Dr. Superman to the Rescue
Do You Have an “Attitude of Gratitude”?
Are you living your dream or merely existing day to day? For far too many of us, life means toiling away at a job we don’t like… tolerating “toxic” people in our life… and even accepting marginal health instead of robust vitality. That was Dr. Tim Reynolds only 10 years ago.
On the outside it looked like he had it all —a successful career, a wife and family, a big house, and a shiny sports car. Yet every day when he got up he felt like all he had was a high-responsibility job that was sucking the joy and energy right out of his life.
The Worst Toxin of All
It seems that everywhere we turn, we’re told about the toxins in our environment that can cause us harm and disease.
Yet I believe we may be ignoring the number one toxin of all. This is the toxin that will put an end to your productivity. It will make you miserable and it will take you down if you let it.
If you are not careful and you do not keep your guard up, it will have a greater influence on your life, your success and even your health than any toxin in your food or water.
The toxin I am talking about is the negative people in your life.
If you had a brand new Ferrari, you probably would not give the keys to just anyone. You would be careful how you took care of it and who you let borrow it, drive it, or even ride in it. You probably wouldn’t let anyone eat or drink in it. Yet you freely give away “the keys” to more precious possessions every day — your mind and your attitude — when you let negative people decide what goes in your head and what you listen to.
Why Big Pharma’s Not Laughing
What Big Pharma Can Learn from Steve Martin
Years ago on SNL, Steve Martin did a bit on a new drug he was taking called Pla-cee-bo.
“It’s fantastic!” he said. “Everybody should be taking it!”
Enjoy Your Doctor Visits While You Can
Are the President and Congress cooking up a plan to dump helpless seniors and disabled persons into “medical homes” in order to reduce costs to Medicare and HMOs?
That’s the worry of some private citizens and healthcare professionals including the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI).
Buried in the Obama health care reform bill is a proposal to establish a “medical home pilot program” to care for elderly and disabled citizens. As pitched by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the plan would provide a medical home for every citizen while the country transitions from a sickness-based to a wellness-based health system.1
While it may sound compassionate at first glance, the medical home would be run by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who would dole out treatment to residents without the supervision of a physician. Instead, they would follow the guidelines of EBM (evidence-based medicine) — a formulaic approach that is based on statistical and clinical research.
According to CMPI, while EBM is a valuable tool in the hands of an experienced practitioner, it is now being “distorted by government bureaucrats and HMOs in ways that impose top-down, one-size-fits-all restrictions on patients and their healthcare providers.” 2 In other words, cookie-cutter medicine will be practiced by partially trained medical personnel in order to save the government and private insurance companies money.
Why You Need a Lifetime Health Plan!
Also In This Issue:
Cutting Edge Fitness: Fight FAT with Fire
Healthy Recipes: Mahi-Mahi with Tomatoes, Capers & Olive
Why You Need a Personal Health Plan
What is your health plan?
That’s an interesting question someone once asked me.
Let’s put it another way: What is your plan for developing your health? Can you name it? Can you put it in a list? Can you say, “My plan for eating is a, b, c and d? My plan for fitness is one, two, three and four. My plan for flexibility is one, two, three and four. My plan for strength or cardiovascular training is x, y and z.”
How many of us have actually taken the time to sit down and develop a plan for health? How many of us just go day-to-day, constantly changing plans (or not making plans) and wondering and hoping if we’ll stay healthy.
My experience has been that most of the patients I help and most of the people who come to me for personal coaching, don’t really have a health plan in place. They drift from plan to plan trying to find something that meets their lifestyle needs.
One Simple Tip that Can Change Your Life Forever
Also In This Issue:
Reverse Aging: A Natural Approach to Anti-Aging Skin Care
Healthy Recipes: Blueberry Soufflés
To Be Healthy, Take Control of Your Life
I took care of a man in my clinic the other day who had retired a few months before. He had 
worked hard all his life; he was honest, hardworking and raised children that were fairly successful. He was in my clinic because he was depressed. He was depressed because he felt like he no longer had a reason to get up in the morning.
He didn’t want to go back to work but he also didn’t know what to do with himself. He felt he was no longer contributing to society. In addition, he was broke. He wasn’t in poverty; he just didn’t have any money. He and his wife live on a fixed income and it doesn’t allow them to do many things. His 401k has taken a hit and his retirement plan doesn’t look like what he was told it would.
Even his marriage is on the rocks. He and his wife are “at each other” all the time because they are always home together without a break.
An MD’s Take on Finding Your Passion
Also In This Issue:
Reverse Aging: Highlights from the International Anti-Aging Show
Healthy Recipes: Tomato Asparagus Salad
It’s Your Decision to Live Life with Passion
I started my adult life jumping out of airplanes at age 17 as a member of the US Army Airborne and then went on to Special Forces Green Beret training. Talk about learning to live with passion. Everything we did, we did all out. This experience was where I learned the philosophy of work hard and play hard! It was also where I adopted the philosophy of “physical fitness: the difference between self confidence and self doubt,” which I still believe to this day.
I have maintained this philosophy through my adult life and it has served me well. I still love working hard and I still love playing hard.
Since becoming a physician, I have had the privilege to interact with many people and even impact their lives. I have noticed a huge difference between those who live with passion and those who simply live from day to day and how it affects their health. Those who face each day as an adventure and are excited about opportunities coming their way are definitely in better health. They miss fewer work days and are happier about what they do.
Here’s an example. In my clinic we handle many cases related to occupational medicine and workman’s compensation. It is interesting to watch someone with a workman’s comp injury and see how their philosophy of life affects their ability to get back to work. Those who live their lives with passion and are happy with their lives heal their injuries more quickly and get back to full duties in a much more judicious fashion.
On the other hand, those whose life’s philosophy is “what can others do for me?” or “how little work can I do and still get paid?” tend to milk the same injury for as long as possible. In fact, they will begin to become their disease or illness. As they try to get more time off and prove that they are in fact injured, they start to take on the characteristics of a person with that injury even if there is no physical evidence they actually have the injury.
