By Sharon Feiereisen

There’s nothing like the month of January to make you swear up and down that this will be the year you opt for fruit over chocolate or never skip spin class for sleep. If history holds true, however, things probably won’t go exactly as planned. In an effort to do all that we can to make sure that 2013 is unlike years past, we’ve scoured the city for the best treatments to keep your health and fitness resolutions in check.

The aptly named “New Year, New You” is a spa package offered by the Mandarin Oriental through March 31. For $1,925, you get accommodations at the posh hotel, The Spa’s detoxifying Clearing Factor treatment (a three-hour treatment that includes a body scrub, Swedish massage with lymphatic drainage, cupping and a body wrap), a private yoga class, one day’s worth of BluePrint Cleanse juices along with the 3-Day Cleanse book, and a complimentary spa gift.

Over at Bliss, you can indulge in their “Fatgirlslim Lean Machine” treatment. The circulation-promoting treatment—tailored to your trouble spots—includes a top-to-toe dry brushing to exfoliate, application of Bliss’s Fatgirl slim cream and a demo massage with their lean machine body contouring tool to help smooth, tone and visibly reduce the appearance of cellulite. A bargain at $195, given that you get to take home the contouring device (worth $145), the treatment lasts 30 minutes.

Body Sculpting ($285 per treatment—you get 10 percent off if you purchase a series) is now offered at Mecca Paul Labrecque; it combines endomologie and colon hydrotherapy to improve blood circulation, increase your metabolism and eliminate toxins from the liver and lymph nodes. The treatment also purports to increase collagen and elastin, thereby decreasing volume and bloating and generating a healthier, rejuvenated skin tone.

Get even more high-tech at Pure Flow Fitness, where treatments include Pure Pulsation ($200 per session) and Pure Oxygen ($125 per session). During the Pulsation treatment, your legs are strapped to a bed with heart rate monitors attached to your body; the straps around your thighs and calves tighten and release in synch with your heartbeat to accelerate your blood flow. By boosting circulation, this treatment claims to increase energy levels, improve fitness, enhance mental clarity and build endurance while revitalizing and oxygenating the tissues. The Oxygen treatment entails lying in what looks like an oversized body bag while your body absorbs pressurized oxygen. The treatment claims to stimulate healing, improve physical fitness and recovery, increase circulation and boost energy levels.

If you’ve been blaming an injury for your lack of physical activity, head over to Yamuna, a yoga and Pilates studio that also offers foot fitness and body rolling classes using 6-to-10-inch balls to release tension and discomfort ($20 per class). Or, get a diagnosis at the Hospital for Special Surgery where diagnostics are offered for various sports and activities. Their Running Mechanics Profile ($320), for example, lets you know how your running form is, whether you pronate, if you’re a heel-striker, if you’re in the right shoes, whether your running form is putting you at risk for injury and much more, so that you can have all the tools you need for safe workouts in 2013.

Benefits of Eating Well
Eating well is vital for everyone at all ages. Whatever your age, your daily food choices can make an important difference in your health and in how you look and feel.

Eating Well Promotes Health
Eating a well-planned, balanced mix of foods every day has many health benefits. For instance, eating well may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, bone loss, some kinds of cancer and anemia. If you already have one or more of these chronic diseases, eating well and being physically active may help you better manage them. Healthy eating may also help you reduce high blood pressure, lower high cholesterol and manage diabetes.

Eating well gives you the nutrients needed to keep your muscles, bones, organs and other parts of your body healthy throughout your life. These nutrients include vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats and water.

Eating Well Promotes Energy
Eating well helps keep up your energy level, too. By consuming enough calories—a way to measure the energy you get from food—you give your body the fuel it needs throughout the day. The number of calories needed depends on how old you are, whether you’re a man or woman, your height and weight, and how active you are.

Food Choices Can Affect Weight
Consuming the right number of calories for your level of physical activity helps you control your weight, too. Extra weight is a concern for older adults because it can increase the risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease and can increase joint problems. Eating more calories than your body needs for your activity level will lead to extra pounds.

If you become less physically active as you age, you will probably need fewer calories to stay at the same weight. Choosing mostly nutrient-dense foods—foods which have a lot of nutrients but relatively few calories—can give you the nutrients you need while keeping down calorie intake.

Food Choices Affect Digestion
Your food choices also affect your digestion. For instance, not getting enough fiber or fluids may cause constipation. Eating more whole-grain foods with fiber, fruits and vegetables or drinking more water may help with constipation.

