Ever just feel lucky? I do, for lots of reasons. Here’s one: I have the privilege of working in two of the healthiest cities in America. Using any set of measures, such as access to parks and health care, rates of obesity, smoking and inactivity, Los Angeles and San Francisco rank right up there. Feeling lucky to practice medicine in cities that are deeply commitment to healthy living.
400 Square Miles of Sun
As a men’s health guy, I was noticing recently how healthy the men are who have seen me for vasectomy reversals from Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernadino Counties. At all ages, they appear fit, productive, and many are quite stress-balanced. These are important to what I call the “fertile lifestyle,” a nice thing to have whether you want children…or not. After all, a healthy body is a good reproductive body. Seeing this all around me warms me like the Pacific sunset.
Beauty Within
Truth be told, I am really just a Midas guy. I can fix the exhaust but it won’t get the job done (i.e. the baby) if the engine isn’t running well. A well-oiled and smooth running body requires some consistency and heavy lifting on the part of their owners. Honestly, those who eat well, sleep well, maintain a healthy weight, exercise and are otherwise truly invested in their health have engines that run better. Since I’m just the plumber here, I find that the outcomes of vasectomy reversals to be better when men are healthy. Everyone wins.
Everyone a Star
But besides our sunny location, there are other factors responsible for the healthy SoCal men that I have been seeing—those that empower men to do things that much better: partners, loved ones, providers, friends, neighbors, teachers, mentors and heroes. Three cheers for the village that makes the man.
All in, lucky in Los Angeles is far more than just a state of mind. Los Angeles is far more than what Woody Allen thought it was when he said that its “only cultural advantage is you can make a right turn on a red light.” No, lucky in Los Angeles is, most definitely, and more than in most places I know, a state of health.
