YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa Salad

You may or may not have heard, but last month, on February 10th, Bob Moore, a founder of Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, passed away at the age of 94. And I felt the need to write a post about this man who made such a remarkable difference in our food supply. Continue reading


Walking With Wellness

Some time ago, I received my first pedometer with which to track my daily steps, and I could not have been more thrilled. Attached unobtrusively to an elastic wrist band, it ventured forth with me every day as I plotted my path, set my course, stepped up, or took a hike. Continue reading


The Effects of Lifestyle on Function

Recently I wrote about a patient I met many years ago. Like most people, he spent a fair amount of time thinking about medical expenses. That was understandable, as his elevated blood pressure required treatment with four medications.

I explained to him that if he could make a couple of lifestyle changes, there was a good chance that he would be able to reduce the number of blood pressure medications he took. Could he take a short walk when possible? Could he cut back on ultraprocessed food items, like Ritz crackers and cheese whiz, and substitute homemade popcorn and a slice of Jarlsberg or cheddar on wasa crackers? What about more fresh fruit and vegetables? Maybe, but he was worried about the cost. Continue reading


With Years Come Wisdom, Guest Post by Joe Gardewin

Our recent guest post on aging inspired yet another guest post, this one by long-term reader Joe Gardewin. I hope his words inspire you as much as they inspired me!

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Dear Doc Roxanne, 

I may not be an expert on aging but, at 78, I do consider myself aged or, as my friend, Tom Isern, says, “seasoned.” In other words, most of my life is in my rearview mirror. Ha! That is not a bad thing, because I’ve had a pretty full life. But I do hope to live for a while yet and, in all honesty, I think I will. I think that, in part, because I have a good family doc who has now followed me for 20 years. In her words I am “… not the patient I worry about most.” 

These are my thoughts on [hopefully] living a long, healthy life:  Continue reading


Can You Slow Your Rate of Aging? by Guest Writer Gary Miceli

Dear readers:

Recently I received an email from Gary Miceli, a health writer with a story of his own to tell. I hope that he will return in the future to share that story, as I believe you will find it inspiring. I am happy to share with you today his thoughts on aging. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you Sunday!  –Dr. Roxanne Sukol

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If you have read a science magazine, been to a health website or even checked out articles in the popular press, you know that human aging is a hot topic. So what is aging? Aging is the consequence of inevitable molecular and cellular changes to the structure and composition of the body. These are consequences of normal metabolism and operation.  Continue reading


Standing Together As A Family

Years ago, while caring for adults in a suburban internal medicine practice, I began to observe an interesting phenomenon. At the time, it was not unusual for my patients to bring along their children or grandchildren, fresh from a prior pediatric appointment just across the hall. Beautiful, bright-faced, chubby, usually well-behaved children. Their pediatricians’ well-intended recommendations on reducing rates of weight gain consisted of the standard, usually unsuccessful, content. My patients’ expressions told me that the advice was tiresome and frustrating. If they knew how to fix this problem, they told me, they already would have.  Continue reading


Self-Care Resolutions

Late last year I had an interview with a major news network on the topic of New Years’ Resolutions. I decided not to talk about the popular though self-defeating goals that are nearly impossible to sustain and end up making people feel badly about themselves and their efforts. I didn’t discuss limiting calories, denying yourself things that bring you joy, joining a gym, or signing up for a yoga class. Instead I decided to talk about being kind to yourself.  Continue reading


Three Pillars of Wellness

I’ve been writing a monthly column for the Cleveland Jewish News since last year, and today I’d like to share one of the posts I wrote early on.

Wellness is like a pyramid with three pillars: eating patterns, activity patterns, and rest & relaxation patterns.

There’s tremendous synergy among these three pillars. You go for a great walk; you sleep better that night. You get a lousy night’s sleep; you circle the vending machines (or the fridge) all day. You eat too much; you don’t feel like moving. Everything is connected, so we can make small changes feel like a million bucks.

You don’t need to train for the Olympics. You just need to move. How much? A little bit more than before. If that means a 5-minute walk after breakfast instead of hanging out on the couch, then 5 minutes it is. If it means adding 10 minutes of stretching before your daily 2-mile run, then give it a try. Small changes, beginning wherever you are today. Continue reading


All Health is Personal

Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1953 to 1987, and was Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987, was famous for having said that “All politics is local.” I believe he was saying that you come to understand issues more comprehensively when they touch you directly and personally. 

For example, I could study asthma for many years and, someday, come to feel proficient at diagnosing and caring for asthmatic patients. But it’s completely different if I, myself, also carry a diagnosis of asthma; or if my young son develops it and suddenly needs his family to accommodate nebulizer treatments twice a day, effective immediately; or if you grew up with a sibling whose childhood years included several trips to the emergency room and several missed days of school each and every winter. That’s a completely different kind of understanding.

This post is a call to physicians, clinicians, my blog readers, and you, the patients for whom we care. Continue reading


Your World Affects Your Health

After many years of imagining what it might look like to take down the half-wall between our kitchen and dining room, we finally did it! This week, amid tons of banging, ripping, tearing, and dislodging, down came that wall and, frankly, the only one who wasn’t happy about it was the dog. I have learned a lot this week about updating 50-year-old kitchens, and yesterday’s news was the biggest: Our carpenter/project manager par excellence said that he can always tell from the project whether the family enjoys cooking. Wow — that was an eye-opener! 

Why should I be surprised? Environmental cues affect our behaviors whether we realize it or not. A well-designed kitchen is a kitchen that functions with as few obstacles as possible. The stove is near the sink is near the refrigerator. So does that mean that a well-designed kitchen inspires people who might otherwise describe themselves as “I don’t cook”? I hope so, because the research is clear: the more cooking and eating done at home, the likelier the food is to be nourishing. And the fewer obstacles to healthy behaviors, the better we rest, move, and eat.  Continue reading