Make One Change at a Time
Eating well isn’t just a “diet” or “program” that’s here today and gone tomorrow. It is part of a healthy lifestyle that you can adopt now and stay with in the years to come.
To eat healthier, you can begin by taking small steps, making one change at a time. For instance, you might:
Take the salt shaker off your table. Decreasing your salt intake slowly will allow you to adjust.
Switch to whole-grain bread, seafood or more vegetables and fruits when you shop.
These changes may be easier than you think. They’re possible even if you need help with shopping or cooking, or if you have a limited budget.

Checking With Your Doctor
If you have a specific medical condition, be sure to check with your doctor or registered dietitian about foods you should include or avoid.

You Can Start Today
Whatever your age, you can start making positive lifestyle changes today. Eating well can help you stay healthy and independent—and look and feel good—in the years to come.
For more information visit nihseniorhealth.gov

By John Friia

As people grow older, the chances of getting diagnosed with a chronic illness or weakened immune system increases. The Food and Drug Administration has created guidelines of what seniors should consume, to ensure that they remain healthy.

Like the standards for adults, seniors are encouraged to stay away from foods that have high cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fats. The FDA is also concerned about seniors contracting food borne illnesses, and has stressed that foods such as meats, seafood and vegetables be prepared properly.

It was for this reason that Golden Cuisine was created. Golden Cuisine is a company that delivers ready-to-eat frozen meals especially for seniors. In addition, the meals are easy to prepare and promote emotional and as well as physical well-being. Meals from Golden Cuisine can be home-delivered or found in local senior centers.

“Golden Cuisine is specifically made for seniors. We look at the interaction of medicine and foods, and the easy-to-read packaging,” Adriane Berg, spokesperson for Golden Cuisine, said.

The meals are broken down into different categories, including low sodium and cholesterol, meals for diabetics and rehab hyper-metabolic for patients who are recently recovering from surgery and need to gain weight.

Though the meals are FDA-approved, the New York City Department of the Aging has additional requirements that must be met by organizations serving local seniors. “DFTA sets regulations for senior nutrition, and Golden Cuisine is one of the few companies that have been approved by both the FDA and DFTA,” explained Berg.

Compared to other prepared meals, Golden Cuisine has a lower average of sodium in each meal. Each type of meal is specially composed for seniors by a board-certified nutritionist to ensure that it meets senior requirements, which include three ounces of protein, one cup of vegetables and one serving of starch.

Golden Cuisine aims to educate seniors about growing old gracefully and offers special nutritional tips for seniors and caregivers through their online newsletter. The company also offers seniors the chance to share family and cultural recipes through their new website, www.GoldenCuisineCookbook.com

Golden Cuisine has assisted numerous seniors throughout the country, and has been included in the annual Inc. 5000 list. In 2011, Signature Foods, the parent company of Golden Cuisine, was ranked No. 102 out of all the companies, and No. 5 in the food companies category. The headquarters are located in Georgia, and the company has been named as one of the winners of the 2011 Pacesetter Awards, for maintaining excellent customer service and for being the fastest-growing private company in the Atlanta area.

Seniors interested in trying some of the meals can purchase them online at www.GoldenCuisine.com.

By Nika Dearing

Detachment
We tend to get caught up in our emotional attachment to things and people. I’m not talking about letting go of our love for another, but we must release our need to have things a particular way. We create expectations based on our beliefs. Either because “that is the way I’ve always done it,” or because we are trying to have some control over how it turns out. We must first release control over that which we cannot control. Then we must release our concept that it has to happen a certain way. Releasing the paradigms and false sense of control allows us to see things clearly. It opens new doors that were previously hidden.

Look at the Bigger Picture
We’ve found the courage to detach from our expectations, but now we have to learn to detach from ourselves. The ego can be a tough opponent to go up against. It houses all sorts of fears and insecurities, and is more than willing to unleash those emotions whenever we try to go outside of our comfort zone. However, in order to open ourselves to our fullest potential, we must learn to see past our ego selves. We need to be able to look at the environment from above; as though we are outside parties watching it play out before us. From this vantage point, we can better understand the motivations, expectations and emotions of everything (and everyone) involved. Look at it from all angles to try to pinpoint where it is coming from. Is it a belief system, a bad relationship, or maybe a frustrating job?

For a belief, we must dare to ask why it has to be the way it currently is. Look from above to see ways you can question that belief to shift yourself outside of it.

