One of the easiest ways to help save your life is to lower your cholesterol levels through simple changes in your diet. Foods that lower cholesterol or provide protection against disease, include...

Garlic
It's believed to have the ability to lower cholesterol, thin the blood and improve the linings of blood vessels, thanks to its active ingredient, allicin.

Porridge
A high-fibre diet helps to improve cholesterol. Try some porridge every morning, or homemade muesli with low-fat milk.

Nuts
Four separate studies have confirmed that five nut-based meals a week about 10 to 15 nuts in each meal can reduce the risk of heart attack by 50 per cent. Walnuts and almonds are supposed to be the best.

Soy
Increasing your protein levels with soy may reduce your man's cholesterol levels. Try soymilk on your cereal, or tofu in a stir-fry

Skim milk
A US study found that men who boosted their calcium intake to 200mg a day reduced their cholesterol levels by six per cent. By switching to skim milk, they're also cutting back on fat. US research has also found that an additional 1200mg of calcium daily could play a big role in reducing the risk of colon cancer, which is one of the more common cancers in Australia.

Tomatoes
All tomatoes contain lycopene, which has properties that may protect men against prostate cancer. The most concentrated form is in tomato paste.

When it comes to their health, although it is improving. Dr Joe Pollak, medical director of the Mens Medical Clinic in Sydney, says, " get 10 to 15 calls a week from men wanting general health check-ups," he says. " didn't get that two or four years ago. Still, 1997 figures showed that women outlived men by about nine years and that has to be attributed to their better standards of health care.

- Before your man goes to the doctor, make sure you know the name of any medication he's on.

- Ensure you has a full range of medical tests, particularly after the age of 40, including checks on cholesterol levels, blood pressure, moles, the prostate gland, for diabetes or uric acid (to see if there's a tendency for heart disease) and a stress echo test that scans the heart before and after exercise. After the age of 20, make sure your blood pressure and cholesterol are checked.

- Check your family health history. If your partner lost your father to heart disease in your late 40s or early 50, then you need to be aware that it could happen to you.

- Give yourself a list of questions to ask the doctor, including: What is the cause of the symptoms? What is the treatment options? Are their side effects? What activities should be avoided? How much time should be taken off work? What is the long-term prognosis?

- Make health a more frequent conversation topic, especially the conditions, which affect men more than women do. For example, sleep apnoea occurs five times more in males than in females. Patients describe a cessation of breathing, for up to 30 seconds, numerous times throughout the night.

- Point out that a healthy lifestyle will lead to a happy and fulfilling retirement. Explain it in terms of an investment in the future, a bit like blue-chip shares.

- Increase your awareness about your health so you checks out, rather than ignores, symptoms in your body - such as a cough that won't go away, chest pain etc.

- Develop a healthy eating plan. Cardiologist Dr Ross Walker - author of What's Cooking Doc (Kingsclear Books, rrp $14.95) says your man should have only two "junk" meals per week - the rest should be healthy and balanced.

- Replace bad fats with good fats. "Cooking in olive oil is better for your health than grilling food;' Dr Walker says. Educate yourself about good fats such as the monounsaturated fats found in canola oil, avocados and olive oil. The evidence is overwhelming that these good fates protect you against heart disease. Also, the fate in fish and some other oils, such as flaxseed and linseed, are full of good omega 3 polyunsaturated fats.

- Proseren is an herbal remedy for prostate enlargement, which is found in 50 per cent of men aged over 50. The active ingredient is serenoa, used in Native American medicine for centuries.

- Load yourself up with antioxidants from five different sources: extra virgin olive oil, tea, fruit and vegetables, red wine (a total of two glasses per day) and antioxidant supplements, such as vitamins E, C and low doses of beta-carotene. Antioxidants protect you against free radicals, which are substances formed in your body when oxygen reacts to poisons such as cigarette smoke, pollution, saturated fats and additives.

- Develop a healthy exercise habit, with about half an hour set aside each day. Make sure you increases your incidental movements - that is, walking to the shop rather than driving, using the stairs not the lift, and getting up to change the channel.

- Educate yourself about the quit-smoking options: cold turkeys, patches, hypnotherapy, chewing gum, etc., or enrol in a special quit-smoking program.

- Buy a set of scales to help yourself control your weight. Get the doctor to outline your correct height-weight ratio.

- Limit your alcohol intake - you should drink no more than two glasses a day or a total of 250ml.

- Make sure you adopts stress-busting habits such as walking the dog, listening to music, or just finding some quiet time.

- Heart disease is a big killer of men. The warning sign is chest pain. It can occur anywhere from the nose to the belly button. Also watch for shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitations and unusual fatigue.