This week’s show focused on medical emergencies, a topic reflecting my four years as an attending physician in the emergency room of Cabrini Medical Center. From 1983 to 1987 I worked three 12-hours shifts in a crowded, noisy, somewhat chaotic facility where people came around the clock for a wide variety of medical, surgical, psychological, and social ailments.
Although I had worked in the Maimonides Medical Center emergency room during my internal medicine residency, the Cabrini experience was quite different. I was figuratively and literally in charge of all of the patients simultaneously. For those with an artistic view of the health care experience, this is like conducting several orchestras at the same time.
The emergencies ranged from life-threatening accidents to panic attacks, as well as comforting social outcasts and unfortunate homeless people whose isolation and loneliness were truly painful. As you probably know from personal experience, medical emergencies are very frightening, and even doctors and nurses are not immune. Knowing what to do and recognizing the most serious warning signs can be life-saving, and that’s what impelled me to write The Little Book of Big Medical Emergencies.
The book was originally published by Lyle Stuart, the legendary literary figure, in 2002. Hatherleigh Press published a second edition in 2007, this one updated and reviewed by fourteen noted specialists in diverse medical and surgical fields.
Medical emergencies happen to everyone. I hope that yours have been minor and inconsequential. The statistics show that a given individual will have some type of medical emergency every three years, so being prepared with the proper information and tips on prioritization is absolutely essential.
What could medical emergencies possibly have in common with the usual recommendations of a diet doctor? I’ve answered that question dozens of times: it’s all about your health. Although emergency medicine is crisis intervention and lifestyle advice is preventative medicine, both are ways that you can take care of that most precious and delicate machine, the human body.
Even if you are the most glamorous, healthy, and happy individual, The Little Book of Big Medical Emergencies belongs in your home.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Notes on "The Park Avenue Diet Show: Butter and Apples"; September 19, 2010
Do you know what to order when you go to a restaurant? Our glamorous First Lady, Michelle Obama, thinks that you don’t. She recently addressed a meeting of the National Restaurant Association and asked them to change their menus in ways that improved nutrition and lower the risk of obesity.
Among the suggestions were smaller portions, substituting whole wheat pasta for white, less butter, and more carrots. Here’s one emblematic idea: serving apple slices as the side dish with hamburgers instead of French fries. Diners would have to be especially careful not to cover the fruit with ketchup and cheese.
Although Mrs. Obama has the best intentions, these recommendations are an unrealistic solution to an extremely serious problem. Do parents not know that macaroni and cheese is fattening? Do you know that salt raises blood pressure and causes fluid retention in cardiac patients almost immediately? Why are we pretending that it is the responsibility of a waiter, chef, or restaurant owner to take responsibility for your personal health?
Since health is not the number one priority for most people (and must be) we now have surrogates like the government interceding on your behalf with potentially disastrous social and financial consequences. It’s much easier for you to be your own nutritional “traffic cop”. Certainly you can police the caloric environment of any restaurant or fast food franchise and figure out what’s best for you in the long run. If you need a government official to tell you or force you to eat less macaroni and cheese, you obviously missed a few classes of high school science.
Another article focused on kids being bullied and humiliated about their weight and inability to compete athletically.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100910/sc_livescience/overweightkidsbodyimagetakespoundingfrombullies
This is definitely a real phenomenon but is nothing new. Kids have been mocked and teased since the dawn of time, and sometimes adults are no better. The way to avoid this is not through counseling and psychotherapy or anti-depressant medication. Why not solve the problem realistically and definitively by weight loss?
What do you think about when you see extremely overweight people on television? When they are featured in your favorite comedies or dramas, do they serve as role models the way some people might admire Derek Jeter or Halle Berry? Some psychologists think that “fat acceptance” is a compensatory reaction to a potentially serious health problem. The self-esteem of the overweight is more important (incorrectly) than their additional risk for 40 different illnesses in 9 organ systems.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/09/16/shows-focusing-overweight-characters-obesity-problem/
As a physician, I am more concerned with the health and wellness of the actors than their physical suitability for the roles. But if we are so paranoically concerned about showing people smoking cigarettes on television, how can we allow walking advertisements for an unhealthy lifestyle? 20% of American adults smoke cigarettes; 67% of American adults are overweight or obese. You do the math.
