The Institute for Optimal Health & Advanced Skincare
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Your Guide To Optimal Health
January 2009
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Dr. Patel's Talk
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Join Dr. Patel at Whole Foods, 1900 Callowhill in Philadelphia on January 26, 2009 at 7pm.
She will be discussing "How nutrition can slow down aging and create optimal health".
If you would like to have Dr. Patel speak to your group about health and wellness, please contact us. |
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| Greetings! |
We wish you a Happy and Healthy 2009! We hope you had a great holiday and are ready to make that resolution to a better you!
The Institute has always had a pro-active approach to health and skin care. We strongly believe in empowering you to understand how to best take care of yourself. The more you know, the better you will do. And during such challenging economic times, the focus has to be on you. We cannot change the greater world, but we can work on personal growth and self improvement. At The Institute we can help you with this through our Optimal Health program, Advanced Skin care services, meditation, nutriition programs and new integrative medicine and gynecology care.
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| Winter Office Hours |
Ardmore Office Center City Office
Monday: CLOSED Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: 9am-6pm Tuesday: 10am-6pm
Wednesday: 9am-5pm Wednesday: CLOSED
Thursday: 9am-6pm Thursday: 12pm-6pm
Friday: 9am-6pm Friday: 9am-5pm
Saturday: 9am-5pm Saturday: 9am-3pm
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| Statin Drugs and Normal Cholesterol Levels |
 The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported a study about the benefits of statin drugs (specifically Crestor) on normal cholesterol levels. This study was done by 26 countries on 8,901 men and women with an average age of 66. The participants had normal cholesterol levels, no heart disease, and high hsCRP levels (C-Reactive Protein, a measure of silent inflammation around the heart). .
The study revealed that certain people with normal cholesterol levels may benefit greatly from statin drugs. Statin drugs are used to reduce elevated cholesterol levels. The drugs lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other life-threatening events. The study showed that people with normal cholesterol levels, but signs of inflammation can cut the risk of heart attack or stroke in half by using a statin drug.
Cardiologists are asking that patients be tested for signs of inflammation with a highly-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). This is a protein found in greater quantities in the blood when there is inflammation of the vessels around the heart and in other parts of the body. The higher this level is, the greater your risk for a blood clot which can then cause either a heart attack or a stroke.
In our Optimal Health program, Dr Patel, has always been checking hs-CRP levels to help you understand your risk for cardiovascular disease. If you have not had this checked but want to prevent heart disease, call to set up an appointment with Dr. Patel today
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| The Hidden Reasons You Can't Lose Weight |
The most common resolution made is to lose weight, but for many people, no matter how hard they try with diet and exercise, they cannot lose those extra pounds. There maybe some hidden reasons for this.
Good nutrition is the key to losing weight, but most people are very confused by the food labels and are often eating the wrong things that prevent weight loss. The truth is that we need to eat a balanced diet, with five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables, more plant based proteins than meat, good fats, fiber and foods with a low glycemic index. These types of foods keep our insulin levels low, which will help you lose weight. More that 50% of Americans have "insulin resistance", a state in which the body keeps high levels of insulin which then INCREASE our weight or PREVENT weight loss. To lose weight, simply cutting calories is not enough if your insulin levels stay high.
Supplements may be especially important as we age to maintain good health and weight. The most common supplements for good health and energy are Co Q10, Lcarnitine, Omega 3, and Vitamin D. These help you with energy and hormone regulation.
Hormonal imbalance can be another reason why you cannot lose weight. Thyroid function is extremely important in regulating weight control, depression, fatigue, dry skin, among other issues. Optimal thyroid function can help regulate the metabolic rate and help with weight loss. Testosterone for both men and women can help them improve weight and muscle mass which begins to diminish with age. DHEA, a precursor to testosterone, is another critical hormone that can help with energy and improving muscle mass. And lastly, poor sleep causes an imbalance in your hormones that can lead to weight gain.
To learn more, schedule your appointment for a nutritional evaluation with Dr. Patel and attend her talk at Whole Foods later this month to learn more about what you can do. Click here to learn "How sleep and testosterone can help with weight loss".
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| The Motivation Behind Change: Achieving that New Year's Resolution |
 Most of us make some New Year's resolution to change. It could be to improve health, lose weight, kick a bad habit, have great skin, exercise, and so on. The key to achieving goals is having a strong motivation to change.This requires you to answer the question, why.
Why do you want this? This will be the driving force to change. The more vivid your reason is to change, the more likely you are to complete it. If you focus on short term goals, you will have short term results.
The next thing you need to do is develop a why list. Take your time to make this list. Reflect on why you want this to change, what can occur in your life if you do or do not do this. Refer to this list often to help you focus and concentrate on your goal.
The last important element to lasting change, is to understand your "neuro-associations" with your goal. Neuro-associative conditioning is a field of study that evaluates how your subconscious drives your thinking and doing processes. All of us have good and bad neuro-associations that then affect how we live. For example, Dr Patel loves chocolate. But she knows that eating chocolate will require her to work out even more to burn the extra calories, therefore she rarely eats chocolate. Her neuro-association is more pain than pleasure with eating chocolate. She would rather give up the three minutes of sheer pleasure for the 45 minutes of pain! To help you achieve your goals, you must understand your neuro-associations to stop sabotaging your own success. For more detailed instructions on how to understand how to make a change and neuro-associations, read Dr Patel's book, Your Guide To Optimal Health.
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| Your Health is Our Priority |
 The Institute is now offering holistic medical services that integrate Eastern and Western philosophies.
Integrative Medical and Gynecologic Care
- Most PPOs Accepted
- Immediate Appointments
- Ardmore: Tuesday (9-1), Thursday (9-6), Saturday (9-12)
- Center City: Friday (9-5)
- Gynecology exams in Center City only Friday.
Call our office at 610.642.2644 to schedule your appointment.
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