Optimal Health & Wellness

05/29/2026

Portuguese style scampi 🍤

Shrimp 🦐
Portuguese chorizo
Onion 🧅
Garlic 🧄
Olive oil 🫒
Butter 🧈
White wine

05/29/2026

Would you put 87 octane in a high performance vehicle?

Would you use a cheap oil 🛢️

Would you forego routine maintenance and tire rotations!?

Then why do you not treat your body like the high performance vehicle that it is?

We consume processed foods, seed oils, excess sugar, artificial sweeteners, and refined grains and have no problem with it. We sleep 5 hours per night. We add endless stress upon ourselves. Then we question why our bodies deteriorate, how we develop diseases, and need to go on medications.

Oh, wait! It's hereditary. My doctor told me so. Disregard.

05/29/2026

Roasted duck is one of the most amazing delicacies. Chef's recommendation is medium rare. I'll take it.

05/29/2026

Yes. I'm that guy that requests extra meat on the charcuterie board and no bread or crackers. Weirdo!

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

Proud moment for our patient.

05/27/2026

The power of making changes and not simply medicating the symptoms.

05/27/2026

Aging does not have to limit us, and we are not bound by a chronological age, but we do have to accept some limitations that come with it, that can include agility, speed, strength, stamina, and recovery. Each of these can be improved and optimized with enough effort, but we are where we are in any given moment.

I learned a valuable lesson, but I can guarantee I will be back out on the court again, but maybe a little smarter.

05/24/2026

PERIMENOPAUSE:

This is a highly turbulent time in a woman's life. Hormones begin to decline and fluctuate. This can lead to various uncomfortable symptoms, and also increases the risk for several diseases.

Progesterone is the first hormone that really begins to decline and can lead to some pronounced symptoms. These often include increasing breast tenderness, mood swings, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, depression, abdominal bloating, migraines, and irregular menstrual cycles.

Several of the symptoms frequently result in prescriptions for medications that are not addressing the problem, such as antidepressants or anxiety medication, migraine medications, NSAIDs, or sleep aids.

It is a commonly held belief that progesterone serves a single role in the body, which is protection of the uterus, and preparation of the uterus for implantation of an egg for pregnancy. Progesterone, however, has many more functions throughout the body.

Progesterone Functions:
Reproduction (implantation and maintaining the uterine lining).
Regulates the menstrual cycles.
Mood regulation.
Neuroprotective. Supports healthy cognitive function.
Brain production and regeneration, including production of myelin
Sedative effects (calms the brain).
Immune regulation (autoimmunity).
Maintenance of healthy bone (osteoblast proliferation).

If you have been unfortunate enough to have a hysterectomy, gynecology may tell you that progesterone is unnecessary because you no longer have a uterus. They may put you on estrogen replacement, but this will contribute to a state of estrogen dominance. That can result in many of the symptoms associated with perimenopause as progesterone would naturally decline but estrogen levels continue to fluctuate. When you review the functions of progesterone, you can see why this may not be a good idea.

We evaluate women in perimenopause or postmenopause and provide hormone support therapy for those that are interested. You do not need to struggle through this.

05/23/2026

It is amazing to me how many people crawl out of the internet and social media woodwork to be critical or demeaning of things they either do not understand, disagree with, or it shatters their little knowledge bubble.

The vast majority of the commentary in the posts we create are ours. I do not think AI can insert the level of sarcasm that I am capable of. Today I have been told on several occasions, by different individuals on social media, that I am not a real doctor, my credentials are fabricated, and that I used AI to do so. 🤣 I guess that is possible. When you get to be making commentary from across the world on an open market, seeing social media posts, some with definite credibility issues, anyone can be anything.

I have enjoyed using AI to create cool images and backgrounds for our posts, including advertising our recent conference, and it creates amazing visual imagery to exemplify the analogies I use in the office with my real patients, using my real medical degree, and communicating real recommendations, and we see real results.

The true benefit of artificial intelligence is that it makes me look better than I really do. 🤣 Heck, it may even make me seem smarter. But I never, ever wear a white coat.

05/23/2026

FITNESS...

When I go to the gym I am not there to impress anyone. I am there for me, and only me.

It does not matter how much you can lift, it matters how much I can.

It does not matter how many sets & reps you can do, it matters how many I can.

It does not matter how fast you can run, or how steep your incline is, it only matters what I can do.

Too many people worry about how they look at the gym, how much other people can lift, and what everybody else can do. This can be a real deterrent to getting an effective workout. The only person that matters is you. The only person there is you. And you are the only one benefiting from you working out.

If this keeps you out of the gym, it is not effective.

If this results in an injury, it is not effective.

If this keeps you from doing your best, it is not effective.

It is not a competition. You should never risk injury to yourself trying to do what someone else can do.

Ahh, I feel very non-judged today 🥰