From the time we’re little kids, any mention of bowel habits can trigger giggling embarrassment. We’re not sure why that is, because the intestine is simply another organ in the body. Nevertheless, our concierge primary care doctors in Jupiter know that talking about bowel disorders can be uncomfortable for our patients.
If you think your allergies have been getting worse over the last few years, you’re not imagining it.
There are so many reasons we love our pets: companionship, loyalty, entertainment, and unconditional love. It’s estimated that at least 68 percent of American homes have at least one pet.
If you love your morning cup of java, our concierge primary care doctors at MD 2.0 in Jupiter want to encourage you to drink up. That’s because recent research has linked benefits of regular coffee consumption to a decreased risk of diabetes, heart disease, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and liver cancer.
And there’s more good news from a new study by the American Heart Association (AHA). It found that drinking one or more cups of plain, caffeinated coffee a day was associated with a long-term reduced risk of heart failure.
The start of a new year is traditionally the time to turn the page on the bad habits and disappointments of the previous year.
Usually near the top of the list of New Year’s resolutions that people make is the decision to lose weight. And from a health perspective, our concierge doctors certainly applaud that one.
Overweight or obesity is responsible for a host of chronic diseases, from type 2 diabetes to backaches to joint pain. So you want to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, right? But which diet is best?
Of course running is bad for your knees, right? Everybody knows this. After all, it only makes sense. You’re bringing the full weight of your body down on these joints with every step, so you’re wearing out the cartilage from overuse.
But our concierge doctors have often found that what seems like “common sense” is anything but, which is why we look to science for answers.
If you’ve been one of those fortunate enough to be able to work at home during the pandemic, you’ve probably been glued to your chair for eight or more hours a day. At least at the office you might have been able to walk around from desk to desk, or take the stairs, or take a walk at lunch.
Whereas at home, our concierge doctors are guessing that you get very little chance to move at all. And that could be detrimental to your health.
Let’s face it—this has been a lousy year. We’ve either lost or postponed so many of our normal pleasures, it’s no wonder that we’re feeling deprived. But our concierge doctors have a prescription that can help cheer you up: chocolate.
And ‘tis the season for it, after all. Not to mention that, as we’ll explain below, it can be healthier than eggnog, frosted cookies and cakes, and all the other sugarplums we’re inclined to consume this time of year.
As we head into the holidays, our concierge doctors are concerned that pandemic fatigue might tempt people to throw caution to the winds and just celebrate, starting with Thanksgiving.
The fact is, we’re all fed up with the “new normal.” People want more than anything to return to the way our lives were before this scourge attacked the world early this year. Pandemic fatigue is not only real, it’s totally understandable.
Our concierge doctors note the stress resulting from the coronavirus pandemic affects large portions of our population. This has manifested in many ways, including a sharp increase in insomnia.
Even without the pandemic, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that between 30 and 40 percent of the population experiences insomnia regularly. A 2005 National Sleep Foundation (NSF) poll showed more than half of respondents reported experiencing insomnia at least a few nights a week in the past year. Thirty-three percent said they had insomnia every night or nearly every night for the past year.
And since the advent of the pandemic, prescriptions for sleep medications are up 15 percent, according to pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts. The UCLA Sleep Disorders Center reports insomnia complaints have soared 20-30 percent.
