By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
As originally published in Mega Doctor News newsprint edition August 2018
For years, I’ve interviewed physicians and asked them questions about how to preserve our health or what is the best way to restore it. All of them have answered with their valuable advice. It has never been just one single thing that they have recommended. However, one that always seems to be at the top is – to adopt a diet rich in vegetables, legumes, lean cuts of meat, and fish; and increasing physical activity. Highlighting that moderation is key.
This month I met with Dr. Dimple Desai. She is board-certified in family medicine with special training on obesity, integrative, and functional medicine. She brings to practice what I have heard from physicians all along during many years.
Dr. Desai is the director of the brand new DHR Health Wellness Institute that is scheduled to open in September of 2018. This new facility brings the ‘old to make it new’. I say this because Marissa Castañeda, Sr. Ex. VP at DHR said it first and their brochures cite Hippocrates,one of the more renown philosophers who said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” The feature story is titled “Functional Medicine, is it the Future of Health Care?”. This is an outstanding approach that preserves health and also helps to restore it. Read more inside.
Good news: Pharr, Texas – Beginning this fall, the Boys & Girls Clubs in Hidalgo County will be providing programs and services in mental health through a new initiative entitled Youth & Family Support Services at Boys & Girls Clubs (Y&FSS). The program, funded in part by the Health and Human Services Commission’s Community Mental Health Grant, is a collaborative project offered at five separate Boys & Girls Club organizations throughout Hidalgo County.
On another matter: Texas children have a better likelihood of fighting off diseases circulating at school if their parents make sure they get their shots before the first bell rings. Doctors urge parents to follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended school vaccine schedule to build their child’s immune system against dangerous diseases.
Along the same lines: Did you know about 1 million Americans go to the hospital with pneumonia every year? Pneumonia is a lung infection caused by pneumococcal disease, which can also cause blood infections and meningitis.
The pneumococcal shot is the best way to help prevent certain types of pneumonia and other pneumococcal infections. Medicare Part B covers the initial shot, plus a second shot (a year after you’ve gotten the initial shot). Talk with your doctor to see if you need one or both shots.
Important for you to know: As the health care market changes, doctors warn that what some patients believe to be alternative forms of health insurance could leave them with unpaid medical bills or without health coverage when they really need it. One increasingly popular alternative —a health care-sharing ministry—allows members with similar beliefs to share each other’s health care costs. Things are not always as they seem; doctor warn that you check out the fine print before you get stuck with the bill.
We have a new guest writer: Alex Zlatin wrote that fewer U.S. and Canadian dental students are choosing private practice and are instead opting to join large dental chains, which are gobbling up dental practices like Walmart gobbled up Mom and Pop shops 50 years ago. This means in the future, patients will have fewer options when selecting a dentist. More inside.
I trust you will enjoy this issue!
Articles in this issue:
Boys & Girls Clubs in Hidalgo County to offer Youth & Family Support Services in Mental Health
Back to School Shots Required: Public Schools, Private Schools
Health Care Sharing Ministries Are Not Typical Health Insurance – Doctors Caution
There Are Two Types of Dentists – And One is Disappearing Fast
