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Spring Into Action

It appears winter is behind us (fingers crossed!). Short sleeves, ice cream, and warm nights aren’t the only reasons to get excited for spring. The season also brings surprisingly great health benefits as well.

Of the many benefits that encompass spring, Everyday Health narrowed it down to six things that should excite you and your health.

  1. Extra Daylight
    • Lack of Vitamin D can put your bones at risk, but during the spring you can soak up all the nutrients your body needs. (Remember to take precautions in order to balance healthy sun exposure versus burning.)
    • Extra sunlight serves as a natural mood booster and helps with seasonal depression some people suffer from during the dark fall and winter months.
  2. Healthier Home
    • Spring time means spring cleaning. Not only is it a great calorie burning exercise, but the cleaning of your home, car, office, and other areas can rid you of bacteria that may free you from spring colds and help seize control of your allergies.
  3. Spring-cleaned Diet
    • Around the warmer months you’ll find yourself eating less and going out more.
    • When you do eat, there are more healthy options available since many fresh fruits and vegetables are ripe for the taking.
    • Look for your spring produce at your local farmer’s market.
  4. Outdoor Exercise
    • With warmer temperatures you’re more inclined to explore the outdoors.
    • Studies have shown time outdoors helps with reduced stress and lowering blood pressure.
    • Warmer weather also offers more opportunity for outdoor exercises (e.g. runs, walks, swimming, etc.)
  5. No winter skin
    • Gone are the days of dry skin and with the added vitamin D you’ll surely be moisturized.
  6. Spring Break
    • These are the best times for vacations. Whether near home or getting away, getaways are great ways to manage stress and has been linked to reduced risks of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease.

As you see, there’s plenty to enjoy during these upcoming months, but be sure to keep your health as a priority. Reach out to your doctor if your experiencing any changes during these times, so you make the best of this season.

Recipes for Success

Part of having a good team is having great team members, and our R-Health doctors are exactly that. Not only are our doctors always accessible to their members, but they constantly share insightful and intriguing information unrelated to medicine that our team and our members certainly enjoy. We asked Dr. Miller, our doctor at R-Health Voorhees, if she had any recommendations for our members, and she shared with us both a book and a delicious recipe.

For her book, Dr. Miller recommended Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Debuting #1 as a New York Times bestseller, the story follows a nurse who gets sued while battling the ever-present challenges of our time such as prejudice, justice, and race. Garnering great success since its debut, Small Great Things was recently added to the National Network of State Teacher of the Year’s (NNSTOY) booklist in 2017.

Furthermore, if you’re looking for a healthy meal, look no further than Dr. Miller. An R-Health doctor by day and amateur chef by night (we think), Dr. Miller loves to cook. She shared her recipe for Kale Soup below.

Dr. Miller’s Kale Soup

Ingredients:

  • Green Pepper Diced
  • Red Pepper Diced
  • Medium Onion
  • Turkey Kielbasa
  • Red Kidney Beans
  • 16 oz. Stewed Tomatoes
  • 32 oz. Beef Stock
  • 28-32 oz. Chicken Stock, Low Sodium
  • 2 Carrots, Peeled and Chopped
  • 2-3 Potatoes (other than white is healthier), Peeled and Diced
  • Frozen Package of Kale (10 oz.)

Recipe

  1. Sauté red pepper, onion and green pepper in olive oil
  2. Add it to the beef and chicken stock that has 2 tbsp. of adobo and 1 tbsp. of dried jerk simmering
  3. Sauté the kielbasa to brown and add to the pot
  4. Add diced potatoes and sliced carrots cook until tender – take some out and mash then add back to thicken the soup
  5. Add the stewed tomatoes
  6. Add the kidney beans
  7. Add the frozen kale and simmer for a couple of hours
  8. Serve it with sourdough or garlic bread

 

As you can see, our doctors are multifaceted but above all, are experts in primary care. Be sure to schedule your appointment with your R-Health doctor, and with all the time you have with them, maybe you can swap books and recipes too.

