Dr. Jimmy Henry on Parenthood, Wellness, and Navigating the 'Toxic Doc Syndrome'

Curious about the intersection of parenthood and physical health? We've got you covered in our conversation with Dr. Jimmy Henry. He's not just your run-of-the-mill health guru but a physical medicine doctor, naturopathic doctor, and physician wellness coach. As a single father of four, his parenting insights - such as the need to actually listen to your kids and the damaging effects of sugar - come from a place of lived experience.

It's not all about what you eat though. Dr. Henry and I explore the dark side of the medical profession, the 'Toxic Doc Syndrome,' and how stress from work and relationships can morph us into our worst selves. We tackle the signs of burnout and arm you with tools to combat it, all while navigating the complexities of the patient-provider relationship in a healthcare system that's driven by the dollar. We also tackle the balancing act between work and family commitments and delve into how your choices today can impact your health tomorrow.

In the final leg of our enlightening chat, Dr. Henry gives us a glimpse into how fathers can set the bar when it comes to health and wellness. He underlines the importance of being a role model for our families and outlines steps to ensure we're not neglecting our bodies. We also dive into some unique health challenges that men face, and how being grounded can balance the body's energy and neutralize technology's toxicity. So, tune in, sit back, and prepare to rethink your lifestyle choices. Trust us, your body will thank you!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to Dad Puzzles Everything Dad. If you're questioning yourself about dad functions, duties and life in general, you've come to the right place. Parenthood can be tough. Learning to juggle caring for your baby with your career and also keeping things fresh with your partner can be a struggle, but we're here to make things easier with helpful tips for making the most of your situation. Being a dad may seem like a puzzle, but it's one you can definitely solve. Now here's your host, dr Suleiman Ijani.

Speaker 2: 0:41

Hello, welcome, welcome back to Dad Puzzles. Today we're so lucky to have a good friend of mine, dr Jimmy Henry. He's a physician who transitioned into natural path and wellness for fellow physicians. So you know, like you know, he's a wellness coach for fellow physicians and I'm so happy to have him today. So you know, like you know, like, welcome sir.

Speaker 3: 1:06

Hey, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate being on your platform here. It's great to connect with you and again, my name is Dr Jimmy Henry. I'm a fellowship trained physical medicine doctor who transitioned to becoming a naturopathic doctor, and I'm also a physician wellness coach, so I'm just very passionate about helping my colleagues improve your health and wellness, not just physically but also mentally. We know that physicians suffer quite a bit and that goes unspoken oftentimes, especially men, and I really want to make myself available to them in this space.

Speaker 2: 1:46

That's fantastic, and you know you also, being a dad, I think this is a perfect place to be, so we are so happy to have you on, sir.

Speaker 3: 1:52

Exactly yeah. So I'm a single dad of four, four beautiful children, and they definitely keep me busy. So, yeah, great to be on.

Speaker 2: 2:00

Awesome, awesome. Thank you, sir. So can you share a little bit? How did you, you know? You know how's experience both in traditional medicine and naturopath have shaped your perspective in health and wellness?

Speaker 3: 2:11

Yeah, so you know, there's a lot of things that we learn in medical school, right, and a lot of it is good, but not all of it is actually correct, you know, and traditional medicine really focuses on signs and symptoms, which leads to a diagnosis, right. You make the correct diagnosis, you get the correct treatment.

Speaker 2: 2:33

Right.

Speaker 3: 2:34

Whereas naturopathic medicine really kind of is opposite of that, because we look at the whole person, not just their signs and symptoms. And taking this holistic approach, what allows you to look at the mind, the body and the spirit, which really leads to better results, in my opinion? Because we're focusing more on preventing than intervening. You know, I spent years in prior practice as an interventional physiatrist, so I would treat with medications, procedures, surgeries when people reached that point they couldn't tolerate their pain any longer. But as a naturopath you really get to the root of the issue, where you can figure out, okay, what's causing the inflammation beforehand and try to prevent it that way.

Speaker 2: 3:27

I see that's fantastic. Yeah, you know as a father and healthcare professional. So how do you incorporate those healthcare you know, like those lessons, into your parenting lifestyle? I know that's a little.

