“As long as I cut my calories, does it otherwise matter WHAT I eat?” “Do I need vitamins and minerals?” “Do nutritional supplements really work?” “Is there a nutritional option to my prescription medications?” “If I simply take a ‘one a day’ multivitamin, isn’t that enough?” “My friends are getting cancer and heart disease, can I improve my chances with nutrition?” These are ... Continue
Nutrition, Optimum Health, & Preventing the “Deadly 4”
As a physician, my mission is your Optimum Health. Then, as I consider the best health-care approaches for you and others, I ask two questions: 1) How healthy are you now? And 2) If there are concerning trends among individuals, what can I do about it? These compelling questions had me research the top causes of death in America. Here is what I found... There are 4 diseases, ... Continue
Nutrition for Weight Loss and Health
Nutrition... just what is it and why does it matter? This is absolutely the core question that MUST be answered if we are pursuing optimum health and optimum weight. Nutrition is, by definition, the nourishment necessary for health and growth. My passion is to apply nutritional concepts that empower people to achieve optimum health. The reason and core method is simple. ... Continue
Metabolism: Does a Sluggish Metabolism Cause Weight Gain?
We hear the word “metabolism” frequently. And, if yours is “sluggish”, it likely impacts you daily. Although we have a general sense of what metabolism is and how it affects us, few people can accurately define it. Metabolism can be thought of as the body’s chemical processes that allow 3 crucial aspects of life to occur: Energy for body activity and body heat to stay ... Continue
Appetite Control: The Key to Managing Calories, Weight and Health
Appetite goes far beyond the stomach-growling ache we know as “hunger”... you know, the gnawing feeling when our stomach is “crying” for food. Appetite is actually any motivation or desire to put calorie-containing substances into our mouths. It is increasingly rare for us in the U.S. to be so “hungry” that our stomach is in pain. Since food is literally everywhere and readily ... Continue
Calories & Weight Control: 3 Keys to “Manage The 1%”
Calories (the measure of energy contained in food) are the ONLY source of power for humans. In fact, calories energize human metabolism and human function in all its glory. Whether building muscle and bone, thinking thoughts, growing hair, or fighting disease-causing viruses and bacteria, only calories can meet our energy needs. ... Continue
4 Truths for “Feeling Fabulous”
I value the real life experience of health (including feeling great!) as much or more than anyone I know. Although I think all would say they value health, some rarely take intentional steps to pursue it. Sure, they may take common prescriptions to treat disease symptoms, to lower blood pressure, to ease pain or discomfort or to adjust mood (or you may know some who simply ... Continue
“Early Death” and Why The Battle Is Personal
I miss my dad. He was a great man who, at the age of 82, died too early. He had a difficult childhood, to say the least, and that probably had something to do with it. Growing up during the Great Depression, Dad was forced to leave school after the 8th grade; he was needed at home to help provide for the family. His mom, a single mother, had several hungry mouths to feed. It ... Continue
Maximizing Our Memory: Part 3 – Memory and Aging
Brain Shrinkage with Aging and Associated Memory Loss Mental function, unfortunately, does deteriorate with age and is associated with the unpleasant reality of “brain shrinkage”. Brain scans confirm that the brain normally shrinks 0.5% per year. We now believe that the decline in mental function is a very long-term process, over at least 20-30 years. Maintaining a healthy ... Continue
Maximizing Our Memory: Part 2 – Nutrition
For some reason, the vast majority of people find that their memory ability could and should be better. And, this concern only becomes more common with age. Enhancing and protecting our memory ideally begins in our youth. We naturally achieve a peak ability to remember in early adulthood and then find that the inborn memory ability declines over time. Adults learn tricks to ... Continue
Maximizing Our Memory: Part 1 – Lifestyle
Maximizing Our Memory Our memory is truly one of our greatest assets. It’s crucial for every aspect of life: career, school, relationships (remembering names, faces, events, interests of others, etc), and everyday life all depend upon our ability to recall previous facts and bits of information. We then must know how to apply that information to solve a variety of problems ... Continue
Nutrition: A Key To Health
Far too many individuals end up with health (or lack thereof) as a life distraction instead of a resource for greater productivity. Does that really have to happen? And what impact is unnecessary disease having on the world around us as attention and resources are being devoted to recapturing lost health that should have never been lost in the first place? As a physician ... Continue
Memory Loss and Aging
Brain Shrinkage and “Cognitive Decline” Mental function, unfortunately, does deteriorate with age and is associated with the unpleasant reality of “brain shrinkage”. Known in research studies as “cognitive decline”, this process is now known to begin at least by age 45. In fact, research shows that reasoning ability declines 3.5% over the 10 years from our mid 40’s to mid ... Continue
Why Pursue Prevention? A Personal Strategy…
I heard an intriguing quote this week, “America is not about prevention… We would much rather build a hospital at the bottom of a cliff than build a fence at the top.” What a sad commentary on our society and our health care system! While attending Tulane Medical School, I also had the privilege of attending the Tulane School of Public Health. As a student there, a similar ... Continue
How Do I Choose A Physician To Help Manage My Weight?
For many years now, the State of Kansas has placed a number of restrictions on various weight loss treatments. Since many weight loss medications are controlled by the Drug Enforcement Administration, there are both federal and state regulations that must also be followed. Currently, only authorized physicians with D.E.A. certification may prescribe these controlled ... Continue
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Are you prepared to face the “Winter Blues”? Everyone tends to feel a little “blah” when the days are short and cold, but for some people seasonal change brings with it something more serious than the blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a form of depression that 20% of Americans struggle with. ... Continue
Your Routine: Your Key To Success!
Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you a person who has discovered a success-producing routine! You and I have both seen it. Look around you at those that are floundering in some area of life. Almost always, they have failed to discern and implement a daily routine that allows them to flourish. Examples are all around us. A highly experienced psychiatrist was ... Continue
Self-Control and Weight Loss: Is It The Answer?
I have tremendous respect and concern for individuals seeking to enhance their health through weight loss and positive nutrition. In fact, serving them is my passion. And I know from years of working with such clients that weight reduction and maintenance is a very difficult task if one is not empowered with all the right tools and strategies. People typically need ... Continue
Burning Fat vs. Muscle Loss
Any number of fad diets promise quick and easy weight loss. A pound of body fat has 3,500 calories. On average, women tend to burn about 1,800 calories per day, men about 2,800. If you’re dieting on your own, it’s recommended you lose no more than a pound or two a week; someone who is significantly overweight and on a medically supervised program might lose three to four pounds ... Continue
Aggressive, Non-Surgical, Medical Weight Loss Using Very Low Calorie Diets: What Does The Research Show?
At the Center for Nutrition and Preventive Medicine, we use a “multi-dimensional” approach to weight loss. In other words, we donʼt rely on just one single treatment strategy. I believe that weight loss and maintenance is too difficult to “put all your eggs in one basket”. So, for initial weight loss we use structured, aggressive diets, along with appetite and craving control ... Continue
