With the holidays just around the corner, this seems like an appropriate time to share a few seasonal recipes from the Ridgeview kitchen. Of all the fantastic dishes patients, staff and visitors enjoy on the Waconia campus, I’m going to share how to turn plain vegetables into something special. Yes, it’s possible—and a great way to offer a few healthy choices with your holiday meal.

Humans are hard-wired for survival. The brain is rigged with a powerful alarm system that blares when perceiving a threat to our safety. It triggers a blast of hormones sending our heart racing and blood pressure rising emitting a heightened physical and emotional response.

Having spent the past 20 years in the field of bariatric medicine, I have heard many stories from patients over the years of their own “ah-ha” moment that led them to pursue weight loss surgery. Clearly the decision for any type of bariatric surgery is not an easy one; it is a decision made, for almost all patients, after years of trying and failing numerous non-surgical weight loss attempts.

Talking to teenagers about sexual health can be a difficult conversation, but it is important to their development into a sexually healthy adult. It's impossible to avoid sex in the media, but it is somehow still rarely talked about. Here are some tips to make it easier for both parents and their teens:

We are approaching the time of year when Minnesota is at its best to enjoy outdoor activities. Exploring nature - green forests, lakes and rivers - can be good for our health, both mentally and physically.

When I was in medical school in India there was an outbreak of the bubonic plague in another state. No kidding. The bubonic plague. Didn't we get rid of that a long time ago? That's how I felt when I heard about the recent measles outbreak. Wasn't that eliminated in the U.S. a couple decades ago? Apparently yes it was. But not any more.

Exposure to extreme cold for a long time can damage your skin and the tissues underneath. That damage is called frostbite, and it’s the most common freezing injury. Frostbite doesn’t just hurt, it can lead to dangerous health consequences if not caught and treated in time. With the arrival of colder temperatures, it's the start of another frostbite season and it's important to take steps to avoid frostbite.

Prevention is the easiest way to avoid frostbite.

Any part of your body can suffer from frostbite, but your extremities – hands, feet, nose, and ears – are the most at risk. The most common contributors to frostbite are wet clothing, exposure to high winds, and poor blood circulation. Blood flow may be restricted due to things you can control such as:

• Tight clothing or boots.
• Sitting or crouching in a cramped position.
• Smoking or alcohol use.

Poor circulation is also an issue for people who take beta-blocker medications or who have medical conditions that affect the blood vessels, such as diabetes or Raynaud’s phenomenon.

Many diseases today are completely avoidable with vaccination. The reason for immunizations against certain diseases is because of the complications the disease can create.

Many Minnesotans notice a change in their behavior or mood during the fall and winter months as daylight hours shorten and the cold drives us indoors. If changes are mild and do not impair your ability to function, this pattern, called “seasonality,” is common and normal. If the changes are more prominent or are impacting your life in a significant way, you could be experiencing a disorder aptly named “SAD” or Seasonal Affective Disorder. 

According to the American Cancer Society - colon cancer is one of the five most common types of cancer, but thanks in large part to increased awareness about the importance of colonoscopy - the death rate from colorectal cancer has been steadily declining.

The key is early detection and removal of polyps that could turn into cancer.  In the second article of Ridgeview’s series about colon cancer, we get right to the bottom line: if you’re an adult of a certain age, colon screening could save your life. It’s that simple. When you should have a colonoscopy, and how often, depends on your risk level.