Speaker 3: 3:39

Yeah, yeah, no, I mean, first of all, my kids see what I do. So you know they see me work with you know they've come to the office with me when I had, you know, my sickest patients, so they've seen some of that and what kind of lifestyles may or may not contribute to that outcome. As a naturopath, they've also seen me preach lifestyle changes to my current clients. Okay, and in both settings. One thing that benefits.

Speaker 3: 4:07

I think most physicians have to be good listeners with good bedside manner. I think the way you treat people matters, and my children see the way that I treat people. There's a saying that Teddy Roosevelt said that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you actually care. That goes with patients. You know you could spit off all the information you want to, but if they don't connect with you on a personal level, they may not take your recommendations to heart. Even and that same kind of approach for me helps in parenting, because listening to your kids is important too, right they want to know that you care, not just you can solve their problem, but that you actually care about their problem. So I think that even my kids had made me a better listener, because I don't have to always come with the solution to their problem, as much as they almost fix things Right. They oftentimes, you know, and I have three little girls too, so they just want dad to listen oftentimes, you know. So just being available to listen matters.

Speaker 2: 5:11

And they will catch you when you don't listen.

Speaker 3: 5:13

Yeah, yeah, I know, you know my oldest. She's a teenager now so and we have these very engaging conversations, but a lot of it is, you know, dad, just listen. You know, and I heard the way that being a mess that's kind of helped parenting is that you remember when your kids were little and you would try to avoid giving them juice, you know, for as long as possible. You remember that. You know, because juice contains sugar. You know, apple juice, oranges, whatever, and when the kids were getting their hands on sugar they'd be frantic, they'd run around and they'd crash. Then they'd wake up and crave some more sugar. You know, and you know those things we kind of know.

Speaker 3: 5:56

But helping kids as they age to avoid sugar because it is an addictive drug, essentially, you know. So the way that I pair, you know, I don't really allow sugar to be on a certain amount. I don't send juice boxes to them when I pack their lunch, you know. So kind of undoing those things that they've learned can be difficult, right, like at school. Oftentimes they'll get rewarded with sweets for their performance or you know they'll have you know, you know, halloween, easter, all these holidays that really promote sugar, sugar, sugar. And then, as a parent who was also a doctor. You're like, okay, hold on, let's put a limit on these things.

Speaker 3: 6:43

So I try to practice that with my kids, also being mindful of what they're eating as they're eating it. Oftentimes people can be distracted while they eat, which calls them to actually overeat and over consume. So, like with my kids, I wonder. What I have is no devices at the dinner table, because once you're locked in that device, you're really not paying attention to what you're consuming. So you're really to listen to your body, you know. Am I hungry? I'm hungry, am I am I full, you know. So those cues really get missed the more we engage with those devices.

Speaker 2: 7:21

Oh, that's fantastic. I think this is a, you know, is a big struggle for a lot of parents.

Speaker 3: 7:27

Yeah, for sure, For sure. I mean, technology is just taken over.

Speaker 2: 7:30

So absolutely yes, and you know so. So what led you into the transition into natural path?

Speaker 3: 7:37

Yeah, you know, I've always had an interest in naturopathic medicine. I just didn't really see a way to integrate with what I was doing because, you know, we learn one way of doing things in medicine and once you start practicing, you're just in go mode, right. But in 2020, like a lot of people, I had to pivot right. So we had the pandemic, we had, you know, the George Floyd issue. There was just, you know, social injustice and just racial reckoning happening. I wasn't going through a divorce, I saw personal issues as a professional issues and I was really just a struggle to manage all of it so in that pivot led me to naturopathic medicine and then to coaching.

Speaker 3: 8:22

And looking back, I realized now that that was kind of God's way of moving me into a different way to helping people and maybe a more effective way to helping people, to be honest with you, and also a way that I could actually be more available to my children. You know so it's kind of a win-win but you know, at the time it didn't really feel like that. I really feel a lot of stress and pressure, but you know you can always find, you know, a gift in these obstacles that you deal with right Everything. There's always a lesson to learn and once you see the good, it really changed your perspective on life, and that's one.

