The happiness prescription for troubled times.

If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written, or if you have met me, you know that it is my fervent desire to always be focused on happiness. My happiness to be sure, but also to use my platform as a way of spreading happiness, joy and …love… and all that airy fairy stuff.

Well guys, here we are in the middle of something that we couldn’t have predicted a year ago. We are social distancing; all but essential businesses are shut down; we are cloistered in our homes; we may be running out of toilet paper; and hand sanitizer hoarders are now a real thing. Those of you who have been preparing for the zombie apocalypse are probably doing the “told ya so dance” right now.

For someone like me who’s always talking about happiness, how do I even deal with this level of crazy that we are finding ourselves a part of right now? I deal carefully, thoughtfully and deliberately. What I know for sure is that we can maintain our happiness in this troubled time. I’m not talking about putting a happy face sticker on a terrible situation. What I mean is reaching for inner peace instead of panic. I’m not suggesting we spend our days LOLing at those hilarious quarantine memes and gifs, even though they are super funny. What I am suggesting is being able to reach for inner joy in times of crisis and being unshakable in our determination to think the best thoughts we can in each moment no matter what each moment brings.

That sounds difficult. How does one even go about doing that?

Please know that I’m not in any way simplifying the reality of this and for those adversely affected I want you to know that my heart goes out to you in this time. What I have found is that in times of good and plenty and in times of adversity, sticking close to these 5 steps for happiness has been sustaining and life giving for me. I am writing this in the hope that it may bring someone some peace in this time.

1)      What do you believe?

It took me a long time, many years in fact to come to this way of thinking. I grew up in a very traditional sort of family and so I was never taught that we create our own existence. Sure I learned that if you put your mind to it you will succeed and that hard work results in success, but at no time was I taught that thoughts become things. That what we focus on is what manifests. It took me seeing that first hand and even playing with the manifestation process to actually realize that what we are putting out there energetically is what we get back. I’d tried all the other ways of being that I was taught and I wasn’t seeing the results and so I decided, ok, this screwy idea sounds…well… screwy but I might as well try being happy and focusing on inner peace and watching to see what happens. I had in the past just had emotions based on what was showing up in my life. If things were great and the sun was shining, then I’d have a big smile and if things were going to the dogs, then my mood would be too. This ground breaking idea of not letting the circumstances of your life be the reason you feel the way you feel just seemed crazy to me, but reading book after book by guru after guru saying the same thing encouraged me to at least give it a 30 day money back trial. That was many 30 days ago. And TBH there have been ups and downs on this journey. Every day is a new day with this and that leads me to step 2.

2)      Practice

What I can absolutely say is that I’m still a work in progress every single day. Like I said, I didn’t learn this way of being growing up. What I learned and what was modeled to me was: There are some things that are just beyond your control. What I know now is I always have control over my emotions and how I choose to feel in any given situation. That doesn’t mean that unpleasant things don’t happen at all or that I look at the world through rose colored glasses. It means that because I am practicing every day to maintain my inner peace, on the days when I need it most I’ll be better able to weather the storm. It’s just like anything else. 

I remember when my baby (now 5 years old and in kindergarten) was learning how to creep. That little sweetie made me laugh so hard! He could only creep backwards. He was determined though, if he wanted to go get something, he would calculate its location in his little baby brain and then back his way towards it. I’m pretty sure that in 11 years when he goes for his driving test he will ace reversing! Anyway, he kept trying to go forward, and one day he got a little green talking dog stuffed toy named SCOUT. Scout had been programmed to say his name, it had flashing lights, and it could sing songs for him that included his name and all kinds of features that are catnip to babies. When he saw Scout for the first time, his desire to creep forward had never been greater, he had tried and tried, he had practiced, sometimes getting a few inches forward before moving backward again, but this time all his practice paid off: he moved forward all the way across the room, grabbed Scout (who promptly went into his mouth,) and he hasn’t looked back since. 

I’m constantly sharing stories of my crazy kids and their shenanigans but I share this to say that reaching for inner peace during a crisis may not come easily, but we have this overwhelming desire to feel better when things are at their worst and so it’s probably the perfect time to practice. But how? You can practice emotions. True story! 

Let’s try this: close your eyes and think about something for which you are truly grateful. It could be hugs from your kids, amazing support staff or a lovely life partner. Whatever it is that is meaningful for you, close your eyes and focus in on the gratitude you feel. The object of your desire may not have been in the room with you while you visualized your gratitude, but that did not stop the warm feelings from flowing into you did it? We can do this with almost anything, it just takes knowing how, focus and practicing.

