Kale is Kool

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Randi Protter, MD

Full Disclosure:  I eat kale daily.

Kale ranks high on my favorite vegetable list.  It is full of antioxidants, rich in nutrients, robust in flavor and versatile.  It can be eaten raw – my kale salads are amazing.  It can be sautéed – smidge of garlic and olive oil.  It can add it to soups.  I even juice kale as part of my green machine delight.  And, it is inexpensive and can be grown year-round.

There is nothing negative to say about kale.  Unless, you are a major corporation with insecurities.

Last December, The New York Times published an  article which described the fight of Vermontian Bo Muller-Moore.  He is a scruffy dude-artist who hand screens t-shirts.  One of his designs simply says  “Eat More Kale.”  The franchise Chik Fil A took notice and sent him a cease-and-desist letter.  It appears that their motto “Eat Mor Chikin” and their sales might be placed in jeopardy by…a vegetable. 

As an internist and health advocate, I WISH a vegetable epidemic could be cast upon our country by the power of a t-shirt!  Mr. Muller-Moore vs. Chik Fil A is the best thing that could have happened to kale.  Healthy eating has been main streamed.  Grass roots efforts have taken place across the country to support his fight, and you can too  (sign the petition .)

Veggie Power To The People!

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You Can Ask Me Anything

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Randi Protter, MD

But my answer may surprise you.

Patients often ask me to prescribe pain medications, tranquilizers, and/or sleeping pills.  These addictive medications always seem to make the “Best Of” coroner’s toxicology list.   It would be easy to summarily write these prescriptions – little hassle for my staff and the patient is happy.  But easy rarely translates into what is right. 

 “..I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous..” –Hippocratic Oath 

Patient requests need to be critically assessed and medications judiciously prescribed.  Each request deserves the same attention as the first.  Are there times when patients require pain medications, tranquilizers, or sleeping pills?  Absolutely!  But we owe it to our patients to incorporate non-addictive medications and modalities, to say no when appropriate, and to make referrals to pain management specialists, sleep medicine specialists, addiction specialists, or the like when they seek more than short term relief. 

So many young, talented and famous individuals, and even more that are known only to their family and friends, have died as a result of overusing and overdosing prescription medications.  The medical community plays an important role in preventing these deaths.

RIP Whitney.

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Videogames in the Real World: Technology and the Stroke Patient

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Randi Protter, MD

Videopolicewoman – that’s me. While  I don’t have the curves or hairdo of Angie Dickinson’s  Sgt. Suzanne “Pepper” Anderson, I am every bit the enforcer.  Just ask my two teenage sons. As a videopolicewoman,  I need to know the rules  – most of which my husband and I have made, with input from the American Academy of Pediatrics.  I need to understand the street language such as “level up” or “achievement” as in “I’ll get off in a minute, just as soon as I get this achievement.”  I must also have an appreciation of time.  For civilians or the uninitiated, a video game minute is closer to 10 minutes in real time.  It’s a tough job, that of videopolicewoman.  My public, sedentary and humorless, scorn my redirection, but it’s all in a day’s work.  “Put..the controller…down..”

“Pick..the controller..up…”  Life is a series of paradoxes, isn’t it?  In recent years, several studies of stroke survivors have shown that patients derived benefit from the Nintendo Wii videogame system.  The system has a controller that allows players to control the action on the screen by using physical gestures instead of just pressing buttons.  Games like tennis require players to physically swing the controller.  A new study presented at the International Stroke Conference shows improvement in arm function, walking and heart conditioning after only 14 days of game use.  You can read more about this study here.

Doctor-Mom, aka videopolicewoman,  does have an appreciation for videogames.  They can be therapeutic on different levels.  For gamers, they can be a mental rehab.  For stroke patients, they can be a physical rehab.  All things in moderation.  Keep moving!

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New (and old) Treatments for Type 2 Diabetes

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Randi Protter, MD

There has been a lot of buzz in the press recently over Paula Deen’s disclosure of her type 2 diabetes.  Were people really shocked?  Paula Deen reminds me of many of my patients:  over 50, obese, embracing (at least on television) high fat, high carbohydrate, high sugar diet.  A recipe – if you will allow me the pun – for type 2 diabetes.

I like that a television personality has come out of the diabetes closet and I am hopeful that attention will turn to diabetes prevention and control through new healthful recipes and lifestyle changes.

When diet and exercise alone do not control diabetes, daily oral or injectable medications may be necessary. Many of these medications must be timed with a meal.  Several days ago the once weekly drug Bydureon won FDA approval.  You can read more about Bydureon here.

Treatment of diabetes can be hard.  Motivation and discipline – both necessary for healthful eating and structured exercise – don’t come in a bottle.  These lifestyle changes can minimize or eliminate the need for medication with almost no side effects.  That is a promise that no medication can make.

If you think you may have diabetes, speak with your health care professional.

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FRIED FOOD LOVERS REJOICE! (kind of)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Randi Protter, MD

A new study published in the British Medical Journal shows that foods fried in olive and sunflower oils do not increase the risk of heart disease.  The study is based on data from Spain, where cooks use non-animal fats for frying.  Interestingly, this region also partakes in the Mediterranean diet, a diet that is associated with a lower overall risk of heart disease.  You can read more about this study here.

Will changing your oils but not your diet make a difference in your health?  Perhaps slightly.  The biggest impact to your health comes from an overhaul of your diet and an increase in activity.  We know for sure that diets high in vegetables and fruits, oily fish such as salmon, and nuts are beneficial for heart disease. 

You have the power to change your healthspan with every bite of food, and small changes make a difference.  Perhaps today you begin by adding in a handful of healthy nuts.  Next week, you add in an extra serving of crunchy carrots.

As for me, it’s fried fish Wednesday.  Salmon, olive oil, and a side of greens.

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