Happy National Doctor's Day!

Today is March 30 and it's also National Doctor's Day! Don't forget to tell your doctor how much you appreciate him/her on this holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family this Thanksgiving holiday!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today, I want to wish all those moms out there Happy Mother's Day! Today, we celebrate motherhood.

Here's what Easter means to me

What does Easter mean to you? A time to celebrate with family and friends? A time to let kids have fun and hunt for colorful eggs?

Easter marks the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He died on the cross and rose after 3 days. My faith as a Christian is rooted in the fundamental believe that these things happened and that Jesus is still alive today.  As a Christian, I still continue to make many mistakes but I'm a new creation because Jesus died and rose from the dead. If you'd like to speak with me about my faith, please contact me.

Celebrating Palm Sunday

Today, I'm celebrating Palm Sunday with my family. Here's some background information about Palm Sunday taken from Wikipedia:

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem an event mentioned by all four Canonical Gospels (Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19): the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion.

As we approach Easter, I hope that we won't get caught up with the bunny and the egg hunts. I hope that people will know that Easter marks this miracle: Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I want to take this time to tell my wife, "Happy Valentine's Day!"

She is a fantastic wife, physician, and mom. I feel very fortunate and blessed to be married to her. We went away for the weekend and had a great time together. We reminisced about our college days at MIT. We watched a movie from the 50's. We spent time walking outside. It's amazing to look back on all the years we've known each other.

I admit that I'm emotionally challenged, but I'm doing my best to learn new ways to show my wife how much I love her. This year, I'm using this site to say "I love you dear!"

Happy New Year!

As we enter 2011, we want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Hope the New Year brings a wealth of blessings!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends! Merry Christmas!

Here’s another way to give this holiday season, sponsored by Practice Fusion

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Practice Fusion, the leading free web-based electronic medical record in the US, is sponsoring a Care for the Holidays campaign.

For every new family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, or general practitioner that signs up to try Practice Fusion, the company will donate $1 to Doctors Without Borders.

And because the product is free, there really is no downfall to signing up and looking around at their features. I’m currently a registered trial member and I don’t receive any spam mail from them; just an occasional newsletter called “Progress Note”.

Here’s your chance to help this holiday season. Doctors Without Borders teams with Google for Social Good.

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

This year, Google has really created an innovative Social Good campaign. Anyone who uses the Chrome Browser and downloads the Chrome for a Cause extension, will be able to help one of five charities.

Here’s how it works. Browse the internet using the Google Chrome browser with the extension installed. Open a new tab for every site you go to. That’s it.

The Chrome for a Cause extension cleverly tracks the amount of tabs you open and allows you to donate to one of five charities at the end of the day based on your usage.

7 weight loss strategies for the holidays

I know that a number of people will be feasting this holiday season. I'm already stuffed from all the turkey (and non-turkey foods) that I ate over the weekend. I felt like I was going from one party to another. Now, my BMI is going up and my pants won't fit.

Are there any practical weight loss strategies for the holidays? Perhaps you've picked up some weight loss books. Some ideas may seem radical and others may sound like they're simply not going to work.

Here are 7 practical tips that can help you lose some weight this holiday season:

1. Minimize alcoholic beverage and soda consumption. Replace them with water or unsweetened beverages. Most people don't think about the number of calories that are in an alcoholic beverage. A glass of wine may have 100 to 150 calories.
2. Set aside some extra time to exercise in the mornings and evenings. You're probably going to eat more than your normal amount as you get surrounded by snacks, treats, and good food at parties.
3. Make it a point to walk and to take the stairs. If you're shopping this holiday season, park away from the door. Walk around the mall several times. Give yourself an extra 10 minutes just to walk briskly.
4. Drink a few glasses of water before you start eating at a party. When you're at a party, you'll be tempted with all types of goodies. Drink a couple of glasses of water before you start eating (as long as you're not on any type of water restriction for health reasons). 
5. Eat slowly. We have a tendency to eat too quickly and our body doesn't have time to tell us that we're full. Eat slowly and drink plenty of water between your courses.
6. When you're at a buffet, choose vegetables over meat dishes. You're probably getting plenty of meat in your diet. Avoid those high-calorie foods, especially foods that are fried.
7. Finally, we have to talk about sweets and desserts. We all have our weaknesses. I love chocolate. If you're going to eat a dessert, cut it in half, and eat only half a portion per day. This way, you still get to satisfy your sweet tooth, but you'll also be watching your caloric intake.

These principles may seem rather simple, but that's the only way you'll be able to keep off the weight. Weight loss is a matter of calories in vs. calories out. Exercise regularly, avoid those late-night meals, and control your portions.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day! I hope you're not working in the hospital today. As the summer winds down, I'm reminded of how quickly the year is flying by. It won't be long before we'll need to pull out our winter clothes.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you're all having a wonderful 4th of July. I think we often take our freedom for granted in this country. Let's pause and remember all those who gave their lives (and who are still serving now) to allow us to enjoy the freedom that we have.

