May I share a fun, nerdy game that my family likes to play? It’s called “Vegetable or Fruit?” It goes like this:

Is a tomato a vegetable or a fruit?

It’s a fruit!

Ok, you might’ve know that one. Then, tell me, is a squash a vegetable or a fruit?

A squash is a fruit too!

A fruit is defined as a seed-containing structure that blossoms from a flowering plant. So, by this definition, a cucumber is a fruit too!

It’s a little silly that fruits and vegetables are confused so often. In general, we correlate the taste of fruit with sweetness! So, I think many fruits are misnamed as vegetables because they’re not sweet. It seems just wrong to call a cucumber a fruit, right?

To be honest - we get fruits and veggies a little confused when it comes to nutrition too! Fruits are often (inappropriately) equated to vegetables in discussions about healthy eating, meal plans and diets. Both fruits and veggies are healthy carbs, but there is one very important distinction between them. Do ...

Nope! This doesn't require needles or tests or actual blood.

Yup! It’s important even if you don’t have diabetes.

But, it’s especially important, if you do have diabetes. We are hard-wired to love sugar. It’s delicious! But does sugar benefit us beyond its taste? Are there any consequences to loving sugar? To understand how eating sugar affects us, we have to understand how our body turns food into fuel.

Metabolism is turning food into fuel.

Simply put, metabolism is turning food into fuel. As soon as you pop a bit of food into your mouth, metabolism begins. Once you swallow, metabolism continues in the stomach and the gut. However, the exact process of metabolism varies depending on what each bite contains.

When the bite contains carbohydrates, affectionately known as carbs, your blood sugar goes up. A carb is a nutrient defined by its chemical makeup: a combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. For our purposes, a carb is a vegetable, fruit or grain.

But carbs are not create...

Visiting my happy place is one of my favorite mindfulness practices. And by “happy place,” I don’t mean that metaphysical place in your mind. I’m talking about an actual physical location that lifts your spirits and helps you reconnect with yourself. In a frenetic world, a happy place is a powerful reminder to be present.

Last week, we visited one of my happy places: Stowe, Vermont. (Yes! I’m so happy to have more than one happy place!) And the visit was right on time! As the trip drew closer, my desire to be in Stowe was greater than my desire to be at my home. (And I really love my home!)

A happy place is not just a vacation destination.

Now, you might be thinking, “this just sounds like going on vacation.” And absolutely! A happy place can be a vacation place, but I doesn’t have to be. And it’s definitely not just a vacation destination. For example, I love visiting Miami! I love its steamy heat and diverse culture, but it's definitely not my happy place. I have a great time the...

HIIT stands for high intensity interval training. During a HIIT workout, you give your maximum effort (100%) for short bursts of time (20-60 seconds). This is followed by brief periods of active recovery or minimal effort. The maximum effort to minimum effort is often in a 2:1 ratio.

Here’s an example of a HIIT circuit. Let’s consider sprinting. After warming up, start with an all-out 20-second sprint. The sprint is then followed by a 10-second recovery (walk). You complete this at least 8 times. A total of 3 to 5 different movements will give you a 12- to 20-minute HIIT workout. Simple, right?

Why does HIIT work?

Popular teaching tells us that a workout should last an hour. At least half an hour, right? So, is a 20-minute HIIT workout really effective? To be honest, the original research showed results with just a 4-minute workout! HIIT is not just a trend or a fad. It’s here to stay. Here’s a quick review of the science:

In 1996, Izumi Tabata, PhD, published a ground-breaking stu...

I’ve heard my beautiful, feisty, almost-90-year-old grandmother say, many times, “Getting old is better than the alternative.” Have you heard that one? Sure, maturity has its benefits, but it absolutely requires more maintenance. Staying healthy and vibrant through the years necessitates intention and time. With intention and time, you will get older, yes, but you don’t have to *look* or *feel* older. You’ll look and feel your best!

To me, that is anti-aging: to look and feel your best at any age. To understand anti-aging, first consider a few notes on the biology of aging. In general, as you age, your physical body trades in desirable traits for less desirable ones. I’m sorry - it’s true! Your skin shrinks and develops wrinkles. You lose muscle and gain body fat. Bone weakens and hair thins.

