Alaska, anything else
you want to mention or remind peopleout there, specifically men when it comes
to their health. For sure,I would say to all the men that
it's very important to act now,you know, to be proactive with your

(06:30):
health. Go seek a primary caredoctor to watch you, to be your
guide, you know, in yourfuture's health. Because most of the time,
all the patients I've seen, allthe men I've seen, were already
in their late stage, meaning likethey've already developed diseases and stuff, and
all we're trying to do is tryto maintain it. You know, it's
hard to reverse some of those things, but it is possible. But if

(06:53):
we can catch it early, thenthere's a possibility that you know, we
can keep you healthier and live longer. Yeah, better,