The inception of Vana Care was no ordinary event; it was a moment of clarity born from the shared vision of two friends, Jesse and Jason. With Jason’s extensive background in the disability sector and Jesse’s involvement in the fitness industry, they recognized a gaping void in the traditional disability support system. The duo saw that real progress and empowerment for individuals with disabilities didn’t hinge on infrequent and isolated gym sessions but required a more integrated approach to promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Jesse and Jason’s innovative solution involved retraining personal trainers from Jesse’s gyms to serve not just as fitness coaches but as life coaches for individuals with disabilities. This pioneering approach went beyond the confines of the gym, encouraging activities that fostered independence and a healthier lifestyle, such as walking to local shops or choosing stairs over elevators.

The Impact of Vana Care: Transforming Lives and Communities

The impact of Vana Care’s program on its participants was both immediate and profound. Clients experienced not just physical benefits but also significant improvements in their confidence and overall quality of life. This holistic approach to disability support, which emphasized lifestyle over mere exercise, quickly garnered positive feedback and referrals, highlighting the effectiveness of Vana Care’s model. Jesse went on to share “Our internal motto is ‘Out Care’ the competition.”

Today, Vana Care stands as the highest-reviewed disability support service in South Australia, a testament to its innovative approach and the tangible difference it makes in the lives of its clients. With a dedicated team of 150 employees and an ever-expanding family of clients who view Vana Care as their second home, the organization’s growth reflects its success in creating inclusive and health-oriented communities. Jason Wisniewski went on to share “We’re big believers in taking risks on new things & experimenting with new ways to make our team’s lives better and empower them to do a better job for the people they support.”

Looking Ahead: Vana Care’s Vision for the Future

As Vana Care looks to the future, it remains committed to its founding principles of empowering individuals with disabilities through health and lifestyle support. The organization’s continuous growth and the positive reviews it receives are a clear indicator of its vital role in the community and the demand for its compassionate, innovative approach to disability support. Jesse states “A huge part of our success so far is listening to the people we support and knowing it’s better to put profit aside to focus on the people.”

Vana Care’s story, from its inception to its current success, serves as a powerful example of how innovative thinking and a genuine commitment to improving lives can reshape an entire sector. Jesse and Jason’s vision has not only transformed the way disability support is provided but has also set a new standard for integrating health and lifestyle improvement into the care and empowerment of individuals with disabilities.

A Movement Towards a Healthier, More Inclusive World

Vana Care’s journey is more than just a tale of organizational success; it is a movement towards a more inclusive and health-focused approach to disability support. Through its pioneering programs and dedicated team, Vana Care continues to champion the idea that every individual, regardless of their abilities, deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy, active, and fulfilling life. As Vana Care continues to grow and evolve, its impact on individuals, families, and communities serves as a beacon of hope and a testament to the power of compassion, innovation, and unwavering belief in human potential.

More information about Vana Care’s impact can be found at its website here.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider. 

The post Vana Care: Revolutionizing Disability Support with a Health-First Approach appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

I got out of bed and, on autopilot, went through my normal morning routine. I left my flat and went to a local cafe run by a Brazilian woman named Tatiana, where my order is always the same: a large toasted bread roll, filled with chicken and mayonnaise. As I sat there reading the newspapers, the food was placed in front of me, and I looked at it. I felt like I was looking at a block of wood. I took a bite. It tasted fine. Normal.

I took three or four more bites, and I felt full. I left almost all of it on the plate. As I hurried out, Tatiana called after me, ‘Are you sick?’

I went to my office and wrote for three hours. Normally, by noon, I would have a snack, something small and sugary, and then at about 1 p.m. I would go down the street to a local Turkish cafe for lunch. It got to 2 p.m. and I wasn’t hungry. Again, my sense of routine kicked in, and again, I went to the cafe and asked for my standard order, a large Mediterranean lamb with rice and bread. I managed to eat a third of it. It seemed to me for the first time to be incredibly salty, like I was drinking seawater.

I wrote some more, and at 7 p.m. I left my office to go and meet a friend in Camden Market, one of my favourite parts of London. We walked between the stalls, staring at food from every part of the world. Normally, I could stuff my face from three different stalls, but that night, I had no hunger. I couldn’t even manage a few mouthfuls. I went home, feeling exhausted, and went to sleep at the unprecedentedly early time of 9 p.m.

As that first week passed, it felt like the shutters had come down on my appetite, and now only tiny peeks of light could get through. I was about 80 per cent less hungry than I normally am. The sense of mild nausea kept stirring and passing.

