I’ve been a family doctor for fifteen years, and one of the more dramatic changes I’ve noticed is a big spike in the incidence of prediabetes and diabetes, in all age groups. I had worked in China for ten years until last summer, and all us family doctors at my Beijing clinic weren’t surprised at all with the 2013 paper published in JAMA confirming the frightening reality in China: more than half of all adults in China now are prediabetic.… Read the rest
Not Sleeping Well? Here’s My Advice.
This week, March 6 – 13, is National Sleep Awareness Week, so it’s a good time to review healthy sleep habits. I see a lot of adults and teens in my clinic who are chronically tired and have troubles sleeping — both falling asleep and staying asleep.… Read the rest
Don’t Skip Breakfast! Here’s Why.
Did you know that the U.S. Center for Disease Control predicts that one third of all Americans will have diabetes by the year 2050? This scary statistic is not just an American phenomenon; many Western countries’ modernized diets have led to a diabetes epidemic.… Read the rest
Rubber Ducky You’re The One — To Cause Diabetes and Cancer?
My boys are now both over two years old, but they still like the occasional chew on their toys, which are mostly made of plastic. Rubber duckies, Lego men, Brio trains — it’s still a ton of fun to put in their mouths if it makes mommy and daddy really mad.… Read the rest
Obesity in Childhood: How Can We Stop the Pandemic?
It’s no secret that children all over the world are putting on too much weight; in the US, an astonishing 1/3 of children are overweight or obese. Being overweight as a child can lead to many diseases as an adult, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, and some cancers.… Read the rest
Why I Became A Family Doctor
I am a family medicine doctor – but that is only a small part of who I am. Father, husband, photographer, social media guru, writer, singer — these are only a few of the many ways I define myself. But when I am on my deathbed, hopefully many decades from now, and looking back on my life, what will I list as my top accomplishments?… Read the rest