Nisha Patel, MD MS, Dipl of ABOM, CCMS
@DrPlantel
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👩🏽⚕️Obesity, Lipid, Menopause, Culinary & IM Doc ✨Cardiometabolic health ⭐️Neuroscience nerd ⭐️Plant forward 🚫 medical advice. Views are my own
Joined December 2020
“Instead of Ozempic, why don’t we just give everyone a gym membership to treat obesity”- said by someone who literally doesn’t understand obesity. Exercise is important but not sufficient to treat obesity, a truth people can’t accept🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️.
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Casey Means and I are the same age. She dropped out of ENT residency and now calls herself a metabolic health and nutrition expert. I completed my internal medicine training and went on to earn certifications in obesity medicine, clinical lipidology, cardiometabolic medicine,.
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The amount of hate doctors are getting right now is off the charts, and people just don’t seem to get the consequences of it. Let’s get something straight: doctors didn’t go into this field to watch patients suffer or get rich quick. The fact that people think that is honestly.
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Here’s a hard truth every “wellness influencer” needs to swallow: someone can do everything *right* when it comes to a healthy lifestyle and still get sick or be diagnosed with chronic diseases. The lifestyle vs. medicine debate needs to die. It’s not an either/or situation, use.
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Many doctors already do this, it’s not the future, it’s happening now.
The doctor of the future will prescribe heavy lifting, whole foods, high protein, clean drinking water & 10,000 steps a day.
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@CariCole It is clear you do not know a single thing about me or my work. If you did, you’d know that I work tirelessly to help people adopt healthier lifestyle habits & prevent cardiometabolic diseases or complications from them. But the truth is despite healthy lifestyles people can.
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Some of the people with the strongest opinions about obesity have likely not struggled with obesity themselves. Easy to judge from the outside. I said what I said.
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Tell me you don’t understand biology without telling me:. Thinking that replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar in soda is somehow much better for metabolic health. Neither makes the soda healthier. 🤦🏽♀️.
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@JillianMichaels Hey Jillian, remember these? Your non FDA approved “fat burner” supplements?
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Wellness influencers and some functional medicine practitioners love to talk about getting to the “root cause” of disease. But here’s the irony: they often ignore the most fundamental root causes, the social and structural ones. They’ll talk endlessly about leaky gut, toxin.
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Professional medical organizations need to stop having conferences in states that limit reproductive rights. Its literally not safe for pregnant attendees!.
I have decided to not attend the @AmerUrological annual meeting in San Antonio, TX this year. My husband & I are trying for our 2nd child. At 39 yrs old I have a high risk of miscarriage & I don't want to go somewhere my healthcare options are limited should I have an emergency.
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Medications like Wegovy/Ozempic/Mounjaro are TREATMENTS for chronic diseases like obesity & diabetes. I hate that society has boiled them down to just “weight loss injections”, like some scammy back alley quick fix. #Medtwitter.
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A patient with obesity recently told me that “even though I may not look like it, I enjoy eating veggies.” My heart broke. 💔 This person has been stigmatized their entire life to be made to feel that couldn’t possibly enjoy eating veggies based on how they looked…😢😢😢.
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I am NOT a “guest” in this country. Born and raised in the USA. Just because I’m a brown physician, you made an assumption about me. Damn.
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Frying fries in beef tallow instead of seed oils, using cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup in soda & removing dyes from sugary cereals doesn’t make them magically healthier. At the end of the day, these are still foods we need to eat less of, even with these tweaks!.
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No, most doctors do not want to see their patients sick. We don’t enjoy “keeping patients sick. That’s a dumb narrative pushed by people with agendas, usually to sell something & make a $$$.
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Wellness influencer: “Doctors are the worst. They don’t get to the root cause of your disease. Cure your leaky gut and adrenal fatigue with my supplement. Use code DoctorsSuck for 20% off.”. Also buried somewhere on wellness influencer website (in fine print): “This is not.
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This is down right scary.
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An insurance company dictated that my patient HAS to go up on a dose of Zepbound even though a lower dose was working for the patient. They refused to continue covering the cost of the lower dose. Medical treatment should not be dictated by an insurance company!.
