Although pre diabetes and diabetes may sound like different conditions, the reality is, they are actually the same disease with the same risks. Yet, many people don’t take controlling their blood sugar seriously until they are actually diagnosed with diabetes.

What causes diabetes? It's high blood sugar, isn't it? Actually, That's not the real case of diabetes.

The real cause of Diabetes is excess insulin, not excess blood sugar. In other words, high blood sugar is a symptom, but not the root cause.

Patients seeking treatment for chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular and heart disease, high cholesterol, or wanting more attentive involvement by their primary care physicians in such recommended preventive care as blood work, mammograms and colonoscopies, find that the personalized medicine service MDVIP delivers high-level care that outperforms the national standard.

Linda Smith fondly reflects on cherished moments over the past year with her grandson, Caleb. She thinks back to trick-or-treating and eating watermelon balls during sleepovers. She remembers attending his preschool graduation, visiting the Arizona Art Museum and spending holidays with family.

And she remembers the day that could have altered all of these moments.

For patients hoping a better relationship with their primary care doctor will make them healthier and keep them out of the hospital, the evidence is in. A landmark new study of personalized, preventive primary care medicine finds that a model like MDVIP can significantly reduce hospital visits and costs. Patients say it even improves their quality of life.

For decades, Alzheimer’s researchers have faced a major challenge in treating early stages of the disease. They could only study the brain after a patient died and the disease spread throughout the brain. But a relatively new imaging technique is giving scientists a window into the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Starches…

Most of us love our starches and we usually eat plenty of them during the holiday season. Starches are complex carbohydrates that provide the body and gut bacteria with energy. It’s important to understand how many carbohydrates your body needs and that some types of starches are better than others.

When John Bach walked into Dr. Michael Monaco’s office, the doctor was very impressed with the man he saw. Mr. Bach, who’d always struggled with his weight, had lost more than 40 pounds. His body mass index – or BMI – improved, taking him from a 42-inch to a 34-inch waist. His cholesterol and A1C, or blood sugar, were lower. Aches and pains he’d long complained of in his knees and back seemed to have disappeared. His wife even said his snoring was almost gone. “The result was phenomenal,” exclaimed Dr. Monaco.

Remember the good old days of Marcus Welby, the 1970s family physician whose beloved character painted an idealized picture of small town medicine? Back then, doctors were friends of the family, even scoring invites to milestone events like weddings and birthdays. I started my career in 1984 as a primary care physician (PCP), and a lot has changed since then. In some cases –– that’s probably not a bad thing. Technology has certainly come a long way, creating huge advancements in medicine. But, unfortunately, not all change has been for the better.

Diabetes is a complicated disease affecting 29.1 million Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association. The ADA also reports that 8.1 million people are living with the disease but are undiagnosed, and another 86 million have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Diabetes can lead to a host of complications, including cardiovascular disease, blindness and kidney disease.

Generation X has longed suffered as the ‘middle child’ of all American generations. Because Gen X is one of the shortest generations – spanning only a 15-year period from 1965 to 1980 – there are only 65 million Gen Xers, compared with 77 million Baby Boomers and 83 million Millennials. Gen X is also overshadowed by these generations with big personalities. Baby Boomers are notoriously goal-oriented, driven and have a ‘work to live’ attitude, while the Millennials are carving their own path in life and are characterized as technology-focused and ideological.