Summer is right around the corner, and for a lot of us that means a vacation is in store. Will you head to the beach? Travel abroad? Pop a tent at a nearby campsite? 

You’re probably not thinking about summer vacation health hazards as you plan, pack or travel. Unfortunately, they happen. As a family physician in Alexandria, Virginia, I see plenty of them. Sometimes they could have been prevented, if my patients only knew what to watch for.

With that in mind, I’ve compiled a short list of summer health safety tips, potential vacation risks, and how to avoid them.

As more and more states are decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, researchers have noticed a problem: Cigarette smoking is also on the rise. 

Cannabis is currently legal for recreational use in 10 states and for medicinal purposes in 30 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.  

"Cannabis use - medical and recreational - have risen substantially over the last 20 years," says Bernard Kaminetsky, MD, medical director, MDVIP. "And baby boomers are the fastest growing group of users."  

You’re standing in the bread aisle of your supermarket trying to select a healthy bread to buy. Whole grain, whole wheat, multi-grain -- it’s confusing.  But the reality is, none of them are healthy. Based on the Plant Paradox by Steven Gundry, eating whole grains is like taking a wrecking ball on your health. Here’s why.

Doctors typically prescribe medications, physical therapy and gentle stretches for osteoarthritis pain relieve the pain — a condition affecting millions. But alternative treatments for osteoarthritis pain, such as taking fish oil and eating foods high in vitamin K may also help, according to a meta-analysis study published in Rheumatology.

You inherited your mother’s height, your father’s eyes -- and your family’s risk for cardiovascular disease. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you’re stuck with a heart disease diagnosis.

When it comes to aging, there are no magic pills. But a new study is shining light on a supplement that may help reverse aging in your blood vessels. 

MitoQ -- an anti-aging supplement and pharmaceutical grade antioxidant -- may reverse vascular aging in older adults by as much as 15 to 20 years, according to a small study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.

For years, some experts have recommended eating six smaller meals over the course of the day to help control weight and blood sugar. But results from a new study are casting doubt on the effectiveness of this approach to meal planning. Three meals a day consisting of a high-calorie breakfast, an average lunch and a small dinner is considered a healthy diet to lose weight and control blood sugar, according to research presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. 

Do you feel may like you’re on a lifelong journey to lose 20 elusive pounds? Or maybe you’re a hard gainer – always trying to put on 10 pounds. Either way, managing your weight can be very frustrating, especially if you’re living a healthy lifestyle.

Why is it so hard? Logically, weight management should be simple -- determine the number of calories you need to maintain a specific weight and consume just those calories. But that’s not how it works. 

If you lived through the 1980s “war on fat”, you probably can’t help but wonder if eating fat can cause weight gain. And it doesn’t matter how many studies support the health benefits of healthy fats, there’s still an inkling of doubt that makes you hesitate before “indulging” in grass-fed butter, avocados or even nuts.

You may already know that fats are classified as being saturated or unsaturated. It gets a little more complicated beyond these basic categories. Here’s what you need to know.  
 
Unsaturated fat is broken into two groups – cis fats and trans fats.