By Gladys Kublik, owner Neighbors Vitamin Shop
Father’s Day is coming soon! A time to remember that guy who made it possible for you to be here!
Where would we be without Dads? Dad is the one the kids call when the car breaks down, when they need some extra cash, when they need help moving, when something is seriously wrong. Dad is the one to talk to when things are getting out of hand at work, on the team, during the tough times in life when you need someone to help put the situation into perspective. Dad is the one who lightens things up, looks after the big jobs, the heavy lifting, and increasingly plays a much larger role in parenting than ever before.
A few things to think about as a dad or on your way to becoming a Dad is your own health and how it affects your family. At this point the Dad in our family said “Don’t nag!” so minus 3 paragraphs, I shall summarize the crucial steps to men’s health. Stop Smoking. Cleanse out Toxins. Watch your weight. Really, countless studies have shown this is important.
Dads are taking more of a “hands on” role in raising children and also the emotional burden this brings. Anxiety, depression, insomnia and just plain worry were once considered the realm of women’s health issues during the stressful child rearing years, but now fathers are either more so affected or more willing to admit that they also experience these health concerns. Natural health remedies for adrenal fatigue, nervous exhaustion and poor sleep patterns are effective and non addictive. The fact that these products are plant sourced like valerian, rhodiola and St. John’s Wort or amino acids such as GABA, l-Theanine, 5-HTP means that our bodies can process them more effectively and eliminate them efficiently, unlike pharmaceuticals.
Dad’s lives are much busier than they were in the past and that busy ness adds to the level of stress experienced. Improperly managed stress leads to weight gain, which leads to higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol, elevated blood sugar levels, reduced quality of life and often reduced length of life. Statistically, men are still dying at a younger age than women. Men in general do not take preventive measures to maintain their good health until that good health is compromised. If you want to be there for the important days in your children’s lives take steps to preserve your body’s optimum state.
Family life has changed immensely over the years but some aspects remain. Children are a blessing and a joy; they are also a lot of work and worry, remember ‘Little children, little problems – Big children, big problems’? You would think that we would all breathe a sigh of relief when the last kid leaves home, and we do for a while; but empty nest syndrome is a real phenomenon which can affect both moms and dads and even have disastrous effect on their marriage. This is also the time in life when women’s and also men’s hormones are in a state of upheaval, balancing them through diet, supplements and herbal products can ease the transition from full time parents to healthy active couple with children.
What better incentive to look after yourself than those years of golf, fishing or travelling still to come.
Wishing all the Dads a Happy Father’s Day and a long healthy future.
