Health Pearls In the Time of COVID
For the past decade our Lady Docs community has met in person and on-line for intellectual discussion, physical challenge and emotional support. Over the past month, as the COVID-19 pandemic overtook our community, we have had to maintain physical distancing, but our intellectual and emotional connections are even more robust. These discussions have become more…
Improving Immunity – A View From a Lifestyle Medicine Physician
Covid-19 is all over the news now and everyone is overwhelmed and concerned about getting afflicted. A natural question asked is how to improve our immunity to fight this disease which has no cure? This afternoon, a close friend asked me if Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 along with some other herbs like “Amla”…
Living with Uncertainty *
As I write this, I am about to end the third week of isolation. I work from home, and currently see clients online. This is a time of great uncertainty. It’s not easy for anyone. But for trauma survivors, myself included, times like this are especially difficult. I want to explain why and review the actions I…
Weekend conferences on COVID19
Here’s some of the very latest information available from reliable sources, including answers to the questions doctors are asking. Yesterday I was in on several long phone conferences with many of my fellow lady docs in addition to other colleagues. One was hosted by our very own Dr. Rebecca Katz, who is the Director of…
Epistaxis – or everything you ever wanted to know about nosebleeds
It is winter and to my practice that means several daily calls with the complaint of nosebleeds, otherwise known as epistaxis. It is truly amazing how much blood can come out of a person’s nose. Perhaps, amazing is not a word most people would use to describe it. Words like scary, terrifying, alarming may be more appropriate. This…
Intermittent Fasting – Is there any scientific basis for it?
Intermittent fasting has become popular both for weight loss and health improvement. People have adapted this to be anything from alternate day fasts, drastically restricting calories for 2 days each week(a 5:2 plan), or restricting eating to a certain number of hours per day, usually 8-12 hours. Is there any scientific reason to believe it…
BULLETIN: It’s NOT Too Late – Get Your Flu Shot NOW!
As you can see by the map, the flu season is up and running all across the United States. It’s an unusual season, in that influenza B, which is usually more common later in the season, is starting up strong. It is usually more common in children, but that’s the only one I’ve seen so…
Challenging Family Scripts and Setting Healthy Boundaries During the Holidays
As a marriage and family therapist, I was asked to speak at a recent Lady Docs gathering about family interactions that play a prominent role during this holiday season. Feel free to journal as the group did last week as we explore family relationships. As therapists, we treat people as part of a family system…
Diabetes, fiber and the micro biome
One of the talks at the conference was “Beyond Carb Counting: Why Plant-Based Nutrition is Sweet Medicine for Insulin Resistance”. It was delivered by Dr. Michelle McMacken, a board-certified internal medicine physician and an assistant professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine. She is vegan and is deeply involved with encouraging her patients to…
Food as Medicine
I had the pleasure of returning to my alma mater in the Bronx – Montefiore Hospital – where I did some of my clerkships in medical school, and the majority of the clinical work during my pulmonary fellowship. It’s been renovated so much in the 31 years since I’ve been there that the only building…