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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Should You Be Checking Your Own BP? Yes.

I am a big believer in people checking their own blood pressures from time to time. In fact, I carry little cards around in my lab coat pocket and give them to my patients to carry in their wallets so they can write down the BPs they measure.

I don’t care where people check their BPs. Some of my patients have home BP monitors and others check theirs at the grocery or drug store.

Read this post to learn why checking your own blood pressure is a good idea.

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The Vytorin Controversy One Year Later - An Update

On January 8, 2009, the FDA issued it safety review of Vytorin and concluded: “patients should not stop taking Vytorin or other cholesterol lowering medications and should talk to their [health provider] if they have any questions about these medications.”

Dear patient, you have been drawn into a medical slugfest that is being fought among leading cardiologists, so what are you to do? Read my prior post to get some background on the Vytorin controversy and then read this post to see where we are one year later.

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FDA Warns - Beware Contaminated Weight Loss Products

In late December 2008, the FDA published a warning to consumers about over the counter weight loss products now on the shelves that are contaminated with unapproved drugs and chemicals. If you are considering taking a weight loss supplement, please read this first.

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Jumping JUPITER – Do You Know Your CRP?

One of the biggest splashes in medicine this year came when, in November 2008, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study called JUPITER.

It has the whole medical world talking. This study was done to see if taking a cholesterol-lowering statin drug for primary prevention would help healthy people prevent heart attacks, strokes, heart bypass surgery, hospitalization for chest pain, and death from cardiovascular events. It did.

Read on to see why this study may change national treatment guidelines and what your health provider recommends to reduce your health risks.

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Alcohol and Medications – Are You Making Smart Choices?

The holidays are here and many of us will be attending celebrations where alcohol is served. If you take medications and drink occasionally (or even regularly), you face a dilemma. Should you take your medications when you drink?

What’s the smart choice? You may be surprised at the answer.

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Do You Take Omega 3 Fish Oils? Are You Taking Enough?

The American Heart Association recommends that patients with elevated triglycerides take 2 to 4 grams (that’s 2000 to 4000 mgs) of omega 3 fish oils a day. In my practice, I recommend 4 grams per day for almost everyone – particularly those people with abnormal cholesterol profiles, Metabolic Syndrome, diabetes, and/or cardiovascular disease.

That’s the dose I take myself - for prevention - even though my cholesterol profile is normal. But when I ask my patients how much they take, most of the time they say “one a day” – and that is not enough. Read here why more omega 3s are better than not enough.

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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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Shocking Statistics about Weight in America

Using statistics gathered by the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, researchers recently published predictions about future trends in weight in the journal Obesity. Using past trends they calculated where our collective weight is heading. This really is shocking - if current trends continue for the next 40 years the same way they have for the last 30 years:

100% of the American population will be overweight or obese in 2048.

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