Lifestyle Change First!

Why do patients and mainstream medicine seem to chose medications for diseases that can be treated with lifestyle change? Patients often think physicians are professional drug dealers owned by big pharma, yet many patients choose not to cooperate with behavioral recommendations saying, "That is too hard, doc. Don't you have a pill for me?" Consider the…

Chalk-up More Benefits to Lifestyle Change

A 23 year follow-up of 6-years of lifestyle intervention among a group of patients who had impaired glucose tolerance in China found a 45% lower risk of diabetes and a 41% reduction in cardiovascular mortality. Patients were randomized to diet-only, exercise-only, both diet and exercise or standard medical care groups. There were some marked gender differences, and…

Lifestyle Changes Alter Gene Expression

Patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or at high risk for developing CVD were placed on a year-long very low-fat vegetarian diet, 180 minutes/week of moderate aerobic exercise, one hour of stress management daily, and weekly group support. Hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity all dropped compared to the controls. Researchers identified 143 genes that showed significant change in…

Stroke Prevention: To Stent or Not?

A recent randomized trial compared two stroke prevention approaches in 451 people at risk for a second stroke: Medical management (blood thinning medications & lifestyle management) VS Medical management PLUS stenting (inserting a metal stent to open narrowed arteries). After an average of 32 months follow up, 15% of the medical management group had a…

Physician’s Puzzle

Now let me tell you about the “good ol’ days,” back when I was convinced that people would change their habits if they only knew a better way. While this happened to be true for most of my pregnant clients, it was seldom the case for those struggling with hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. On patient…

Quite Amazing

It’s a time of miracles and wonderment. When a woman is ‘with child,’ she is often willing to adjust many aspects of her life. Women are amazing! While pregnant, they will stop smoking, eat more fruits and vegetables, cut out alcohol, and even exercise! Why are so many women willing to pursue a healthier lifestyle…

It’s Never Too Late to Lower Your Risk of Cancer

Does your potential cancer risk scare you? You are not alone! A recent survey by the American Institute for Cancer Research has found the majority of Americans over 70 years old do not know that cancer risk increases with age. Also, many older Americans think there is nothing they can do to reduce their risk.…

Healthy Living or Healthcare Reform?

What would happen if we heard as much or more about healthy living as we hear about healthcare reform? A new study of more than 25,000 Germans provides some interesting findings. The risk of developing major chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer was compared to the participants compliance with four healthy lifestyle factors:

Small Changes Make Big Differences

Earlier last week on my way to speaking appointments I was a passenger on a South African Airways jetliner as it lifted off from Washington's Dulles International Airport bound for Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a long, sixteen hour flight with a refueling stop in Dakar, Senegal. The majority of the flight was spent at…