Speaker 2: 9:04

Oh, that's good and you know, like you say, that it also made you like more available for your kids to stuff, correct, you know more, you know correct, correct, and that's what really matters the most.

Speaker 3: 9:16

because even practicing traditional medicine, you really are just on the go.

Speaker 3: 9:24

You're sacrificing a lot and even when you're home with your kids you may not be present because you're worrying about the last patient you saw, or you may be on call, the pager's going off and you know when the kids go to bed you're just finishing up your nose, so just always something to be doing.

Speaker 3: 9:44

And it's really allowed me. I always put my kids first, but pivoting has really allowed me to see that traditional medicine for me wasn't the best way for me to be available to my kids long term. You know, and I think that's and it's not just doctors, it's a lot of dads across other professions as well, trying to realize okay, how do I balance being a dad and a provider? And the trick is is that if you remember that providing and protecting is not just financial, it's just not in the job and the money, right, your children want you to protect their well-being, their spirit. They want you to provide emotionally and spiritually, not just financially. I think that's where a lot of men kind of get caught up just thinking that, okay, as long as I bring home the bacon.

Speaker 2: 10:43

I'm good.

Speaker 3: 10:45

I tell you, that's not it.

Speaker 2: 10:48

Right, awesome, awesome. So can you elaborate a little bit about the transition that happened in 2016? I think this was something that was important for you.

Speaker 3: 10:58

Yeah, yeah, so well. This is important to me and one reason why I'm so passionate about it, because I began my own wellness journey back in 2016,. Right, my dear cousin Emanuel. She's only 34 years old. She passed. She passed from breast cancer and she had no health problems, no risk factors, no family history. But if she was diagnosed, then within a few years she lost her battle with it.

Speaker 3: 11:29

And that was eye-opening for me because, as her cousin and she's not she's more like a sister to me, but she really expected me, as a doctor, to be able to help her, and I was so heartbroken that traditional medicine couldn't offer her anything to alleviate her pain or rid her of the cancer. So that was really an experience, but it showed me something. It showed me that there are shortcomings of traditional medicine, and one revelation that I had is that, given her history, or lack of the rubber risk factors, that perhaps sickness and illness is more environmental than it is hereditary. Like I said, she had no family history, and so it got me thinking, which is what kind of natural path medicine also alludes to is that things that we are exposed to in our environment can be toxic to our bodies? First of all, and then two the lifestyle choices that we make affect our health more so than the genetic makeup that we have, that we inherited from our parents.

Speaker 3: 12:42

And I think a lot of people feel like, okay, well, especially in our community, unfortunately we feel like, okay, well, my grandpa had this, my dad had this, so I'm going to have it. So it doesn't matter what I do, I'm going to get it anyway. And that's not true at all. Our body has genes that we can turn off and on, depending on how we live our life. So, even if we have a condition or illness, through our choices we may be able to decrease it or reverse it. And I think that's really a message I want to just hammer home to a lot of men is you don't have to accept just being average or mediocre health wise. A lot of men really are focused on generational wealth so much that they ignore their generational health. And generational health is more valuable, because legacy that you leave for yourself and for your children will outlast the amount of money that you make in your lifetime Awesome, so this is a very good advice to dad's, you know, to really pay attention about their health and not accepting the family history.

Speaker 2: 14:07

You know, oh yeah, my dad had diabetes and then I'm going to have it. No, no, no. Yeah, yeah so when you exercise, you do all these great things. Absolutely. You cannot be, you know, one of the victims as well.

Speaker 3: 14:17

Yeah, now, of course, some things are genetic right, but the vast majority of things that we suffer are preventable, are preventable lifestyle choices. It could be from jump from smoking, drinking, diet, sedentary lifestyle. All these choices we make will affect us.

Speaker 2: 14:39

Yeah. So what is the? You know, like you mentioned, the challenge of the work life balance, especially being a busy doctor and business owner. So how do you navigate these responsibilities?

Speaker 3: 14:52

So one way it's really the most important way is to have a mindset right that you must prioritize your family and your well-being. Right, and, like I said, you know, man sometimes prioritize their work or their families, consciously or subconsciously. Right, but our family is our responsibility, right, and they're requiring us to protect and provide in different ways, not just financial. It.

