Addiction counsellor: men should look after their health sober and get regular check-ups

Agris Starts, an addiction counsellor and co-author of the book “30 Days Sober” (“30 dienas skaidrā”), told the Latvian news portal Jauns.lv what men should know about their health if they want to keep their quality of life and wellbeing over the long term. In his view, men need to care for both physical and mental health, and do so with a clear head, free of alcohol, cigarettes and other addictions.

Alcohol and tobacco

Starts stresses that a man's health should be addressed without alcohol. According to him, alcohol directly and negatively affects men's reproductive health as well as their mental health. A man who monitors his health should therefore say no to alcohol.

He notes that tobacco belongs to the same group of carcinogens as alcohol. It, too, should be avoided and given up, because it damages many functions of the body.

Regular “technical inspection”

The counsellor recommends going for a kind of “technical inspection” from time to time: seeing a doctor to check cardiovascular health and a urologist to examine the prostate. Starts admits he is not among those who urge doing this in an overly meticulous way, but believes that, for peace of mind, it is worth having blood tests done to make sure everything is in order.

He says such check-ups can and should be done by everyone.