Your Takeaways from Men's Health Month--Part 2

June was Men's Health Month. In part 1 of this series, the importance of taking health responsibility for tobacco use, alcohol consumption, weight control, and risk-taking behavior were discussed. Often, the consequence of poor health choices is increased potential for illness, but alcohol use and risk-taking behavior increase the possibility for serious injury as well.

In part 2, we'd like to bring a few other health issues to your attention: dietary supplements, positive family relationships, mental fitness and stress, and risk of cancer.

Being a soldier is one of the most physically demanding jobs. Our "tactical athletes" in uniform are especially conscious of the requirements for physical training and the need to remain fit and ready.

The demands of physical training require a close focus on nutrition; that brings up the question of whether nutritional supplements add value.

During the past few years, many soldiers began to rely on dietary supplements to help them stay at a peak level of performance and to meet the extreme demands of their jobs.

Some supplements contain vitamins or minerals generally recognized as safe. Several years ago, however, there were at two deaths of Soldiers using products containing DMAA, which is now banned by the DoD, and on-post stores are not supposed to carry such products.

DHEA, another supplement, and its chemical variations are commonly found in products marketed for bodybuilding.

Makers of products with DHEA claim it produces effects similar to anabolic steroids. Unlike anabolic steroids, DHEA is not illegal; however, sports organizations such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) prohibit its use.

Be careful of the "energy" supplements that you can get at the counter of every convenience store. Although they usually contain vitamins, the energy mostly comes from a shot of caffeine. With regard to caffeine, avoid powdered caffeine; in general, except for what is in a cup of coffee or a caffeinated soft drink, Soldiers should not take additional caffeine. Enough said on that.

A factor with an impact on health that is often overlooked is positive family relationships, which have the power improve your happiness and your health.

Military life is hard on families; because it is hard, we need to remember how important strong family bonds are for all of us.

Family relationships can be positive or negative -- depending on the quality of the relationship.

Family well-being and support is crucial to Soldier readiness. Numerous service organizations on post and in the community have programs to support the military family -- from family readiness groups to advice and counseling services.

Relationships are like a door that swings both ways -- happy and supportive relationships help people deal with stress better; unsupportive relationships with lots of fighting are a source of stress. People in supportive and loving relationships are in better health, rebound from pain and trauma faster, and heal faster than those in unsupportive and negative relationships.

The impact of a personal relationship filled with conflict affects your ability to remain focused while deployed or on returning home from a demanding tour.

Military life, with its long, stressful deployments and multiple moves, takes a toll even on the best relationships.

The good news about relationships is that they can improve with work.

Initiatives such as Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness (CSF2) program can help. Just as you don't start training for combat the day before a mission, you shouldn't start relationship training after issues arise. The work has to begin before relationship problems boil up.

Closely tied to family relationships is mental fitness. All of us at times need to work on our mental fitness. Taking time to bolster your mental fitness--we sometimes call this resilience--can result in improvements in your overall performance. When all else is more-or-less equal, the mental game separates the top performers.

The CSF2 program is designed to build resilience and enhance performance of the Army family.

CSF2 does this by providing training and self-development tools to help the Army family cope with adversity, perform better in stressful situations, and thrive in life.

CSF2 focuses on Five Dimensions of Strength: Social, Emotional, Family, Spiritual, and Physical, which are the components of Total Force Fitness identified by the DoD.

-- Social fitness means developing and maintaining trusted, valued relationships and friendships.

-- Being emotionally fit means approaching life's challenges in a positive, optimistic way by demonstrating self-control, stamina, and good character with your choices and actions.

-- A family unit that is safe, supportive and loving provides the resources needed for all members to live in a healthy and secure environment.

-- Your purpose, core values, and beliefs -- your spirituality -- define who you are, enable you to build inner strength, make meaning of experiences, behave ethically, persevere through challenges, and be resilient though adversity.

-- Performing and excelling in physical activities that require aerobic fitness, endurance, strength, and flexibility comes from exercise, nutrition, and training.

Health is complex and requires recognition of the elements that create health. Health is more than simply not having an illness; it is a balance of physical endurance, mental strength, and strong supportive personal relationships.

It takes work.

Related Links:

Army Medicine