This is turning out to be a particularly bad cold and flu season, but there is a lot you can do to strengthen your immune system. Not only will a strong immune system reduce your chances of getting sick this year, but it will help you recover more quickly.

1. Eat a micronutrient rich diet.  Our immune system is incredible, but it needs micronutrients to function at its best.  This doesn’t mean overdoing it with supplements. Eating nutrients from our food is much more beneficial than nutrients from supplements. 

2. Reduce the strain on your immune system, by aiming to reduce chronic inflammation.  Eat foods that are anti-inflammatory. Try to reduce or better manage your stress by practicing mindfulness. Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. And try to Exercise regularly.

3. Take care of your gut microbiome, which is very much related to your immune system.  This means only taking antibiotics if you need them to treat a bacterial...

Every year around this time, there are an abundance of articles and news segments instructing people how to stick to their diet during the holidays. There are suggestions like, use a smaller plate when you eat your holiday meal. Or, allow yourself to just eat one helping— don’t let yourself get seconds. I read one article where an expert recommended chewing sugar free gum while you cook to prevent snacking.  In another article, the expert suggested weighing yourself daily during the holidays.

Ugh!! These types of articles and suggestions are so unhelpful and only lead to guilt, shame, and disappointment! I am a physician, specializing in weight loss and disease prevention, and I help people lose weight and prevent disease without deprivation, guilt, or counting calories.

In a research study done in 2016, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that on average, Americans gain about 1.3 pounds over the holidays. While...

Published on Eat This, Not That, 4/13/22

https://www.eatthis.com/news-what-put-you-at-risk-for-high-blood-sugar/

More than 1 out of every 3 US adults has high blood sugar, and of those people, more than 80% are unaware that their sugar is elevated. I am a doctor who specializes in weight loss and disease prevention, and every day I see people suffering due to the silent epidemic of diabetes and prediabetes. The number of Americans with diabetes has doubled over the past 20 years and is projected to continue to increase rapidly. This is important because high blood sugar from diabetes can affect every organ in our body, and increases our risk for heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, nerve problems, and vision loss.

Fortunately, type 2 diabetes and prediabetes are very often preventable. By recognizing the signs and your risk factors, and then making changes to your lifestyle, it is possible to reduce your blood sugar, prevent, and sometimes even reverse type 2 diabetes and...

Published on Eat This, Not That, June 7, 2022

https://www.eatthis.com/news-habits-rapidly-aging-your-body/

What determines how fast we age? Why do some people live to be over 100, while for others, their life is much shorter? More and more we are learning that for the most part, the answers are not in our genes. It has been estimated that our genetics account for only 7% of our longevity— and our lifestyle habits, for better or worse are the key factor for how fast we age. I am a physician, board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, and I help people lose weight, prevent disease, and optimize their lifestyle habits, so they can slow down aging and live a longer, healthier, and happier life.

1. Eating the standard American diet.

When surveyed, 75% of Americans think that they are eating a healthy diet, yet the majority of Americans are not eating enough fruits, vegetables, fiber, or nutrients. The food we eat is profoundly related to how fast we age, our...

You may feel like you have tried everything. You may feel like it’s hopeless. You may feel like your genes are to blame, and that there is nothing you can do.

You are not alone.

There are many diets out there, and unfortunately, as so many people know from personal experience, diets often don’t really work.  Or if they do work temporarily, the weight often comes right back.

Is this because people are lazy and have no willpower?  No!  In our diet crazed culture, that is what we are led to believe.  The truth is that most diets don’t target both the biological and emotional root causes of weight gain.

 Here are 5 reasons why you can’t lose weight, no matter how hard you try:

1. You are focusing on dieting, not a change in lifestyle.

The diet mentality is not sustainable! Typically, dieting equals deprivation. And for most people, feeling deprived leads to cravings and hunger. It may be possible to fight against these feelings in...

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggested that even a small increase in moderate to vigorous physical activity for US adults could result in a substantial decrease in preventable deaths.  In this study, the authors estimated that an increase of even 10 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, could have significant measurable benefits, and could lead to 111,174 fewer deaths per year.

This study is notable— because this is significantly less exercise than has traditionally been recommended for health benefits.  Per the guidelines published by the US Department of Health and Human Services, adults should aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity for substantial health benefits.  This is equivalent of a brisk walk 30 minutes a day for 5 days per week.  If you are doing vigorous exercise, like running, it is recommended that you aim for at least 75 minutes per...

Per CMS, (the center for medicare services), The United States spent $11, 582 per person for healthcare in 2019, which is the highest in the world. 

Large companies, on average, spend at least 10 to 15 thousand dollars on health care per year for each worker. Small companies may pay even more than that.

But despite this high spending, the US has the worst health outcomes compared to other developed nations, with the lowest life expectancy, 79 years in 2017.  This is 5 years less than Switzerland, which has the longest lifespan on average.

Compared to these same developed countries, the US also has the highest rates of Obesity.

And the US has the highest rates of Chronic disease.

In the US healthcare system, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a deep crisis in our health care system, highlighting substantial racial and ethnic disparities, leaving people of color, and people with higher rates of chronic disease, more vulnerable to the...