3)      Morning and daily routine

I’m going to share with you what worked for me; What helped me to build my happiness muscle.  And I’ll say again, we are all a work in progress, especially me, but I’m better today than I have ever been. This was recommended by one of my most trusted mentors and I have to say this may have been the game changer, no, life changer for me.

a)      Morning Routine

There is a little space in the morning when I wake up, when I know I’m awake but before I start planning my day and going off on all my tangents. I try my best to get control of my thoughts in this space and consciously project thoughts of appreciation and gratitude. Appreciation for another day, for health, for my family, for my internal plumbing working the way it should as I rush off to the bathroom. Once I’m squared away, I try to introduce some movement / exercise. Usually yoga works well for me at this time and then I spend a few minutes meditating. I do a spot of journaling and then I listen to something inspirational to help set the tone for my day. This means for me that I have to get up a bit earlier so as not to be disturbed by my little ones but the time is worth it, and I notice that on the days that I miss incorporating this routine, that navigating challenges is a little harder. I also avoid all media, social and otherwise during this time. The emails will still be there when I’m done!

b)      Daily Routine

One of my mentors is a coach and teacher of universal law. She introduced me to deciding how I want to feel before I move into each different portion of my day. For example walking into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for my kids before getting them on the bus, I want to feel efficient and in flow; As I drive to work I want to feel safe and secure; As I treat patients I want to feel in flow and knowledgeable; when I return home to my family I want to feel love and joy …and patient; going to bed I want to feel relaxed and in gratitude. You can break this down into even smaller chunks of time, but what this ensures is that you are at all times paying attention to how you feel.

c)       Don’t beat yourself up

There are days when my morning “glow, “lasts longer than others. On some days I’m rushing so much that I’m not paying attention to how I want to feel and wander into uncomfortable emotional territory. On some days, things just overwhelm me. That’s ok. Let us please not beat ourselves up for not being happy enough! Every day we have an opportunity to continue our practice and every day our happiness muscle builds and gets stronger, helping us handle the toughest situations with ease calm, peace and grace.

4)      Taking care of you

We’ve all heard that you can’t pour from an empty cup and that you should put your mask on first before helping others. These are not just platitudes. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to reach for happiness, it may elude us because of something physiological. Have you ever noticed that when you feel healthier, well rested, well hydrated, when you are fed, you have exercised and when you have avoided negative people places and things, that you just feel amazing, like you could conquer the world? 

Let me just put on my physician and recovering researcher hat here for a minute to let you know that yes there is a change in your brain and body chemistry in response to all these things. I won’t bore you with the details, at least not in this article. Just look it up on PubMed though, I kid you not, these things affect how you feel, not just physically but also emotionally. So let’s make sure we are doing all we can to maintain our health in this time. 

Let’s lay off the quarantine snacks for a minute guys! Now is the time to infuse our diets with healthy plant based foods, (great news, so far the produce aisles continue to be STOCKED, there is a run on TP but not on fresh veggies!) Let’s not skip meals even though we aren’t on our regular schedule. Let’s supplement our health with key nutrients. In times like these a quality multivitamin, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, a quality antioxidant, omega 3’s and probiotics, to name a few, can go a long way. Make sure we are getting quality sleep. With our schedules upended, we may be tempted to stay up late nights binging streaming TV, or reading or whatever. That is fine, just make sure you are getting enough quality uninterrupted sleep. In the colder months we can be tempted to let our hydration fall by the wayside. Don’t forget however, that we are about 70% water and we can’t run many of our repair reactions nor can we eliminate waste successfully without water. So drink up during this time. Try to get about ½ oz per pound of body weight - that is on average about 64 oz per day. 

We might find that we have more time in our schedule for moving our bodies, so let’s do it. Exercise releases endorphins as well as dopamine and serotonin in some cases. These are all chemicals produced by our bodies that can help us feel better naturally. Doing some yoga, going for a walk in nature, joining a virtual group exercise class, going for a run or even lifting weights in the basement all count towards helping us feel better. And as for keeping the negative influences in life to the barest minimum, well, that’s just good sense. All that being said, if you suffer from not just situational depression, but clinical depression, incorporating these ideas as well as working with a professional counselor can be tremendously beneficial.