When I got on the bus or in a car, I felt a kind of exaggerated travel sickness. Whenever I ate, I became full startlingly fast. The best way I can describe it is to ask you to imagine that you have just eaten a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, and then somebody popped up and offered you a whole new meal to get started on. 

Some people say Ozempic makes them find food disgusting. To me, it made food, beyond small quantities, feel unfeasible.

On the fifth night, a friend came by to watch a movie, and we flicked through Uber Eats. The app suggested all my usual haunts. I realised I couldn’t eat any of this food now. Instead, she got a kebab, and I had a bowl of vegetable soup. On the sixth day, I took my godsons out, and they wanted to go into McDonald’s. When they got Happy Meals and I got nothing at all, one of them said suspiciously: ‘Who are you and what have you done with Johann Hari?’

I wanted to understand what was happening to my body.

I figured that the best people to educate me were the scientists who made the key discoveries that led to the development of Ozempic and other new weight-loss drugs. So I began to track many of them down and interview them, along with many other key scientists working in the field. Almost all of them have received funding from the pharmaceutical companies that now profit from these drugs, and we should bear that in mind as we hear what they say. They taught me that these extraordinary effects were coming from manipulating a tiny hormone named GLP-1 that exists in my gut and my brain, and in yours.

Author of ‘Magic Pill’ Johann Hari.

Throughout my first six months on Ozempic, my friend Danielle was pregnant, and as her pregnancy developed, she would say it was like we were on opposite trajectories. While her belly swelled, mine was shrivelling. I lost a stone and a half.

On the BMI chart, I went from obese (marked in a bright red) to the middle of overweight (yellow), and as the months passed and I lost another stone, I got to the upper end of a healthy weight (depicted in a soothing green). My body fat percentage fell from 32 per cent to 22 per cent. It was the fastest and most dramatic weight loss of my life.

I felt lighter and quicker on my feet, and that boosted my confidence enough that I started to strut a little. People began to notice. ‘Wow, you’re losing weight,’ acquaintances said when they saw me in the street. One of my godsons said: ‘Hey, Johann, I didn’t know you had a neck!’ In the third month, my neighbour’s hot gardener hit on me and asked for my phone number.

I realised it was exactly what I had wanted, and I was thrilled (especially about the gardener). I had told myself going in that I was concerned primarily about my health – but I now saw that a desire to look better had been a big driver for me all along. I felt genuinely grateful as I interviewed the scientists who’d developed this drug. While they told me about their discoveries, I could literally feel the effects playing out by placing my hand on my stomach. 

When I was talking with one of the scientists who’d worked on GLP-1 in a cafe in London and listening to her explain the drug’s potentially revolutionary effects, I watched people walking past us on the busy street. Most of them had not heard about Ozempic or other weight-loss drugs yet. Many of them were overweight or obese, and I thought: You don’t know what’s about to happen. You don’t know how this could be about to help you change

But I was surprised to notice that, at the same time, I also felt disconcerted and out of sorts a lot of the time. I wasn’t feeling an urge to recommend Ozempic to other people. In fact, I felt pensive, and tense. I didn’t understand it. I’d got what I wanted – a boost to my health, and a boost to my self esteem.

So why did I still feel so ambivalent about it? At first, I thought it was because of the side effects, which were surprisingly persistent. My nausea, which had been gentle at first, would suddenly surge at random moments and leave me feeling like I was on a boat in the middle of a storm. With Ozempic or Wegovy, everyone starts by taking a dose of 0.25mg a week, then after a month they go up to 0.5mg, and then a month later to a full 1mg. (Some people go to even higher doses after that.)

Every time I increased my dose, I felt significantly worse for at least a week. One evening I found myself dry-heaving next to a pot plant in Zurich airport while a Swiss woman, who clearly thought I was drunk, gave me dirty looks. This sickness was intermittent, and most of the time, I didn’t feel it at all, but when it came, it was horrible. It occurred alongside other strange effects. 

Sometimes I would lie awake at night and find myself uncontrollably burping. At its worst, I was belching up bile and thought I was going to throw up. I also became constipated.

The grimmest side effects for me lay elsewhere. For many people, when they take these drugs, their resting heart rate increases. I would sit reading a book, or lie in bed, and feel my heart racing. My mind often interpreted this as anxiety and would start racing to match my elevated heartbeat. I had to cut back on caffeine to counteract this effect, and even that didn’t totally solve the problem – invariably, whenever I increased my dose, I felt anxious for at least a week, and even after that, I felt like I could more easily become anxious than before.