Speaker 2: 15:22

Right.

Speaker 3: 15:24

One way I think that dad sometimes misstep is that you know, when we're working a job and we've picking up overtime or we pick up an extra job, working 2 or 3 jobs, right, we're just grinding, grinding, grinding. Well, that grind is only going to grind you into your grave sooner. You know, and your family would rather you be present, right, right, than be unavailable. That's first. Second, of all, men who are dead, let's say you go through divorce, like I did. It's unfortunate, but things happen, right, right.

Speaker 3: 16:08

And but if you're a dad who's always providing financially and you're never present, you know it could be alleged that you were an unpresent parent, right, even though you provided all the money. You were in, present, physically or mostly for your children, right, and that may be a lose, lose for you, because you'll be paying out the child support without getting the time, and kids need both parents present, right, right. And I think that we need to really emphasize not just the quantity of time but the quality of time spent with your children, on their long term health and well being as well.

Speaker 2: 16:47

Mm, hmm, I see, I see, and also you know, like you had mentioned about burnout. You know, like you know, like among your messages. So how can you share that with dad? You know how has it been affecting you, or maybe advising to dads, how can we can deal with it from professional standpoint and also just personally as dads.

Speaker 3: 17:07

Yeah, burnout is a really big issue. It's a big topic across a lot of professions, especially medicine, you know, with the pandemic and this amount of work we've had to put in during that time. But what like? What does burnout look like? You know, the first steps really is to really have an awareness of what that is. I created this concept. I call it toxic doc syndrome, kind of like toxic shot syndrome, but toxic doc syndrome.

Speaker 3: 17:35

Essentially, you know the things we're exposed to in our environment, job, relationships. They can create stress which we toxic to us, and then we internalize that stress which then can create toxic behaviors. It can cause us to pick up smoking or go back to drinking or overeating Right. It can cause us to pick up weight, and physical weight is not just physical, it's also emotional, right, and that weight is toxic to us as well. Our fat cells store toxins that affect our, our body. So the first thing is to have an awareness of what burnout is, what the signs are physically and mentally. If you start having these negative emotions you started feeling, you know, sinister, sarcastic, jaded, bitter. Those things may be a sign of burnout, right. Right, once you're aware of it, then you need to acknowledge and accept it, right. And that really is pivotal to understand okay, I'm dealing with burnout, right. And to say you know, I'm dealing with it.

Speaker 3: 18:45

I think, for for me, especially when I first acknowledge I had it, I actually had burnout for several years before I actually acknowledged it, you know. So I was noticing different things about my body, but I would ignore it or I would avoid it. And that didn't make it go away, right. It just kept building and building up, right. So once you're aware, then you acknowledge it. Now you can actually address it and take action. And what does that look like? You know, seeking help, whether it's a doctor, a coach, a therapist, you know self-care is big. Setting boundaries is important for dads, right. You can't really say yes to every opportunity just because it's going to increase your bag, right. You have to be able to set some boundaries and say I've got to take care of myself and my family first, right, from a health-of-wellness standpoint, before I can benefit them in any other way.

Speaker 2: 19:45

Oh, that's fantastic. And so how do you? You know, I think you had mentioned something about you know, like you know, the capitalism in health care you know, how does that play with family and such?

Speaker 3: 19:58

Yeah, so we talked about it.

Speaker 3: 20:00

So capitalism is I mean, it's America Right, and you know, practicing in traditional medicine for almost 15 years, over time, I became to realize that capitalism had kind of crept its way into health care in such a way that it had disturbed the sacred patient position relationship.

Speaker 3: 20:24

I was a sought-after industry speaker. I was spoken for pharma, biotech, medical devices, etc. And there are certain dynamics in their relationship where, while you're prioritizing the patient, other industries are prioritizing their bottom line. Right, and you know the physician's first responsibility is to serve and protect the patient, right, but the system in general is to serve and protect the system, not the physician or the patient, right. Right, and that was a really another just revelation that I had back in 2020 was that you know, something's got to be different in what we're doing, and now you see there's a shift going on in health care where many doctors are exiting. They may not stop practicing altogether, but they are crafting a way where it suits their value system better than working within the system. So you'll see things like concierge medicine popping up, direct primary care popping up, where they're removing themselves from the systems that don't prioritize their wellness or their patient's wellness really.