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Unpopular opinion: As important as a health promoting lifestyle, it is sometimes not enough to prevent disease. "Healthy" people can still get sick. It's not a personal failure. #MedTwitter.
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Telling someone with obesity to “eat less and move more” is like telling someone with depression to “cry less and be happier.” It doesn’t work 🤦🏾♀️.
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Here is a truth that some people CANNOT accept: . You can follow the healthiest of healthy lifestyles AND STILL GET SICK. Stop the blame game. Many people have no idea what someone’s circumstances are that led to disease development.
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I think one aspect of nutrition we don’t often acknowledge enough is how much more time consuming it is to prepare meals from scratch with minimally processed foods. Teaching people tips & tricks to save time when making meals is very important to improve diet quality.
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There are no words to describe the disgust I feel with America right now. We will never stop fighting for healthcare & human rights.
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@nealkhosla @chrissyfarr Hello there, looks like you posted my section of the piece :) no where in my piece did I say that people can’t be educated on their own health, in fact it’s important for patients to feel empowered to seek appropriate medical care.
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The tsunami that is the health mis & disinformation is brewing. It grows stronger & stronger as we speak. I hope we are ready to fight the shit storm because it’s about to get real ugly. I refuse to stand back & watch people get hurt because of it.
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"Nutritionist" needs to be a legally protected title that can only be claimed by those with formal nutrition degrees (RD's, MS, PhD's ect). I am increasingly concerned with the # of my patient's w/ cancer who are given bad diet advice by "nutritionists." #nutrition #medtwitter.
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If I hear that vegetables are "toxic" one more time, my head might explode 🤡🤡🤡.
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Some people can’t accept that medications to treat obesity work. They can’t accept that they are a great adjunct to lifestyle changes and can actually make it easier for people to follow healthy habits. Also huge red flag if anyone is selling a supplement or food and claiming.
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I've never seen so many people afraid of vegetables as I have on Twitter. like damn, what the heck did broccoli do to you?!.
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If you have obesity, it’s okay to take medications for treatment while simultaneously working on healthier lifestyle habits. You don’t have to suffer the health & quality of life consequences unnecessarily. Taking medications is not the “easy way out.”.
Save a life in one tweet.
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Big wellness has people convinced that eating any “artificial sugar” is poison and somehow maple syrup and honey are infinitely healthier for weight loss because it’s “natural.”.
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Why do some grown ass adults demonize fruit as having “too much sugar? It’s like, what did berries & apples ever do to you? Are they seriously putting fruit in the same category as snickers? It’s 2023 & some of us are out here still having to defend fruit 🤦🏾♀️😂😂😂.
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I’m not lifting weights because I’m tryna to look a certain way. I’m lifting weights so that when I’m 70 years old, and I fall, I can get back up!.
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I wish every hospital had a teaching kitchen where chefs, patients, physicians, nurses, RDs, & other healthcare staff can come together to learn how to make tasty, easy, health promoting meals!.
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We need to stop telling people that a hemoglobin A1c in the "pre diabetes" is "not a big deal". I am seeing younger & younger patients get diagnosed with cardiometabolic diseases. They need to understand their lifetime risk & what they can do it about now!.
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I eat plant-based, but claiming that the ONLY way to be "healthy" is to eat entirely plant-based is not true. There are other reasons people may choose to be plant-based. There is no room for diet propaganda when trying to help people improve health outcomes, plant-based or not.
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Some of y’all are out here saying people without formal training or licensure are just as qualified as trained professionals. Okay, so would you let that “equally qualified” person perform open heart surgery on you because they read about the heart on ChatGPT?. Nope.
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Them: “Weight loss jabs are the easy way out! Just eat less, move more!”. Me: “Cool, so the patients already tried that for years. Soooo what do you think would actually work to treat obesity?!”. Them: “Tell them to stop eating. Try harder!!!” . 🙄🙄🙄🙄.
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If your doctor is recording videos of themselves at the grocery store yelling at food or demonizing a whole macronutrient category, you need a new doctor….🤷🏽♀️ #medtwitter.
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Maybe we should be asking the Dr how they could possibly ask ALL of these questions & address other concerns in a 15 min appt time slot? We have a systemic issue in healthcare & many Drs try to counsel at the expense of their lunch hours or staying late charting. #MedTwitter
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The comments on this post are atrociously hilarious. It isn’t just about fluoride, it’s about the fact that a person with no scientific or medical background is trying to make public health decisions. Thats like a doctor making decisions about car manufacturing!.
