We try to promote healthy habits at Family Care Centers.

Especially if you have issues with weight, or blood pressure, or cholesterol, you’ve probably heard us recommend changes in diet and exercise:

• Reduce your intake of saturated fats
• REALLY cut back on your starchy carbs, and up your intake of colorful fruits and vegetables
• Exercise more regularly, at least 3 times a week
• Get the down to a healthy body weight

These recommendations are key, and if you can adopt them, a good many of your health woes will either disappear, throttle way back, or not occur to begin with.

But if it were that easy, everyone would be doing it…and Big Pharma would be out of a job.

Here’s a link to a related website, to help you stick it to ‘em, and get healthier in the process:

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“Oh, and by the way…what does D.O. stand for?”

I’ve been asked this several times since starting my practice, usually at the end of a patient visit. It’s time to answer this common question about a doctor’s credentials.

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[This is Part 5 of a 7 part series. — PK]

5. See Your Doctor Periodically

Well, you should have seen that one coming.

But seriously, there are some excellent reasons to make an annual physical a cornerstone of your plan for health. Overcoming your dread of the gloved finger, or the mammography squish, will pay you enormous dividends with the very first problem you let your doctor catch early.

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Most of us can recall an encounter with the vitamin aisle at the supermarket, pharmacy or health food store.

It can be a confusing, frustrating event.

Vitamin C for colds, vitamin B for energy, calcium for your bones…we can even have trouble recalling what certain supplements, like copper, are supposedly good for. And there are dozens of brand names to choose from.

I can certainly understand people’s cynicism about supplements, given all the conflicting news out there. Currently, there are no recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on using dietary supplements to prevent such health conditions as heart disease or cancer.

However, there is plenty of data that supports supplementing our diet with certain vitamins to optimize health. This is especially true for people in certain high risk groups and those who are not following a healthy, well-balanced diet.

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I can’t exactly say that I’m a shining example of health.

As a physician and family man, I think I do okay: I exercise regularly, including martial arts at least twice a week, don’t smoke or drink, and try to moderate my stress levels (haw).

But I don’t weigh what I did when I was a high school senior, and drink more coffee to get through the day than I’d care to admit. I eat too many carbs, get too little sleep, and don’t eat enough organic food.

These may not sound like much, but they should.

Nevertheless, I can still recommend 4 of the most important ways to avoid an early grave, and have a fine old time doing it (there are 7, but the final 3 will be in the next post). Partly because I’ve seen a lot of people do it right and do it wrong. Partly because the medical field has seen a lot, and has the studies to back up the advice it’s trumpeting from the mountain tops.

But also because, hey, the advice is so sensible and my self-respect has increased enough that I’m finally adopting the following principles myself.

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More and more, the young women in my practice are asking about the Gardasil vaccine.

This vaccine was designed for women from 9 to 26 years old to prevent diseases caused by 4 types of the human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can cause a spectrum of diseases including precancerous cervical lesions, cervical cancer, and genital warts. There are more than 100 types of HPV, but the vaccine focuses on 4 “high risk” virus types that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.

To become immune, you’ll need 3 doses of the vaccine: the first one at the time of your choice, the second 2 months after the first dose, and the third 6 months after the first dose. Possible side effects associated with the vaccine include pain, swelling, or redness at the injection site, nausea, dizziness, or fever.

Unfortunately, many people who have HPV may not show any signs or symptoms, and can pass it to their partners during sexual intercourse. The main goal of the vaccine is to protect and prevent before you get exposed to HPV.

Many pediatricians are administering the Gardasil vaccine as part of the routine immunizations given at 11 years of age, with the consent of the parents, of course. Please note that if you already have HPV, this vaccine cannot be used for treatment.

However, having HPV does not mean you shouldn’t consider the vaccine, since Gardasil can protect you from the other virus types covered by the vaccine.

Even if you get the vaccine, I want to emphasize that all women still need regular pelvic exams and pap smears to screen for cervical cancer — since the vaccine, though very effective, does not cover all types of the HPV virus. Protected intercourse is also important to prevent all sexually transmitted infections.

If you’re reading this any time around the holidays, then the flu bug wants a piece of you.

Influenza is a seasonal virus (November to May) that affects the sinuses, nose, throat and lungs. It’s mostly spread by secretions from the nose and mouth, like when you cough or sneeze. The most severe forms are seen in those who are very old or very young, as well as those with chronic medical problems like lung disease or diabetes.

But anyone can get infected.

Most people experience high fevers, headache, muscle aches and sore throat within a day of getting exposed, and can spread the disease up to 5 days after symptoms start. In susceptible folks, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia — and even death in about 36,000 Americans (or 14 World Trade Centers) every year.

The best way to prevent flu is to be vaccinated.

There are two kinds of vaccinations: injections and nasal sprays. The spray route is limited to healthy people ages 5-49, is a live virus vaccine, and can occasionally lead to a mild case of the flu.

The injection type is made from inactivated virus, so you cannot get influenza from the flu shot, and it can be received by a wider variety of patients, including children ages 6 months or above. The Centers for Disease Control encourages everyone to be vaccinated against flu, but emphasizes vaccination in certain groups that are high risk:

• children ages 6 months to 5 years
• pregnant women
• people with chronic medical conditions, like lung disease and diabetes
• being 50 or older, even if healthy
• health care workers
• caregivers of chronically ill or elderly people
• parents of children less than 6 months of age

Do NOT get vaccinated if you

• are allergic to chicken eggs
• have had a prior severe reaction to flu vaccine
• have a history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome
• currently have a fever from an illness

Flu vaccine is available now. Please contact your doctor for a vaccination.

I’d like to share a resource with you, which I’ve personally found helpful for getting fit, and recommended to family, friends, and patients.

It’s a dvd called FlowFit, and in a health promotion unique to the industry, its manufacturer is now offering it free to every American (one dvd per household). No strings attached.

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Something radically new is coming to Orange County, and we hope you are as excited about it as we are.

After 12 years of operation, Family Care Centers Medical Group is moving into the 21st century with this Health and Wellness blog. Distinct from our office website that clarifies our location, services, hours of operation, and insurance information, this blog is about our philosophy of health.

We firmly believe that wellness is more than about treating illness once it has already begun; we encourage you to move to “the next level” of preventing problems proactively, and improving the function that you already have.

This blog is specifically designed to bring you, our existing and new patients (welcome!) the most up to date information on health and wellness in Orange County. While we hope to be a fun read, our aim isn’t to simply entertain, or to be controversial for controversy’s sake. Our goal is solely to provide information and discussions that help you

1. to be better informed about your body and how it works
2. to be clearer about your medical options
3. to be more aware about community resources and even national events that can help or affect you and your family.

Our aim is to work with you; come on back to see why, and how.

Welcome to Family Care Medical Group Blog! Our goal for this blog is to bring you articles, news and announcements about health topics and questions we get asked in our practice.