In addition, in the first week after increasing my dose, around late afternoon or early evening, I would persistently feel lightheaded and a little dizzy. I discussed this with my doctor and he said that this often happens when your calorie consumption drops significantly – your body isn’t getting its usual fuel source, so it’s confused, and the tank seems to be empty. Even after I got used to it, this feeling never entirely went away.

For between 5 and 10 per cent of people who take these drugs, the side effects are so extreme that they conclude it’s not worth continuing. I spoke with a woman in Vermont named Sunny Naughton, who is four foot ten, and when she hit 190 pounds (13.6 stone), she realised her weight was spiralling out of control. So in 2018, she sought out – in desperation – Saxenda, an early GLP-1 agonist drug that had to be injected daily. In the first two months, she lost more than thirty pounds, but, she told me, ‘I was sick all the time. Stomach cramps. Vomiting.’ She found herself burping uncontrollably, with ‘weird flavours’, and ‘there’s a metallic taste in your mouth all the time’.

At work, she would end up rolling on the floor beneath her desk with stomach cramps so crippling that her colleague would have to drive her home. ‘It just felt like someone was digging in and twisting your insides really tightly,’ she said. 

It was so unlike anything she had experienced before that she felt ‘an alien had gone into my stomach and was doing something in my body … It felt like there was something living in my stomach that was tearing everything up and getting rid of whatever was in there, and then draining my body of energy.’ For eight months, Sunny made herself endure it because the weight loss was so dramatic.

But ‘it was the worst physical illness that I ever felt … From one to ten, it was fifty. It was just awful. And everyone around me was like, “Should you keep doing this?” 

One day, she accidentally injected herself with a double dose. ‘I was supposed to teach a class two days later, and I was so sick, I couldn’t get out of bed. I was sweating. I was nauseous. I got myself into the bathtub. I was almost incoherent. I called my mother and said,

“I might have to go to the ER.” This medicine made me so sick.”

Not long afterwards, she told herself ‘I need to live a natural life’ and threw away her remaining pens. She rapidly put most of the weight back on, as does almost everyone who comes off these drugs, but the alien also seemed to leave her body. Yet I didn’t feel that my ambivalence could be fully explained by the side effects I was experiencing. Something more was going on, though it took me time to figure out what it was. Every time I upped my dose, the side effects got worse, but then they mostly eased off – so I felt confident that if I powered through them, they would, over time, diminish to little or nothing. 

So why didn’t I feel as happy as I should? Why – in addition to moments of glee – did I feel moments of deep worry about what I was doing? Why was I looking a gift horse – effortless weight loss, the dream of humans down the ages – in the mouth? I began to see the answer when I decided to go right back to where this story, for me, began. I asked: Why did I get fat in the first place? And more importantly, why did we – as a culture – get so much fatter, in a very short period of time?

I learned that we can’t understand these drugs unless we first take a moment to understand the forces that made so many of us need them in the first place. It was only when I studied this question that some of the mysteries around these drugs began to be resolved.

This is an extract from Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs by Johann Hari, published by Bloomsbury, out now: $34.99

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Does Ozempic cause muscle loss?

The post Writer Johann Hari’s wild Ozempic journey appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

According to a study by Dentalhealth.org, people who opt for an electric toothbrush have healthier gums, less tooth decay and also keep their teeth for longer, compared with those who use a manual toothbrush.

“Health experts have been speaking about the benefits of electric toothbrushes for many years. This latest piece of evidence is one of the strongest and clearest yet – electric toothbrushes are better for our oral health,” explains Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter OBE. “Electric toothbrushes, especially those with heads that rotate in both directions, or ‘oscillating’ heads, are really effective at removing plaque. This helps keep tooth decay and gum disease at bay. As the science behind the advantages of electric toothbrushes is mounting, the decision whether to invest in one becomes much easier.”

Unlike their manual counterparts, electric toothbrushes use strong vibrations and automated head movement to more effectively remove plaque and debris from your teeth. These days, many electric toothbrushes go beyond just a powerful clean and offer a bunch of fancy options: think interchangeable heads for sensitive teeth or deeper cleans, a 2-minute timer to let you know when you’ve finished brushing, and even built-in artificial intelligence to help track your brushing progress and offer suggestions on how to improve.

The good news is that you don’t have to shell out a ton of money to find a good, effective electric toothbrush. These are the best electric toothbrushes out there, no matter your budget or brushing acumen.

Best overall

Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige

If you’re after something that looks good and is a really good investment, this is for you. While it’s definitely on the pricier end ($399 at The Shaver Shop), you really do get what you pay for. Think 62,000 bristle movements (that get your teeth and gums way cleaner than you ever thought possible), a sensitive gum mode, and SenseIQ technology, which automatically adjusts to your brushing style and pressure to give you the best clean possible.

