Blog Archive

Water is essential to life, not just in humans, but in general. The human body is 60% water, around 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, and every plant, animal, and other living thing needs water to survive. We use it for cushioning and lubricating joints, regulating body...

Even your most basic movements involve a combination of your muscles, ligaments, tendons, and how they attach to your bones and joints. Your skeletal system forms the foundation of your body, and while your bones look like solid objects, they’re actually dense layers of living tissue that also protect your...

Physical, mental, and social health is a vital part of everyone’s life, but we deal with these challenges differently. For example, men ages 15-65 are far less likely to pursue preventive health care and more likely to go to their doctor only when something’s wrong. A lot of changes happen...

Sex shapes more of our self-image than we think. Our perception of ourselves is a major part of our personal lives, and our sexuality plays a significant role in our self-confidence. This is in addition to the role of reproduction and building families, and tied to all of these things...

Our joints work through a synthesis of many moving parts, including bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues. Conditions that cause inflammation and damage, like arthritis, create pain, swelling, and other problems that lead to discomfort and limited mobility.  Fifty million American adults and 300,000 children are struggling with some...

Obesity is a very common problem, with nearly 42% of adults and almost 20% of children and teens struggling with it in the United States alone.  This amounts to a total of over a billion people dealing with this issue globally according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and complications...

A lot of anxiety and distress comes up when people talk about cholesterol, but the fact is we need the substance in our bodies for a number of reasons.  This waxy substance is made in your liver and also comes from the foods you eat. It’s essential to the production...

Weight gain is a problem throughout the United States, with all states having an obesity rate above 20%, and 17 of those states having a rate over 35%, with the highest numbers in the South and Midwest. Being overweight affects over 30% of Americans and over 42% of those are...

There are a few different types of diabetes, but type 2 is both the most common and one of the leading causes of death in America, with 98 million dealing with prediabetes and 38 million who have the illness.  Of all those living with diabetes, over 90% have type 2,...

Improving and maintaining your overall health is as much a question of balance and moderation as it is of proper diet and keeping physically fit. Maintaining the right balance helps prevent disease, extends your lifespan, and can even be good for the environment.  Too much of many foods can endanger...

Your heart is the fist-sized central organ of your circulatory and cardiovascular system, made up of your atria, ventricles, valves, and septum. It’s connected to your arteries, veins, and blood vessels throughout your body, using blood pressure to keep your blood moving.  Pumping 2,000 gallons of blood and beating 115,000...

We’ve all reached that point in our day when we’re exhausted, whether it’s after a full day of work, we helped someone move, we’re stressed out or feeling anxious or depressed, or any number of other reasons. That lack of energy is known as fatigue, and dealing with it all...

Sugar fuels the cells in our body to perform any number of tasks. Once sugar reaches your bloodstream, it takes the form of blood glucose. Having too much or too little in your body can wreak havoc on how things work, resulting in chronic conditions like diabetes, which affects nearly...

Blood travels through your body by way of your circulatory system, a network of veins, arteries, and blood vessels that journey all over and back to your heart. Blood pressure is what makes this possible, and it’s accomplished by your heart pumping blood up to 100 times a minute, all...

Every physical action we take, from walking, talking, jumping, running, or simply standing is in part a function of our musculoskeletal system, a network of bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and other tissues.  Our numerous joints are a part of this system, including fibrous, cartilaginous, and synovial types that help us...

Weight problems are a big problem in the United States, but globally, the rate of obesity has doubled since 1980. It’s linked to new cases of diabetes in America (up to 53%), an increase in the average number of days missed from work, and higher medical costs.  Annually, four million...

Your overall health is best defined as a complete state of mental and physical well-being not merely focused on the presence or absence of disease or illness.  Physical health is a vital part of this formula because understanding both your state of physical well-being and your risk of various illnesses and...

Your skeleton is the literal framework of your body, forming the foundation of movement, producing blood cells, storing minerals, and protecting your vital organs from injury. Combined with your muscles, ligaments, and cartilage, your skeletal system is an essential, living part of your body that helps keep you healthy and moving. ...

