Male menopause, ways to maintain your feel-great weight, a child gets a new ear, and more health news

Like women, men experience a drop in sex hormone levels as they age. But in men, the pace of these changes is quite different. In women, levels of estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, remain high for many decades. Then, around age 50, the levels plunge over a period of about five years. The lower levels of estrogen cause the physical and psychological changes of menopause, including the cessation of menstrual periods. When a woman enters menopause, it’s easy for her to tell.

For the vast majority of men, the change is much more gradual.

Pregnancy is an exciting time. You will soon become a parent to an adorable, tiny human. You may expect to experience the rollercoaster of emotions during pregnancy, or emotions may catch you off guard. Some women feel joy at every flutter or kick, marveling at their changing bodies. For other women, pregnancy is hard, giving no reprieve as it brings severe fatigue, mood changes and constant worries. You may notice that with every passing month, your thoughts are spiraling out of control, affecting your performance at work and your relationships at home. But how do you manage your anxiety, and should you treat it?

Does this pattern sound familiar? You follow a strict diet and lose weight but then, on reaching your goal, you ditch the diet and gain the pounds back. If you want to shed weight once and for all (and stop torturing yourself with restrictive dieting and constant hunger!), you should focus on adopting healthy eating and exercise habits that are balanced and livable. Small changes to your daily lifestyle can add up to help you lose weight and maintain it. Here are everyday ways to help maintain your happy weight.

Luca Vacchio, 5, of Levittown., LI, used to say that Iron Man was his favorite action hero. Now, thanks to the pioneering efforts of his pediatric plastic surgeon at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Luca happily adds Nicholas Bastidas, MD, to his list.

That’s because Dr. Bastidas pioneered a method of constructing a new ear for the courageous little boy who was born with hemifacial microsomia (HFM), a condition causing underdevelopment or no development of the face, ear and jaw.

Various studies indicate that coffee has some health benefits, but it’s not without a downside — mostly due to the caffeine.

The average adult in the U.S. drinks about two 8-ounce cups of coffee per day, which can contain around 280 milligrams of caffeine. For most young, healthy adults, caffeine doesn’t appear to noticeably affect blood sugar levels. On average, having up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day appears to be safe. However, caffeine affects every person differently.