Roy Vongtama, MD

09/09/2025

Been in and out of the hospital seeing older friends after a fall the last couple months. I want to remind anybody over 65 that after a hip fracture, the chance you dying in the next year is 28%.

How do you counter the risk of falling? You have to make sure your muscles are strong enough to catch yourself when you trip.

I asked older patients all the time How do you prevent yourself from falling? They usually say "I'll try not to trip" or "I've got to be careful at night when I go to the bathroom."

Those things are helpful but the reality is we all trip. We all stumble. It's just that when you're younger you can catch yourself because you have the muscle strength.

Here's a study and people over 60 showing that weightlifting even just for a year gives you benefits for the next 5 years. This is how you stop yourself from falling: By having the strength to catch yourself when you inevitably trip.

https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/bmjosem/10/2/e001899.full.pdf

09/04/2025

Your personality style predicts for cancer risk! Type A, type B, and then there's the type C. That's a suppressive type that you probably didn't know about. If you don't react at all, and you're generally stoic for every single event you might be that type C!

09/02/2025

Excited to be on Brianna Brown's podcast, Manifesting Your Mission with my AnticancerX partner Julie Delabarre. The discussion is called "Anti-Cancer Habits Doctors Don't Teach You." (Of course, I am the exception LOL)

Here's the full interview. It's also available on all podcast channels!

Dr. Roy Vongtama & Julie DelaBarre: Anti-Cancer Habits Doctors Don’t Teach YouManifesting Your Mission with Brianna Brown KeenBrianna Brown Keen sits down wi...

09/02/2025

Did you know your personality predicts your cancer risk? In a study by Johns Hopkins University researchers, they found that if you suppressed your emotions, your likelihood of cancer was significantly increased. They called this the "type C" personality profile.

05/07/2025

Our course Detox Defense starts next Tuesday, May 13th!
Check out the details below. If you want to clean up your lifestyle, now is the time to start!

Led by Dr. Roy Vongtama, MD, a board-certified Doctor of Oncology, and Julie Delabarre, CCN, ONC, a clinical nutritionist specializing in cancer care. This science-backed, whole-body reset is designed to help you feel lighter, brighter, and more energized from the inside out.

05/01/2025

Come join us for a six week integrative lifestyle medicine course, called Detox Defense, starting May 13 on Zoom at 545pm PT with Julie DelaBarre, clinical nutritionist focusing in cancer.

The lifetime risk of cancer is now 1 in 3 (33%) and increasing due to many factors.

It will focus on scientifically proven ways you can easily swap out cancer causing habits, foods, and lifestyle choices to reduce your risk. If you or your family member has had cancer, I would highly recommend this.

It will be on zoom for six weeks starting May 13th. We are looking to keep the group small (10-15 peeps) so sign up soon!



https://house-of-health1.teachable.com/l/pdp/detox-defense-your-path-to-disease-preventing-nutrition

04/23/2025

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Choosing the wrong food causes cancer!

Just because it's in the shelf doesn't mean it's safe to eat. In fact if it's on a shelf instead of a refrigerator, chances are it probably isn't!

Second in our series of "Cancer in your Kitchen" with nutritionist Julie Delabarre, we focus on the dangers of ultraprocessed food and solutions to this countrywide habit of eating food that causes cancer.

This is based on a well done study from the UK called the UK Biobank study, which was published in the Lancet journal, of over 197,000 people.

Two main findings: for every 10% of your meals eaten ultraprocessed, (think 2 of 20) your risk of cancer goes up 2%. Americans eat an average of 50% meals ultraprocessed (10 of 20), so that's a 10% higher risk of cancer, just from this exposure alone.

For premenapausal women the risk is much greater: 19% risk for every 10% ultraprocessed eaten. So for a woman who eats 10 of 20 meals ultraprocessed, the risk goes up 95% (!!) compared with a woman who eats in the lowest quartile (under 2 meals a week).

People are wondering why Americans are getting cancers more than before? Don't look any further than the three meals a day you eat. You'll see some of the reason right there.

We go over solutions to this epidemic, with a free list for you if you want it!
Take a watch of this, it's only 10 minutes.

Second in a series of discussions between Dr. Vongtama, double board certified in Radiation Oncology and Lifestyle Medicine, and Julie Delabarre, cancer nutr...

04/08/2025

With the rising rates of dementia in the Western world, I'm glad some researchers finally are finding some links to potential reasons.

If you've been following this research you know that exercise is highly protective against dementia. The rates of dementia are three to five times lower in people who exercise regularly.

