Original article compliments of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The perfect gift this Valentine’s Day is the gift of heart health. Along with Valentine’s Day, February marks American Heart Month, a great time to commit to a healthy lifestyle and make small changes that can lead to a lifetime of heart health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and […] Read More
Laughter is a key component of a happy life, and it has powerful physical and mental benefits. No matter what you’re facing, you can learn to laugh and benefit from its healing ways. Funny movies, sitcoms, cute toddlers, and a good friend’s jokes can all offer one of the most powerful, natural stress relievers out there: laughter. “I think one of the best things is that laughter […] Read More
Plummeting estrogen levels can change your health in surprising ways. Find out more to be better prepared for menopause. When menopause sets in and estrogen levels go into decline, the imperviousness of your bones, heart, energy levels, and libido goes down, too. And while replacing estrogen and/or progesterone with synthetic hormones can alleviate some of these symptoms, many women are hesitant to start hormone replacement […] Read More
From the moment of birth, our children are scheduled for frequent check-ups with a pediatrician who weighs, measures and examines from head-to-toe. As children get older, visit intervals increase from months to twice yearly, to preventative well-visits just once a year. But what happens when we enter adulthood? We all remember when we outgrew our pediatrician’s office, but for many of us, there has been […] Read More
By now, it is commonly understood that too much sun exposure poses such health risks as premature aging, skin cancer and other skin damage. But more sun protection can mean less production of vitamin D, a vital nutrient the skin makes when it absorbs ultraviolet-B rays from sunlight. Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” is a fat-soluble vitamin responsible for regulating blood levels […] Read More
Doctors have long known that a whole food ketogenic diet – one very low in carbohydrates and moderate in proteins and healthy natural fats – can help fight chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure not to mention help to maintain a healthy weight. New evidence supports that this type of diet and maintaining a healthy weight can be helpful […] Read More
By: Sean Bourke, MD Note: This article was originally published in the July/August 2014 issue of San Francisco Medicine. When Dr. Conrad Lai and I started JumpstartMD in 2007, we approached the venture from the standpoint of two Stanford-trained emergency medicine physicians passionate about creating a medically supervised weight-loss and wellness program designed to provide a practical, sustainable, and preemptive response to the chronic and preventable […] Read More
There is an undeniable appeal to the healthy glow that sun-kissed skin gives a person. It is so highly coveted that millions of people worldwide sun bathe, use tanning booths, and purchase lotions and make-up products in an effort to gain this desirable radiance. What many people don’t realize is that this same attractive appearance can be achieved with the right choices in diet. The lively, […] Read More
It seems that just when we get the word out to women about the benefits of something, a confusing report comes out suggesting “oh oh” now you are putting yourself at risk for something else. This is exactly what happened when recent the British Medical Journal suggested that calcium supplementation increases the risk of heart disease. But after a thorough review of all of the […] Read More
When they’re in our omelets or topping our salads, we tend to think of mushrooms as a vegetable. Mushrooms are actually fungi, but they offer a rich source of nutrients like many vegetables do. Culinary television hosts and dietitians will tell you to add plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables to your plate because bright colors indicate high antioxidant content, but it’s important not to […] Read More