Speaker 2: 21:36

Absolutely yeah. So this is also, like you know, in terms of affecting the kids and such, you know. Do we see that? I think just the community in general, as you mentioned. You know like you might try to do things for them, but then the system is pushing you to do other things because of the bottom line. So I see what you're saying definitely.

Speaker 3: 21:56

Yeah, you know they talk about, you know, the health care system being broken, right, and I challenge that because, from our standpoint, maybe broken because we're not benefiting from it, but the system is working the way it's supposed to work for the system, right, it's actually efficiently producing a profit for the system. If it were broken, from that standpoint, they would have fixed it right. So the system and I bring it up because oftentimes patients and physicians are expecting to resist the system to fix it, and we can't really wait for anyone to come and save us right, we've got to take ownership, autonomy agency over our own destiny. So that's, you know, patients seeking someone that aligns with their values, doctors crafting a practice that suits their values. I really see that's where things are moving forward, okay.

Speaker 2: 22:51

Okay, yeah, and I think one of the challenges for that is it becomes too expensive for them because they don't have the support of the system. I know it's a challenge, but hopefully things will, you know, like you're right, you're right and there's no mistake.

Speaker 3: 23:06

I ran a prior practice. I understand right. The way that is set up is you have to see so many people to afford the staff needed to accommodate them. Well, otherwise we'd be practicing bad medicine, and that that in of itself is a strain. The system has created where that, for the same service you provide in prior practice, they're allowed to Charge more, you're reimbursed more, and that allows them to do different things that you just can't do, being a kind of small mom and pop shop Absolutely operating within the same system.

Speaker 3: 23:48

Like I said there are doctors who are no longer take any insurance. Really, because that really puts the Stealing on the level of servers you can provide for their patients. There's a, there's a day when doctors would know the patient, their kids, their whole family. They would. It would be a very intimate relationship and now, because of how things are set up, especially with technology, and E M R actually has created this wall Right now, the doctors hit us in the computer trying to just Uh, check boxes, um, forcing for their insurance company to receive their, their, their payment, and that's not what the relationship should, should, be like.

Speaker 2: 24:30

I see, thank you, sir, for for for that explanation and, um, yeah, you know, like I hope, uh, you know, I think the you know one of the solutions I will think is to make the patients understand what's going on so that they can work with you, you know, in this struggle, because that you know this is going to be a struggle for them. We know with the high pay, so that we can all do better, so, so, so I wish you the best on that boss and also, yeah, and also, what do you think about? Let's say, I know you, you, you know the you like to prevent, you know being, uh, you know, sick. So what are the the things that you do to prevent those risk factors of getting sick and such, you know, for yourself and and the family as a whole?

Speaker 3: 25:10

Yeah, um, there's a lot of things that you can do to prevent. Yeah, just take a holistic approach to your, to your wellness. You know some simple things that I incorporate to my daily practice. I call it P, b and J Prayer, uh, bible and journaling, and, I think, having a spiritual foundation, uh, and practice that every day keeps you grounded and rooted in something higher than yourself and that really makes your Y greater than just being, aesthetically, you know, fit or what have you, because those things are really temporary. So, um, like I said, p, b and J Prayer, you know, you know you're not going to be able to do that and though I may not journal every day, I write every day. So, whether it's uh blog, book post, whatever kind, you know it's a way to express.

Speaker 3: 26:02

Right, what you're feeling, uh uh inside. So those are some things that I incorporate.

Speaker 2: 26:05

There's, there's uh, many more would probably get into the mode bit later. Absolutely, Absolutely, yeah, this is nice, and I think you know I still have a project in mind. I want to speak with one of the neurologists and and and maybe I will work with you at some point as well I noticed there's a big impact on spiritual, you know like, you know, like, in terms of alleviating all these dramas of life and just making people successful. For instance, if the goal is bigger, like you mentioned, then you're, you know you have a bigger why, so you're more focused. You're not, you're not, uh, disturbed by many.