Do you think it would be helpful during the upcoming television show “Mike and Molly” for them to be eating apple slices with their cheeseburgers? If so, please direct your comments to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Among the suggestions were smaller portions, substituting whole wheat pasta for white, less butter, and more carrots. Here’s one emblematic idea: serving apple slices as the side dish with hamburgers instead of French fries. Diners would have to be especially careful not to cover the fruit with ketchup and cheese.
Although Mrs. Obama has the best intentions, these recommendations are an unrealistic solution to an extremely serious problem. Do parents not know that macaroni and cheese is fattening? Do you know that salt raises blood pressure and causes fluid retention in cardiac patients almost immediately? Why are we pretending that it is the responsibility of a waiter, chef, or restaurant owner to take responsibility for your personal health?
Since health is not the number one priority for most people (and must be) we now have surrogates like the government interceding on your behalf with potentially disastrous social and financial consequences. It’s much easier for you to be your own nutritional “traffic cop”. Certainly you can police the caloric environment of any restaurant or fast food franchise and figure out what’s best for you in the long run. If you need a government official to tell you or force you to eat less macaroni and cheese, you obviously missed a few classes of high school science.
Another article focused on kids being bullied and humiliated about their weight and inability to compete athletically.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100910/sc_livescience/overweightkidsbodyimagetakespoundingfrombullies
This is definitely a real phenomenon but is nothing new. Kids have been mocked and teased since the dawn of time, and sometimes adults are no better. The way to avoid this is not through counseling and psychotherapy or anti-depressant medication. Why not solve the problem realistically and definitively by weight loss?
What do you think about when you see extremely overweight people on television? When they are featured in your favorite comedies or dramas, do they serve as role models the way some people might admire Derek Jeter or Halle Berry? Some psychologists think that “fat acceptance” is a compensatory reaction to a potentially serious health problem. The self-esteem of the overweight is more important (incorrectly) than their additional risk for 40 different illnesses in 9 organ systems.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/09/16/shows-focusing-overweight-characters-obesity-problem/
As a physician, I am more concerned with the health and wellness of the actors than their physical suitability for the roles. But if we are so paranoically concerned about showing people smoking cigarettes on television, how can we allow walking advertisements for an unhealthy lifestyle? 20% of American adults smoke cigarettes; 67% of American adults are overweight or obese. You do the math.
Do you think it would be helpful during the upcoming television show “Mike and Molly” for them to be eating apple slices with their cheeseburgers? If so, please direct your comments to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Notes on "The Park Avenue Diet Show: September Song"; September 12, 2010
This week’s show, entitled “September Song”, heralded the arrival of the Fall Season. We tend to think of such landmarks in our datebooks in terms of school, the theatre season, autumn foliage, or something more personal. I’m a bit more monochromatic: for me, it’s all about health, mine and yours.
Every season, and in fact every day, is a good opportunity to reevaluate your health status. Don’t forget that I follow the World Health Organization definition of health: “Physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease.” As the author of The Park Avenue Diet, I focus on image which I define as an amalgamation of seven different components of appearance and behavior. One of these is weight.
For the last forty years, The Dark Ages of Dieting, people have mistakenly gravitated towards weight loss programs that exist in a vacuum. Namely, they only address food choices as if all of the other components of image somehow improve by themselves (interpersonal skills, skin, hair, clothing, self-confidence). I do not blame the well-meaning and well-deserving American people for believing this utterly illogical hogwash. Pick up any supermarket tabloid or “health magazine” and you will see pseudo-science at its worst.