R-Questions, Answered, Vol. IV

In what’s to be our final 2017 installment of our doctor Q&A, this last stop puts us in New Brunswick. Dr. James Bancroft leads the charge at R-Health New Brunswick, our newest location on Easton Avenue. With roots across the country, discover how Dr. Bancroft got into medicine, despite a few challenging areas. Furthermore, if you have any more questions for Dr. Bancroft, scheduling a meet and greet is the best way to get the answers you need. But for now, please enjoy our fun Q&A with him.

  1. Where are you originally from?  I was born in Omaha, Nebraska. I grew up mostly in Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C
  2. Why did you study medicine? I always had an interest in health. I decided to go to medical school after teaching at a small high school. My favorite part of teaching was the one-on-one interactions.
  3. What was the hardest part of medical school? Being quizzed by the attending physicians and residents on a regular basis was probably the toughest.
  4. What do you do on a day off? I like to spend time with my family, catching up on laundry, doing yard work, working through a honey-do-list, and reading, so, a bunch of things.
  5. What’s your favorite TV show? I can’t say I have one favorite show. If I am watching TV, the channel is usually on a sports game and I am often doing something else at the time.
  6. Do you have bad handwriting? (They say all doctors do) I would consider my handwriting pretty good for a doctor, but, it has deteriorated.
  7. What’s is different about Direct Care that excites you? The opportunity to meet the needs of patients in different ways, such as offering longer appointments, phone visits, and even video visits.
  8. What’s the simplest piece of medical advice you can give? Really simple: stay active and eat more fruit and vegetables.

Dr. Bancroft’s office is open and he and his staff are eager to meet all new patients. If you’re interested in becoming a member of his practice, don’t hesitate – join today!

Sweets: Naughty or Nice?

The holidays are full of special things, decorations, songs, events, parties and gifts.  There are also sweet treats all around.  Holiday treats can be bittersweet – both literally and figuratively.

Whether the holidays serve as a relaxing time or a stress filled environment, finding too much comfort in these treats can be damaging to your health.

Next time the tray of cookies is in front of you, try to make mindful decisions.  Think about if this cookie is truly special, or is it just there in front of you.  Is it the cookie that will bring me joy, or is it that I am surrounded by my family and friends?  Or am I reaching for this cookie because I am stressed, what else could I do to handle my stress?  If you decide to eat the cookie, great, don’t have regrets!  Take time to chew, and savor, and truly enjoy it.  You will feel more satisfied and less likely to mindlessly reach for another.

What if there were healthier options available?  You could be a part of making that available for your family and friends.

There are many options to create healthier alternatives to traditional holiday sweet treats and gifts. You can show your love and keep loved ones healthy!  For example, create your own trail mix, make dark chocolate bark with fruit and nuts, make your own spice rubs or soup kits in mason jars.  Our very own Dr. Julia Snyder even suggested a healthy treat, Almond Grabbers, and their recipe can be found here.

For more healthy holiday treat and gift ideas, check out EatingWell. For all other tips and tricks as to what you should avoid for the holidays, reach out to your R-Health doctor who’s always available for you, even during the holiday season.

Do you have ideas of your own healthy holiday treats?  We’d love to hear. Share them with us on Facebook.

R-Questions, Answered, Vol. III

We continue our new practice introductions in Hamilton, home of R-Health Hamilton and Dr. Cindy Geng. A doctor with extensive routes and unique specialties, Dr. Geng was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. If you’re curious for more answers, you can always partake in our meet and greet sessions with the doctor, but for now, here’s a look into Dr. Geng’s background, passion for medicine, and why she’s excited for this new opportunity.

  1. Where are you originally from?  China
  2. Why did you study medicine? I’d like to help people get healthier, and I love to play a detective’s role to figure out what is the real culprit for their medical issues.
  3. What was the hardest part of medical school? I am OK with exams, but there were just too many exams in med school.
  4. What do you do on a day off? If the weather is nice, I would prefer to get close to nature – near a lake or a trail. I also enjoy have a party or tea time with friends.
  5. What’s your favorite TV show? Can we skip this one – as I watch TV shows mostly in Chinese. 🙂 
  6. Do you have bad handwriting? (They say all doctors do) NOT really.
  7. What’s is different about Direct Care that excites you? I love having more time to get to know my patients, to build a rapport and be able to have a positive impact in their long-term health.
  8. What’s the simplest piece of medical advice you can give? Have a healthy life style suitable for you, it will make your days more enjoyable.