For a relationship, look through the other person’s eyes without being filtered by ego. Is there a fear in them you didn’t see before? Looking from above, you can accept things as they are with a new understanding or see where they need to change.

For a job, we must see how we are contributing to the situation in an unbiased way.

Being able to see all aspects of our lives from a higher perspective without the inclusion of selfish interests is mastery. It isn’t easy, but the understanding you receive will change you. It will open you to something greater; something you won’t be able to explain or put into words, but you will see it clearly. It will make you gentler, kinder and more understanding of how we connect together as human and spiritual beings.

Inviting Change
If you’ve made it this far, then it is as simple as making a choice. Once we have detached and looked at our environment without ego or expectation, we can open ourselves to seeing the bigger picture. In this higher perspective, we shift into seeing new possibilities unfold before us. We realize that things can change, but with change comes fear. Be brave. It isn’t easy to invite change into our lives, but it is simply a matter of choosing to do so.

Once we see clearly, we can know if the change needs to come from our beliefs, or if we must change the environment altogether. Then we must have the courage and faith to do so knowing that we are in control of our own lives. We are the driving force that ultimately creates our environment. We can choose to stay where we are unhappy, or we can choose to create a new environment of undiscovered possibility.

Veronica “Nika” Dearing, founder of ND Holistic Wellness & Healing, is a holistic life coach specializing in self-development and holistic wellness. You can find out more about Nika at her website www.nikadearing.com

By Alisa Vitti

Hormones affect everything. Have you ever struggled with acne, oily hair, dandruff, dry skin, cramps, headaches, irritability, exhaustion, constipation, irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, clotting, shedding hair, weight gain, anxiety, insomnia, infertility, lowered sex drive, or bizarre food cravings and felt like your body was just irrational? It’s not, it’s hormonal. Yet women remain mystified at their bodies’ seemingly random display of disconnected symptoms, never thinking that they are connected and hormonally based.

Mentioning the word “hormones” usually elicits blank stares or comments that it’s relevant only to women over 50. The reality is, hormones influence you in utero, throughout childhood and adolescence and most importantly right now as you are reading this sentence. Do you know what your hormones are doing, how you might be interfering with their attempts to stay balanced and keep you symptom-free, and if you are dealing with an imbalance, where to begin to get your body and your life back? Your health depends on it.
Having worked with so many women with reproductive health issues, I know how overwhelming it can be to deal with a hormonal imbalance like PCOS, fibroids or infertility.

The good news, however, is that nutritional research has been catching up to some long-standing wisdom about the powerful effects food has on your body and most importantly, that you can learn how to use food to change and improve the way your endocrine system functions, so that you balance your hormones and eliminate frustrating symptoms.

At FLOliving.com, I’ve pioneered a five-step nutritional protocol that eliminates period problems, helps women get pregnant naturally or improve IVF cycles, and increases sex drive. In the 10 years since opening the FLO Living center in Columbus Circle, I’ve helped women shrink fibroids, regulate periods, lift anxiety and depression and get pregnant after IVF failed. I’ve helped women transition off the pill without having pre-pill symptoms return, and I’ve helped women recover their energy and uncover their passion and purpose in life. It’s time for a new conversation and a fresh start for an area of women’s health that has long been overlooked—and food is the answer!

This food-based approach works and can be used in conjunction with what your doctor is recommending.

Here are some of the strategies I’ll share with you in my forthcoming book, WomanCode: Unlocking the Secrets to Your Optimal Period, Fertility and Sex Drive (HarperCollins, April 2013).

FLOliving.com’s Nine Nurturing Food & Lifestyle changes for easier periods, improved fertility and supercharged sex drive:

1. Dramatically decrease white flour and refined sugar to keep insulin levels stable for better ovulation and to decrease exposure to gluten, a studied fertility inhibitor.
2. Choose organic produce, pasture-fed animal proteins and natural beauty products to reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, hormones and pesticides.
3. Eat one cup of steamed dark leafy green vegetables per day to help keep estrogen levels balanced. They are rich in calcium, magnesium and vitamin E—all extremely important for healthy cycles and fertility.
4. Have organic, free-range eggs with the yolk for a boost of the following fertility and sex drive enhancing nutrients: vitamins D3, A and K2—all essential for hormone production.
5. Eat avocados for improved IVF cycles, natural conception and improving mood and energy for sex.
6. Reduce soy products; the phytoestrogen in soy can exacerbate estrogen dominant symptoms and conditions like PMS, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, infertility and low libido.
7. Eat wild salmon. If you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, irritability and/or insomnia, these all indicate lower levels of Omega 3 fatty acids which help promote healthy progesterone levels and reduce PMS.
8. Take a B-100 complex. B vitamins are essential for stabilizing hormones, mood and energy. I like Jarrow B-right best (must be taken on a full stomach).
9. Swap coffee for Rooibos chai tea. The combination of cinnamon and other spices has a benefit of increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs and can help you get in the mood faster.