5)      Community

I’m a firm believer that we don’t have to go it alone and that everything is easier with a collective of likeminded supportive individuals. On our journey to improving our lives through this season that we are currently in and beyond, success is so much more likely when we can ask the audience or phone a friend. In this time when social distancing is mandated, let’s look for opportunities for heart and soul connecting. It is my hope that we exit this crisis better than we were at the very beginning. That we rediscover what is truly of value in our lives, that we look for the opportunity and silver linings in all of this and reach for innovation and deeper purpose.

My offer to you: 

I am the curator of “The Happiness Mastermind.” Most of us go to webinars, listen to talks, read articles and all sorts of other self help activities, and at the end of the day we go back to living our lives as usual. For most of us moving forward successfully is most likely when we have a container of support, and that is what the happiness mastermind provides.  

If you would like to go through the step by step, exactly how to live a happier life even in times of trouble, and you would like to have a group of likeminded supportive individuals for accountability, conversation and support, then I invite you to join us.

To join our mastermind: https://mailchi.mp/41e8f7c1eb06/happinessmastermind

Essential support for patients with pain

To our Saporito Chiropractic Family,

Reaching out to all of you with love in this challenging time.

Based on guidelines, we continue to support the community as “Essential Providers.” We are open in office, and available through our tele-medicine portal to support all of our patients.

We are taking every precaution regarding disinfecting and protecting patients. If you need to be seen in person, please call on the phone at 860-589-1491 

 Thanks so much for your support during this challenging year. Be safe and be well for 2021.

Regards in health

Dr. Davia H. Shepherd

Saporito Chiropractic

PS: For more information about guidelines please click the link below:

Https://www.ctchiro.com/page/EssentialHealthcare20200320

https://www.ctchiro.com/page/EssentialHealthcare20200320

It's raining seniors

It's raining seniors... In a manner of speaking.

Are you a senior? Do you know any seniors? Are there any seniors that are close to you that you may be concerned about? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are not alone and statistics show that you are within 90% of the entire population. :) I am of course kidding, but my topic today: "Falls" is no laughing matter. Here are some REAL statistics:

Annually, 40% of older Americans over 69 y/o  fall at least once. That's almost 1 in every 2 seniors falling. The cost of falls is alarming. Up to $30 billion!  Add to that the fall out from falls (pun intended :) musculo-skeletal injuries, broken bones and the emotional scars, and falls seem to be an important event to avoid.

If you think those stats are bad, here are some more which will knock your socks off (metaphorically of course.) Studies show that there are 4 predictors for seniors going from living independently to living in a long term care situation. They are: Urinary incontinence; Dementia; Social Isolation and, you guessed it: Falls and fall related injuries.

Of course there are so many reasons a person, senior or junior, may fall. These include factors such as overall physical health, vision hazards, environmental slip and trip hazards and of course strength and balance.

If you know anything about me, you know I love to bring you information from the studies that have been done by greater minds. I love to see the evidence, and while doing my research for this article, I found a study looking at recommendations for fall prevention. Here are some of the expert recommendations: EXERCISES, GAIT STABILIZATION, vision assessment, medication assessment, and supplementation including one of my favorite vitamins: VITAMIN D.

So, as usual, I know what you are thinking: Dr. Shepherd, what do seniors and falls have to do with you? Well, (also as usual,) i'm glad you asked!  Seniors need to understand their risk of falling and the importance of maintaining their balance. Fortunately, a visit to your local chiropractor (like me,) may be all that is required. "Computerized dynamic posturography," - testing offered by your local physical medicine doctor such as a chiropractor, is an easy way to determine balance, postural sway and fall risk. Once the assessment is made, specifically tailored rehabilitation exercises can help patients at risk of falls to be safer. This presents an outstanding balance and fall risk solution.

If this speaks to you or makes you think of someone you know, please feel free to reach out to us in office we are happy to help in any way that we can.

Disclaimer: Please remember that it's impossible to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of our articles. I'm superwoman it's true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.

Could your feet be causing your back pain?

A lot of our patients complain of back pain. For many of our patients pain in the low back can be a sign of dysfunction in another area such as the feet, knees, hips etc. Interestingly, back pain may be one of the only indicators that there is a problem in another area. For example, there may be no foot pain even though the feet are the root of the problem causing the back pain.

For many patients, even though they experience no actual foot pain, over time the ligaments in the foot may become over-stressed and over-stretched and may become permanently deformed. Once over stretch damage is done to certain types of connective tissue such as ligaments, tendons and fascia, they do not return to their original shape.

What does this mean for feet? Over time the arches that support the foot, and essentially the whole person, sag and may even collapse. This may of course result in foot pain, knee pain, hip pain and or back pain.

