Growing Your Connections for Brain Health
I think it’s fair to say that we’d like our brains to be working as well as possible for as long as possible. So here’s an important point – brain health is dynamic. Although we lose some nerve connections as we age resulting in impaired processing, so too can we increase those connections by what we choose…
LIFESTYLE MATTERS!
We are born with genes derived from our parents. Although they remain with us through life, you are in charge of modifying them! You can lower your risk of many illnesses by your behavior. A major study reported last week in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that our everyday behavior affects how much…
Tech Use – Could It Be An Addiction?
We’re used to hearing about addiction to drugs and other harmful substances. Does attachment to our phones and various tech devices also qualify as an addiction? By definition, an addiction is a loss of control of the amount of use, despite adverse consequences. With tech use, those consequences often involve interference with school or professional…
Do You Ever Think About Breathing?
Everyone breathes. Mostly not well. That’s commentary from James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. As part of my involvement in Lifestyle Medicine, I’ve become interested in mindfulness meditation and breathwork as methods of stress management. And who couldn’t use that these days?! Nestor, a journalist, was referred to a breathing class…
The Menopause Transition and Hormonal Therapies
The menopause transition is a challenging time filled with bothersome symptoms. It is also a period of time where women experience increasing cardiovascular risk and decreasing bone density. We often forget that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. The primary goal should be to manage symptoms so patients have a smooth transition, good quality of life and…
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…