Most of the world is in the same boat, including me.  We all have a few pounds here or there that we would like to shed forever whether it be to fit into those skinny jeans or to improve our health.  I will be the first to say that nearly everyone has to consciously watch their weight.  Yes, there are those natural skinny minnies, but the pounds will likely catch up with them too in due time.

Through my own experience as well as those of my patients and friends,  I’d like to offer some healthy, lasting, somewhat easy to follow tips for battling the bulge.

1- Exercise: It’s a no brainer! Easier said than done, but if you take baby steps and incrementally increase your daily activity level, before you know it, you will experience more than just weight loss.  Regular cardiovascular activity (~ 30 minutes three times per week) can improve your mood, calm your nerves, and help you combat chronic diseases like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Not to mention, you will sleep better!

2- Start your meals with soup, salad or fruit! : Typically, these foods are loaded with fiber and water and will fill you up.  A Penn state study on dieters found that those who consumed two 10½-ounce servings of broth-based soup per day for a year lost 50 percent more weight than those who consumed the same number of calories from lowfat snacks.  Just try to avoid soups with tons of sodium!

3- Try to rate your hunger before you eat.  Making a mental note of how hungry you are before you actually put something in your mouth will help you avoid overeating.  The easiest strategy is to use a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is extreme hunger and 1 is minimal hunger.  Try to only eat when your hunger level is at 3, eat slowly, and stop eating once you reach 7 which would be the perfect level of satiety.

4- Recognize the difference between thirst and hunger.  Oftentimes, late night hunger pangs are really your body’s way of saying ‘hey, I’m thirsty!’.  If you’re feeling hungry after dinner, try drinking a full 8-oz glass of water before hitting the fridge for a snack.  You’ll be surprised to find that about half of the time, you are just thirsty, and not really hungry after all.

5- Use smaller plates and glasses.  Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, NY have found that when people are given smaller dishes, they actually serve themselves smaller portions.  Once you start serving yourself on small plates, you’ll quickly realize how much you have actually been eating.  The downside to this is that if you’re still hungry after eating that smaller portion, you may head back for seconds.

I hope you enjoy and implement some of these tips! I wish you the best of health and success in your battle against the bulge.  Please tell me how these tips are working out for you.

Warmly,

       Dr.  Allie

                                         -James H. Boren

hap·pi·ness –noun

Yes, the definition of happiness is quite vague, and the word means various things to different people, but we all fundamentally grasp the intangible concept of happiness.  We know what it is, but we cannot explain what it comprises or how to fully achieve it.  I’ve always wondered if there is any science behind happiness.  My research on the deep concept of happiness has yielded some interesting results.

Take wealth for instance, and all of the amazing, delightful things that money can buy.  Research by a psychologist named Diener, among others, has demonstrated that once your basic needs are met, additional income does very little to raise your sense of satisfaction with your life.  How about a good education? Sorry Mom and Dad, but neither a good education nor a high IQ , paves your road to happiness.  What about youth? No, in fact, older people are more consistently satisfied with their lives than the young.  Sunny weather? Nope, again.  Although a 1998 study showed that Midwesterners think that us Californians are happier, it’s not true.  The funny thing is, Californians themselves incorrectly think that they are happier than folks from other regions in the U.S.

So what really makes people happy? Religious faith seems to genuinely lift our spirits.  Friends and strong relationships? YES, a resounding, yes.  A 2002 study conducted at the University of Illinois by Diener and Seligman found that the most prominent characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.

The bottom line seems to be that your spiritual health deeply affects your emotional satisfaction in life and your personal relationships are a meaningful way to invest in your happiness.

To measure your own satisfaction with life, try using the Satisfaction with Life Scale: http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/life-satisfaction-measure-yours/63/

Although, I have yet to try Latisse myself, many have used it with success.  Latisse is actually a prettier name for bimatoprost  a prostaglandin-analog used for reduction of high intraocular pressure in open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.  It’s manufactured and marketed by Allergan (Irvine, CA), and has been FDA approved for the use of glaucoma since 2001.  Early on, in clinical trials, researchers found that this drug causes eye redness, itching, dry eye, hyperpigmentation around the eye, and voila!… It also causes eyelash growth! This curious  ’side effect’ was thought to be interesting in patients using this prostaglandin eyedrop.  In fact, some of these patients reported having to trim their eyelashes occasionally to prevent them from hitting their eyelashes.  The rest of the story is history and Latisse was FDA approved for treatment of hypotrichosis (or lack of eyelashes) in December 2008.

So basically, Latisse does cause eyelash growth, but also results in fuller, darker lashes.  It does have side effects, like those mentioned above and brown iris pigmentation especially in people with lighter colored eyes.  It is also quite costly with a price tag of $90-100+ dollars for a 1 month supply which notably can only be purchased from a doctor’s office.  So, ladies, Latisse will buy you the luscious lashes that you have always dreamed of, but once you stop using it, bye bye pretty lashes!

If you’re an avid diet soda drinker, listen up.  People with diets filled with artifically sweetened sugars or sodium, may be at risk for faster kidney decline.   A recent study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital  and presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting revealed a very significant twofold increase in quickened kidney function decline with 2 or more servings per day of artificially sweetened soda.  The mechanisms by which artificial sweeteners affects the kidney is at this point yet unknown.