Here's an interesting snippet about Independence Day:
 In 1791 the first recorded use of the name "Independence Day" occurred.

Happy 4th of July USA!

Enjoying a wonderful Father's Day with my family at home

I'm at home today, enjoying a wonderful Father's Day with my family at home. The kids are out playing, we have some family over, and we're just relaxing. I hope you're having a great Father's Day as well.

Remember our troops this Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, let's remember our troops. We still have many soldiers who are serving overseas. Advances in technology are improving medical care for soldiers who get wounded in battle, but we'll never reverse death.

Earlier this month, we learned that "Federal Agents Probing Army's Use Of Trauma Drug: Criminal Investigation Looking At Military's Use Of Blood-Clotting Injections For Treating War Casualties."  Is the military using NovoSeven for off-label purposes to save the lives of bleeding soldiers?

Here are some snippets from the Baltimore Sun:

May 16--Federal criminal investigators are exploring the Army’s use of a controversial and expensive blood-clotting drug injected into wounded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The drug, called Factor VII, was hailed as a lifesaving breakthrough by military leaders and administered to hundreds of soldiers and Marines earlier in the wars. It has since proved largely ineffective in clinical trials and been the subject of safety warnings by U.S. and European regulators, who say it can cause potentially deadly blood clots.

The manufacturer, the Danish drug company Novo Nordisk, said it had received a subpoena in January from the Defense Department’s inspector general’s office. Company officials said they are cooperating with the U.S. attorney’s office in Baltimore, which is overseeing the investigation.

I don't know how this investigation will conclude, but perhaps we need to loosen restrictions when the country is at war and when we have bleeding soldiers on the field.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all the moms out there a wonderful Mother's Day! Where would we be if we didn't have our mothers? (we wouldn't be, would we?)

Happy Easter! (and it's not about the Easter bunny)

As a Christian, I celebrate Easter as the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Medical professional may have a difficult time accepting that a dead person could come alive after 3 days. You'd have to believe in supernatural miracles to believe that. I believe in miracles. Do you?

Yesterday, I took my kids to a party so that we could hunt for Easter eggs and play games. Maybe you did the same thing. Today, I'm at church with my family (I always write my blog posts ahead of time), so I'm reflecting on the meaning and significance of Easter Sunday.

All the advances in medical science will never be able to raise people who've been dead for 3 days. We'll never find a scientific explanation for the resurrection. The only explanation that makes sense is non-rational. It's non-scientific. It's about a God who created the universe and raised Jesus from the dead. I know that Jesus lives because He has changed my life in many ways and I know that I would never have made it through some of the most difficult times in life without the help of Jesus.

Today, we celebrate that He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Reflections about Good Friday

Here in the United States, many people celebrate Easter. In fact, I know many non-Christian people who will paint eggs and celebrate Easter with their kids. If you're a Christian, the Easter holiday is not about eggs and a bunny. In fact, Easter is much more meaningful than Christmas because we the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Good Friday represents the day when Jesus was crucified on the cross.

As I sit and reflect about Good Friday, I think about what Jesus endured to die on the cross. I think about God's love for the world. I think about John 3:16.

I also think about my past mistakes and my current failures. I also think about the many ways God has changed my life. Are you searching for the meaning of life? Maybe this Easter holiday, you'll have the opportunity to discover a new sense of purpose in life.

US Presidents and their health ailments displayed at the Mütter Museum

Happy President's Day!

The Mütter Museum is a fascinating medical museum in Philadelphia, PA. If you've never had a chance to visit this museum, you'll definitely have to visit. You can learn about some of the medical problems faced by former US presidents (I doubt they'll have anything about Barak Obama). Did you know that John F. Kennedy had Addison's disease? How about Bill Clinton and his cardiovascular disease? Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, had Crohn's disease.

According to RoadsideAmerica.com:

Two celebrity body parts are must sees: the "Secret Tumor of Grover Cleveland," and the "Thorax of John Wilkes Booth." Grover's growth floats in a small jar, surreptitiously removed from his jaw while he was in office. Lincoln's Assassin's thorax was procured during the post mortem aboard a ship at the Washington Navy Yard. It ended up here.

If you enjoy US history and you wish to learn more about some of the specific medical problems that afflicted US presidents, then make sure to visit the Mütter Museum.

Are you gaining weight this holiday season?

I ate so much yesterday. On average, an adult living in the United States gains approximately one pound each year. Have you been gaining weight over the past 5 or 10 years? It's so difficult to maintain a negative calorie balance over the holidays, but you can control your portions, select healthy food selections, eat desserts in moderation, and make time to exercise.

Did you get (or give) a gym membership this holiday season?
Did you get (or give) any fitness equipment this holiday season?

It's the day after Christmas and I'm in the mood to go to the gym today. Who's going to join me? The other great way to exercise is to go walking. I'll be doing some of that by heading out to the malls to do some shopping!