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Best affordable electric toothbrush

Oral-B iO Series 5

This electric toothbrush has all the same bells and whistles as some models three times the price, all in an easy to use and understand package. It features a pressure sensor which uses coloured light on the base to alert you if you’re pressing too hard, and the same rotary style head that your dentist uses, which may take some getting used to, but is great at cleaning all the nooks and crannies of your mouth.

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Best for travel

Ordo Soinc Lite Electric Toothbrush

This toothbrush is like the best of both worlds. It’s the size and shape of a manual brush, but features the sonic technology and brushing modes you want from an electric brush. It charges via USB-C, which makes it ideal for traveling. The bristles deliver a good, effective clean and the Smart LED indicator remind you when it’s nearly time to charge.

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Best splurge electric toothbrush

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9700 Electric Toothbrush

If you’re going to invest in an electric toothbrush, this is one of the best out there (with a sky-high price tag to match). At roughly $500 in white or black, it’s one of the most expensive premium electric toothbrushes we’ve seen. But that admission price gets you five interchangeable modes and three intensity settings to fully customise your brushing experience. Interchangeable brush heads specifically designed for things like whitening or tongue cleaning also allow you to get optimal results with minimal effort. Plus the charging travel case allows you to take it with you wherever you go, and know your investment is protected along the way.

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Best flossing electric toothbrush

Waterpik Sonic-Fusion 2.0 Professional Flossing Toothbrush

As far as electric toothbrush features go, this one has something none of the others have: A built-in water flossing feature. The all-in-one design allows you to floss (with water) while you brush, saving you time and effort while giving your teeth an unparalleled, fresh-from-the-dentist clean feeling. The brush itself has basic features like two intensity modes and a timer, but the biggest draw is the integrated waterpik. You can brush with or without the floss feature, but why would you ever go without?

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Best for long-lasting battery life

FOREO ISSA 3

Not your average-looking toothbrush, this one is made from silicone, which is known for being more hygienic as well as hypoallergenic. The brush head combines polymer and silicone bristles too, making it tough on stains and bacteria but soft on gums. Its best feature, however, is that it only needs recharging once a year, so there’ll be no clutter around your bathroom sink.

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Best smart electric toothbrush for beginners

Oral B Genius

If a manual toothbrush has always been your go-to, this smart electric brush may be just what you need to make the switch. It isn’t overwhelming for first-timers, as testers found the vibrations weren’t too overpowering, but it still left everyone with a whiter smile. The pressure sensor was appreciated too, helping to remove plaque without causing discomfort.

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Best electric toothbrush for braces

Curaprox Hydrosonic Pro

This sonic toothbrush features just one button, which switches between seven different cleaning modes – ideal for those who like to keep it simply. The three different-shaped brush heads ensure you’re getting a deep clean, especially if you have braces, bridges or implants.

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Menshealth.com.au provides reviews and recommendations to help you find the right product. Products you purchase through links on this page may earn us a small commission.

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The post The 8 best electric toothbrushes for men appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Adding to previous research of its kind, authors of a study found that more than 300,000 people saw that being sedentary was a major health hazard. Yet they also estimated that exercising a little bit – the equivalent of a 20-minute brisk walk daily – could reduce the risk of premature death in inactive people by as much as 16 to 30 per cent.

Globally, 1 in 4 adults aren’t moving enough, according to the World Health Organisation. And even if you think you’re an active person, you might be spending just enough time in front of your TV when you’re not at the gym to be putting your health at risk.

What’s more, the effects of staying seated go far beyond what you may think. Sure, your sedentary behaviour can hurt your heart and raise your risk for inflammation-causing extra unwanted kilos. It might also be responsible for some more surprising effects too, including effects on your sex life, your mood, and your blood sugar.

Let these 7 sinister side effects of living a sedentary life inspire you to move a little bit every day. Read on to learn more—and to discover the easiest thing you can do right now to reverse the damage.

Sedentary behaviour effect #1: your mood takes a dive

Feeling down? Blame your chair: Research continues to show that long periods spent sitting can have a significant impact on your mental health, with a 2022 study showing that sitting time was strongly associated with adverse mental health effects during the COVID-19 lockdown.

What’s more, other types of sedentary behaviour—like watching TV or playing electronic games – can increase your risk for anxiety, according to a meta-analysis of nine studies published in BMC Public Health. The reviewers suggest that engaging in “screen-based entertainment,” as they call it, may get your central nervous system all riled up and invite anxiety. Screens may also disrupt sleep, bringing on anxiety that way.