Speaker 3: 26:37

Yeah, yeah no this is amazing.

Speaker 3: 26:40

Yeah, no, it, uh, it is. You know, in my, in my coaching practice, I have three principles. One is that medicine is a ministry, and medicine really should be about healing the whole person, not just their symptoms and um, from the inside and out. Two is that your body is a temple. You know, literally, your body is um sacred, holy, sacred ground and we should really value it as such, right. And three, wellness is your worship. The way that you take care of yourself actually speaks a lot about you Um and your um spiritual integrity. So those are three things that I use in my, in my coaching as well.

Speaker 2: 27:22

I see, I see, so. So thank you and also, uh, you know, thank you for sharing about your, about your cousin, and you know the shortcomings of, you know of the, the, the conversion of medicine, so so what are the steps that you think fathers can do to do to address those gaps with their families?

Speaker 3: 27:39

Wow, um. Well, you know, dads are really charged to lead. You know, part of being a dad as a leader Right, and you really have to lead by example. You know the. You know, do as I say, not as I do, doesn't really work so much. So you have to be the example that you want your family to actually follow, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 27:57

I think we have to realize that, um, we're born healthy. You know, good health is our right. We have a right to health and wellness and we shouldn't, like I said before, just accept the status quo of being sick, being dependent on medications. So what steps can dads take? Be the example, you know, uh, lead your family. Uh, as far as the way you eat, where you take everybody, um, exercise, all these things can help your, your family, see how you're prioritizing your health. You know when, you know when my kids see me go to the gym, you know that impacts them, they, they now want to go to the gym, you know. So those things really matter. It may seem little or minute, but it has a really big effect when your kids see you live your life a certain way.

Speaker 2: 28:53

Absolutely, thank you, thank you, and you know so. So let's you know, because I think I'm a victim right now. I can admit, uh, you know they see you exercise and everything else, spending time with them, but two things that that that, uh, one of them that they're complaining about is me being busy. You know, like a little bit like I spend time, but sometimes they've, they notice that most of the time you're more occupied because just you're still in the hump, you're not, you're not much. And then the other thing for for me personally, just not not about them is, um, is the rest thing. You know, like, you know I need to work on my, my resting, you know, like the whole sleep and everything else. I know we don't have to sleep eight hours a such, but uh, that's something that I'm working on.

Speaker 3: 29:35

Yeah, no, that's, that's, uh, that's very good and those are important because, especially rest, um, we're, we're made to rest. You know, if we don't get enough rest, our body will just shut down on us, right, right, and rest is really a time for our bodies to recover Absolutely. You know, uh, most athletes and they, they know, yes, you go hard but you have to rest. That's when your cells rebuild, your muscles rebuild, that's when you get the hypertrophy is through the rest. When we sleep at night, we secrete growth hormone to heal, right, so we need those, you need the rest. And, um, and I just wanted to emphasize that us dads need to prioritize our, our rest. So thanks for bringing that up.

Speaker 2: 30:19

Thank you, sir, thank you. So. So, like, your passion is, you know, is mostly to, like, uh, you know, to, to, to make sure that there's a wellness, you know, to us in the community and the fellow dad. So so can you share some, some, some starting points for dads that, uh, that that there might be? You know they try to start their wellness journey, you know, like, right, right, right, uh.

Speaker 3: 30:43

So for men especially, I like to, you know, I like to mention the fact that it's kind of a unfortunate stat, but men have a shorter life expectancy than women. Okay, and black men had even a shorter life expectancy than other races, and that's important to point that out because you know why is that? It doesn't mean that men are less fit, or black men are, or less fit to live longer. It's stress mainly, um, and then life, life choices, and oftentimes men are apprehensive of improving their health and wellness. For 2 things I I find.

Speaker 3: 31:29

1 is pride. Okay, men can be overly prideful. Think about sitcoms where the dad's driving around and you know he's lost, he has no worries going, but if he won't stop and ask for direction because his pride hasn't, he's going to figure it out. So a lot of men sometimes are trying to figure out but going the wrong way and we are too prideful to just stop and ask for help. That's where a doctor, a coach, can help you save time and save mileage on your life Right.