The good news is that in addition to treatment by your physical medicine provider, custom orthotics can be used to provide support for an arch that has collapsed or that has started collapsing. Usually wearing custom orthotics 75-80% of the time can be a permanent form of treatment and support. Patients may have custom orthotics to fit every pair of shoes and may even purchase shoes, sandals and flip flops with custom orthotics already built in.

In our office we provide patients with the opportunity to have their feet scanned by our state of the art scanner to see if orthotics are appropriate for them. If orthotics are in fact recommended, we offer the convenience of sourcing them through our office. In some cases, orthotics may be fully or partially covered by patient's insurance plans.

Do you want more information? Call us today to schedule a no obligation consultation to see if your feet could be the root of your pain problem. 

*Please remember that it's impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I'm superwoman it's true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.

Body Contouring and Fat Loss

• Do you have inches you would like to shed?
• Would you be interested in fat loss that is easy, pain-free, safe and effective?
• Would you like to keep it off? 

The first time I heard about this easy way for patients to lose fat, I have to admit that I was intrigued. If you talk to any doctor out there, from brain surgeons to podiatrists, from allergists to urologists and everyone in between, they will agree that the majority of Americans could see improvement in their overall health by losing abdominal fat. The CDC confirms this by noting on its website that one in every four deaths in the US is as a result of heart disease and that overweight is one of the most important risk factors. We even see the benefits of fat loss in our practice. Most of the patients who come in to see us have headache, neck pain, joint pain or back pain and for many of them a simple weight loss program, in addition to the other treatments that we offer, goes a long way to help reduce their pain.

But I digress; We have been considering this for some time and thought it might be something that our patients would love. Not only will our patients be able to lose fat in specific areas, but the overall health and cardiovascular benefits are outstanding.  The funny thing is that when I started telling patients about our new laser and about how it will help their health, all everyone seemed to care about are the cosmetic benefits of losing inches off the thighs, buttock, stomach, torso and arms. 

Most are excited about the great cosmetic benefits, but if we can in the process significantly improve their overall health, then we will have achieved our objective as their physicians. Our laser works fast, it’s painless and targets body fat without invasive surgery. There is no down time and there are no side effects.  We love talking about our new laser so if you would like to know more, just go to our website: 

www.Power-Transformations.com and register for one of our upcoming workshops, or call us in office at 860-589-1491. We are happy to help.

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Goodbye Arthritis

In practice we see a lot of patients who suffer from pain due to arthritic changes. Some patients have back and neck pain as a result of this, while others have pain in the larger joints such as the hips or knees. Interestingly, patients who come in with these kinds of conditions almost always say to me: “I have pain, it’s just a part of getting older I guess.” Well, if you have ever read one of my articles or ever spoken with me, you will know that telling me something is just a part of getting older gets me to launch off into one of my soap box moments. I have so many friends, patients and family members who are older and who are living pain free, quality filled lives and I refuse to subscribe to the “It’s part of getting older,” theory. Now, I know what you are going to say. You are thinking: “As you get older you will see!” And I will reply, “Being completely pain free is possible for a majority of patients in pain.”  Here’s how.

In my many years working in healthcare (over 16 years helping patients,) I’ve found that for patients with

arthritic changes, mobilization and movement is helpful for joint health. There was a study, (you all know how much I love studies!) that was published by the AMA a few years ago that showed that just walking for 30 min per day helped patients with arthritic changes to have less pain. The study did note that at first the pain was increased and that for some patients in the study getting into walking daily was difficult, however over time the benefit to patients was significant. In addition to encouraging our patients to increase their mobility, we also recommend, for patients in pain, specific rehabilitation exercises that strengthen the involved muscles, help with balance and stretch muscles that may be guarded, in spasm or in some way imbalanced. The patients who stick with their rehabilitation / corrective exercise regimens are ALWAYS the ones who do much better and who see resolution much faster.

Of course as a Chiropractor I must explain about how manual medicine modalities help patients with arthritic changes to be pain free. “Manual medicine modalities” is a catch all term that we use to describe the non invasive interventions that we use to help patients with painful musculo-skeletal conditions. Some of my favorites include heat and cold therapies which can help relax muscles and reduce inflammation.  Another favorite is Ultrasound which can significantly reduce inflammation.  Muscle stimulation may help reduce muscle spasm/ guarding, help send a new message to the brain about pain, and depending on the type of muscle stimulation, may help reduce inflammation as well. Soft tissue and joint mobilization help improve mobility and range of motion. Laser therapy stimulates healing and reduces inflammation. For some patients, ergonomic suggestions, orthopedic supports, orthotics and durable medical devices can also be helpful noninvasive additions to treatment. These are just a few of the available modalities and a few of their benefits. The bottom line is this: adding in manual medicine methods to corrective exercises is a winning proposition.

