In today’s fast-paced world, nutrition has become more important than ever. The food we eat fuels our day-to-day activities but also supports our health and well-being. It can be overwhelming to understand the basics of a healthy lifestyle with the constant stream of trends, fad diets, and conflicting advice we hear every day.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, recounts the tale of one of his more memorable patients who for years had worked in the food industry, living on a modest salary and leading an unpretentious lifestyle. One day he won a large jackpot in a lottery, and overnight his life changed dramatically.He quit his job and moved into a luxurious house in a gated community. Yet as he sat in Dr. Murthy’s office two years later, he sadly admitted, “Winning the lottery was one of the worst things...

For millennia, physicians relied upon “laying on of the hands” as an important part of healing a patient. These days, it’s generally not the physical exam that establishes the precise diagnosis, but rather a barrage of high-tech imaging and blood tests. Even so, I remind the young doctors in training that doing a good physical exam is still an essential element of patient care. Not only does it give us clues about what might be awry...