Speaker 3: 31:57

2 is fear. A lot of men, um, as much as we hate to admit it, we're fearful, okay, we're fearful about other people's opinions of us. We're fearful that how we may appear to them, you know, are we weak because we ask for help? Are we weak because we're having to be sick? Um, do we fear a report? You know, a bad diagnosis? So, instead of hearing a potential bad diagnosis, like you know what, I just won't go so I don't have to have to hear it. So, between pride and fear really lands men in a pretty bad spot. So I just want to encourage them that they don't have to, um, succumb to the pride or the fear. Right, if you, if you are committed to walking this wellness journey, especially out of responsibility and obligation to your family, you know, then seek the help. There's really nothing to fear. Avoiding it is not going to make it go away, it's just going to multiply on you, right? So the way to get to the promised land is to go through the obstacle to actually get there right, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 33:06

And I think you pointed out something very important. You know how sometimes we can just worry about ourselves. But then if you have a picture of your, you know like your daughter or your son you're like oh, what is it? For their sake. You know, I better do this.

Speaker 3: 33:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah you know if you, if you ask any man in his last days right on his deathbed, if, or just think about it, think about your older, wiser self, right? What would you tell your younger self that you should prioritize for a minor part of your life? I can almost guarantee you it's going to be health and family at least two of the top three, Right, Okay? So prioritizing your health so you can buy yourself more time, and being as available as you can for your family. So those things are important. They're crucial for being the great dads that we all are.

Speaker 2: 34:00

Absolutely. Thank you, sir, and so so so from your, from your expertise in medicine and coaching. So so what actionable advice would you give to dads that are to so that they can promote, like you know, like a holistic lifestyle at home? For instance, I noticed you saying about you don't pack any sugary stuff to school.

Speaker 1: 34:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 34:23

Yeah, so what are the things that you, you advise dads to to, to apply in the family?

Speaker 3: 34:27

Yeah. So there's different steps you could take. Even if you go to my website, I have a list of 10 ways to wellness in 10 days. Just 10 things you could do right now. Right, to seek more wellness in 10 days. And we touched on rest earlier. One thing I'll mention is sunlight. People underestimate the impact that sunlight has on us. Right.

Speaker 3: 34:51

Vitamin D, we know, is important for strong bones, was also useful for immunity. It helps with the weight loss. It helps with your mood. Okay, yeah, when I first moved to where I'm at now, I didn't realize that our winters were very great and how that my mood was really often. Then I finally connected the dots, like I'm not getting enough vitamin D. So vitamin D is very important for various reasons, right.

Speaker 3: 35:18

And then another kind of life hack is being grounded. Okay, grounding is a technique where you have your feet touch the soil every day. Right. And why is it important? Our bodies are actually electrical circuits. You know we do in medicine, we do EMG's, ekg's, eeg's. There's electrical currents run through our bodies all the time, right. And when we're not grounded, we're not balanced, and so we have to ground ourselves to the earth every day, and that helps eliminate some of the toxic kind of energy that we are absorbing between technology. You know we have our device on us all the time. There's Wi-Fi everywhere. There's all these different transmissions we're encountering that we're not sure how that's affecting. So being grounded every day helps as well.

Speaker 2: 36:13

I see Fantastic and you know I'm glad that you touch upon the vitamin D because actually I was involved in, you know we were doing a study in, you know, university of Chicago. We did not finish the study because of loss of funding, but we're looking at vitamin D, how it impacts you know, like, the relationship of vitamin D and the colon cancer and the majority actually of folks that are affected. Where is us?

Speaker 1: 36:40

Yeah, you know, you know you know African-American.

Speaker 2: 36:43

So I think this is something that we can probably remind folks you know to kind of be, be mindful of and see and you know, like you know, you know a natural pathic doctor like yourself, so you can run those, those data and see where you know how they do it, you know.

Speaker 3: 36:58

Yeah, exactly, exactly. All those things are important and sometimes we're looking for like a magic pill or, you know, a secret bullet. There's, there's a lot of it. Before you go to the extreme, start with the basic right. There's basic things we need to do consistently, and so if you're not even doing the basic things, doesn't make sense to reach beyond that right. So focus on what you can control. I think sometimes we are striving to hit like a grand slam every day, when really we just bunted and did base hits every day, we'd be farther along, right.