If you’re spending your time on screens, you’re probably not fitting in enough physical activity, the researchers say.

And that’s important, since exercise has mood-boosting benefits. Some research indicates that cardio can boost your mood just as effectively as prescribed antidepressants.

Sedentary behaviour effect #2: Your cancer risk skyrockets

The post ​7 ways you wreck your body when you don’t get off your butt appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

This story originally appeared on Men’s Health U.S

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We asked two experts for their take on the multivitamin debate. Here’s their answers.

Should men take multivitamins?

The Expert: Michael Roizen, M.D., Chairman of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic

The Stance: Yes. Multivitamins have promising long-term and reproductive perks.

I take a multivitamin every day—and I’d recommend that the 50 percent of Americans who don’t take one start. While it’s true that the data on multivitamins in the short-term isn’t beneficial for otherwise healthy men, the 20-year data shows a significant benefit for heart disease and cancer risk.

In one study, men who took a multivitamin were 43 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke after 20 years than those that didn’t. In another, there was an 18 percent reduction in non-prostate cancers among men who took a multi (the research controlled for activity, diet, and smoking, among other things).

That’s why it makes sense for guys who are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s to start taking a multivitamin now so they can reap the benefits down the road. And a multi isn’t an excuse to eat whatever you want.

I’m not saying guys shouldn’t also pay attention to their diet (I advocate a plant-heavy Mediterranean approach), but it’s not likely that you’re eating all the nutrients you need all the time. Data suggests that 90 percent of men fall short in one or more of the 16 essential vitamins and minerals. Although not all multivitamins are created equal.

Look for a third-party seal, like USP or NSF, which verifies that what’s on the label is what’s actually in the pill. Choose a brand that contains the active form of folate called methylfolate, not folic acid; and consider taking half your multi in the morning and half at night to keep levels steadier so you’re less likely to just pee them out.

The Expert: JoAnn Manson, M.D., Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The Stance: No. Most people should skip the pills and focus on food instead.

If you’re a healthy guy and have no major dietary restrictions, you don’t need a multivitamin. A pill containing 20 vitamins and minerals is never going to replicate the complex mixture of healthful compounds in whole foods. Many people take a multivitamin end up using them to justify less healthy eating habits.

Professional organizations, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, do not recommend multivitamins either. It’s not that they’re harmful (they typically contain safe levels of vitamins and minerals compared to some megadose single-nutrient supplements), but the research isn’t there that they’re all that healthful.

A few studies seem to suggest a benefit, but when you look at only the gold-standard studies—randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses—healthy people who eat well don’t experience any additional benefit from a multivitamin. The one exception so far: a trial that found an 8 percent reduction in cancer risk among initially healthy men who took a daily multi for more than a decade.

But you’d still be better off putting your effort and money into eating a loads of colorful vegetables and fruits, along with whole grains, high quality meats, fish, and dairy, and sources of unsaturated fats like olive oil and nuts. This Mediterranean approach has been associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease.

There are, of course, exceptions. If you have a highly restricted or poor diet, suffer from a gastrointestinal problem that impairs nutrient absorption such as Celiac disease, or take certain medications including proton pump inhibitors for heartburn, then you may need a multivitamin and/or a specific nutrient supplement.

The Verdict

Skip the multivitamin and spend that money on higher-quality food unless you’ve otherwise been advised by a doctor or you have restricted eating habits.

“While most of us can get our vitamins and minerals from food, there are exceptions, such as vegans who need to supplement B12,” Abby Langer, RD, the owner of Abby Langer Nutrition, a Toronto-based nutrition consulting company, told MH.

Even though taking a multi won’t hurt, and the long-term effects could be beneficial, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean proteins will help you live a full life. Plus, those foods are way more delicious than a pill.

This article originally appeared in Men’s Health US.

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The post Do multivitamins even do anything? Two experts fight it out appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

In 2010, during a routine training session at a gym in his native country of Switzerland, Mzee attempted a basic somersault – something he’d pulled off countless times beforehand. This time, Mzee didn’t stick the landing. He immediately knew his life had just changed. “In the moment where I had my accident, I realised that something was really wrong,” he says. “I had some accidents before, and it felt totally different.”

Mzee had suffered a severe spinal cord injury. He’d lost function in his legs, torso and fingers, and was diagnosed with quadriplegia. “There was no doctor telling me that my life would change, but I could feel that this was a big injury and that there would be some severe consequences,” he says. “I couldn’t move nearly everything anymore.”

