A Medical Dispatch for Well Beings
Volume 5, Number 1 | January 2023
Dear Private Medical Members,
I hope everyone has a lovely holiday somewhere special. My wife and I spent the holidays with all four kids in the frigid polar vortex in New York – and loved it. We went to museums, shows, and Carbone, and took long walks in Central Park in our attempt to infuse culture and resilience into our lives.
The subject of resiliency is important for a long life, well-lived. Longevity research shows that adults with psychological and physical resiliency age slower, live longer, and enjoy better health. Private Medical is dedicated to bringing you the best science, scientists, and research that is interesting, educational, and actionable.
As I reflect on the past few years on all the longevity hype, it’s clear that diet, exercise, sleep, and healthy social interactions are the cornerstone to a life well-lived – for now. There are many exciting innovations in the lab and on the horizon in the world of longevity – but we promise to tell the truth and highlight the risks of any intervention being promoted. We do not believe it’s smart to gamble with your health for products and services that are promoted by influencers without a full accounting of the safety and efficacy profiles.
Private Medical is excited to announce our Miami office launching in January with an experienced and talented medical team led by Dr. Tatiana Ivan. Located near Sunset Harbor and affiliated with the top hospitals and specialists, we are excited to onboard our existing members in Miami, and we welcome your quality referrals.
In this issue, we dive into nutrition – both of the mind and the body. First, we hear from award-winning author of What to Eat and Food Politics, Dr. Marion Nestle, on how to navigate your food choices in the profit-driven food industry. Then, our own Dr. Natalie Walsh explores the myth that the perfect diet is that of our ancestors. Finally, we revisit our November event with Common Sense Media on the cognitive nutrition of our kids online. Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find our update on this cold, flu, and COVID season, get a peek at the volunteer work of our pediatric team, and meet our Miami physician, Dr. Ivan.
Good Cognitive Nutrition Starts Young
If kids aren’t ready for the technology they’re accessing, what do we do as parents? This is the question we asked at our November event with Common Sense Media, an outlet that provides age-based media ratings for everything kids might consume online. Editor in Chief Jill Murphy and Vice President of Outreach and National Partnerships Merve Lapus discussed how parents can be more than just rule-makers, but effective guides in raising their kids to be as kind and conscientious online as they want them to be offline. Read on for a recap of their conversation.
The Winter Report
RSV, flu, and COVID are still circulating as the winter months pick up. While RSV cases have plateaued, the XBB1.5 variant of COVID is taking over quickly. The flu peaked early this season but we may see a rebound after the holidays. Norovirus, a common virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, is also part of the winter virus mix. Below is more information on how to differentiate your symptoms if you should develop any.
Dr. Tatiana Ivan
Dr. Tatiana Ivan is a Miami local who graduated from University of Miami with a degree in biology. She went on to medical school at Rutgers University and completed her family medicine residency at UCSF. Dr. Ivan continued as faculty member at UCSF where her focus was on adolescent medicine, women’s reproductive health, and chronic disease prevention. While in Miami, she continued as an academic physician with Baptist Health prior to transitioning to private practice.
Getting Smart About What You Eat Starts on the Food Label
Private Medical physicians Dr. Jordan Shlain and Dr. Natalie Walsh speak with Dr. Marion Nestle, professor emeritus of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and the author of a dozen books on nutrition, including the award-winning What to Eat and Food Politics. Her memoir Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics was released in October. Dr. Nestle discusses fighting the profit-driven food industry with your choices in the supermarket, planetary health vs. nutritional health, and how to navigate food labels without a doctorate in molecular biology.