Speaker 2: 37:36

Fantastic, Fantastic. So there's also, you know, the question that was posed by one of the prior prior guests and you know I'd like to share with you, because you're a dad and she, she was saying that how can you, as a dad, maybe, how can the ladies as wives, they can, you know, what can they do to make us, you know, to be successful as a dad, Because I think a lot of times we just kind of run around, you know, do the monotony and everything else.

Speaker 3: 38:11

Yeah yeah.

Speaker 3: 38:13

No, that's, that's a really good question. You know, I see. You know marriage is a real partnership. So you're a team, right, and you know people want it to be 50-50, but it's not always right. Sometimes people have to carry a little bit more weight for a period of time, Right. So, really having each other's back and covering so you support her and she supports you, that's, that's, first of all, right. Two, I think that in raising the children and the dad, kind of leading the way, everyone being in alignment, right, right. And even if you're not in alignment, discuss it offline, right? Not in the presence of the children, right. So, and I think that's an important thing, so you're always, always a team.

Speaker 3: 39:07

You know when, when I, when I talk to men, this is what I tell them. You know the Bible says in marriage, to become one, right. So if you treat your spouse the way that you would treat yourself, right, right, things would be a lot different. I think, all the times we treat our spouse as as them, you know it's us and them, right, but no, but it's it's us and us, we are you're like, you're like this, right. So I think whatever decision you make or don't make, it should be in that context, context that we are both the same person. We are one unit.

Speaker 2: 39:44

Awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. So, from what we're working today, we have spoken a lot. Yeah, you know what message. You know what's the takeaway message to dad, my friend.

Speaker 3: 39:55

And this has been, this has been great. We've we've covered a lot. One thing I just want to just emphasize is that being healthy as a dad is not a choice, it's a responsibility. Okay, it's an obligation for dads to protect and provide in many different ways, but in order to do that, they have to take care of themselves first. That's first of all, and then to being well is really a lifestyle change. It's not a, it's not a fad diet. It's not a quick fix. Right, this is a marathon. It's not a sprint. Right, and in doing that, don't get discouraged if you don't reach a certain goal by a certain time, because this is for life. Right, your commitments yourself to be well, it's for life, so there's really no time parameter on it. You should be getting you know 1% better each and every day and and in that process, give yourself some grace and be patient.

Speaker 2: 40:58

So that's fantastic. Yeah, I truly appreciate that. I think you know folks will definitely benefit from what we have. You know, like you know, just talking about and this is awesome. And what do you, you know, what question do you have for the next guest as a dad, you know maybe, what would you want them to, to maybe respond to or maybe shine light on?

Speaker 3: 41:21

That's a. That's a good question, probably. Really. How do they balance for themselves the responsibilities as father and provider? You know what does that look like for them.

Speaker 3: 41:37

I see I know, sometimes dads want to have their children do exactly what they do in life. Or, you know, I never really pushed medicine on my kids, but you know they see the way that I, that I live and and how I make time for both. What prioritize, tyson? So just ways that they have incorporated in their life to make sure they're prioritizing their kids while showing them the ins and outs of what they do career, career wise.

Speaker 2: 42:12

Fantastic. That's a great question. Thank you so much for doing this. Yeah, you know. So how can folks find you boss? Because I think you mentioned great information that they can really find from your website as well. And take care of those 10 things you know. I want to you know yeah, yeah, they can.

Speaker 3: 42:27

They can find me at doctor. Spelled out D O C T R well fit W E L L F I T dot com. Awesome, that's my website, that's all my handles on social media, dr Welfare. So appreciate your time, boss.

Speaker 2: 42:42

Oh, thank you, sir. You know, definitely share that in a you know like you know link. You know, like down below and as well, if they want to get more information and fatherhood, go right back to dadpuzzlescom. There's more information with you know, with Dr Jimmy Hendry and so many other great folks that are sharing their wisdom about fatherhood. So thanks so much for listening to to dadpuzzles today. Thank you, sure.

Speaker 1: 43:36

Yeah.