A second study using the same 3000 female participants showed that in women with well-preserved kidney function, high dietary sodium intake was associated with greater kidney function decline as well.

The actual data is not published yet, but you can read more here.  And, for all my regular coke-drinking-friends who are saying I told you so, don’t think that regular sodas are innocuous!

For the record, the ‘artificially sweetened drinks’ category also includes iced teas, juices, and anything that contains aspartame or even splenda.

Pictured below: My co-intern, Dave Svec, and I having way too much fun on call.  Clearly someone has an addiction. Let’s just say, it isn’t me, haha.

If you’re as insane about sushi as I am, maybe this story will make you think twice about eating some tasty raw salmon.  More likely than not, though, if you really are that insane, you won’t care.  A gentleman in Chicago recently sued a restaurant for serving him tapeworm-infested salmon after he found out that the 9-foot-long parasite was growing inside him. (gross!)

So, there seems to be a new worm in town and his name is Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense or more affectionately known as the salmon tapeworm.  And, he’s rapidly infesting yuppies with a hankering for sashimi and ceviche.  This parasite which can grow in the human GI tract and reach up to 39 feet in length, started popping up in North America in 2006, but has been a growing problem in Japan for years.

So how do you avoid this problem, but still enjoy some salmon?  These tapeworms live in fish muscle and die when the fish is cooked.  It’s probably best to eat fully cooked salmon.  And, if you have a sashimi craving, go for the tuna!

Seems like I’ll be avoiding salmon sashimi for a while!

It is thought that the adverse effects of thin thighs arise from decreased muscle mass which affects fat and sugar metabolism.  However, randomized controlled trials are needed to further study whether interventions that may increase thigh muscularity would actually decrease cardiovascular risk.

One less reason to hate naturally skinny model types!

The federal government has hyped up the availability of the H1N1 vaccine, promising that we’d have millions of doses by now, but far fewer doses have been delivered so far.  In my home state of California, about 1.3 million doses have been shipped, but some states like Mississippi have received fewer than 75,000 doses.  Here’s a link to the CDC’s report on H1N1 vaccine supply.

And, just imagine, this is before they know what they’re in for after graduation and during residency.

In case you haven’t noticed, tattoos are the newest and perhaps oldest craze.  I myself haven’t experienced anything other than a henna tattoo, but with TV shows like L.A. Ink on the air, its apparent that tattoos are super popular.  For some, tattoos are more than body art.  They are a lifestyle!

About 1/4 of adults 18-30 years old have at least 1 tattoo. And that percentage will definitely increase in years to come.  65% of people with tattoos are women, so it’s not a guy thing anymore either.  With such high numbers of people getting tatted up, it’s important to discuss the health risks.

But first, let me illustrate how tattoos aren’t just green-inked body art. There are so many types of tattoos.

1) Amateur tattoos: made by pricking ash, charcoal or ink under the skin with a needle. With these, there’s a high risk of infection because of lack of sterile conditions.

2) Cultural/Religious tattoos: these may serve many purposes for members of various ethnic/tribal groups. Many different techniques can be used to achieve these.

3) Professional tattoos: Done by a licensed/registered artist often using a tattoo gun.

4) Cosmetic tattoos including ‘permanent make up’ : Women may get their eyeliner, lip liner, blush or eyebrows tattooed on.  Often, touch ups are needed every few years to keep the colors crisp and vibrant.

5) Medical tattoos: For instance, after breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy, doctors typically simulate the appearance of a nipple using tattoo methods.  Some patients with chronic medical conditions also get tattoos to alert others of their condition in the event of an emergency.

Do doctors think you should get tattoos? No, most doctors advise against tattoos because the use of unsterilized needles can cause the transmission of diseases like Hepatitis C from one person to another.  Also, people often get their tattoos at a young age and down the road they may not want it anymore.  A tattoo on the body of a 20 year old looks very different than it does on the body of a 70 year old.

If you really really want one, then at least be safe! Make sure that the tattoo studio you choose is as clean as a doctor’s office.  And, make sure that your tattoo artist has a valid business license.  If you have doubts, go with your gut feeling and find a different studio.

Safety Tips:

• Watch your artist remove all needles from sterile packaging.  Make sure the artist washes his/her hands and puts on sterile gloves before getting started.
• Don’t drink alcohol or take any drugs including over the counter drugs like aspirin the night prior
  
• Ask for a list of specific pigments used, the manufacturer, lot number and color.
• After getting your tattoo, follow healing instructions and make sure to use antibiotic ointment.
• Do not get a tattoo if you’re at all sick!

What Kinds of Infections can you get from Tattoos?

The most serious risks include life -compromising infections like HIV, Hepatitis C ( a virus which attacks your liver). You can also get skin infections like impetigo caused by bacteria like staphylococcus or MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). If you notice that the skin around your tattoo is blistering, oozing pus, red or tender for an extended period of time please see your doctor.

Photo of Kat Von D, courtesy of Getty Images.