More than any other organ in the human body, the breast occupies a place in our social and cultural landscape well beyond its physiological function to nourish our offspring. “The soft tissue that we think of as a breast is actually a mammary gland, a complex system of fat cells and ducts that produce milk and deliver it to a baby via the nipple,” says plastic surgeon and breast … [Read more...]

As school bells start ringing again, cold and flu season is also just around the corner. And the anticipation of a new academic year may bring a whirlwind of emotions for the whole family. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to take the right steps to protect yourself and your loved ones from illnesses and excess stress. Let’s discuss how to prepare for flu season and what back-to-school health … [Read more...]

Most of us are not mindful of the importance of gut health—or just how far we’ve been distanced from it in the modern world. Many of us were not breast-fed, received countless simultaneous vaccinations as children, and/or were overprescribed antibiotics and medications from the start. Any one of these phenomena—in addition to subsequent years of consuming processed foods, artificial sweeteners, … [Read more...]

Probiotics might be your new best friends. After all, you’ve probably heard about the bounty of health benefits that can come from taking probiotics on a regular basis. From better digestion to less stress, immune enhancement and much more, research on probiotics gives us plenty of reasons to incorporate more friendly flora into our daily health rituals. But do regular pill-based probiotics … [Read more...]

Tabloids are full of suggestions for the “magic bullet” that will keep you fit, healthy, and active into your golden years, however, the real magic may be found in our approach to living. Once you have discovered the root of your pain and fatigue issue and have begun to recover, you’ll need to identify the types of changes that will support your new and hard-won health and well-being. The everyday … [Read more...]

The future of medicine is undoubtedly inextricably linked to the development of artificial intelligence (AI). Although this revolution has been brewing for years, the past few months marked a major change, as algorithms finally moved out of the specialized labs and into our daily lives.  The public debut of Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT which became the fastest-growing consumer … [Read more...]

Most people think that it takes months, or even years, to see the benefits of a lifestyle change. Well, nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, many lifestyle changes can yield noticeable, even measurable, health benefits in as little as 30 days. As a cardiologist, I’ve witnessed, first-hand, many patients quickly improve their health with attainable lifestyle adjustments. Small … [Read more...]

It’s that time of year again. Sending kids back-to-school, back to enclosed classrooms, exposed to illnesses such as COVID, flu, colds, strep, and other infections. So how do we keep our kids healthy and build their immune defense against sickness? Six tips to assist in making back-to-school a healthy and enjoyable time for all! Sleep Getting into a normal sleep pattern is important for building a … [Read more...]

Many of us have been led to believe a piece of conventional “wisdom” that is taking a significant toll on our health—especially on women and children. The conventional wisdom, more accurately described as ignorance, is that we need an abundance of prescription drugs and vitamin supplements, including calcium, to have strong bones and overall good health. Bones are composed of at least a dozen … [Read more...]

I first became interested in vitamin D when I learned that it is not a vitamin. Instead, it is the only known substrate of a seco-steroid neuro-hormone that functions, like all steroids, by turning genes on and off. That means it has as many different mechanisms of action as the genes it regulates. Moreover, vitamin D directly regulates hundreds, if not thousands, of the 21,000 coding genes of the … [Read more...]