Now for some real science: here are a few articles from the bibliography of The Park Avenue Diet. At the most recent convention of The American College of Physicians, researchers asked that no more studies be done comparing the various mass-market “diets” since none has a success rate over ten percent. It is a thorough waste of time to see whether “low carb” or “macrobiotic” foods produce better results since experimental subjects do not follow either program consistently or successfully.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/1/43
http://cardiology.jwatch.org/cgi/content/citation/2005/211/6
http://www.annals.org/content/142/1/56.abstract
http://www.annals.org/content/147/1/41.abstract
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)16986-9/abstract
The above articles, as well as a monograph by the British Medical Journal, all result in the same scenario. The attrition rate (people who drop out of a study) is almost ninety percent no matter which article you read. This leads researchers to believe that weight loss in itself no matter what’s on the menu is not a sufficient reward.
Put another way, dropping a few pounds and staying the same in other ways is at best a tenuous state of affairs. This accounts for the fact that yo-yo dieting, temporary and ineffective attempts to be thinner, is the prevailing practice. As a result the overweight and obese percentages of our population are growing daily, and this unbelievably unhealthy practice is now being foisted on the next generation. The implications of this disastrous scenario are medical, social, and worst of all financial.
The Park Avenue Diet provides a truly comprehensive program for improving one’s physical, mental, and social health. As such it is realistic, holistic, and quite enjoyable. One measures success here by an improved lifestyle and better worldly opportunities, not merely poundage. In times such as these, only realistic solutions to our challenging problems should be discussed. It is time to emerge from The Dark Ages of Dieting into a physical, mental, and social renaissance.
Every season, and in fact every day, is a good opportunity to reevaluate your health status. Don’t forget that I follow the World Health Organization definition of health: “Physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease.” As the author of The Park Avenue Diet, I focus on image which I define as an amalgamation of seven different components of appearance and behavior. One of these is weight.
For the last forty years, The Dark Ages of Dieting, people have mistakenly gravitated towards weight loss programs that exist in a vacuum. Namely, they only address food choices as if all of the other components of image somehow improve by themselves (interpersonal skills, skin, hair, clothing, self-confidence). I do not blame the well-meaning and well-deserving American people for believing this utterly illogical hogwash. Pick up any supermarket tabloid or “health magazine” and you will see pseudo-science at its worst.
Now for some real science: here are a few articles from the bibliography of The Park Avenue Diet. At the most recent convention of The American College of Physicians, researchers asked that no more studies be done comparing the various mass-market “diets” since none has a success rate over ten percent. It is a thorough waste of time to see whether “low carb” or “macrobiotic” foods produce better results since experimental subjects do not follow either program consistently or successfully.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/1/43
http://cardiology.jwatch.org/cgi/content/citation/2005/211/6
http://www.annals.org/content/142/1/56.abstract
http://www.annals.org/content/147/1/41.abstract
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)16986-9/abstract
The above articles, as well as a monograph by the British Medical Journal, all result in the same scenario. The attrition rate (people who drop out of a study) is almost ninety percent no matter which article you read. This leads researchers to believe that weight loss in itself no matter what’s on the menu is not a sufficient reward.
Put another way, dropping a few pounds and staying the same in other ways is at best a tenuous state of affairs. This accounts for the fact that yo-yo dieting, temporary and ineffective attempts to be thinner, is the prevailing practice. As a result the overweight and obese percentages of our population are growing daily, and this unbelievably unhealthy practice is now being foisted on the next generation. The implications of this disastrous scenario are medical, social, and worst of all financial.
The Park Avenue Diet provides a truly comprehensive program for improving one’s physical, mental, and social health. As such it is realistic, holistic, and quite enjoyable. One measures success here by an improved lifestyle and better worldly opportunities, not merely poundage. In times such as these, only realistic solutions to our challenging problems should be discussed. It is time to emerge from The Dark Ages of Dieting into a physical, mental, and social renaissance.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Notes on "The Park Avenue Diet Show: The Party's Over"; September 5, 2010
Remember those essays you had to write in your first weeks back at school? "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." I'd hope that your summer was devoted in part to taking care of your yourself healthwise. Summer's meant for fun...and so is the rest of your life. Did you make all the right food choices? Did you exercise every day? Were you as sociable as possible, challenging yourself with new opportunities and projects?