“It took another three or four months before a doctor finally said that I should get used to the idea of being in a wheelchair for all my life,” Mzee says, speaking to Men’s Health less than two weeks out from attempting to break a personal record, without a wheelchair. Mzee is in Australia for the Wings For Life World Run (WFLWR), a global running event where the funds raised go directly to spinal cord injury research, and he’ll be taking part in the event unassisted.

This won’t be Mzee’s first WFLWR. Having regained a large amount of function in his legs, trunk and fingers, the 36-year-old has participated in the event on a number of occasions, aiming to improve every time. Ostensibly, Mzee has a groundbreaking electrode implant to thank for his recovery, but really, none of it would’ve been possible if he didn’t possess a unique ability to always hold out hope, in spite of the most difficult of circumstances.

Red Bull

“NO, I ACTUALLY thought that I would walk again,” is what Mzee tells Men’s Health when we ask if he had consigned himself to life in a wheelchair after hearing of his diagnosis. In the months following his injury, Mzee was forced to adapt to a life with limited function. “My fingers were impaired at the beginning, so I couldn’t eat by myself, or brush my teeth or comb my hair,” he says. “But I got that function back, and after some time, I started to hope that my legs would also get better.”

That was a difficult time for Mzee, but even then, he was already setting goals. “I remember in the beginning, there was this mountain when I looked out of my room, and I always thought, one day I’ll walk from here to there.”

Six months after his accident, Mzee met with Professor Gregoire Courtine, who was conducting studies on the ability of an electrode implant to restore movement function in rats. At the time, the hope was that the results would prove the implant had applications in humans. “He told me all this preliminary data on the rat trials, and I remember having two ideas at the time. On the one hand, I was really hopeful about the science progressing, but I also knew that it would be a very long process no matter what.”

It took another five years for the implant to be approved for humans. During that time, Mzee spoke to scientists, read up on relevant literature, met the neurosurgeon who would perform the operation, and as a whole, started to hope that he might actually walk again. In 2016, Mzee received the implant.

Mzee’s electrode implant sits on the surface of his spinal cord. It works by sending bursts of electrical stimulation to muscles, mimicking the body’s natural signalling mechanism. Over time, the stimulation is able to engage the brain’s motor cortex through nerves that weren’t damaged during the initial injury. The implant wasn’t a quick fix that would immediately restore function. It took weeks of intensive physical therapy and testing before Mzee could get back on his feet. “In the first week after the implant they did functional mapping where they tried different spots on the electrode and try to find which muscles react,” Mzee says. “Since I was one of the first patients, that process was so tiring and it took very long, but now people who come after me can benefit from it.”

Eventually, Mzee regained some function in his legs and was able to walk again, with the help of a bodyweight support system. The recovery process was lengthy and involved months of physical therapy. As a result, sudden breakthroughs were rare, but Mzee recalls the moment he first walked unassisted with the same sense of triumph he felt all those years ago. “That was one of the few moments that felt like a change from one second to the other, most things were really gradual,” he says. “That was a magical moment because it really felt like walking. It was the first time in the six years since my accident that I was walking hands free.”

Red Bull

WHILE MZEE’S LIFESTYLE changed dramatically after his accident, his interest – or obsession – with sports remained. “I would say it’s for the same reason it was before the accident,” he says. “It’s just such a big part of my life and it’s so normal for me to train and try new stuff like that.” He would go on to obtain a masters degree in human movement sciences, but studying human movement wasn’t enough for Mzee, he wanted to be physically involved.

New sports and feats of athleticism once came easily to Mzee, but after his accident, he had to learn once familiar activites from the ground up. “I started at 0 again. I was always good at sports and they just came naturally to me, so it was an interesting experience to go through that learning process again in my twenties,” he says. “I remember being back on the skiing slopes was humbling, but also frustrating because there were five year old kids racing next to me and overtaking me while I was falling. I was like ‘wow, I was so good at skiing, and now I’m here with these kids learning again’.”

Credit to him, Mzee stuck with it. He kept practicing, kept training, and eventually got back into competitive sports. In 2022, Mzee was part of the Swiss national wheelchair rugby team that qualified for the world championships for the first time in 16 years. He also gained an interest in water sports – something he wasn’t into before his accident – and started wakeboarding and kitesurfing. Although, that was an area where the technology wasn’t quite there yet for all adaptive participants.

