You should invest in good health well into old age before you reach middle age.
Head physician Prof. Marion Kiechle explains what is important in younger years.
In your young, wild years you should definitely protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases.
For women, the later desire to have a baby is also at stake.
For example, infection with chlamydia is the most common cause of infertility.
“These bacteria can cause inflammation in the fallopian tubes and practically clog them.
Then the patient can only become pregnant through artificial insemination,” explains Kiechle.
These foods contain important vitamins
If couples want a child, the woman should take folic acid tablets before pregnancy.
The vitamin helps reduce the risk of birth defects and miscarriage.
Incidentally, men can already participate in family planning while eating.
"The quality of the sperm can be improved with a healthy diet," says Kiechle.
The most important substances include vitamin C (found in peppers or fennel), vitamin E (salmon, olive oil), souls (sea fish, oatmeal), zinc (wholemeal bread, walnuts, legumes) and coenzyme Q10 (fish, onions, broccoli, olive oil ).
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Successful physician and valued advisor: Professor Marion Kiechle, director of the women's clinic at the university hospital on the right bank of the Isar.
© Astrid Schmidhuber
A breast and skin examination every year from the age of 30
Women over the age of 20 should go to the gynecologist for a check-up once a year.
This is paid for by all health insurance companies, as is an annual breast and skin examination from the age of 30.
At the appointment, the woman should have someone explain what is important in a breast self-examination.
It aims to detect possible malicious nodes at an early stage.
That is time well invested: From a purely statistical point of view, every eighth woman will develop a so-called breast carcinoma in the course of her life. According to statistics from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, 70,000 new patients are added every year.
Another 6,000 women develop precancerous lesions.
The chances of treatment are good – and even better if the tumor is discovered early.
"In such cases, the chances of recovery are now over 90 percent,"
Prevention tips from Head Physician Kiechle: Rule out hereditary diseases and check cholesterol levels
Men and women over the age of 35 should have a general health check with their family doctor every three years.
Among other things, he focuses on diabetes, cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
"Skin cancer screening is also important, in which suspicious birthmarks are examined more closely," emphasizes Kiechle.
Younger people should also keep an eye on potential hereditary diseases, such as cancer, high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolaemia) or type 1 diabetes.
"If such illnesses run in the family, you should speak to your family doctor about special examination and targeted prevention options," advises Kiechle.
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Likes to cook healthy: the top doctor Professor Marion Kiechle from the Technical University of Munich.
© Oliver Bodmer
Quitting smoking means investing in your future
Anyone who quits smoking early is investing in a healthy future – and in a longer life.
This is shown by statistical calculations by the German Cancer Research Center.
Men who smoke more than ten cigarettes lose an average of 9.4 years of life and women 7.3 years.
Conversely, if you leave out the fags, you will benefit very quickly.
The function of the respiratory tract improves again after just three days, and coughing fits and shortness of breath noticeably decrease in the first three quarters of a year as a non-smoker.
According to the WHO, the risk of lung cancer is halved after about ten years.
The risk of suffering a stroke or a heart attack drops in five to 15 years to the level of non-smokers
Marion Kiechle advises: Women in particular should do strength training regularly
When it comes to exercise, regularity is key.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least two and a half hours of moderately strenuous exercise per week.
That's a good 20 minutes a day.
According to WHO estimates, at least one in four adults prefers to be lazy.
What many people forget: cardiovascular training alone is not enough.
“Women in particular should do strength training regularly.
Twice 20 minutes a week is enough to keep the muscles in good shape - for example with push-ups, isometric exercises or weight training," explains Kiechle.
Chief Physician Kiechle: You often have to pay for overexploitation of the body in later years
"In this phase of life, your body is still relatively forgiving, but you often make up for the overexploitation of your body later in old age," analyzes Kiechle.
That's why: Don't party until late every weekend, give up alcohol more often, overcome your weaker self and do sports.
Try to integrate as much exercise as possible into your everyday life – for example, cycling to work more often or getting off two or three stops earlier on the way to the office and walking the rest of the way.
House cleaning or gardening can also help to improve fitness.
"Anything that makes you slightly out of breath and sweating already contributes to a training effect," says Kiechle.
List of rubrics: © Astrid Schmidhuber
