The world of men’s health is riddled with myths and half-truths, which makes navigating it fairly tricky unless you have the right information to hand.

To help you avoid falling for common misconceptions, here are just five of the most common falsehoods that there is no evidence to support.

There is no way to prevent hair loss

Male pattern baldness impacts millions of men, yet most also think that you can do nothing to prevent it in spite of the fact that there have been effective treatments available for decades.

While the likes of Finasteride and Minoxidil may not be well known, they really do work for a large proportion of patients, stopping hair loss in its tracks and in some cases reversing the effects. You should definitely consider alternatives to hair transplants like Finasteride or Minoxidil rather than taking the surgical route.

Erectile dysfunction is only a problem for older men

ED looms large for plenty of men, but you might assume that you do not need to worry about this until you are well past your sexual prime. In reality, a growing number of men under 40 are suffering from performance issues in the bedroom, which is helping to raise awareness about the prevalence of this issue and also reduce the stigma surrounding it.

Protein powder is a shortcut to building muscle

Protein powders are all the rage at the moment, but unfortunately, they will do nothing in isolation; you need to actually put in the hard graft in the gym to turn that extra helping of protein into muscle mass. Indeed if you take protein supplements but do not follow a suitable training regiment, you could end up putting on weight without getting ripped.

Crash diets are effective

The trend for encouraging men (and women) to go on crash diets during which time calorie intake is rapidly reduced is problematic for a number of reasons, the most significant of which is that it is unlikely to lead to any significant weight loss.

The reason for this is that your body will react badly to a sudden drop-off in calories and will try to ration the burning of fat because it thinks starvation is on the cards, which is obviously far from the desired effect. You are better off taking a more balanced approach and using a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise to stay fit.

‘Light’ beers are good for you

While the real ale craze is still going strong, there is also another emerging trend for so-called ‘light’ beers, which offer a lower alcohol content and also a reduced number of calories per pint compared with their full-bodied counterparts. This gives the impression that they are healthy when in reality they are only marginally less problematic than the stronger alternatives. Do not assume that you will be able to shift a beer belly simply by switching to light, low-strength beers now that pubs are open again, especially if this is the only change that you are making.