This is down right scary.
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There she goes again, running her mouth like she actually knows what she’s talking about. 🙄 Mam, weight plateaus are a naturally trajectory of weight loss, even on meds. People usually plateau at lower weights on meds vs lifestyle alone. Also gut serotonin doesn’t cross the BBB.
Bill Maher and I talk about the new scary findings n GLP1 drugs this week on Real Time. Be sure to tune in!
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It’s ironic how some people scream “Big Pharma owns doctors” while handing over their credit card to social media influencers selling $80 chlorophyll drops and gut detox powders made in someone’s garage. Yes, some doctors have crossed lines with pharma, and that’s not okay. But.
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It’s wild that I went through medical training thinking menopause was just when periods stopped & hot flashes. Never once did we discuss the profound implications of the menopause transition on a women’s well being & cardiometabolic health. We need to stop failing women!.
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Why do some people demonize non-organic fruits & veggies? Most people don't eat enough fruits & veggies in the first place & organic can be more costly. We need to reduce barriers to fruits & veggie consumption period. No need to be elitist about organic vs non-organic.
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Hey @RobertKennedyJr, why did you delete this post? How does replacing seed oils in beef tallow make them healthier? What you really should be encouraging is reducing consumption of fast food period and making it easier and more affordable for American families to eat more
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Please do not take medical advice from an influencer who has NO medical training, NO morals, NO ethics & is trying to make money by fear mongering. You will not be able to hold these people accountable. They do not care what happens to you. They won’t be there if you suffer.
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One thing I desperately want to change about healthcare for moms, especially on Mother’s Day. I can’t tell you how many women in their 50s and 60s walk into my office, finally ready to prioritize their health, after decades of putting everyone else first. They’re living with.
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It's scary to think that a "holistic nutritionist" with no medical/nutrition training what so ever is telling patients with disordered eating to "cut out dairy & gluten" without rhyme or reason. Its also scary to think virtually ANYONE can call themselves a "nutritionist".
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We’re out here obsessing over protein, and look, I ain’t mad about it. But let’s not forget: MOST people don’t hit the minimum for fiber intake. And no, I’m not talking about fiber gummies or supplements. I mean fiber from actual whole plant foods like fruits, veggies, lentils,.
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My patient's heart failure symptoms improved after a 10% weight reduction. They can now lift weights, walk 2 miles a day & go to the gym. I cannot tell you how AMAZING it feels to be an obesity medicine doc & help patients improve their health & quality of life. THIS IS MY WHY!.
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@Salty_Carolina @CariCole Excuse me? “Mouthing off to natives?” I don’t know who the hell you are but you need to know one thing: BORN AND RAISED in the USA! Damn, you assumed because I was brown that I wasn’t from here.
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“If you want to be healthy, just eat like me.”. -said by a wellness influencer who drops $50 on olive oil, side eyes your non-organic produce, and has never had to choose between groceries and rent.
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She loves demonizing treatments that actually work for obesity but would gladly endorse anything that makes her more $$$. Also stop calling them weight loss meds, these are cardiometabolic meds, get it right ✌🏾.
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Yup they chose violence & I could not disagree more. Sorry, but physicians are tired of being martyrs at the cost of their physical & mental health. You wanna work 24/7, you do you, but stop crapping on physicians who don’t want to do that. It’s not healthy.
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I am frankly tired of the arguments that pit medical care against lifestyle habits. A healthy lifestyle is the foundation of health. We can all agree on that.
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Here is something people CAN’T accept about obesity treatment: Taking medications can actually make it easier for people to eat more healthfully because they don’t have to constantly fight the food noise. It’s liberating for patients to be able to make healthier eating habits.
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The OG carnivore is now eating more plants 🤔🤔🤔 makes you wonder what ill health he’s suffering that he has to back track his entire brand & stop calling himself the CarnivoreMD.