Alisa Vitti, HHC, AADP is the founder and CEO of FLOliving.com, functional nutritionist specializing in women’s reproductive endocrinology. Go to FLOliving.com to learn more about balancing your hormones using our Hormonal Sync System. Special to Manhattan Media readers: email us at info@FLOliving.com to schedule a FREE consultation with one of our FLO expert coaches.

Once a woman discovers she is pregnant, everything changes, from what she can do to what she can eat. When it comes to dietary changes, the goal is to try to eat the types of food that are beneficial for your growing baby.

With such a wide variety of foods to choose from, it may be difficult and confusing to find out what food is best to eat.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HSS), pregnant women should add foods that contain protein, iron, calcium and folic acid to their diet, because this is the time when their bodies need those nutrients the most.

Everyone has heard the saying that pregnant women are “eating for two,” but that should not be taken as an excuse to eat huge quantities; instead you should try to consume healthier foods that will be valuable for your child as well as you. During pregnancy, women will gain weight, but the amount varies depending on how much the mother weighed prior to being pregnant.

“Most women need 300 calories a day more during at least the last six months of the pregnancy than they do pre-pregnancy,” says WomensHealth.gov, an HHS project.
There is a special food pyramid that was created to show what foods women are encouraged to eat to supply themselves with the proper nutrients.

Starting off with grains, foods in this category include bread, cereal, rice and pasta. For both vegetables and fruit, as long as they are fresh, they will be healthy for both the mother and child. In the dairy section, low-fat yogurt, skim or low-fat milk are recommended. Finally, in the meat and beans category, a selection of cooked beans and peas, lean beef, shrimp and others will be beneficial.

There are some foods that pregnant women should be cautious about eating: refrigerated, smoked seafood and meat; store-made chicken, egg or tuna salads; some seafood; and herbs used as medicine unless prescribed by a doctor. Moms-to-be are warned to stay away from such foods because they can be contaminated with salmonella and other harmful substances. Seafood—shark and swordfish, for example—can have high levels of mercury, which can damage the child’s development.

The amount of food to consume varies depending on the trimester that a woman is in. During the first trimester, a woman should eat 6 ounces of grains daily, but when she enters her second trimester the amount changes to 8 ounces daily.

Other than making sure the mother is well fed, it is important to remain hydrated during pregnancy. It is suggested that women drink 10 cups of fluid a day. A common belief is that pregnant women shouldn’t drink caffeine, but in reality it is safe to drink small amounts that are less than 200 mg of caffeine a day.

On top of healthy eating habits, it is important to take vitamins during pregnancy. Following the recommended guidelines will allow the mother to properly care for their child and make sure he or she grows and develops properly in the womb.

The leading cause of death for women in the United States is heart disease, and many of the symptoms that signal heart attack in women are different from those experienced by males, sometimes resulting in a fatal self-misdiagnosis.

According to the American Heart Association, 477,900 women died from a heart-related conditions in 2008. The number of fatalities is nearly 12 times greater than the number of women the National Cancer Institute estimates will succumb to breast cancer this year, which is 39,510.

In the most recent summary compiled by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, heart disease was the cause of death for around 219,000 New Yorkers. Nationwide, the American Heart Association estimates that a heart attack happens every 34 seconds.

For men, the warning signs of a heart attack include a feeling of discomfort or pressure in the chest and arms, and shortness of breath. According to the Mayo Clinic, common symptoms of heart disease in women include neck, shoulder, and abdominal pain, shortness of breath, cold sweats, lightheadedness, unusual fatigue, nausea and vomiting.
One of the main reasons it is believed that women have different symptoms than men is that they tend to get blockages in different places. When a heart attack occurs it is caused by the inability for oxygen and blood to circulate through parts of the heart. Women normally have plaque buildup and blockages in smaller arteries, while males usually get blockages in larger arteries. This is why women often have less pronounced symptoms, and they can mistake the effects of a heart attack with other conditions such as a flu or just generally feeling sick.

