Social Media can be a force for good. Still, just like most things, it should be used in moderation. I recommend we place personal boundaries to hold ourselves accountable to, in order to maintain our mental well-being.
In this 2017 survey, Britons aged 14-24 said that “the platforms exacerbated anxiety and depression, deprived them of sleep, exposed them to bullying and created worries about their body image and “FOMO” (“fear of missing out”).”
Today, an article was published evaluating the added years to a persons life if they live according to 5 specific healthy (low risk) lifestyle choices.
These include:
By age 50, women could add 14 years of life expectancy with these low risk factor lifestyle choices (new life expectancy of 93.1 years). In men, they could add 12.2 years of life expectancy (new life expectancy of 87.6 years)!
In recent years, marijuana use has gained in acceptance and usage. Today, almost 60% of Americans think marijuana should be legal.
Yesterday, Epidiolex, a medication derived from the marijuana plant for treatment of severe seizures in children with epilepsy, passed a key FDA panel placing it one step closer to final approval.
There is a lot of promise in this plant. It should be studied and medications developed as they are shown to be effective. At the same time, it is important to recognize we are in the infancy of marijuana research.
I encourage those interested to read an editorial I wrote a few years ago in the American Family Physician journal on the state of science regarding medical use of marijuana.
Over this past week, I have been fortunate to serve on a medical mission trip in Mexico. During the week of International Women’s Day, our Orlando-based team worked alongside outstanding doctors in the city of Tuxtla-Gutierrez in the state of Chiapas.
Dr. Ramirez and Dr. Martinez worked tirelessly during the Women’s Day campaign. The health campaign this week concentrated on managing and treating women from Chiapas who have abnormal pap results and require increased surveillance to prevent cervical cancer. Together, this has been a very successful trip as we learned what great care the local physicians take of their patients and appreciate the privilege to participate with them in this campaign against cervical cancer.
I am grateful to both of these local doctors, the Rotary Club of Tuxtla-Gutierrez who facilitated the trip, and Florida Hospital who coordinated the trip.
Here are some photos from the trip:
One of my friends from my time in the Army just posted an outstanding video on her weight loss journey. I am so excited to see her progress!
Kelly and I used to run together frequently … well, that is a stretch, in reality, she dragged me on her runs and I tried to not slow her down too much.
She posted a video yesterday where she shares some personal lifestyle changes she made to lose weight.
In this video, she states, “I am not a dietitian, I am not a nutritionist, and I am not pretending to be.” She’s not.
I am a doctor and I am an Obesity certified physician. I verify that the methods and techniques she has employed to lose weight work, and can be backed up with evidence.
Great job, Kelly; I am super proud of you!