Making Healthy Contagious.
In the 15th century, the word breakfast became used to describe “breaking the fast.” However, when many people start intermittent fasting they tend to skip breakfast and begin eating at lunchtime. Unfortunately they are undermining their weight loss goals, as studies show that the benefits of fasting tend to be diminished when calories are shifted to the latter part of the day.
Continue reading “Timing Matters when Intermittent Fasting”
Recently I wrote about continuous glucose monitors, advanced technology for measuring glucose levels. Now that we know how glucose is measured and the available data, it’s important to explore what constitutes a “normal” glucose level.
Continue reading “What is a Healthy Glucose Level?”
Last year a statistic was published stating that only 12% of the population is considered metabolically healthy. Although alarming, this figure didn’t surprise me, as very often I see patients with metabolic issues such as elevated blood sugar, cholesterol and BMI. As a preventive integrative physician, it is not my initial reaction to send patients to the pharmacy, but rather to offer information on practical lifestyle changes that may bring the numbers down into a normal range.
Continue reading “New Continuous Glucose Monitors in the Office”
Most nutrition experts agree on a fundamental belief made famous by author Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mainly plants.” Pollan’s writings reflect that “food” refers to real, unprocessed food, and that what Americans buy in supermarkets and consume is, for the most part, far from real.
Continue reading “Gut-Wrenching Facts about Processed Foods”
Are you considering purchasing wearable technology this holiday season, like the Oura Ring, the FitBit, or an Apple Watch? These technological innovations are being developed at a dizzying pace and are not only utilized for personal reasons, but are showing up in medical education, at conferences, and in research, as well.
Continue reading “Wearable Technology Changing Medicine”
Cardiometabolic health is often an overlooked aspect in the management of hormonal health and, specifically, thyroid health. The two are intricately connected, displaying a complex, weblike relationship that is both interdependent and bidirectional.
Continue reading “Cardiometabolic Health and The Thyroid”
Narrative Medicine uses a patient’s background and language to assist in clinical practice and research and is an effective and often cathartic approach to individualized healing. When physicians are able to address the personal “stories” that may work in conjunction with physical illness, we can validate the experience of the patient and promote a stronger relationship between patient and physician.
Continue reading “Every Patient Has a Story to Tell: Narrative Medicine”
Every day I see patients with varying health challenges, many of whom are additionally metabolically unhealthy. With the risk of COVID-19, poor cardiometabolic health has gained more attention, and some experts are even referring to it as a pandemic within the pandemic. As a preventive integrative physician, I see this as an opportunity for many to focus on metabolic health and, hopefully, make lemonade from lemons.
Continue reading “COVID-19 Brings Attention to Cardiometabolic Health”
Physicians spend a lot of time detecting and attempting to “fix” patients’ health issues. Over time, I have retrained myself to focus on reframing health goals to include not only the absence of disease, but the importance of living optimally and vibrantly.
Continue reading “Approaching Wellness through Salutogenesis”
As many of you know, throughout my career in medicine, preventive medicine, identifying and reducing the risk of disease, has been my passion. Genomics, or the study of a person’s genes, has become a game-changer in the field of preventive medicine, not solely because of what health complications may affect our futures, but mainly because of what is happening in our bodies today. Research shows that genetic testing may be a more sensitive indicator of health than family history, personal history, exams, or imaging studies. For this reason, I feel strongly that genetic testing should be a part of routine health care.
Continue reading “Genetic Testing Needed in Routine Health Care”