Many women do not realize that they are having a heart attack, and sometimes wait too long to take action. In that situation, delaying medical attention can be deadly. If a woman is feeling symptoms associated with a heart attack, she should contact 911 immediately—the faster she gets to the hospital, the better chance she has to recover.

Unfortunately, for both men and women there are some heart attacks that show no symptoms of discomfort, nausea or shortness of breath; these are called “silent” heart attacks. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, older people with diabetes are more likely to suffer this type of attack.

As with other illnesses, early detection is key. You can schedule an appointment with your doctor to find out if you are at risk of developing heart disease. If you want to make immediate changes in your lifestyle to improve your health and reduce the risk of heart troubles, you can quit smoking, start eating heart-healthy foods and begin exercising if you don’t already.

Some of the best cardiovascular and heart-surgery hospitals in the country are located right here in Manhattan. Among the hospitals making the annual US News and World Report list are New York Presbyterian University Hospital, ranked at No. 4; Mount Sinai Medical Center, No. 10; and NYU Langone Medical Center, No. 14.

When attorney Barbara Gay found a lump on her breast, she went to her doctor for an evaluation and was referred to a surgeon to have a biopsy. It took a week before the results came in.

“I remember he looked at me and said, ‘You have breast cancer,’ then he spun his stool around and wrote a note in the chart and handed me a piece of paper with an appointment to have it removed.” Barbara didn’t know what her options were or where to go for help. That was seven years ago. She had two lumpectomies, because the first surgery missed some areas of cancer, chemotherapy every three weeks for six sessions and six weeks of radiation five days a week. She sought out a support group and learned from other women about treatment options and their experiences.

“Everybody is really different as to the risks they’re willing to take, the amount of surgery they are willing to undergo, the amount of time they can take off work and their insurance coverage. I wanted to work as much as possible during the treatment. I wanted things to be as normal as possible, and I also feared losing my job and health insurance. Several women in my support group had the same issues. Many women I’ve known who have breast cancer are limited in their treatment choices by the kind and amount of insurance they have. Insurance companies used to fight covering an overnight stay in the hospital after a mastectomy or breast reconstruction, which is a form of plastic surgery.”

Many women opt for a mastectomy because they live too far from anywhere they can get radiation treatment daily for six weeks, which is required when one goes the lumpectomy route.

In 2005 when Barbara was diagnosed, implants were the most common form of reconstruction and the choice was between saline and silicone, both of which had significant drawbacks. “Members of my support group discussed the pain involved with the insertion of the spreaders in the chest, which were gradually expanded to accommodate the implants.” Implants also come with risks such as rupture and infection, and they have to be replaced after roughly 10 years, requiring more surgery.

Dale, who is now in her seventies, has been dealing with the aftereffects of implants since she was diagnosed with breast cancer 14 years ago.

“In l998 I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation, and then the cancer came back. In 2010 I had bilateral mastectomies, and then had implants put in. My left chest kept collapsing and getting infected. I was on so many rounds of antibiotics. The implants were removed, and then I went back to the doctor. I was sitting in my hospital gown, and he said to me, ‘You’re a nice lady, but I’m sorry, there is nothing more I can do for you.’ He handed me a piece of paper with the names of other doctors on it. I was shell-shocked. The next day he disappeared, and no one knows where he is.”

Dale has had to go for hyperbaric treatment for the chest infection and now has an opening in her chest that won’t close. “I’ve had three operations in three and a half weeks. I am now going to a doctor who specializes in latissimus flap surgeries, which my other doctor did not specialize in.”

Women today have many more options available to them than they did when Barbara and Dale were diagnosed. As Barbara commented, “The point is that a breast cancer diagnosis doesn’t automatically entail mastectomy and reconstruction. There are often a series of decisions to be made—lumpectomy vs. mastectomy, reconstruction vs. prosthesis, implants vs. flap.”

Newer procedures starting to gain favor are the tissue-flap procedures, in which tissue is removed from the abdomen, back, thighs or buttocks to rebuild the breast. The two most common types of flap procedures are the TRAM flap or transverse rectus abdominis muscle flap, which uses tissue from the lower abdomen, and the latissimus dorsi flap, which uses tissue from the upper back. In both of these cases healthy blood vessels are needed for the tissue’s blood supply, so flap procedures are not usually offered to women with diabetes, connective tissue or vascular disease, or to smokers.

