Insights for a Healthier, Longer Life

Everywhere I turn, I’m seeing the recommendation to do “zone 2” training. If you aren’t familiar, Zone 2 is low-intensity cardio where you can still maintain a conversation, but it’s slightly challenging—roughly 60-70% of your max heart rate. Think of it as a brisk walk. Where did the enthusiasm for zone 2 training come from? First, Zone 2 is accessible. Brisk walking feels a lot more sustainable than a high-intensity Peloton, Soul Cycle, or Orange Theory workout. Second, inf

Online clinics like Noom, Hims, Found Health, Maximus and many others are promoting micro-dosing of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro. Isn’t that ridiculous? Why take a lower dose of a medication when we know the dose that already works? We spent billions studying high-dose GLP-1s to treat diabetes and obesity. Those doses work amazingly well. But we never asked the question: What’s the minimum effective dose for inflammation? for decreasing cravings? for improving

For me, diabetes prevention is personal. I have prediabetes. My hemoglobin A1c runs between 5.7-6.0%. Apparently, I’m in good company. More than 1 in 3 Americans (97 million people) has prediabetes ( reference ). And full blown diabetes? I keep returning to this graph of the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the United States and never ceased to be astonished. Prevalence of type 2 diabetes among individuals 45-84 years of age in Asian subgroups vs other ethnic groups. NH, non

Let’s start with some good news: cancer death rates in the United States are falling . Since 1991, the age-adjusted cancer mortality...

TLDR: Polygenic risk scores estimate risk by summing thousands of small genetic effects. For heart disease, high PRS can reveal hidden...

In the 1950’s, physicians in the small Italian immigrant town of Roseto, Pennsylvania made a remarkable observation: residents of Roseto...

A friend recently asked: “I’m South Asian and people say I’m ‘skinny fat.’ What is that—and how can I prevent it?” That question echoes...

Biomarker testing has become increasingly popular. Companies like Function Health , Healthspan , Superpower and others offer a wide...

Why you should know your VO2 max In medicine, one of our core responsibilities is to assess your risk for disease, so we can take steps...

I had lunch with a friend recently whose mother has dementia. My friend takes a statin to lower her risk of cardiovascular disease, but...

Cholesterol deposition in an artery As I mentioned in my last post , I decided to lower my cholesterol even with a calcium score of zero....

The other day a friend of mine asked me if he should get a coronary artery calcium (CAC) test. He is a healthy man in his 40’s without...

First, we were told to cut back on fat. Then the spotlight shifted to carbs. Now, the latest nutritional obsession seems to be protein —...

As a physician who is proactive and data-driven about health, this is one of the most common questions I get asked. My response is going...