My mind is still blown at the transition from promoting a carnivore diet to an animal based diet (pictured below). Also, no longer branding as Carnivore MD, just Paul Saladino MD. 🤯
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My patient told me all of her doctors in the past told her she’s “fat & needs to lose weight.” She tearfully said to me “I know I need help, but they keep saying it over & over again. They blame all of my health problems on my weight.” Healthcare is FAILING people with obesity.
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I’ll say this loud & proud till I’m blue in the face: medications to treat obesity are not *just* “weight loss drugs”. They are CARDIOMETABOLIC medications! For the first time ever, we have a medication treatment for sleep apnea, tirzepatide! Booyah to all the haters but these
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Telling someone with obesity to just “eat less, move more” is like telling someone with emphysema to “just breathe better.” Guess what, many people are trying to eat less & move more but no one blames the food environment we live in, just the individuals because that’s easier!.
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Contrary to what many “wellness influencers” want you to believe, good health isn’t guaranteed, even if you do everything “right.” That doesn’t mean you stop trying. But we have to remember that we can (and should) use both healthy lifestyle habits and modern medicine to reduce.
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Blaming doctors for the chronic disease epidemic is like blaming firefighters for the fire. Yes, our healthcare system has serious shortcomings, we all know that. But placing the blame solely on doctors ignores the real systemic drivers of poor health: a food environment that.
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Imagine there are people going through life thinking fruit is “bad” because it has sugar but they would gladly shove a stick of butter in their coffee every morning. This is fruit we are talking about. 🙄 What did strawberries & oranges do to you?!.
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Do people really think removing food dyes from Fruit Loops is going to make them healthier? Nope, it won’t. Best to focus on actually making healthier foods easier to prepare, affordable & accessible.
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It’s cute when someone who has never actually taken care of a patient claims to be an “expert” in healthcare. Try shadowing a doctor at least before making arrogant AF statements.
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If you are a healthcare provider & you tell a patient they can’t eat fruit bc it has “too much sugar in it”, you are a part of the problem. Its even sadder when it comes from a nutrition professional. Don’t add to the nonsense nutrition advice that patients encounter daily.
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It’s cute when quacks try to blame national dietary guidelines for poor cardiometabolic health. The irony is the majority of US adults do not meet guideline recommendations especially for fruit & veggie intake. How does one blame guidelines that people aren’t following?.
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I am a broken record but working on improving the “basics” of a healthy life style (health promoting diet, physical activity, sleep, stress management, not smoking or drinking excessively etc) will get one further than that “microbiome test” or “hormone balancing protocol.”.
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My “biohacking” & longevity protocol:. -Lift weights often.-Move more, sit less.-Eat more plants & lean protein.-Sleep.-Stress management & setting boundaries .-Track body comp. What it doesn’t include: random supplements, CGMs, saunas, cold plunges, red light therapy & more 😉.
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So they must not need all those tests you sell on Function Health too? What about pregnancy care? Cancer screening? Healthy people can still get sick. Duh.
A healthy body doesn’t need a doctor. A sick system does. The goals of doctors should be to make ourselves (and medications) obsolete from your lives; not permanent fixtures in them.
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“You need to eat and live like our ancestors to lose weight” . -Said by someone using an Apple Watch to take phone calls . Our ancestors also died when they were like 30. Yes, we should all eat more minimally processed whole foods especially lean proteins, fruits, veggies,.
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💙Baby boy expected Nov 2023! Improving cardiometabolic health across a women’s lifespan from the reproductive years into menopause takes on a whole new meaning now & my passion is stronger than ever for myself, my patients & our future generations!
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Would someone tell a person with severe hypertension to stop all of there meds for a “natural lifestyle approach”? Hell no. Then why tell someone with severe obesity they shouldn’t take meds to help improve their health outcomes” & just “try harder” to lose weight “naturally.”.
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This 👇🏾 I'd be lying if I said I don't already have a pit in my stomach about heading back into the hospital to work on Monday. 😬 Please be kind & understand we are doing our best #hospital #MedTwitter #healthcare.
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Losing weight is hard but keeping it off in the long term is harder. Diet tribes never talk about this. The real success of dietary interventions banks on how sustainable the approach is to maintain weight loss in the long term, not just for 6 months.
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Well Twitter, there’s a new clinical lipidologist on the block! Officially passed my board exam, woohoo! #medtwitter @nationallipid.