“When I was playing wheelchair rugby and doing skiing, a lot of the equipment was already there and the developments had already been made. But in water sports, it’s a whole different story,” Mzee says of his first experience in wakeboarding. “When I started, I realised that the equipment is just not good for me. Most people who do adaptive water sports like wakeboarding and kite surfing are paraplegics, but for me as a quadriplegic, I don’t have that trunk function and my fingers aren’t good, so I had to change that.”

When Mzee got involved in water sports, it wasn’t possible for a quadriplegic like him to wakeboard. To solve that problem, he invented a new type of wakeboarding for quadriplegics that made use of more suitable equipment, allowing people like him to participate in adaptive sports. But that’s not why Mzee created the equipment. “People say that I’m pushing the field forward and helping other people, but for me, I was just thinking this is something I want to do, but it’s not possible, how can I solve it?”

Mzee’s achievements may seem remarkable, given what he’s gone through, but they don’t feel remarkable to him. Instead, Mzee feels that getting back into sport was always going to be inevitable as his condition improved. “Nobody who knows me would be surprised that I’m doing what I’m doing. From the outside it probably seems incredible, but it’s just what I love doing.”

Red Bull

THIS SUNDAY, MAY 5^TH, Mzee will take part in the Wings For Life World Run in Adelaide. The run is unlike any other. For one, it doesn’t take place in a single location. Rather, racers start at the same time in different places around the world. Then, the race doesn’t end at a specific distance or finish line. Instead, a ‘catcher car’ acts as a moving finish line, chasing down racers from 30 minutes after the starting gun. Due to this unique format, Mzee is able to compete alongside ultra-marathon runners as an equal.

What’s more, 100% of the funds raised from the WFLWR goes to spinal cord injury research. Raising money and awareness is great, according to Mzee, but that’s not the primary reason he participates. “The truth is, it’s just a lot of fun to do,” he says. “When I was first asked if I wanted to participate in WFLWR, I didn’t know what it was and I didn’t know how much fun it would be. But after my first year, I was just like ‘this is so cool, I want to do this every year’.”

“It’s just so great to be participating in a race where a guy like me who cannot even do 500 metres before the catcher car comes, can race alongside people who can run for hours,” Mzee continues. “And of course, it’s nice that all the money that’s raised is going to spinal cord injury research. But since nobody’s listening, I’ll tell you, I just love the race.” Sorry David, this writer was listening and you were on the record.

In Mzee’s first attempt at the WFLWR, he was able to walk 390 metres, unassisted, before the catcher car caught him. The following year he managed 467 metres. Now, he’s switching his focus to another feat of endurance. “This year I wanted to think about something different. My goal is to set a new record, not in terms of maximum distance, but maximum time without a break,” he says.

Mzee’s previous best efforts included breaks, giving him time to rest. He was afforded that luxury because the catcher car doesn’t begin its journey until 30 minutes after the start of the run. This time around, he won’t be going easy on himself. “I’ll be trying to walk without a break until the catcher car catches me. That would be about twice the time of my current record, which is around 10 to 15 minutes without a break. If everything works out, I’ll walk for 32 minutes straight.” Given his resounding previous successes, we’d wager Mzee has a good chance of doing it.

So, did Mzee ever climb that mountain that sat outside his window while he recovered? “Even with my electrode implant now, there is no way that I could do it. Two years ago in Switzerland I did 1.8 kilometres and that was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life,” he says, loath to admit that there may be one goal he can’t conquer. “Doing 20km seems impossible, but I’ll never say never.” While he may doubt himself, if Mzee’s story has taught us anything, it’s to never count him out.

Red Bull

UPDATE: The 2024 Wings For Life World Run attracted a record-breaking 265,818 participants over the weekend, making it the largest running event in the world. In the Adelaide event, David Mzee smashed his previous non-stop walking record of 10-15 minutes with a 32-minute effort without a break, lasting a total of one hour and 11 minutes before being caught by the catcher car.

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The post The unrelenting drive of walking quadriplegic David Mzee appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

With rapid technological advancements being made every day, we’re constantly being subjected to new stimuli that can affect our mental health, and as Professor Eric Chung, the Scientific and Clinical Advisor for LTR Pharma explains, that can have a marked impact on sexual performance. “For younger men, erectile dysfunction and sexual performance anxiety can be highly psychological,” Chung says. “Meaning a lot of what goes on downstairs is correlated to what is going on in our minds and bodies.”

Problems with sexual performance aren’t rare. In fact, they’re fairly common nowadays. Recent research published in Sexual Medicine Reviews found that one in four men experience sexual performance anxiety and distress at some stage in their life. But according to Chung, “stigma and embarrassment often pose barriers to starting meaningful conversations and getting the appropriate care and support.” For that reason, understanding how your recreational activities can impact your performance in the bedroom, and knowing how to combat them, is paramount.

