Did you know that over 90% of New Year’s resolutions are never kept? It likely doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but since hindsight is 20/20 (couldn’t help a 2020 reference!), we’re here to help you come out on the right side, statistically speaking, this year!

If you’re trying to figure out how to create a healthy balance through the holiday season, you’re not alone. The best way to make this Thanksgiving a special occasion is by sharing a meaningful experience with family and friends. The priority should be to connect with your loved ones and share quality time with them. You can do this by being more mindful and conscious of the time you spend together, demonstrating appreciation, and finding some time to play and feel festive. While food can play a central role, holiday engagements are about so much more, and what’s important is to be more present in your everyday life. 

Stress, also known as the silent killer - mental or emotional strain or tension that results from adverse or very demanding circumstances – can weigh heavily on a person's health. It can increase a person's risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and many different mental health problems like anxiety and sleeping disorders, something very common among our patient base in Puerto Rico. Stress reduces the quality of life and makes it difficult to handle the day-to-day pressures of living.

We've noticed that many of our patients don't make it to their annual gynecologist visit, even when they clearly recognize the importance of this appointment. An annual gynecological exam is a fundamental part of preventive medical care for women, and is critical for identifying any risk factors for disease (cancers, in particular) as well as detecting any existing medical issues. This is an appointment to make, not miss!

Having said this, we understand why it happens. When you're busy balancing work, family, or just life in general, it's very hard to consciously commit to spending hours or more waiting to see a physician, which is typically the case in Puerto Rico. We know you’ve got a lot going on, and the last thing we want is for your hectic schedule to prevent you from taking care of yourself.

As your trusted partner in health and wellness, we’ve decided to flip the script this Valentine’s Day. Don’t get us wrong, we love love, but since it’s American Heart Month we figured we’d take this opportunity to talk about the heart from a different perspective. While we often hear about what not to do when it comes to heart health, we are here today to focus on five things you can do to show your heart some love!

This week we are exploring one aspect of every health and wellness journey that is often overlooked, despite being critically important! Over the past few weeks we’ve taken a deeper dive into each of the steps outlined at the start of this month’s blog series, A Guide to Making (and Keeping) a New Year’s Resolution to Improve Your Health. We’ve already worked through the first two steps (Find a Doctor You Can Trust Who Cares About You and Fuel Your Body with a Balanced Diet and Exercise), and are going to close out the series with the last (but not the least) of the three: Commit to Self-Care.

As we discussed in our New Year blog, we have defined three steps for setting an intention to improve your health:

1. Find a Doctor You Can Trust Who Cares About You
2. Fuel Your Body with a Balanced Diet and Exercise
3. Commit to Self-Care

For this part of the series we will be discussing Step 2: Fuel Your Body with a Balanced Diet and Exercise. Though there are many ways to lead a healthy life, two things all approaches have in common are clean eating and physical fitness, for which there are no substitutes. Fortunately, we are here to show you the way!

As we discussed in our previous blog, we have defined three steps for making (and keeping) a New Year's resolution to improve your health:

1. Find a Doctor You Can Trust Who Cares About You
2. Fuel Your Body with a Balanced Diet and Exercise
3. Commit to Self-Care

For this part of the series we will be discussing Step 1: Find a Doctor You Can Trust Who Cares About You. When you want to make improvements or become an expert at something, what do you do? A typical response would be to partner with a professional or seek out the support of a mentor. Let’s apply this to your health!

Did you know that less than 10% of people keep their New Year’s resolutions? It sounds like a crazy statistic, but it likely comes as no surprise. Can you remember the last time you made and kept a New Year’s resolution? Read on for some tips on how to become the healthier version of yourself.