Diagnosing a condition you might have is a complex process that includes gathering information like your family history, medical history, physical examinations, consultations if necessary, and diagnostic testing. The last of those steps include screening your vision, hearing, cognition, neurology, blood, urine, as well as using diagnostic imaging. Getting images...

Your blood carries oxygen, nutrients, and other chemicals throughout your body via a network of blood vessels and arteries by a process known as blood pressure. As your heart beats, it pushes blood through your arteries and vessels at a rate of up to 100 times a minute all day, every...

Blood glucose, commonly referred to as blood sugar, is a substance in your blood that helps fuel your body as it travels throughout your circulatory system. Too much blood glucose can lead to prediabetes, which can then become type 2 diabetes and lead to worse complications over time. If you...

Food is a vital part of your life because you need the nutrients you get from it to live. Food fuels your cells, gives you energy, and helps numerous functions throughout your body. Among the nutrients we take in are minerals, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, water, and vitamins. We need them...

Getting protection from possible viruses and diseases is important to maintain your health and the health of others around you, and that’s what vaccines do. Globally, vaccinations help to prevent 4 million deaths from childhood illnesses annually, with an estimated 51 million deaths being prevented between 2021-2030. Immunization is an essential part of your...

As of 2019, over 11% of the United States population suffers from some form of diabetes, a chronic condition that can cause numerous complications that seriously affect your health. And with 1.4 million new cases occurring annually and nearly 29 million cases going undiagnosed, this is a serious issue that’s...

Puberty is an important time for young women, as it signals the start of your journey into adulthood, and your body undergoes a lot of changes.  Starting between 8-13 years of age, your body starts producing hormones like estrogen and progesterone that lead to growth spurts, body hair in places it’s...

Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in your joints. Gout is a unique and complex type of arthritis that affects over nine million people in the United States, with the numbers increasing around the world.  Gout is more common in older adults, men, and African Americans...

Weight gain can lead to a variety of health conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome, as well as stressing your muscles and bones, which can cause pain and affect your mobility.  Since the pandemic there has been a 70% increase in weight gain, with 60% finding it increasingly...

Food isn’t just important to keep you from starving, it’s a vital way to get the nutrients, proteins, and other substances that fuel cells, make hormones, regulate heartbeat, and build bones.  Carbohydrates (which you can get from fruits, vegetables, and dairy products), in particular, break down into glucose during digestion, which is...

Pelvic exams are a normal part of a woman’s life, and a Pap smear (or Pap test) is a common facet of that exam. Statistics from 2018 show that 66% of women over 18 have had at least one Pap smear within the past three years, and there were 14.3 million visits to medical...

The human skeleton is a fascinating part of how our bodies work, as well as how we move and function. Babies are born with 300 bones that fuse and help to form the 206 bones we have as adults. There are actually two types of bones in your body. The cortical bones are the...

Weight gain is a problem millions of Americans struggle to cope with, as being overweight and obese can lead to a variety of illnesses and complications.  Within the past two decades, research shows an increase in obesity from 30.5% to 41.9%, with severe obesity nearly doubling in that timeframe. With that sort of...

Joint pain can happen for many reasons, but a common cause is arthritis, which is a type of inflammation and swelling that affects your joints. Gout is a type of arthritis that can cause intense pain and swelling in joints throughout your body, but more often than not affects your big toe.  If...

You obtain the chemicals and compounds your body needs to live from a variety of sources, including the air you breathe, the ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight, and your dietary habits.  What you eat says a great deal about your health, especially as it relates to how your body processes...

Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure is a condition that is often linked to cardiovascular problems, and, sadly, over 100 million Americans suffer from it.  In many cases, people don’t even realize they have high blood pressure. The combination of not knowing and continuing to make unhealthy dietary and...

