Men on the North Shore are quietly renegotiating their relationship with health. Not in the performative, New Year’s-resolution sense, but in a more sober, midlife way—one that asks harder questions: How long can I keep doing this? Why am I exhausted when nothing is technically wrong? What does “aging well” actually look like?
For decades, the dominant model of men’s health has been reactive. You went to the doctor when something hurt badly enough to demand attention. A tight chest. A blown-out knee. A blood test that finally tipped from yellow into red. By then, the story was already well underway.
Dr. Faris Murad is trying to intervene much earlier in that narrative. A Mayo Clinic–trained physician and the founder of 369 Wellness, Murad practices what he calls precision health—a model that treats the body as an interconnected system requiring thoughtful calibration, not just crisis repair.
“In the current medical system, doctors are often pushed to see patients for five minutes,” Murad says. “I wanted to go back to the roots of medicine, where you can slow down, listen, and really understand what’s happening beneath the surface.”
The Command Center
Murad’s approach begins in a place most men don’t expect: the gut.
He refers to it as the "command center." Because the gut and brain are in constant communication through the gut–brain axis, they exchange signals that influence inflammation, metabolic stability, and mood. When that system is compromised by chronic stress or poor diet, the consequences ripple outward.
When that system is compromised by chronic stress, disrupted sleep, alcohol, or a diet that looks fine on paper but fails in practice, the consequences ripple outward. Systemic inflammation rises. Blood glucose becomes erratic. And the symptoms many men chalk up to “just work” begin to surface.
“What people call brain fog is often not a cognitive issue at all,” Murad explains. “It’s metabolic.” When Murad stabilizes gut health and glucose regulation, patients frequently report that their thinking feels clear again. Energy levels even out, and workouts become more effective.
From Normal to Optimal
One of Murad’s sharpest critiques of conventional care is its reliance on "normal" laboratory ranges. Lab values often fall within a broad statistical average, and patients are told they are fine. Murad argues that “fine” is not a meaningful health goal.
“The biggest myth in men’s health is that feeling fine means you’re healthy,” he says.
Many serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction, develop silently over years. By the time symptoms appear, the disease process is often well established, and the opportunity for prevention has narrowed.
Murad’s Executive Physical is designed to catch risk early. For men who have not seen a doctor in years, he recommends three foundational steps:
1- Advanced Cardiovascular Panels: These assess markers like ApoB and lipoprotein(a), which offer a far more accurate picture of heart disease risk than a standard cholesterol test.
2- Metabolic and Hormone Evaluation: Tracking insulin, HbA1c, and testosterone shapes long-term resilience. Numbers that quietly shape energy, body composition and long-term resilience.
3- Age-Appropriate Cancer Screening: This includes colon cancer screening at age 45 and PSA tests for prostate health.
“If I can get someone to test before it becomes a crisis,” Murad says, “treatment is more manageable, outcomes are better and longevity becomes far more attainable.”
For men ready to go deeper, Murad adds tools like DEXA scans and resting metabolic rate testing. These reveal how the body is actually functioning,—how much muscle you’re carrying, how efficiently you burn energy—rather than relying on weight alone, which often tells the least useful story.
The Symptoms We Normalize
A recurring theme in Murad’s practice is how quickly men dismiss early warning signs. Fatigue becomes “getting older.” Expanding waistlines are blamed on stress. Declining strength or slower recovery is written off as a busy season that never quite ends.
“These are patterns I see all the time,” Murad says. Persistent low energy can reflect hormonal shifts, poor sleep quality, or early metabolic dysfunction. Increasing abdominal fat despite stable weight often signals insulin resistance. Reduced exercise tolerance or slower recovery can be early indicators of cardiovascular or hormonal issues.
And from a gastroenterology perspective, symptoms like chronic reflux, bloating, or changes in bowel habits should never be ignored. They are often early signals that something deeper needs attention.
“The subtle changes are your first opportunity,” Murad says. “Waiting until symptoms are severe removes that advantage.”
The Non-Negotiable
If Murad could prescribe one habit to every North Shore man this summer, it wouldn’t be a supplement or a wearable. It would be muscle.
“Muscle is one of the most powerful predictors of longevity, metabolic health, and functional independence,” he says. Beyond aesthetics, muscle plays a central role in glucose regulation, bone density, balance and resilience as we age.
His recommendation is simple and deliberately unflashy: resistance training two to three times per week. Not extreme. Just consistent.
“Men often focus on cardio,” Murad says. “But without muscle, you lose the foundation that allows you to stay active over time. If you protect muscle, you protect your future mobility and independence.”
Looking Ahead
What excites Murad most about men’s wellness in 2026 isn’t any single technology, though advances in diagnostics, continuous glucose monitoring, and genetic insight have transformed what’s possible. It’s the mindset shift.
Men are becoming more open to engaging in their health earlier, asking better questions and viewing wellness not as damage control but as a performance advantage.
“The goal isn’t just to live longer,” Murad says. “It’s to maintain clarity, strength and independence for as long as possible.”
In that sense, precision health isn’t about chasing youth or perfection. It’s about paying attention sooner, using better data and making informed choices while there’s still time for them to matter.
More at sante360health.com.