In a TRAM flap, the skin, fat, blood vessels and at least one abdominal muscle are removed from the abdomen to the chest wall. There are two types of TRAM flaps: a pedicle flap, in which the flap is attached to the original blood supply and tunnels it under the skin to the breast. The other is a free flap, in which the flap of skin, fat, blood vessels and muscles for the implant are cut from the original location and then reattached using microscopic surgery to connect the vesicles. This procedure is a longer process and not done as often, but it can result in a more natural shape to the breast.

The latissimus dorsi flap moves muscle and skin from the upper back and is tunneled under the skin to the front of the chest. The side effects of this are pain and weakness in the back, shoulder and arm after surgery.

A newer form of surgery—the nipple-sparing procedure—has been around for about five years, but it’s not appropriate for all patients. In this procedure, the patient’s breast skin, areola and nipple remain. An advantage of this procedure is that the breast remains more cosmetically attractive. The disadvantage is that the nipple and areola lose sensation.
Dr. Deborah Axelrod, associate professor of clinical surgery and the director of clinical breast services programs at NYU Langone Medical Center, specializes in this type of surgery. “This kind of surgery is really for those women who do not have cancer by the nipple but have it peripherally. Someone who had cancer close to the nipple or imaging that showed areas close to the nipple would not be a good candidate, and someone with very large breasts is also not a good candidate.”

The procedure is long and can last up to eight hours, depending on the breast reconstruction performed. Axelrod describes it as being “like an envelope—you are taking the letters out and leaving the envelope, so you are leaving the envelope of skin intact. The nipple stays on the skin, but it is also biopsied to make sure there is no cancer.”

Axelrod acknowledges that women have changed the way breast cancer has been treated. “Women don’t want to be slashed. There is now a team approach to the conversation between the plastic surgeon and the oncologic surgeon to design something so that every time a woman looks down at her chest, she won’t be reminded that she had this horrible surgery or that she had breast cancer. Women say that they feel much more whole and not as hollow.” She does caution that there are not many long-term studies on this type of procedure.

With any kind of surgery, it is important to do your research, ask questions and find a physician who is not only experienced but with whom you feel comfortable, as Patty Harold, an attorney in Long Island, shared with me. Her breast cancer was discovered after she fell off a bike. Patty had a lumpectomy as an outpatient and opted not to have plastic surgery. “My advice would be to make sure you have a surgeon whom you have ultimate confidence in. I loved my surgeon and I was less scared because of her. I also think women should bring someone along who can act as their ‘ears.’ Even though the doctor is speaking to you, somehow it is hard to hear. I had friends and family take turns in visiting doctors with me so they could listen, take notes and help me make decisions when needed.”

TV’s Most Prominent Advocate Of Health Gets Personal On The Joys Of His Career And Deep Commitment To Family

By Whitney C. Harris

Take the demands of a world-class cardiothoracic surgeon operating at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and teaching at Columbia University Medical School. Add to that the work of hosting a Daytime Emmy award-winning television show and writing best-selling books—not to mention supporting various nonprofits—and you’re looking at the daily grind of America’s most famous doc, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

“For me it’s about managing my energy, not just my time,” Oz replies when asked how he finds room for it all. “I have filled my life with activities and people I’m passionate about, and that alone gives me the ability to sustain a pretty hectic schedule.”

And, graciously, Oz made time for us. With the fourth season of The Dr. Oz Show now airing across the globe, we caught up with its celebrated star to talk medicine, marriage and modern-day parenting.

You come from a family of medical and wellness professionals. What inspired you to go into medicine?
As a child, I would join my father, who is also a physician, on his rounds at the hospital. I saw how he’d make his patients smile, even when they were in pain. But my career choice came into focus when my dad and I were in an ice cream shop and he asked a boy what he wanted to be when he grew up. The boy was indecisive, prompting my dad to tell me, “You can be anything you want, but have direction and do your best.”

What is a typical day like for you?
I don’t have a typical day, and that’s exciting for me. On Mondays, I meet with the producers and prepare for the week’s tapings; on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I shoot two shows each day; and on Thursdays, I operate.

What are the biggest challenges and the biggest rewards of your work?
The biggest challenge—whether on the stage or in the operating room—is how I can inspire change. I can’t will someone to live a healthier life; I can only provide the information they need to make smarter decisions. But the ultimate reward is when my message clicks, when they get that spark in their eye and they get it. I am in awe of the letters I receive from viewers and patients who share their progress with me. It makes all the hard work worth it.

