Former White House Chef Sam Kass: How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis

Having weak social ties is as harmful to our health as being an alcoholic and twice as harmful as obesity. Lack of support is one of the number one things my patients complain about. I’ve seen, firsthand, how social isolation can manifest into illness. Studies show that isolation can set off a cellular chain reaction that increases inflammation and suppresses the body’s immune response to disease. Without community, we cannot survive and we cannot thrive. Finding our tribe is the topic of this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy with guest Radha Agrawal. Radha is the Co-founder, CEO, and Chief Community Architect of Daybreaker, the early morning dance and wellness move-ment. Daybreaker currently holds events in 25 cities and more than a dozen college campuses around the world and has a community of almost half a million people. She is also the author of a new book called Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life. In this episode, Radha makes a case for community. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

7 Nov 20181h

So often doctors tell their patients, just eat less and exercise more. The patient who is overweight is often blamed and called a lazy glutton who doesn’t have enough willpower. Well, willpower is not enough. Patients aren’t simply lacking in self-discipline. They are not weak and lazy. Most of them are biologically addicted to sugar, and it’s no wonder! Willpower is not enough to stand up to easy, cheap, convenient food. We need more than willpower. We need solutions.   My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is Dr. Sean Lucan, a practicing family physician in the Bronx treating children and adults. He is an award-winning NIH-funded investigator who has published numerous articles on food-related issues. Dr. Lucan and I talk about food environments—essentially how our surroundings dictate our food choices, and how OSBs (other storefront businesses, places like gyms, laundromats, the barbershop, etc…) are becoming a huge source of providing junk to both children and adults. It all comes down to this: grazing vs. grocery environments.   We also talk about food and beverage marketing to youth, and Dr. Lucan’s campaign to protect youth from dangerous marketing which led to a ban on alcohol advertising.   I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

31 Okt 20181h 10min

Food should taste good, smell good, look good, and it should be good for you. That’s what this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is all about. As a chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, Marco Canora promotes delicious, simple, and healthful food. His restaurant Hearth is one of my favorites in NYC and has earned positive reviews from The New York Times as well as a prestigious “Outstanding Restaurant” nomination from the James Beard Foundation. In 2017, Marco won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef NYC.

24 Okt 201853min

We need to transform our food system and address one of the biggest threats to our well-being: our lack of a coordinated and comprehensive food policy. Our nation’s and the world’s health crises are not driven by medical issues, but rather by social, economic, and political issues that conspire to drive disease. There is clear evidence that taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages results in reduced consumption and provides a funding source for public health measures to fight obesity and chronic disease and improve the health of communities. My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary and one of America’s leading economists. In addition to serving as 71st Secretary of  the Treasury in the Clinton Administration, Dr. Summers served as Director of the White House National Economic Council in the Obama Administration, as President of Harvard University, and as the Chief Economist of the World Bank. Currently, Summers is the President Emeritus and the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University, where he became a full professor at age 28, one of the youngest in Harvard’s recent history. Along with Michael Bloomberg, Dr. Summers recently launched a Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health.  He chairs the board of the Center for Global Development and chaired the Commission on Global Health, lauded by the UN Secretary General who noted that it “will bring more than health–it will bring equity, and contribute to a life of dignity for all.” In this episode, Larry and I discuss the benefits of taxing junk foods. How would this affect the economy and the epidemic of chronic disease? Find out in this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy.

17 Okt 201839min

We can’t be perfect parents. There is always going to be some form of miscommunication, some misunderstanding, something that causes pain. The key to successful parenting is to make the time to address these challenges, and to listen with an open heart and mind. My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, is a clinical psychologist, an international speaker and wisdom teacher, and she’s written two bestselling books, The Conscious Parent and The Awakened Family. In this episode, we dive into parenting and family dynamics. I personally have seen a lot of trauma from family dynamics manifest into physical illness, especially the relationship between child and parent. Dr. Shefali challenges traditional family roles, and encourages us to rethink the way we raise our kids. How can we let go of the toxic expectations that stand in the way of real, authentic, and loving relationships?

10 Okt 201858min

Cholesterol has become so confusing. The reality is, most of us have little understanding about the cholesterol levels in our blood and the whole topic is much more complicated than we previously thought. Many people still believe that eating cholesterol and fat, especially saturated fat, causes heart attacks and that taking statin drugs provides a powerful way to reduce your risk of heart attacks. But is this really true? My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is here to bust the cholesterol myth, and he is a cardiologist! Described as an inspiration by Jamie Oliver, internationally renowned Consultant Cardiologist and best-selling author of The Pioppi Diet, Dr. Aseem Malhotra has become one of the most influential and well-known health campaigners, and a pioneer of the lifestyle medicine movement in the UK. Today we talk about myths around heart health, and what it truly means to be heart healthy.

3 Okt 20181h 3min

In this week’s episode, Dr. Fasano discusses the effects of gluten as well as other potential triggers that aggravate the gut. What does it take to heal the gut? How can we prevent leaky gut? Find out more in this episode. Advancing innovation in research, clinical care and education, Alessio Fasano, MD, has dedicated his life to improving the quality of life for people with celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders. He founded the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1996. In 2013, he moved the Center to Massachusetts General Hospital and renamed it the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment. He is chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

26 Sep 20181h 4min

Our guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is Chelsea Clinton. Chelsea and I discuss her many initiatives, including radical solutions to our health care challenges. Chelsea Clinton works to drive the vision and programmatic objectives of the Clinton Foundation. As vice chair, Chelsea works alongside the Foundation’s leadership and partners to help create greater opportunities for people to build better futures for themselves, their families, and their communities. Chelsea is a tireless advocate for expanding access to early childhood education, improving the health and well-being of Americans across the country, providing the next generation of young leaders with the resources they need to turn their ideas into action, and ensuring the empowerment of girls and women is a cross-cutting priority across all of the Foundation’s programs and initiatives. You won’t want to miss our conversation with this thought leader.

19 Sep 201854min