Dr. Lissa Rankin discusses unusual “Habits for Optimal Health” that will surprise you—ones she didn’t learn in medical school. The UMHS Pulse offers a sample of Dr. Rankin's article.
In the Wake Up World blog, Dr. Rankin discusses things for which "most doctors don’t write prescriptions." You probably won't be taught these things in American and international medical schools, so we decided to offer a sample.
“As a physician I was fascinated by why some health nuts still suffer from chronic illness,” Dr. Rankin writes. “I dug deep into the medical literature to study what else really makes us healthy – and what predisposes us to illness. And what I found shocked me! It was certainly never introduced to me in medical school.”
Highlights of Dr. Rankin’s article include:
Socializing Cuts Disease Risk: Dr. Rankin cites a group of Italian immigrants in Pennsylvania, all of whom ate diets high in fat and carbohydrates and smoked cigarettes, but had just half the risk of disease compared to people elsewhere. Researchers said the lower rate of heart disease in the group is explained “because they lived communally, celebrated regularly, and had a huge network of friends.”
Marriage Is Good for You: Dr. Rankin discusses a UCLA study stating that people who never marry are “more likely to die at a young age than those who exchange vows. But only healthy marriages count if you’re seeking optimal health. Studies show that, when it comes to health, you’re better off alone than stuck in a toxic relationship.”
Doing Work You Love Makes a Difference: The doctor says studies show Americans are at ”risk of sudden death from heart disease and stroke due to overwork.” If you are doing something you love, Dr. Rankin says, “your nervous system relaxes, and this flips on your body’s natural self-healing mechanisms.”
Vacations & Your Health: Dr. Rankin quotes a study of 12,000 men over nine years, finding that “those who failed to take annual vacations had a 21% higher risk of death from all causes, and they were 32% more likely to die of a heart attack. Another study found that women who vacationed once every six years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack than women who vacationed twice a year.”
For the full article, visit the Wake Up World blog at http://wakeup-world.com/2014/02/14/10-health-habits-they-dont-teach-in-medical-school
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Also visit Dr. Rankin's blog at http://www.lissarankin.com and see her PBS TV special, " Heal Yourself: Mind Over Medicine."
(Top photo) LISSA RANKIN, MD: The physician, author & TV host discusses unusual facts you won’t learn in med school. Photo: Lissa Rankin.com
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Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