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Dear social media & news outlets: Please stop calling ozempic & wegovy “Hollywood/celebrity weight loss drugs” & recognize that these are evidence based MEDICAL therapies for chronic diseases like diabetes & obesity, used in conjunction with healthy lifestyle habits. #MedTwitter.
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🚩RED FLAG🚩: Anyone who even TRIES to demonize fruit & veggies as a cause of “ill health”. Like what? What kind of person goes around demonizing fruits & veggies? Do you even read literature bro? #nutrition #health #MedTwitter.
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Legumes are the most under rated food for cardiometabolic health. Eat your lentils and beans folks!.
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Telling people with obesity to just try “harder” at following a healthy lifestyle is like telling someone with anxiety to “relax more.” 🤦🏾♀️.
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Stop promoting the belief that cooking at home should require the same time as ordering takeout. Most times, ordering delivery takeout requires significantly less time & effort. Cooking at home should be seen as an intervention to improve health. Stop unrealistic expectations.
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“My feet don’t hurt anymore & I can walk around easier”-patient with obesity in Ozempic. I’ll say it again, treating obesity is not about “achieving” a certain body shape, size or weight. It’s about improving health outcomes & quality life all day everyday!.
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Please stop using the term “morbid obesity.” We don’t say “morbid diabetes” or “morbid high blood pressure” or “morbid heart disease.” I hate that this is still an ICD code. Stop using stigmatizing language, especially if you are a physician or healthcare provider, just stop.
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Stay away from people who tell you not to eat fruit because it has “too much sugar” in it. If people are seriously worried about the sugar in fruit, they got their priorities twisted 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️.
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If ones argues "the weight will come back" once obesity treatment is stopped, then they are failing to understand what chronic disease management is. When one abruptly stop treatment for ANY disease, the disease could get worse. It is no different with obesity. #MedTwitter.
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You know what makes me want to scream into the abyss as a physician?. -Many prescription meds priced like Versace bags. -Insurance companies doing Olympic level gymnastics just to DENY care. -Big Wellness selling overpriced nonsense to desperate people failed by the system. -And.
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Highlight of my day: Today in weight management clinic, a patient told me they were so excited to have met me because I was the first doctor who didn't shame them for their weight. They left our appointment feeling empowered & relieved. Weight stigma sucks #MedTwitter.
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Here is a truth some people can’t accept: Just because “x, y, z” diet & lifestyle habits worked for one person for weight loss does not mean it is going to work for everyone else. Guess what buddy? They ain’t living your life. You have no idea what their life is like. What.
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"Doctors don't care about you. They only prescribe meds because Big Pharma pays them" - Said by individual(s) who profits from selling their own products/supplements/detoxes or whatever. How ironic. 🙄 #MedTwitter.
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If you don’t want to eat carbs, that’s your prerogative, but can we at least acknowledge that healthful sources of carbs (legumes, whole grains ect) are a key component of every evidence based dietary pattern to reduce the risk of multiple chronic diseases? #nutrition #medtwitter.
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Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease, of which ApoB is the driver. Denying this fact goes against the totality of evidence. Evidence > feelings all day everyday ✌🏾.
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I started my physician career in hospital medicine. I quickly realized that although acute care is necessary, my heart is in preventing cardiometabolic diseases & secondary complications. Sadly our healthcare systems don’t value prevention 😔 I want to be apart of the change!.
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I was accused of “pathologizing fat peoples bodies”. First off, body shape or size does not tell us how “healthy” a person is. My goal as a physician is to improve cardiometabolic health outcomes for my pts & if that makes you uncomfortable, click that unfollow button 👋🏾.
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For anyone that thinks obesity is caused by a “lack of willpower”, please educate yourselves & read this👇🏽 #EndTheStigma, it is one of many barriers to accessing the appropriate care! #MedTwitter #HealthForAll #nutrition
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When did bread become weight loss enemy #1? I can’t tell you how many patients are liberated when I tell them that they don’t have to stop eating bread to lose weight. It’s amazing how many people are told they have to “cut out all carbs” to lose weight 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️.
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Nothing irks me more than people being misled into thinking pre-diabetes isn’t something to worry about. Insulin resistance precedes the diagnosis & should not be ignored! There is much we can do to change the trajectory & prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.
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