By Svetlana Kogan, M.D.
If you are the kind of person that believes that everything in life happens for a reason, you will have noticed how “the new normal” behooves us to fortify our health. Prior to the latest pandemic, we have gone through an obesity epidemic as a nation, and witnessed the sugar versus fat battle unfold in the media and in print, powered by industries and suppliers. Such was a confusion in the mind of an average person that the more money was being spent on gyms, supplements, health foods, and slimming technologies – the fatter the nation grew. Enter Covid-19 (actually Covid-2 virus to be exact) and aesthetic part of the equation just dissipates into the thin air. Suddenly, we are left with the stark realization that being overweight is actually opening the door to increased hospitalizations and mortality. A 69 year old patient walked in though my doors in April with my book in hand. She was very impressed by the testimonials people have left for “Diet Slave No More!” on Amazon. Being a retired teacher herself, she was especially moved by what one of my patients wrote:
“I had the most fortunate luck this past summer when I decided to get a new doctor. I selected Dr. Kogan for her outstanding reputation as an internist. Before the visit, I also discovered that she had written this book. I ordered it as soon as I left her office. She did not push it on me. In fact, she didn’t even mention it during my exam! She is a class act. Fast forward to today…Having read it, I have been able to easily reset my synapses. I cannot say enough about it. Her book has taught me more about healthy eating than every single program and book that I have read/tried in my 53 years. I have been an early childhood educator for almost 30 years, and I wish that Dr. Kogan would also write a book for children. It is incredibly informative, entertaining, and left me feeling upbeat about actually looking forward to making the emotional and dietary changes that one needs to lead a healthy, long life. Everybody who has struggled with emotional eating must read this book! The accompanying app makes it even more fun! It Changed My Life. Thanks, Dr. Kogan!”
I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that my lady patient came to me to address her weight concerns at the time when everyone’s attention seemed to be focused only on Covid statistics. She had been reading a lot about obesity being one of the most important risk factors for bad outcomes with Covid and was determined to improve her odds of surviving the virus by facing her own weight issues head-on. Her blood pressure was elevated and so were her lipids. She was also recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. All in all, she had the usual bouquet of medical diagnoses which typically prompts a slew of medication prescriptions. Except that she signed up that day to be a patient in my concierge practice exactly because she espoused my philosophy that ailments should be addressed without medications whenever possible. So our personal pandemic plan was to have her lose weight, thereby improving her blood pressure, sugar, and lipids. She has embarked on this journey with me at a time when everyone was quarantined at home, and while so many people were indulging in ice-cream, popcorn, and cookies, my patient stuck with her 40 day plan suggested by my “Diet Slave No More!” book which involved cooking your own meals from scratch, using only fresh unprocessed foods. She was lucky to have been able to order all of the ingredients on Instacart. Furthermore, she seeked out healthy recipes websites and was thrilled to share them with me during her regular follow ups which we scheduled close to one another, so that I could keep her motivated and inspired.
I am a big proponent of slow weight loss, which is more likely to stick around as part of your lifestyle, so I did not rush her. Slowly but surely, by the end of July she had lost 30 pounds by simply sticking with my healthy eating tips. Her blood pressure, glucose (sugar), and lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) are now perfect with zero medications onboard. She has hit her weight loss plateau but still wants to lose 8 more pounds so we are going to add some moderate cardio exercise to her usual walking routine. She is thrilled beyond words to look and feel great. To me she is just an awesome example of a person who wanted to fortify her immunity from within and was determined to succeed. It is so important that despite of this pandemic we do not lose sight of how essential prevention still is. If we are living healthy and believe in G-d’s reason behind every little bit that happens on Earth – we will not be living to survive – instead we will live meaningfully and with gratitude.
Svetlana Kogan, M.D. is a Board Certified Medical Doctor with 20 years of experience. She has appeared as a health expert on FOX, ABC, CBS, and NBC prime time TV, and has authored hundreds of publications for internet and print. She moved her Concierge Internal
Medicine practice from Manhattan NYC to Naples, where her focus is on fusing traditional medicine with holistic approach to illness and prevention.
720 Fifth Ave S, Unit 209
Naples , FL 34102
Phone: (239) 676-6883
www.customlongevity.com