Forget the fountain of youth, or the elixir of life. They're not worth it. If you want something concrete, something that you can work hard for and be proud of it, then here are 4 things men can do to live longer.

1. Strive to Bolster Your Immune System

Your immune system does a wonderful job of protecting you from disease-causing microorganisms. It fails us sometimes though; germs break through the defenses, and that is why you get sick. The good news is you can always do something about it; you can improve your diet and introduce lifestyle changes so you can have a much stronger resistance than ever before. It's that simple.

Yet it's not. The idea of enhancing our immune systems is a great thing, but working on it is a real challenge. For starters, it is one general system working and functioning together, and not a single part of another whole. The immune system requires balance and harmony so it can function properly. Experts have yet to explain how this makes sense, but the link is there that various factors like diet, exercise, lifestyle changes, natural supplements and especially psychological stress play an important part on how our immune systems function to aid us in resisting various dreadful diseases in this world.

You can always take up healthy living strategies for your first line of defense. It's simple, really. Great ideas like not smoking, exercising regularly, having a rich fruit, vegetable, whole grains diet and doing away with saturated fats, and maintaining a healthy weight will never fail your cause. The same thing can be said about your attitude regarding alcohol, getting enough sleep, taking all the necessary steps to avoid various infections, like the washing of hands frequently and cooking your meats thoroughly.

The general guidelines for good health still and will always rule the land. If you want a strong and healthy immune system, then you'll know what to do.

2. Recognizing Depression and Treating It Before All Is Late

Depression is what flushes you down the drain. It's a very important matter. Knowing the causes why you have it is what addresses the problem, and not the other way around. The causes vary; an individual may be depressed because of unstable environment back home, or the depression is due to the news and shock of a life-threatening illness. It could also be that abuse and harassment from the people that surrounded you complete with all the traumatic situations account for a depressed feeling. All those negative things that surround and suffocate people these days can affect the self-esteem, which would then affect enthusiasm towards everything that life has to offer.

Other signs include getting frustrated and irritable about anything around you easily, irregular sleep patterns and unexplained body changes like losing or gaining weight. Things will turn for the worse if individuals start thinking about death, or becoming better off dead. Watching out for all these signs and applying common sense should give you a good head start.

3. Eat More Frequent, Smaller Meals

This one is easy and will make you feel tons better. You know how if you have a fire and throw a huge log on the fire, it sometimes smothers the fire? Think of your body as that fire. Too much food at one time doesn't burn well and creates more waste.

Instead of having 3 big meals, have 6 small meals. Your blood sugar and insulin levels will be more regular. This will not only make you feel better, but it will help you maintain your body weight and improve muscle mass.

4. Reduce Stress, So You Can Live Much Longer

Every stressful day will always take its toll on men's health. What is stress actually? To make it simple, think of stress as your body's normal reaction towards something totally heavy and unexpected. It can also be that reaction towards the mounting demands of daily living. You can think of so many sources of stress in this world, and yet can still discover something new along the way; it will get you out of focus and you will feel isolated.

Listening to music works well for men for neutralizing stress, and so does having an exercise workout. Any physical activity that you can think of changes your focus, which is a good thing.

Positive thinking has so many benefits. If you want to live longer, start thinking positive right now.

Remember that life is relatively short. When you relax, block everything else out. This is when you can recharge your batteries. Work hard, but play even harder.