Those of you who have read our column before are expecting me to talk about how nutrition can play a

HUGE role in getting to that pain free status.  I will not disappoint! Many patients with arthritic changes will agree that inflammation is a big contributor to the pain that they experience. Patients often get prescribed steroids, traditional non steroidal anti-inflammatory agents or COX 2 inhibitors, once they are diagnosed with arthritic conditions. These medications target the inflammatory process at different points in an effort to reduce inflammation and influence the patient’s pain level. Well, here’s a little known fact. You can influence the inflammatory pathway by changing the diet and even by adding in certain superfoods and supplements. I’m going to share (with hippa released permission,) the story of a patient who has spinal stenosis. She came in with pain that at times was 10/10 and she could barely do anything at home. The biggest problems for her were vacuuming her carpet, loading her dishwasher and even just bending forward to make her bed or put on her shoes. She was having a hard time, and was not particularly impressed when we suggested that she increase her mobility with the prescribed exercises. She had also never been to see a chiropractor before and may have heard some horrendous things, so you can imagine how much pain she had to be in for her to make her way to see one. When we talked about how nutrition influences inflammation though, she got it. She was determined to be pain free and she was on board for all the dietary recommendations. Within 3 months her pain level was so low that she was able to not only do her house work, but she was also able to help her daughter with her household chores and was also able to help out with grand kids. In 6 months she was completely pain free. She also noted that she felt so much better and healthier in general. She was so happy with her progress that she agreed that we could share her story in the event that it might be helpful to someone else. At the end of the day, what we take into our bodies matters and clinical nutrition therapy targeted at the inflammation process can be outstanding in its ability to reduce overall pain.

Neuromuscular reeducation helps patients in pain by disrupting the pain patterns that have been established especially in patients in chronic pain. Cognitive methods as well as physical medicine methods work together to fill in the final piece of the pain free puzzle.

Even though this sort of non invasive protocol will work wonders for almost all patients, as with anything else there are going to be a couple of patients for whom this approach will not be appropriate. In school when we are training to be physicians, we learn that when treating with patients we go from the least invasive method to the most invasive. For patients who fail non invasive therapy, options such as holistic treatments, medication as well as surgical interventions should not be overlooked and generally those patients are identified early and referred to the appropriate provider that can get them to pain free as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: Please remember that it's impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I'm supermom it’s true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your healthcare provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. Stay in touch with us on Facebook. We appreciate you.

A longer, healthier, quality-filled life...are you in?

 

Close your eyes, where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, and 20 - even 30 years from today. What is your health like? Are you full of vitality? Can you see in your mind’s eye, “future-you” participating in all the activities of daily living that you might want to? Are you healthy enough to have fun with friends, with kids? Can you play with grandkids? Are you healthy enough to exercise in the way you want to? Do you feel well enough to vacation like a rockstar and take advantage of all the things you have been planning to do on that famous “someday?

Some people think disease conditions are just a part of getting older but evidence shows that indeed it isn’t. And well, for me personally, I refuse to buy into that. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that I give my body the best possible advantage so that in 20, 30 maybe even 50 years from today I’m in my best possible health. What do you think?

There is a quote that I love that could have been from Hippocrates “The Father of Medicine.” I think it was again re-quoted by inventor extraordinaire Thomas Edison. Whatever the attribution, it goes like this: “The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Well dear reader, apparently I am the doctor of the future who was prophesied, and it may very well be that the future is NOW. But on a serious note: It is my intention, for every single patient every single time, to live a healthier, pain free life. That’s why in office we are continually focused on sharing with all our patients about clinical nutrition and the role lifestyle plays in overall health and wellness.

For those of you who are regular readers, you know that I am a work in progress and that I tend to share my “aha” moments freely. So here it is: Here is my personal 5 point plan to a healthier quality filled life:

1) Reduce stress
2) Use the “Farmacy”
3) Know our risk
4) Develop our personalized healthy lifestyle plan
5) Implement, implement, implement!