A new study from Nature, a highly respected journal, has just released the results on plastics deposited in the brain. Take a look at this graph and look at the PURPLE dots. Those are brains with dementia. Look at the concentration of microplastics. About 6 to 20 times higher rates of microplastics in dementia brains.

This doesn't mean plastics cause dementia. It means it's correlated.

What to do:

Obviously plastics are everywhere.

5 SIMPLE CHANGES:
1. Replace your plastic food containers with glass (Costco has a six glass set for 20$)

2. Change your plastic water bottles to metal/ glass bottles

3. If you'd like to take food home from restaurants, maybe bring your own glass containers.

4.If you eat out a lot, tell them you don't need those plastic forks and knives. Those go right into your system. Just pack in your car some metal forks and spoons with you. Clean them when you get home. It's not that hard, friends!

5. Don't use that plastic straw that comes in your iced tea!

10/02/2023

I got back a few weeks ago from the funeral of my friend Matt Moran.

Today we released episode 72 of his amazing podcast With Gratitude, Matt. I was honored to be the very first guest several years ago when Matt was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He started a podcast then, because he wanted to inspire others to live with gratitude.

Today's episode is hosted by Bill Moran, his brother and the new host of the podcast.

Matt did 71 episodes while living as a shining example of how one could and should live when their days are numbered. (Because, guess what, no one gets out alive!)

I was blessed to be his integrative coach, and in this podcast we talk about how he took what he learned and went way beyond, becoming an inspiration for many. Also we talk about the process of mourning and how important it is when you've lost someone.

Please take a listen to it and share it. It's a powerful episode and Matt lived a powerful life!

YouTube link: (video)
https://youtu.be/3MNLIKOpN5c?si=btCPvLX3ZeQk-I3i

Available everywhere you listen.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/with-gratitude-matt/id1524097245

10/02/2023

I got back a few weeks ago from the funeral of my friend Matt Moran.

Today we released episode 72 of his amazing podcast With Gratitude, Matt. I was honored to be the very first guest several years ago when Matt was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He started a podcast then, because he wanted to inspire others to live with gratitude.

Today's episode is hosted by Bill Moran, his brother and the new host of the podcast.

Matt did 71 episodes while living as a shining example of how one could and should live when their days are numbered. (Because, guess what, no one gets out alive!)

I was blessed to be his integrative coach, and in this podcast we talk about how he took what he learned and went way beyond, becoming an inspiration for many. Also we talk about the process of mourning and how important it is when you've lost someone.

Please take a listen to it and share it. It's a powerful episode and Matt lived a powerful life!

Available everywhere you listen.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/with-gratitude-matt/id1524097245

https://spotify.link/aghrAb5ZzDb

09/30/2023

I think it's better to get raw honey and use that. Helps with allergies too.

(Stevia in the Raw has no erythritol FYI.)

Blood tests over the next three days tracked erythritol levels and clotting risk.

08/25/2023

The Blue Zones are areas in the world that have demonstrated longevity and health for humans far above normal. We decided to visit one of them Ikaria in the Aegean Sea. Ikaria is known for longevity and a very low rate of dementia, once featured in the as the "Island Where People Forget to Die."

What was real and what was urban legend? We went to find out.

One thing that was real was the sense of time- the locals don't care about it.

We had a meal that was 2 hours long at lunch then it took 30 more minutes to get the bill.

But in Photo 1 and 2, you see Real Thing #2- what happened there: real sheep feta cheese (something I cannot eat in the US because mostly it's cow based) drenched in copious fresh press olive oil and hand dried herbs, along with a real Greek salad (NO lettuce!) with fermented greens on top and brined capers again swimming in copious olive oil.

Third thing that was real: they avoid stress. There is a real habit of making all decisions to avoid that feeling. It's not out of fear, it's just the way they are. I asked a local, how do you make decisions? She replied, "What is less stress?"

Fourth thing: they are fiercely independent and have no desire to be a tourist trap. They don't need to "excel" or "achieve" or "get ahead."

Fifth thing: the value of connection. I saw two people meeting on the side of the road with a bottle of homemade wine and a loaf of bread. One man had made the wine and the other had made the bread. They started walking toward each other and they sat wherever they met. No restaurant, no chairs, no nothing. Just simple. Doesnt that sound revolutionary?

Sixth thing: 98% of the island is Blue Space, meaning there's a view of the ocean, which automatically makes you feel more relaxed. (Scientifically proven)