Your weight is important for your overall health, and with millions of people being overweight or obese, conditions related to weight problems become an even greater concern. Obesity is on the rise, affecting over 40% of adults in the United States, as well as nearly 20% of children and adolescents. ...

Despite the fact that we’ve been aware of the dangers of smoking for decades, it’s estimated that 16 million people still live with smoking-related conditions. Additionally, nearly half a million people die from conditions caused by smoking annually, and smokers tend to die a decade sooner than those who don’t. ...

In recent years health concerns have been a strong point of interest in the U.S., especially in light of issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. But for a variety of reasons, the life expectancy in the U.S. is actually going down, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The report...

With obesity on the rise in the United States, (40% are categorized as obese and 32% are overweight), it’s no wonder Americans have been struggling more to lose weight. It’s estimated that 45 million people in America go on a diet annually, spending about 33 billion dollars each year. And...

Your heart is one of the most important parts of your body, and heart disease is still among the deadliest conditions among Americans. Some form of cardiovascular disease makes up about 655,000 in the U.S. annually and affects people of every race and gender. Knowing how well your heart is...

The pressure of your blood when pushing against the walls of your arteries is known as your blood pressure, and it’s very important for your health to keep it under control. High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) left unchecked can put you at risk for heart disease, stroke, and...

The annual physical is a staple of modern medicine, where once a year you get a check on your overall health and get screenings for possible diseases and other conditions. And if you’re working a high-stress job with seemingly never-ending demands on your time, you probably need the time for...

Vitamins are organic compounds that are important to your health which are found in many of the foods we eat, and even in our natural environment. For instance, we get vitamin C from our diet, but the best source of vitamin D is actually sunlight. They provide our bodies with...

It’s estimated that 45 million people in the U.S. go on a diet each year, spending millions of dollars trying to lose weight. Weight problems affect nearly two-thirds of people in this country, and over the course of nearly a decade (1999-2018), obesity has increased from 30.5% to 42.4% in...

Your skeleton is the dense, rigid framework that supports your body’s movements. The bones in your skeleton connect to all the ligaments, tendons, muscles, and other tissue that control your body’s movement. It also protects your vital organs, like the heart, lungs, and your brain. But as we get older,...

Gout is a form of arthritis that affects 8.1 million people, and most have multiple conditions that may complicate treating this inflammation of the joints. Most often it starts in the bunion joint of the big toe, and severe cases of this condition can affect multiple joints (called polyarticular gout)....

Heart disease kills one person every 36 seconds and is the leading cause of death in the U.S. About 18.2 million adults have coronary artery disease, which is the most common type of heart disease. Taking care of your heart is incredibly important, and getting a stress test is a...

As of 2018, 10.5% of the U.S. population (34.2 million people) are diabetic. Of that amount, 7.3 million are undiagnosed. This condition can lead to many different problems, including heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, and eye damage. However, 88 million people over 18 are prediabetic as of 2015. This...

Cholesterol has a bit of a bad reputation. When mentioned, it's often met with concerns over coronary disease and other conditions. And while there are plenty of reasons to worry about bad cholesterol increasing the risks of conditions that harm your health, there is good cholesterol that actually helps your...

Millions of people are still getting sexually transmitted diseases every year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are 20 million new cases annually, with about half of them coming from teens and young adults (15-24). Left undiagnosed, many STDs can lead to further complications like infertility and...

The struggle to lose weight is real. According to a survey conducted by the CDC, 49.3% of people over 20 said they tried to lose weight in the past year. While many people would like to see significant weight loss, it’s important to know that losing just 10 pounds can significantly...

The statistics for heart disease-related deaths are staggering. Cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest, etc.) is responsible for one in three deaths in the United States. Heart disease is the number one cause of death, and many cases of it are tied directly with high cholesterol. We need cholesterol...

Physical Exams, or physicals, are an effective way to understand a woman’s current state of health. With it, patients can get information on possible diseases and conditions they may be at risk for. Regular physicals such as the annual physical recommended to most patients allow a yearly recording of health...

