I grew up in India with my loving family, living in a 1,000-square-foot room. I was fearless and often experienced the bumps and bruises of an active boyhood. I always got up, dusted myself off, and walked again. I learned resilience and was a happy child. Throughout my work as a physician, the importance of…

The foundation of a healthy diet is a vibrant rainbow of fruits and vegetables, like rosy red strawberries, dark green spinach leaves, or sunny yellow peppers. Their colors often come from flavonoids, powerful plant chemicals (phytochemicals) that appear to contribute to many aspects of health. And now a large Harvard study published online in Neurology…

A student suddenly develops leg pain and paralysis; soon hundreds of schoolmates have similar symptoms. Nuns begin biting each other, and soon the same thing is happening at other nearby convents. Three schoolgirls begin laughing uncontrollably, sometimes going on for days. When nearly 100 classmates develop the same problem, the school is forced to close…

Men who are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer have difficult choices to make about medical therapy, and the last thing any of them want is to regret their treatment decisions later. But unfortunately, treatment-related regrets are quite common, according to a new study. After looking into the experiences of 2,072 men diagnosed with prostate cancer…

The human and financial cost of Alzheimer’s disease is devastating. More that 55 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia, rising to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050. In the United States alone, the Alzheimer’s Association estimated that in 2020, more than 11 million unpaid caregivers provided…

Last winter, my wife shooed the dog and visiting toddlers away from our poinsettia plants, saying "they’re poisonous, you know." I did not know. But it turns out that the belief that poinsettias are deadly is widespread. The same could be said for mistletoe and holly. But are their reputations for danger well-deserved? Since these…

Boutique or specialty fitness studios offer all sorts of ways to exercise, such as strength training, indoor cycling, and kickboxing. Other popular options, like yoga and Pilates, are less likely to leave you sweaty and breathless, emphasizing flexibility and measured movement. Now a new trend has emerged: studios that focus solely on stretching. What are…

"No!" It might have been endearing as your child’s first word, but dread often kicks in when that word starts to follow parental requests. Experiencing resistance to small or big asks? Stuck in arguments that seem to go in circles and leave you exasperated with unmet requests? The good news is that this pattern can…

Did you know that of the 6.2 million people with Alzheimer’s disease who are age 65 or older in this country, almost two-thirds are women? This means that Alzheimer’s disease is almost twice as common in women compared to men. Why is Alzheimer’s disease more common in women? Women live longer The first and most…

Embryo donation — the process by which a family donates their “extra” embryos to a couple or individual — is a viable path to parenthood. In a previous blog post, I addressed some of the reasons why people who consider their families complete after in vitro fertilization (IVF) might choose to donate embryos. Who, then,…