Summer means watching ball games, going to barbeques and visiting the beach. However, the sun exposure we get from outdoor activities helps explain why skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. 

Although the Institute of Medicine recommends drinking eight glasses of water each day to help maintain good health, CBS News recently reported that up to 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. And while dehydration can occur throughout the year, the hot and humid weather of summer increases your susceptibility to dehydration.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of Americans living with environmental allergies is rising. Currently, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Allergies estimates that as many as 50 million people suffer with allergies and 26 million struggle with hay fever. There are some steps you can take to help control your allergies. The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America recommends:

For those of you eating Paleo and wondering how it stacks up scientifically, here's a bit of data, courtesy of Mark Sisson.

I wrote this blog at the request of several of my patients, who were interested in learning more about protein supplements. In short, there are many choices for protein supplementation available; however, in my opinion, whey concentrate is the best option.

One of the reasons I prefer whey protein is that it is one of the most biologically available of the proteins, meaning that it is readily usable by the body. This is in contrast to other forms of supplements; including vegetable-based proteins like pea protein and hemp protein powder, that are less biologically available.

According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, by the end of 2015, there will be 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer among women and 2,350 new cases of invasive breast cancer among men.  Although breast cancer is not considered preventable, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), you can reduce your risk by:

One in two men and one in three women will develop cancer in sometime their lifetime. Although a few patients diagnosed with either chronic myelogenous leukemia or breast cancer can attribute their illness to a hereditary abnormal gene, most people believe their cancer was a result of a mutation to their DNA (where genetic material is stored) possibly caused by a handful of factors like environmental radiation/toxins, poor diet or just bad luck. However, this may not be the case, as some bouts of cancer may be linked to the manner in which cancer cells produce energy.

Now that it's late February, many New Year’s resolutions have probably fallen by the wayside. However, I hope that everyone can remain committed to just a few small changes throughout 2016 which may improve your health, wellbeing and life expectancy. For instance, this year, resolve to break your "fat phobia” by including MORE FAT, i.e., healthy fat, in your diet.

More and more people are focusing on brain health and with good reason. As Americans live longer, age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s are rising.

According to AARP’s 2015 survey 93 percent of Americans consider brain health important but few know how to improve or maintain it. And while many people may be aware that exercising regularly, managing stress and being social can help keep the mind sharp, many Americans don’t realize that brain diseases are intimately connected to our gut bacteria (also known as gut microbiome).

Years of studies suggest that happiness can improve quality of life because happy people tend to have better jobs they excel at and are more satisfied with marriages and friendships. But in recent years, scientists have begun focusing on how that happiness impacts people’s health and happiness. 

And the news is good if you’re happy. Happiness can positive affect your:

• Heart health;
• Longevity; 
• Risk for certain cancers.