As I celebrate my second father’s day as a dad, I’ve been thinking more and more about my own father, who died over ten years ago. When I travel back home to Boston I always drive down the spartan Cape Cod highway to the Veterans Cemetery.… Read the rest
Category Archives: New York Times
Health Checks: Does Anyone Need An Annual Physical?
Do most of us need an annual health check at the doctor’s office? You may think this to be a very silly question, especially coming from me a family doctor who constantly discusses preventive medicine in my articles. I love to see my patients every year just to check in and make sure they are living a healthy lifestyle, as well as to offer a “medical tune up.”… Read the rest
Rehydration In Kids: Which Is Safest?
What’s the best treatment if you or your child have a stomach infection and get slightly dehydrated from a couple days of diarrhea and poor eating? I see a lot of such gastroenteritis in the summertime, mostly due to more bacterial food poisoning.… Read the rest
Chinese Spring Festival Eve: As Unhealthy As Thanksgiving?
Next week’s Spring Festival will already be my sixth here in Beijing, and Spring Festival Eve is always one of the highlights of my year. My wife and I spend a wonderful evening with our Chinese in-laws, and all two dozen of us will gorge for hours on endless rounds of dumplings and snacks, drink all types of alcohol and juices, and happily shout at the TV screen as another awful performer lip syncs yet another tacky ballad. … Read the rest