Dr. Geng’s office is open and accepting new members, so don’t hesitate to sign up and see what else you may have in common.

R-Questions, Answered, Vol. II

In our tradition of commencing new locations, we’ve asked our Dr. Snyder, of R-Health Cherry Hill, a few questions to help introduce her to our community. Check out her answers as she discusses her background, interests, and even helpful medical advice. Moreover, if you have any questions for Dr. Snyder, you can always schedule a meet and greet to chat on a multitude of things, not discussed in this fun Q&A. Enjoy.

  1. Where are you originally from?  I was born in Washington Township, NJ and lived across the street from a farm where I fed carrots to horses. Then my family moved to Moorestown for the start of school.
  2. Why did you study medicine? I wanted to be a doctor from the time I was very little. I wanted to help people feel better. I still do.
  3. What was the hardest part of medical school? The hardest part of medical school was realizing that medicine wasn’t the way I had dreamed when I was little. After I had gotten through anatomy lab, physiology, and pharmacology in the first and second year of medical school, third year gave me a broken heart when I saw how dehumanizing medicine could be. Luckily, fourth year I discovered integrative and holistic medicine. It was what I dreamed medicine of being – addressing the care of the whole person – mind/body/spirit/family. This has been my passion ever since.
  4. What do you do on a day off? Spend time with my family. I have five-year-old twin girls. We love to play soccer, go to the playground, have dance parties at home and read together. I also spend a lot of time cooking. Having healthy food prepared for my family is very important to me. If I have a time for myself, I love to take a walk in the woods.
  5. What’s your favorite TV show? I like to watch Modern Family sometimes when I am on the elliptical. Does that count? The only thing that is ever on our actual TV is sports. My daughters love watching the Phillies or the Sixers. Thank my husband for that 🙂
  6. Do you have bad handwriting? (They say all doctors do) My signature is legible. My father taught me the importance of this. I think I have decent handwriting when I am not rushing. But I will admit that it can get sloppy if I have to move fast!
  7. What’s is different about Direct Care that excites you? I am so excited about Direct Care that I moved my family back here to NJ from Abington, PA. This is an amazing opportunity to practice medicine how I dreamed. Allowing time to develop a healing and trusting relationship, and time to focus on wellness, prevention and optimization of health, as well as taking care of illness in a holistic way as it comes up. I think it will be great for patient care and great for actually developing a healthcare system (not a sick-care system).
  8. What’s the simplest piece of medical advice you can give? Eat whole foods that come from nature, get enough sleep, manage your stress, move your body, and appreciate all that you have.

Dr. Snyder’s office is open and accepting new members, so don’t hesitate to sign up and see what else you may have in common.

R-Questions, Answered

Dr. Robin Miller will be joining us at our newest practice opening in Voorhees, NJ. We’ve asked her a few questions to let us know a little bit about her. Have more questions you’d like answered? Stop by an open house or come in for a meet and greet.

  1. Where are you originally from?  Magnolia, NJ
  2. Why did you study medicine? I wanted to be like the doctor I had when I was growing up, I wanted to help people stay healthy.
  3. What was the hardest part of medical school? Memorization
  4. What do you do on a day off? I love to do needlepoint, read, and cook.
  5. What’s your favorite TV show? The original NCIS
  6. Do you have bad handwriting? (They say all doctors do) It’s true, I have horrible handwriting. 
  7. What’s is different about Direct Care that excites you? I love having more time with my patients to truly promote health and wellness. 
  8. What’s the simplest piece of medical advice you can give? Wear seat belts, exercise, don’t smoke, and portion control your food. Ok that’s more than one piece of advice, but all are important

Dr. Miller’s office is currently accepting pre-enrollment so don’t hesitate to sign up and see what else you may have in common.