About Masks …
I can’t believe we still talk about masks, two years into this Covid pandemic. It is nostalgic to think of the days when my patients and I could talk freely to each other without fearing that we could inadvertently infect each other with a deadly virus. I often wonder now, how my new patients look…
COVID update for 2022
I hope you’re doing well and staying safe during this fourth COVID wave, attributable to the omicron variant. The virus is not typed on any regular basis, but with random testing omicron accounts for 95-100% of COVID infections in Maryland, and is probably above 90% nationwide. The virus is expected to continue to mutate,…
Zooming with Chef AJ
Chef AJ is a chef and culinary instructor who been strictly plant-based for decades. She hosts a YouTube channel that has over 200,000 followers. Several months ago, Dr. Nathan was featured on her show and talked about Indian spices and their role in cooking, healing and culture. She then introduced me to Chef AJ, who…
Understanding Your Risk for Breast Cancer
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and understanding your own breast cancer risk is a crucial step to being proactive about your health. Women are aware that screening for breast cancer with an annual mammogram is important, and most women check the annual mammogram off their to-do list and forget about their risk of…
To Boost or Not To Boost?
The progress and studies on COVID booster shots have been front page news for many months now, and the CDC and FDA have given recommendations on booster shots for all 3 approved COVID vaccines as of last week. Here’s the summary: For those who received an initial Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, everyone 18 and…
The Magic of Hormones
I believe the only true essential oil out there is vaginal estrogen. I bet you haven’t heard that one before. In fact, I think at age 45 every woman should go to her doctor and get at the very least 3 prescriptions. Colonoscopy Mammogram A lifetime prescription for local vaginal estrogen. Now let me…
Dealing with Post-Covid Weight Gain: Think Brain, Body and Behavior
The last 18+ months have been emotionally and physically draining. We have been pushed to our limits in almost every regard. Responding to an unpredictable threat like the COVID-19 pandemic evokes the stress response – which has many serious physical and mental health consequences. The American Psychological Association published a survey way back in March…
October Health Pearls – Alcohol, Intermittent Fasting, and the Covid-Diabetes Connection
Alcohol Consumption and Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk: Drinking Frequency vs Quantity A study from Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, S. Korea, recently released in JAMA Network Open, shows drinking frequency being more important than the alcohol quantity in raising the risk of GI cancer. The 6 cancers targeted in the study were: esophagus, stomach, colorectal, liver,…
Who can have a third dose of a COVID vaccine?
I just sat in on a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting regarding an ADDITIONAL dose for moderately to severely immunocompromised patients. There was a very broad range of experts, covering the fields of pediatrics, internal medicine, infectious diseases and immunology. Here are the main takeaways: – Yesterday, 8/12/21, the…
Pregnancy during a pandemic – here’s what you should think about
At the end of March, 2020, our country entered a lockdown phase to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Life stood still, with families huddled in uncertainty of when they would reemerge into their old, normal life. Many obstetricians predicted that nine months later, there would be an explosion of births all around the United Stated. …