We know that aerobic exercise is an important component of a healthy, active lifestyle.  But, what type of aerobic exercise should we be focusing our time and energy on – Relatively low intensity workouts (so called “ Zone 2”), or high intensity interval training (HIIT)?  Some recent studies may be helpful in answering this question.

What is “metabolic health and why is it important?  As its name implies, metabolic health is related to our metabolism which is the set of chemical reactions that support life. Metabolic dysfunction, including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other problems is rampant within industrialized countries and the Dr’s primary patient challenge. 

Ophthalmologist Dr. Brandon Baartman, aka the Dr's husband, makes a guest appearance to tell us (almost) everything he know's about the amazing eye and how we can best protect our vision.  We discuss how Brandon became interested in this specialty and his experiences in medical school, residency and during a fellowship. He explains the amazing physiology of our eyes and how we see, as well as how we should be caring for our eyes. Hint - Don't stare at the sun. 

It seems as if Allulose has gone from a relatively unknown sweetener to our preferred type in about 3 months. (Except spellcheck on Word still doesn’t recognize it and marks Allulose as a misspelling)  The average American consumes about 53 lbs. of sugar annually contributing to obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Could Allulose help solve that problem?  What is it about Allulose that so miraculous? 

It should be pretty simple – Begin or increase your exercise routine and weight loss becomes easier.  We know from experience though that isn’t necessarily true.  So why doesn’t the added caloric deficit of exercise translate to success in managing our waistlines?  Is there a some amount of exercise that is likely to deliver weight loss results?

Dr. Ascanio received the initial shot for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine about 10 days ago.  We discuss her experience as well as the vaccine rollout process and concerns around the possibly more virulent UK strain in our final episode for 2020.

As the so-called “third wave” of the COVID-19 virus rages across the US and the world, encouraging news is coming from projects aimed at creating vaccines to protect us from getting the disease. Of course, the two questions on everyone’s mind are: “When can I get it?“, and “Will it be safe?” We offer our perspective and opinion on these issues and more in this episode.

Humans are opportunistic omnivores.  We eat everything available that doesn’t outright poison us. The omnivore’s dilemma is the question of what should we be eating within such a large and diverse set of options.  A new research paper asserts that a Pesco-Mediteranian diet along with intermittent fasting is best supports a lengthy healthspan.

The Dr. is making the transition from working for a large hospital system to private practice in a fast growing healthcare model.  It’s called ”Direct Primary Care” (DPC) because the relationship between Dr. and patient is exactly that - direct.  There’s no insurance carrier or corporate bureaucracy in the way and that allows for a much better healthcare experience.  Plus, instead of having 1,500 - 3,000 patients, Dr. Ascanio will have a maximum of 600 to focus all her attention on.  This episode explores what led the Dr. to make the change to DPC and why patients will benefit.