What was the turning point at which your career really took off and why do you think you’ve been so successful?
There’s a clear moment when my career shifted from operating room to TV studio. I had operated on a 25-year-old woman, and when I went to visit her in recovery, she, her husband, and their two kids were celebrating the successful surgery with fast food. It was then that I realized that I’m doing a disservice to my patients if I just fix their heart but don’t explain how health and nutrition could keep them off my operating table in the first place. She characterized so many patients I had seen who didn’t see how they could impact their own lives.

So my wife created a show for me, which became Second Opinion on Discovery. Oprah Winfrey was actually my first guest— we hit it off, and she invited me on her show. The rest is history.

What is one of your most memorable TV moments, either as host or guest?
There have been so many memorable guests and moments over the past three years. But the first that comes to mind is when we celebrated our 400th show and some of our favorite guests returned to offer their sage advice. It’s so inspiring to see the excitement in their eyes as they share their journeys and acknowledge how far they’ve come.

You’ve been married for almost 30 years and have four children. Can you tell us about your family? What’s the family dynamic like in the Oz household?
I have been blessed with a wonderful, beautiful family. My wife, Lisa, is the brains and is the driving force for me and our kids. Now that our kids are older, and they each have their own schedules, we have to consciously set aside family time. We love to take trips together, as we did this summer—we traveled to Turkey, Greece, and Italy.

We’re all fairly active, so our family time usually involves some sort of sport. Every year we have Oz Olympics, a tournament of four events, each designed around one of our kid’s strengths. Each compete in all four events, so to win the medal, one has to succeed at someone else’s event as well as their own. We always have a great time.

What is the best piece of parenting advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever got was that when you give your kids something that you didn’t have as a child, you’re taking away from them something that you did have. You have to be very cautious about making their life too easy. I won’t purposely make their life miserable, but I won’t go out of my way to make it easy, either—part of life is having the freedom to make mistakes.

So what was your own childhood like? Do you observe any Turkish traditions in your family?
As the son of immigrant parents, I had the privilege to grow up American while staying in touch with my Turkish roots. Turkish was actually my first language, and I grew up spending summers in Istanbul. Now my parents have moved back, so we visit with our kids as often as we can, like [we did] this summer.

What do you enjoy doing in New York City with your family?
My wife and I grew up around Philly, and we moved to the area while I was still in med school as we were just starting our family. The New York City area has been a fantastic place to raise kids. They have been lucky enough to experience the excitement and the culture first-hand, and I think it’s shaped them in the best possible way. We love to visit the farmers’ market in Union Square and enjoy the amazing restaurants the city has to offer—especially with local food.

The bad news is alcohol continues to be the most widely abused mood-altering, addictive drug in America, directly and indirectly responsible for billions of dollars in health care costs, crime and property damage—not to mention immeasurable lost productivity and personal devastation.

Alcohol problems are widespread, and fewer addicts receive treatment in comparison to sufferers of other chronic conditions. A five-year study by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASAColumbia), released this past June, found a huge treatment gap: As of 2010, there were 18.7 million Americans addicted to alcohol but only 1.7 million were treated. The study also revealed that of every government dollar spent on risky substance use and addiction, 96 cents paid for consequences and only 2 cents for prevention and treatment. Binge and heavy drinking are prevalent among alcohol users, especially the younger population (18 to 25), with figures of 50 percent and 25 percent, respectively, often cited.

That’s just some of the bad news; the statistics don’t lie. But there is also plenty of good news.

Organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and CASAColumbia are conducting much new research—covering both the effects of alcohol and the efficacy of treatments—and pushing for evidence-based reforms in health care and public policy. Counselors, therapists and clinicians continue to offer many options for heavy drinkers to curb their abuse and for alcoholics to achieve recovery. The research scientists are confirming much of what the psychologists have known all along: That along the spectrum of alcohol problems, there are multiple paths to recovery, and that a thorough individual evaluation, tallying genetic, psychological, environmental and other health factors and leading to a tailored treatment program, promises a more positive outcome.

The medical profession has finally come to view addiction as a chronic ailment requiring long-term care and multiple treatment modes, including psychosocial and pharmaceutical. And it is establishing addiction medicine as a specialty—better late than never. The American Board of Addiction Medicine has accredited 10 residency programs, including one at The Addiction Institute of New York at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, and plans to double that number by early next year.

