I'm back! Took a little break--went on a wonderful trip to the tropics and am busy making the rounds of holiday parties.  Last night I made this really wonderful baked brie topped with cranberry relish and nuts, then there were those outstanding stuffed mushrooms my neighbor made... then came dessert.  But before I started singing this new take on a Colbie Caillet song, I remembered to be mindful with my eating like Dr. Michelle May tells us.  

I've got it!  I called the Borders and they had just one book left so I asked them to hold it for me and I got right over there.  Dr. Michelle May's book: Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat--How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle.  You won't find many "diet" books with a luscious piece of chocolate pictured on the cover.  I like it already.

I put the word "diet" in quotations because as Dr. May tells us in the introduction: "...this book is really different.  In fact it may seem a bit too different. ... No dieting? How's that going to help?

Well, I think we may just be witnessing a true diet revolution between the pages of this book.  

I wrote a piece on "mindfulness" a while back.  It turns out that there are many many applications for this valuable skill.  As it relates to eating, I can't possible cover this topic as well as my friend, Michelle May, MD can. Michelle is a fellow Family Physician who has conquered her obsession with food through a program of mindful eating. She now shares this acquired wisdom through her website, educational programs and books. You can learn more about her programs here with some great tips on how to avoid the "eat-repent-repeat cycle".

I have this wonderful new toy, a Kindle, and I tried to download Michelle's latest book but it's not yet available on Kindle.  So I'm going to have to break down, treck to the book store and buy it.  If you're interested, join me in reading it and we'll digest her pearls of wisdom together.  I plan a series of posts on the topic.  For now, I'll tell you what I understand so far about her approach to "mindful eating".

1. recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take patient context into account, including the patient's values regarding specific benefits and harms
2. recommends biennial [every other year] screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years.
3. concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older.
4. recommends against teaching breast self-examination (BSE).
5. concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of clinical breast examination (CBE) beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
6. concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instead of film mammography as screening modalities for breast cancer.

Who are these people?!?

I was only a third year medical student when I heard someone yell that. Luckily, I was already at church, which meant I didn't think I'd have to wait in line for my prayers to be answered. I began praying more fervently, "Please, God, let there be a real doctor here. Please. A real doctor who knows what to do."

No one responded. I glared at others to STOP praying so my prayer would be heard loud and clear. "Look, I know I'm only a third year medical student. Don't know anything yet. Please send real help. And, uh, this kinda urgent." Still no one responded.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force released this report today. 

I know...hard to take isn't it?

I'm figuring since you've landed on this webpage, you may be interested in my opinion on the topic. 

I'm sure I have one....

I'll have to get back to you on that.  I'm still absorbing the shock...and thinking...

But don't worry, I will get back to you on this.  I promise.

It's the $100,000 question on One Vs One Hundred.  Player, Eric Smart, is growing more emotional as he ascends the greenback ladder.  "What does the Mayo Clinic consider a normal blood pressure?"  I'm sitting there watching with my son and I burst out "Well who doesn't know that?!"  Now my kids do many things for me. Aside from roping me into meaningless television shows, getting me hooked and derailing  my quest to live a productive life, they also keep me connected to the real world.  With just a slight bit of sarcasm, I'm told "Mom--I wouldn't know that, most people wouldn't know that."  Sure enough when the results come in some 15 people in the audience are eliminated. 

High blood pressure is THE most common chronic illness in the U.S.  Many of you out there have it, in fact one in three adults has it!  If you're not one of them yourself, a lot of people in your life are. Ergo...you need to know what a normal blood pressure is. Do you even know what your own blood pressure is?  The next time you're at the doctor, make sure you ask. 

So what's the answer to the $100,000 question?  What's a normal blood pressure? 

Come on, take a guess.

A study about physician burnout found that mindfulness meditation can be a helpful remedy. This University of Rochester study, published in the Sept. 23/30 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, found that as many as 60 percent of practicing physicians describe symptoms of burnout. The study defined such symptoms as "emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, treating persons as objects, and low sense of accomplishment."

Do you want to see a doctor like that?