Here, we break down how and why some common recreational activities can impact sexual performance.

Excessive porn consumption

The harmful impacts of excessive consumption of pornography have only been exacerbated by recent technological advancements and the increasing ubiquity of smartphones. Professor Chung puts it bluntly, saying that we live in an “environment of hyper-sexualisation”. Today, porn is more accessible than ever before, and as you’d expect, it’s also more popular than ever before. A 2024 study from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health that drew data from a nationally representative survey found that 80 per cent of Australian men are exposed to pornography by the age of 20.

Porn is not inherently harmful to sexual performance. Chung stresses that “Proper use of pornography can have positive effects if consumed appropriately and can even help with erections and sexual relationships”. But while it can have some benefits specific to individuals, more often than not, excessive porn consumption has a net negative impact.

“Pornography can influence a person’s understanding of sexual behaviours, including what constitutes norms, appropriate and ideal sexual satisfaction,” Chung says. “Men who watch porn can sometimes build an unrealistic expectation around sex and their performance in the bedroom. This can be anything from body image, comparing penile anatomy size, sexual positions, and duration, as well as fetishes.”

These misinformed notions of sex and what constitutes sexual satisfaction can lead to confidence issues and negatively impact a person’s sense of masculinity. As Professor Chung explains, “This can hinder their ability to engage in sexual intimacy and perform in the bedroom.” But that’s not all. “Another perspective is that excessive use of pornography can desensitise and dissociate a person, changing the chemical patterns in an individual’s brain linked to emotion so that they no longer respond to cues that spark arousal from sexual activities,” Chung says.

Gaming

Another development that has been brought about by advancements in the realm of technology, recent studies have shown that a large amount of time spent gaming can increase the likelihood of erectile dysfunction. Sedentary lifestyles in general have been associated with erectile dysfunction, but a recent study in Andrology, which assessed the correlation between leisure activities and erectile dysfunction, found that increased computer usage was associated with a greater risk of developing impotence.

The study also assessed other leisure activities like watching TV and driving but only found a causal association between erectile dysfunction and gaming. It might be time to hang up the headset.

Vaping

Getty Images

The popularity of vapes has skyrocketed in recent years, especially amongst young people. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that more than 38 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 have used an e-cigarette or vape at least once, and you’ll have difficulty navigating a city crowd, a busy concert, or even a lively pub without detecting a fruity aroma and waft of vapour these days. That rising popularity is coming at a cost to users though.

New research from New York University indicates that frequent vaping more than doubles the likelihood of developing erectile dysfunction. The study surveyed 13,700 men about their smoking habits and health and found that men who vaped daily are more than twice as likely as those who never vape to develop the condition. If you needed another reason to quit, let this be it.

What should you do if you’re having problems in the bedroom?

If you frequently partake in any of the above activities and are having issues with sexual performance, it might be time for a re-evaluation of your lifestyle. While watching porn, gaming and vaping don’t guarantee issues with sexual performance, they do heighten your risk with varying degrees of severity. If you want to reduce your risk, the solution is fairly simple for vaping: quit cold turkey or at least limit your usage. For gaming, balancing sedentary leisure time with an active lifestyle is an obvious fix. But for pornography, the solution can be less clear.

Professor Chung assures us that there are strategies to assist with erectile dysfunction and sexual performance anxiety associated with pornography. “The first is to assess your level of engagement with pornography. Ask what type of pornography is being consumed, how frequently, and what boundaries, if any, are involved,” Chung says. “Secondly, it is important to communicate and set clear, realistic expectations with yourself and your partner to build a healthy sexual relationship. Try to create a space for spontaneous sexual intimacy and build on a sense of trust, safety and support to help ease anxiety and stress in the mind and body.”

Further support can be found in seeking professional help, Chung says. “Be open-minded and seek therapy if necessary. Perhaps there may be underlying issues or psychosexual trauma that need to be acknowledged and addressed. Fortunately, there are many such services available either face-to-face, online or via telehealth.”

If your problems are more serious, there is reason for optimism. LTR Pharma, for whom Professor Chung works as a Scientific and Clinical Advisor, currently has a product called SPONTAN in clinical development to treat erectile dysfunction. SPONTAN is a fast-acting nasal spray designed to treat erectile dysfunction in ten minutes or less. Clinical trials are currently underway, with results expected in coming months.

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The post The lifestyle factors that could be impacting your performance in the bedroom appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.