I encourage my patients to increase healthy fat intake. Along with fish, certain nuts and seeds, avocado, and even a few saturated fats like coconut oil, I strongly advocate for daily intake of extra virgin olive oil. Most patients know that olive oil is healthy, but are confused about how to incorporate this oil into their everyday diet. More on that shortly.

Diabetes is not a rare condition – in fact, it’s an epidemic in the U.S. More than 30 million Americans have type 2 diabetes and another 84 million have prediabetes, a condition of elevated blood sugar levels that often leads to type 2.

Why do so many Americans have type 2 diabetes? Experts say this major public health problem is due to an aging population, increasing obesity rates and rising sedentary lifestyles.

Sudden cardiac arrest is scary: Someone collapses. They have no pulse, they’re not breathing, and they have a complete loss of consciousness. Their heart has suddenly and unexpectedly stopped beating. Usually, they die. In fact, about 350,000 Americans will suffer a sudden cardiac arrest this year, and only 10 percent will survive.

And what’s really frightening about sudden cardiac arrest is more than 50 percent of men and 70 percent of women who experience one do not have a prior history of heart disease or even warning signs of an impending problem.

The average American gets about 10 percent of their calories from added sugars. Added sugars — from high fructose corn syrup to honey — are sugars and syrups that manufacturers add to processed foods. Ten percent may not seem like very much, but added sugars are empty calories that can lead to weight gain. Some Americans get a lot more than 10 percent of their calories from added sugars. Diets comprising 25 percent or more added sugar are linked to dental problems, obesity and insulin resistance.

Coffee. It’s probably the healthiest beverage on earth. Yes, you read correctly.

Why? Studies suggest that coffee helps protect us from Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even some cancers. But most importantly, two large-scale meta-analyses (statistical procedure for combining data from multiple studies) found that drinking coffee can lower your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

A recent article in JAMA— "

High fat foods and oils have been vilified as potential causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease for decades. It’s only been within the last few years that nutrition experts began pushing the benefits of healthy fats, particularly olive oil, to Americans.

The Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Coffee and donuts go together. The pairing even inspired the name of worldwide donut shop and coffeehouse – Dunkin’ Donuts. Why does coffee go so well with donuts, as well as coffee cake and pie?

In 2003 a new weight loss fad began emerging—high protein diets. For a while, these high-protein, low-carb diets seemed like the Holy Grail of weight loss.

Over time, many people found these diets difficult to sustain and associated with some health issues. The diets fell out of favor as a lifestyle but were still used as a quick weight-loss strategy. Yet, in the wake of high-protein diet heyday, many Americans were left with a sense that a high protein and low carbohydrate diet is healthy.

Eating Too Much Protein

Early menopause has long been associated with symptoms like weight gain, bone thinning and insomnia, but new research also links early-onset menopause and type 2 diabetes.