As recently as 2017, nearly 500,000 deaths in the United States were caused by issues related to hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. High blood pressure can also lead to various forms of heart disease and stroke. While more men than women deal with it, over 40% of both...

Currently, the world is dealing with over 10 million cases of coronavirus, specifically the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.  Over three million cases are still active, so the need to stay safe and cautious is as present as ever. Not all COVID-19 cases are severe. But if someone has it,...

Vitamins are an essential group of substances that help with cell function, growth, and development. There are 13 vitamins that are key to the body’s development. A deficiency of these essential vitamins can lead to many problems.  B vitamins, in particular, support cell growth, metabolism, and several tissues in the...

Between 2017 and 2018, there was an increase in three different types of sexually transmitted diseases. Over 115,000 syphilis cases, over half a million gonorrhea cases, and over a million chlamydia cases. The need for protection and testing is more important than ever.  But who should be getting tested more,...

Vaccines stimulate the immune system to promote immunities to specific diseases. In 2018 alone, over 115 million children around the world were treated for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.  And while vaccines are a common practice to help fight off viruses and disease, there’s controversy about their effectiveness and side effects. This...

More than 8 million people in the United States deal with gout, an arthritic condition that can cause severe joint pain. At the University Executive Physical Program, Shawn Veiseh, MD, can diagnose and manage the complications of gout. In this blog, he explains the stages of gout and how it...

High cholesterol has long been one of the leading health problems in the United States. Across the country, some 95 million adults have high cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. But our bodies naturally produce cholesterol, and it’s found in many foods, including foods that fit into...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes and another 84.1 million have been diagnosed with prediabetes. If you’re one of them, it’s important that you’re equipped with strategies and lifestyle modifications to manage your diabetes along with clinical treatment.  Dr....

Being able to fit into your favorite outfit isn’t the only benefit of losing weight. The most important benefit is improving your health. Unfortunately, many people are overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 72% of American adults over age 20 are overweight. Being overweight can...

Regular checkups with your doctor can help keep you healthy and prevent you from developing many conditions and diseases. In addition, medical monitoring ensures that any problems you do have can be diagnosed and treated at an early stage. For women, regular checkups that include a Pap smear can prevent...

Osteoporosis, a progressive condition marked by brittle bones, affects an estimated 200 million people, including one in three women over age 50 worldwide. Research shows that early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent osteoporosis from worsening and guard against fractures. Thankfully, you can also take lifestyle steps to lower your...

There are two reasons to consider an executive physical. If you own a company, you may want all executives to have an extensive, thorough physical in order to protect your investment in them. Or, if you’re an executive, you may want to handle as much of your health care as...

Two of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States, obesity and diabetes, affect more than 100 million Americans combined. Researchers have discovered that the two conditions are interrelated, and reducing your risk of one can reduce your risk of the other.  Dr. Shawn Veiseh of University Executive Physical...

For most people in today’s world, stress isn’t unique. It may begin with a late start to your morning, and traffic can add to your stress as you play beat the clock. As other annoyances build throughout your day, one more inconvenience, or one more person demanding your time, you...

If you suspect you have high cholesterol, you should get it checked. And if you know you have high cholesterol, you should stay on top of your numbers and do all you can to lower your cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary to keep your body healthy. It’s a yellow, waxy substance...

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects more than 30 million adults in the United States, but 1 in 4 of those adults don’t know they have the disease. So what are the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?  In this blog, Shawn Veiseh, MD, of University...

What exactly is a full body CT scan? Full body CT scans, generally performed at a hospital or a specialty outpatient facility, are thorough diagnostic procedures used to detect a wide range of health issues, using computer tomography (CT) to provide an in-depth look at your body. A CT scanner...

There are several different types of tests that are classified as bone density tests. Their purpose is to measure the strength of your bones and to show whether you’re experiencing bone loss over time. Bone loss can lead to osteoporosis, which is a disorder that causes your bones to become...