Every so often I have a new patient and need to scour their medical record to prepare for their appointment. In all the years I’ve been practicing, I often notice that records are missing appropriate testing to assess risk of a heart attack. This also includes records from cardiology offices.

I realize it’s already February, but I have a resolution for you. Focus less on your cholesterol numbers. Make 2018 the year you switched your attention to your insulin level, inflammation level and LDL (bad cholesterol) particle number.

You may know that inflammation is an important aspect of health, but if you’re like most people, you don’t know exactly why. That’s understandable. Inflammation is a complex process. 

Sometimes inflammation is a good thing, like when you cut yourself shaving. Your body sends cells to the source of the injury to clot blood and attack foreign substances. 

You know too much sugar and artificial sweeteners are bad for you. Here are some tips to help you reduce their role on your diet:

Sugar is toxic. No, it won’t kill in seconds like cyanide does, but it does kill—in a slow, insidious manner. Sugar is linked to a wide variety of conditions, including heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

You probably crave salty food from time to time -- whether it’s crunchy potato chips or a slice of pizza. A wide range of variables can trigger a salt craving, throwing a monkey wrench into your diet. But there’s good news: Eating spicy foods can curb your salt cravings, according to a study published in Hypertension.

You’re sneezing, coughing and long for your bed. Is it a cold, which will probably clear up in a couple of days? Or is it the flu, which will sideline you for weeks?

As many as 20 percent of Americans catch the flu annually, leading to about 200,000 hospitalizations and between 3,000 and 4,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

How to tell if you're getting the flu:

The American diet is notorious for processed meals, salty foods and sugary drinks. In fact, more than 80 percent of Americans eat too many refined grains and sugars and not enough fruits and vegetables, according to an NPR poll conducted in 2016.

Depending on factors including age, health conditions, lifestyle and whether you travel internationally, adults need immunization protection against these diseases.  

Nobody likes getting vaccines. But the conditions they protect against can be really nasty. Consider pertussis (also known as whooping cough). Although most people think of whooping cough as a disease affecting young children and infants, it can affect adults, causing pneumonia and hospitalization.