Reduce Stress


“Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health.” Dalai Lama

When our bodies are exposed to stressful situations, a wonderful thing happens. In order for our bodies to focus on removing the stressor effectively, the hormones cortisol and adrenaline are released. It’s pretty complicated what happens from here on, but the short version of the long story is that cortisol and adrenaline act to shut down the body systems deemed unessential in an emergency, and focuses the body’s resources where it can be used effectively to get you away from the stressful situation. Then once the stressor is past, cortisol and adrenaline should be eliminated from the body and the body can get back to digestion, growth, repair etc. – You know, all the good stuff. But… you guessed it, there’s a big BUT. For many of us, our lives for the most part seem to be stress filled. As such we are in many cases making more stress hormones than we need and are unable to fully flush our stress hormones from our bodies. You can see how that is a big problem. The first step on my 5 point plan to a healthier me (and you…) therefore, has to be stress reduction.


Use “The Farmacy”


“Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.” Bethenny Frankel

Almost everyone now-a-days has heard of power foods. From TV shows, to magazines, to even this very column - everyone talks a lot about the benefits of eating a varied and plant based diet. The truth is that when you walk into your produce department of your local grocer or when you open up your spice cabinet, a world of amazing health benefits await. I spend a lot of time in workshops and seminars, talking about the potential health benefits of various fruits, vegetables and spices / herbs. And while some foods like your beets, kale and avocadoes deserve special mention, what we do know is that increasing our intake of fruits and vegetables in general, to about 12 servings per day, can go a long way to a healthier me. It sounds like a lot, I know, but keeping in mind how small serving sizes are, it’s actually quite easy. Here’s my typical fruit and veggie day: I have about 4-5 servings of fruits and veggies mixed together in my green smoothie in the morning. I try to have a serving of fruit mid morning but I’m not going to lie, I get busy and that rarely happens. At lunch though, I usually have a big salad: 4 servings of veggies easy, and in the mid afternoon I may have 1-2 servings of veggies to keep me going. At dinner time I like to have a few servings of cooked veggies (about 3) with my meal and that usually takes me over my 12 serving quota for the day. Delicious and doable.


Know Your Risk


“The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Thomas Edison

When it comes to our health most of us, including myself, tend to be more reactive than proactive. We try to, in a very general way, “eat right and exercise.” The health care paradigm up to now has been: We wait for symptoms of disease to show up or for something to be abnormal on our lab work to know our potential for long term illness. We are living in reaction mode, waiting for something to actually go wrong and then we hope that at that point it won’t be too late and that we can fix it. Science promised us a day when we would be able to look at our genome, determine our risk and act accordingly. Fortunately, we now have access to safe reasonably inexpensive tools that can give us deep insight into our potential health problems. For many of our patients, a quick DNA cheek swab analyzed by the lab can provide a lot of information. Do I have a gene that suggests that insulin resistance and perhaps diabetes may be a problem for me in the future? Does my DNA show me to be at increased cardiovascular risk? Am I genetically predisposed to have thinning bones? Currently the technology that exists allows us to analyze 48 genes and 61 variations to give us information that can help us lead longer healthier lives.


Develop a personalized plan


“With great power comes great responsibility…” Spiderman’s uncle Ben?

Knowing what my risk is, well that’s great, but now what. So now I know that I have a gene that predisposes me to higher cholesterol even though my lipid profiles to date have been pretty normal… what now. Clearly this seems like a moment to panic, but maybe not. What I do know is that knowledge is power. Now that I know what I know about my genetic makeup, I can work with my doctor to put together a health and wellness plan that will help me be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Did I mention: Knowledge is power? This knowledge allows me to make decisions for my future based upon cutting edge science.


The Implementation


“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do...” Lou Holtz

There isn’t really very much to say on this topic. Knowledge is great, developing a plan is outstanding, but the key is in the implementation. Being committed to the lifestyle changes that can lead to the long healthy high quality life that we all desire is the bottom line.



“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” Mahatma Gandhi

In closing, I’ll share a story, with permission, from one of my absolute favorite patients. She and her husband had worked hard over the years and they really put in a serious plan for retirement. They did all the things we are supposed to do and then retirement came. My patient said to me one day: “Dr. Shepherd, money is not our problem. We saved and planned for this retirement. We planned that when we retired we would be able to take all these vacations all over the world, travel to spend time with our grand kids and generally just be healthy. But with [his] health problems and mine it’s really put a damper on our plans.”

I will say again what I said to her: It’s never too late to start being healthier, the healthiest you can be under the circumstances. You don’t have to do this alone or rely on guess work or chance.

The future is now...Will you join us?