To be sure, aging is beautiful. I agree with my grandma; it beats the alternative! I am PRO-aging even though I’m going to offer you some anti-aging tips. Age away! But age gracefully. Here are ...

I am a tried and true Duke Blue Devil. I bleed Duke blue. I think our blue is best. And yes, it is hard to be humble when you’re from Duke.

Are you still reading?

“Thanks. You were with us every step of the way.”

I know … the enthusiasm of a Duke Blue Devil can be obnoxious. But my love for Duke grew even more after I learned that the men’s basketball team has a gratitude practice. During the 2014-2015 season, Coach K asked each player and coach on the team to write the name of at least one person on a team basketball. These names represented people who had helped them arrive at that place and time. Throughout the season, that special basketball traveled everywhere with the team. Every day, carrying it was the responsibility of one teammate. The basketball even came to their dorm rooms. When this team won the 2015 NCAA national championship, they mailed a handwritten note to every person whose name was written on that ball. The note said, “Thanks. You were with us every step of the ...

The sciences are always evolving. This is obvious in technology, right? Raise your hand if you’re still using a flip phone! (And, if you are, good for you!) But medicine is also rapidly changing. In my opinion, this is especially true in nutrition science. Raise your hand if you think eating fat will make you fat! (Skip to the end of this post for the answer.)

The only thing constant is change

Trying to master nutrition science is fascinating. Not only is there a huge volume of information, but our understanding of that information changes constantly. To paraphrase Heraclitus, the only thing constant is change. And that’s exciting! But it’s also confusing and frustrating when it comes to knowing what to eat.

In this post, I’m taking a little trip down memory lane. Don’t worry - it won’t be a long trip. I’m an 80’s baby; so, I’m starting with the 90’s. My hope is that if your current understanding of nutrition science is like a Motorola Razr … you’ll be ready to upgrade to an iPhone ...

When I was a young girl, my dad unassumingly gave me one of my life’s mantras … during a grocery shopping trip. We had arrived at the grocery store but we were still in the parking lot, doing laps in my his truck. After maybe the third lap, I was getting annoyed. What is he doing? This is taking so long! Before too long, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Dad? Why have we passed so many empty parking spots?” My dad answered immediately. “I don’t want any of them. Don’t ever settle.”

Don’t. Ever. Settle.

Don’t. Ever. Settle. Three little words. One big idea. I don’t remember exactly how old I was when my dad planted this idea in my head. I don’t even remember if I replied. But this moment has been replaying in my head ever since then. Now, this isn’t my only mantra. But it’s a big one for me. I know what I want and nothing else will do.

Now, I’m not glorifying this. It can be a little hard to swallow. However, I do think there’s great power in knowing that I hold this belief. The id...

From 2007 to 2012, I was a resident in general surgery at NYU, and I worked a lot. Like, on the order of 80 hours per week. And I was proud of it! I was proud of my work but I was also proud of just the sheer quantity of work I did. My coworkers felt the same! In fact, physicians-in-training were named “residents” in honor of extreme work schedules. We virtually lived in the hospital, working busily from long before sunrise until after sunset.

walking uphill to work … both ways … in the snow … after working 36 hours straight

Such long work hours are ingrained in our culture. And it’s tradition for physicians from older generations to assert that the doctors of newer generations “have it easy.” Residents from every era of medicine have heard, “when I was in training” stories from more senior staff members. These stories often include some snarky comment about walking uphill to work … both ways … in the snow … after working 36 hours straight. This intergenerational jeering can also be...

If you’re anything like me, you don’t love the gym. It just feels … uncomfortable. Like, my tribe isn’t there. And that suited me just fine as a child. I was effortlessly active. I started dancing when I was three years old and continued until I was a senior in high school. I was also a sprinter and a high jumper. I kept moving but I never considered myself “working out.” I was just living my life.

My first year in college presented my first real fitness challenge. And I didn’t realize it until I returned home for the summer. In May of 1999, my grandparents and parents (who had seen me throughout the year) proclaimed over and over that I had “put on weight.” I didn’t see it and that was frustrating. So, I jumped on the scale. (Just to be clear - I don’t put much emphasis on weight. If it weren’t for my husband, I wouldn’t even have a scale in my home.) But there it was: the freshman 15. I. Was. Shocked.

My weight didn’t bother me, but my weight gain did. I definitely didn’t want t...