Unleashing Your Inner Olympian

I was talking to a diabetic patient of mine one day who was was worried about the an upcoming trip to Disney with his grand-daughter where he would have to do more walking than he was accustomed to. I asked him if he exercised. He held up his hand in a “stop right there” gesture and said, “Do not speak to me about exercise, I follow the religion of comfort and exercise is uncomfortable.” His statement left me completely speechless (and if you knew me you would appreciate how uncharacteristic that is).

This post is for all of you who have lost touch with your inner Olympian.

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Smoking Your Brains Out?

As a former smoker myself (I quit more than 25 years ago), I fully appreciate the pleasures of smoking. However, after what I’ve seen in the 20+ years I’ve been a clinician, no matter how pleasurable it might seem there is simply no upside to smoking - or any other form of tobacco use for that matter.

Smoking is literally a poison delivery system. I’m not nagging (yes, I am) but I want to update you on some research I read that reported on effects of smoking you may find surprising. I found this study a little scary.

Read on to see what they found out about smoking and your brain.

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Straight Health Talk with Teens

In the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health  it was reported that young people had a better perception of their provider when they were able to discuss sensitive subjects. What remains to be studied is whether those discussions will result in better health outcomes, I believe they will.

Read this post to see what the teens had to say.

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6 Post-Thanksgiving Tips for a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season

I hope you enjoyed a bountiful and magnificent feast yesterday and ate until you couldn’t hold another bite! I hope you were surrounded by people you love and who love you back. I hope there was more laughter than tears, more comfort than stress, and more to be thankful for than you thought there would be going into the holiday.

So, the winter holidays are now upon us. I have a few suggestions for you to digest along with your Thanksgiving dinner. I want you to have a healthy plan for the days and weeks ahead.

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