More (qualified) good news: Based on its review of a 2001-2002 epidemiology study, the NIAAA concluded that most people who overuse alcohol do not become dependent. For those who do, it often starts in their early 20s and consists mostly of impaired control, as opposed to severe life-altering problems. After 20 years, three-quarters are in full recovery, i.e. they’ve either quit or cut down to low-risk levels; and fully 75 percent of these “recoverees” are able to do it on their own, without a formal support group or professional help.
According to experts like Robert Huebner, Ph.D., deputy director of NIAAA in the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research, the “cure rate” for people with alcohol disorders is roughly the same as for other chronic diseases. One third achieve full remission, one third partial remission (significant improvement), and one third no improvement. For such a complex, stubborn affliction, apparently two out of three ain’t bad. Nevertheless, the remaining third could no doubt benefit from more adequate treatment.

On the spectrum of alcoholism, for those who “merely abuse” alcohol, moderation may be possible; for the addict, however, abstinence is the goal. In either case, relapses are common, and dealing with them is part of any good intervention or treatment program. The NIAAA publishes various pamphlets on the subject, including “Tips for Cutting Down on Drinking,” which concludes with advice for alcoholics who want to quit altogether.

Huebner and colleague David Goldman, M.D., chief of the NIAAA’s Neurogenetics Lab, note scientists’ increased understanding of individual and family predispositions toward alcoholism. For example, genetics can now identify people with a common variation that makes them susceptible to impulsivity and binge drinking—roughly 40 percent of us have it—so they can be forewarned before being exposed to cultural and environmental triggers. For individuals who become addicts, genetic profiling offers the promise of identifying which prescription medications will work for them.

“If you’re looking at alcohol alone, 50 to 75 percent of the risk that use becomes addiction is attributable to genetics,” says Susan Foster, CASA Columbia VP and director of policy research and analysis. “But there are many other factors.” She cites age of first use; co-occurring health conditions such as anxiety and depression; trauma; and multiple risk factors, for example, genetic predisposition combined with trauma. “Understanding these factors is very important in terms of helping people recognize what to look out for, the same as with other chronic conditions such as heart disease. It all gets back to asking, ‘What’s the nature of the problem and what’s the best solution?’”

At the Freedom Institute, a private outpatient facility in Midtown, addiction is treated as a family disease. “It affects everyone—not just the addict but all the family members who have been living with it and all the systems and patterns that have developed because of it,” says Executive Director Donna Wick, a psychologist and expert on child development. “Recovery and relapse-prevention rates are substantially better when the whole family gets treatment. We’ve learned that the single best prevention for adolescent substance abuse is a close relationship with parents.” Wick stresses that substance-use can alter young developing brains, before the age of about 25, so one of the main thrusts of their prevention efforts in schools is delaying first use. “If parents say, ‘Well, we drank in high school,’ I try to explain it this way: Our parents’ generation didn’t know smoking was dangerous. We know a lot more now than we did then.”

Anecdotal and scientific evidence as well as clinical experience consistently indicate what works best for addiction is a personalized, targeted, multi-pronged strategy that addresses all substances and behaviors. The debate whether addiction should be treated as a mental disorder or a physical disease has been rendered pretty much moot by the embrace of this integrated approach. Among its most articulate proponents is Arnold Washton, Ph.D., veteran addiction psychologist, author and founder of Recovery Options, a private practice with locations in Manhattan and Princeton, N.J. (Washton’s website, www.recoveryoptions.us, is an excellent source of information and advice.)

Washton and colleagues follow a personalized psychotherapeutic model, emphasizing patient motivation. “It would be hard to argue that individualized treatment wouldn’t do better than a dogmatic, one-size-fits-all approach,” he says, pointing to the NIAAA’s Project MATCH, a two-part clinical study comparing different types of treatment. “They found whether you use cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement or 12-step facilitation, the results are about the same. But looking more closely at individual therapists, the study suggests the ones who were accepting, engaging and inspiring were more successful than those who would read their clients the riot act and bat them over the head with denial. So it turns out that the ideology or philosophy of the treatment is not so important as the spirit in which it’s delivered.

“My succinct advice for people looking for help would be to start slowly and easily,” says Washton. “Find treatment that’s tailored to your needs rather than a pre-formulated all-or-nothing program. Start by getting an assessment from a specialist, e.g. an addiction psychologist or psychiatrist, and move on from there.”

The bottom line is the therapist acts as the facilitator of recovery, but ultimately it’s the patient who supplies the motivation and desire. For the addict, the full story goes like this: Using all of the tools now available, your doctor can help you get better, but you’ve got to want it and be prepared to follow what can be a long and at times rocky road to recovery.