Whether you did or not, the summer's gone, the party's over, and many of us, far too many, have neglected our responsibilities to the upkeep and upgrading of that most remarkable piece of machinery, the human body. But that's what the Fall Season is ideal for, which will be the topic of next week's edition of "The Park Avenue Diet Show."
My summer was a most momentous one. I celebrated my 60th birthday with a spectacular party that featured my debut as a standup comedian. And I attended two amazing theater festivals, seeing the brilliant actor/director Everett Quinton in "Oh Dad, Poor Dad" as well as his moving, haunting production of "The Elephant Man" ...followed by 8 performances at the Salzburg Festival as a chaser.
This week's show cited three particularly upsetting articles in the news.
1) Many Americans Don't Even Know They're Fat'----
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/642638.html
2)Parents Turn to Personal Trainers to Help Fight Obesity---
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504744_162-20015552-10391703.html
3) 40% of NYC Students are Too Fat----
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/your_kids_are_getting_so_big_p9iTxEeieCpuwUoj7OjWZJ
The latter is particularly upsetting, since these kids will grow up with very high risk of early cardiovascular disease and cancer. Obesity, as you know, is a risk factor for 40 different illnesses in 9 different organ systems.
So...how did you spend your summer vacation? And watcha gonna do about it? It's time to get in shape for the Fall Season, and your image--your appearance and behavior--is especially important in times of economic uncertainty. The new season of "The Park Avenue Diet Show" begins next week. Its only goal is to improve your health, which the World Health Organization defines as "physical. mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease." And who will be the principal beneficiary? You !
==================================================
If you're looking for an terrific personal trainer, by the way, check out Stefan Aschan and his excellent website. He's a health-care professional of the first rank, an insightful and charismatic motivator with superlative credentials.
http://www.stefanaschan.com/welcome/
Whether you did or not, the summer's gone, the party's over, and many of us, far too many, have neglected our responsibilities to the upkeep and upgrading of that most remarkable piece of machinery, the human body. But that's what the Fall Season is ideal for, which will be the topic of next week's edition of "The Park Avenue Diet Show."
My summer was a most momentous one. I celebrated my 60th birthday with a spectacular party that featured my debut as a standup comedian. And I attended two amazing theater festivals, seeing the brilliant actor/director Everett Quinton in "Oh Dad, Poor Dad" as well as his moving, haunting production of "The Elephant Man" ...followed by 8 performances at the Salzburg Festival as a chaser.
This week's show cited three particularly upsetting articles in the news.
1) Many Americans Don't Even Know They're Fat'----
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/642638.html
2)Parents Turn to Personal Trainers to Help Fight Obesity---
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504744_162-20015552-10391703.html
3) 40% of NYC Students are Too Fat----
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/your_kids_are_getting_so_big_p9iTxEeieCpuwUoj7OjWZJ
The latter is particularly upsetting, since these kids will grow up with very high risk of early cardiovascular disease and cancer. Obesity, as you know, is a risk factor for 40 different illnesses in 9 different organ systems.
So...how did you spend your summer vacation? And watcha gonna do about it? It's time to get in shape for the Fall Season, and your image--your appearance and behavior--is especially important in times of economic uncertainty. The new season of "The Park Avenue Diet Show" begins next week. Its only goal is to improve your health, which the World Health Organization defines as "physical. mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease." And who will be the principal beneficiary? You !
==================================================
If you're looking for an terrific personal trainer, by the way, check out Stefan Aschan and his excellent website. He's a health-care professional of the first rank, an insightful and charismatic motivator with superlative credentials.
http://www.stefanaschan.com/welcome/
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