Michelle L. O’Donoghue interview on Medscape with Caldwell Esselstyn and Kim Williams. https://wb.md/2YHcteE I love Esselstyn’s phrase – “nothing with a mother or a face”. How does he respond to “can I do plant based diet halfway?” – “Yes, you can have a small heart attack or stroke or a modest amount of erectile dysfunction…
artificial intelligence beating doctors?
Dr. Bertalan Mesko has called AI the stethoscope of the 21st century. Futurism thinks our future doctor may be a robot. The New Yorker agrees. My kids will read this article from the Brookings institute before making a career choice. Physical Exam Doctors have the human touch, correct? No, robots are better at physical exams….
supplements
Vitamins and supplements are DRUGS! They are NOT substitutes for healthy living. NIH DIETARY SUPPLEMENT FACT SHEETS – check this before taking any supplement. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA. The manufacturers do not need to prove health benefits and so they use vague promises. Doctors who sell this snake-oil out of their offices…
avoid grapefruit juice in AFIB patients
Credible Meds has a great website and app on which you can check drugs that cause QT prolongation. It is important to do this, especially if you are already on drugs that prolong QT interval since combination of 2 drugs that do this can cause lethal arrhythmias. Grapefruit juice causes QT prolongation related to blocking…
planetary health diet
Animal products industry is the most destructive industry on the planet. 1/2 of Earth’s surface (North America, South America, Europe and Australia combined) is being used to produce animals for your consumption or growing produce to feed them. Vaclav Smil from MIT does a great talk on how we are “harvesting the biosphere“. Humans and…
fake “meats”
If you want to eat fake meats for convenience or environmental reasons, sure, knock yourself out. However, they are ultra processed foods by definition and far from being healthy. Don’t get me wrong – I take the kids out to Meta Burger in Denver as a treat once every 2-3 months. But I am not…
plant based diet can prevent 1/3rd of deaths
Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Medical School, while talking at the Unite to Cure Fourth International Vatican Conference said: “We have just been doing some calculations looking at the question of how much could we reduce mortality shifting towards a healthy, more plant based diet, not necessarily totally vegan, and…
boulder spring
ultra-processed foods
Punchline first: Basically don’t eat any (ultra processed) foods that have INDUSTRIAL ingredients, are ADVERTISED or come in PACKAGES! See the prior blog on processed food. Processed food like substances are often subsidized by the government and have led to rising rates of obesity. Even though you eat vegan food, if it is processed, it…
deeply personal
My maternal grandfather was my father figure. We affectionately called him “Dhomdada” after a character he used to play in the local theater. He grew up poor, “stone soup” was a reality for them, not just a story. He didn’t finish high school since his family had very little money and he needed to start…