Takoma Park Integrative Care

04/28/2026

Too much sugar is a problem. Too much of it, in its various forms, increases our risk of insulin resistance, which leads to obesity and diabetes. It also causes inflammation that underlies many chronic medical conditions like chronic pain, mood disorders, cardiovascular disease. kidney disease, increased triglycerides that damage the liver, heart, and pancreas, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer.

Eating sugar with fiber, a healthy fat, and protein slows down the absorption of sugar and helps prevent spikes in glucose levels. So chocolate covered nuts or a fruit smoothie made with whole fruits will not increase your glucose level as much as a candy bar or glass of fruit juice (neither having any fiber).

👉 Sugar alone = spike
👉 Sugar + fiber/protein/fat = stable

✔ Fruit smoothie
✔ Nuts + chocolate

❌ Juice
❌ Candy

Limit added sugar:
Women/Children: 25g/day
Men: 38g/day

Small changes = big impact.

If you are consuming too much sugar - more than 25 grams (6 tsp) of added sugar per day for women and children and more than 38g (9 tsp) for men, here are some tips on what you can do to curb those sugar cravings.

If you find yourself constantly battling sweet cravings. Here are five practical ways to curb your sweet tooth and maintain a healthier diet.

03/20/2026

PEARS - low in sugar and a great source of fiber, vitamin C, copper, potassium, and polyphenols like flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin that are anti-inflammatory and antioxidants; catechin and epiicatechin that are also anti-inflammatory and promote vascular health, and phenolic acids that regulate blood sugar metabolism and reduce blood sugar spikes after eating.

03/18/2026

Proceeds from Hoops for Hope support Charlottesville children in the family court system due to abuse or neglect. Kids aged 10-14 get to shoot hoops with former UVA basketball star and King of Rebounds, Travis Watson! Check out the ORCode for more details!

12/08/2025

My Thoughts on the Hepatits B Vaccination

As many of you may know, in addition to my role in cannabis and lifestyle medicine, I am a board-certified pediatrician with forty years of experience in the practice of medicine. While I do not believe most pediatricians are incentivized financially to give unnecessary treatments or vaccinations, I personally have never been in private pediatric practice so there has never been any financial or other incentive to give vaccinations, that I was not convinced by the scientific data, to be beneficial to the health and wellness of children.

As you may also know, I am not a big fan of pharmaceuticals and encourage lifestyle habits and nutrition to foster health and longevity. However, infection is a horse of another color. I am a proponent of vaccinations that prevent the infections that we saw routinely years ago - many that caused permanent disability or death.

Before the hepatitis B vaccine was made available, approximately 20,000 hepatitis B infections occurred in children under 10 years of age per year, approximately half of those infections occurred in newborns.

Not all of those newborn cases were contracted from Hep B positive mothers. Mothers can have false negative results; some mothers contracted the disease after their screening test was done, so some newborns are exposed to hepatitis B in the uterus even though their mother tested negative or the test results were not available at the time of delivery.

There is also the risk that the virus can be contracted after birth.
The virus can remain infectious on surfaces for at least 7 days. This means that even the tiniest speck of dried blood that may not even be visible to the naked eye can harbor the virus.

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, one of the country's premier pediatric hospitals, 65% of chronic hepatitis infections they see were in children born to mothers who did not test positive for hepatitis B! It's scary that the ACIP members who voted against newborn vaccinations were not aware of this!

Newborns do not have the immune system capable of killing the virus so unlike adults, ninety percent (90%) of infected newborns will develop chronic hepatic B. As a consequence, twenty-five percent (25%) of those chronic hepatitis patients will die prematurely from liver failure, cirrhosis, or liver cancer.

Since universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination was implemented in 1991, more than 6 million newborn hepatitis B infections have been avoided - meaning 1.5 million people have not died prematurely due to cirrhosis or liver cancer due to a history of neonatal infection.

New mothers, the hepatitis B vaccine was never mandated at the state or federal level and it will continue to be available. All you have to do is let your team know that you want your baby vaccinated! At birth! Waiting until the 2-month visit may be too late.

11/10/2025

A plant forward dietary pattern, moderate exercise, managing stress, getting 7-9 hours of restorative sleep, and intellectual challenges can reduce your risk for stroke and dementia.

10/29/2025

Join Dr Nia Banks and me as we discuss the importance of adequate restorative sleep and how to achieve it!

10/29/2025

So exciting to meet so many young doctors throughout Latin America, interested in learning about health, the endocannabinoid system and cannabis as a therapeutic!

10/23/2025

Had the honor of speaking to medical doctors on the use of in treating pain and minimizing medication in beautiful Campiñas Brazil. Up next… cannabis and !

10/11/2025

Let’s talk about healthy lifestyle habits! 😃

09/19/2025

Reimagining Patient Care Join us in Denver Oct 24-25, 2025 For the SCC 3rd Annual Clinical Conference 🔸32 expert speakers 🔹Research Poster Session 🔸Farm & Lab Tours 🔹Virtual or In-Person 🔸 🔸Tickets are limited- don’t wait!🔸
store.cannabisclinians.org/scc-conference-2025