Healthy Ummah Series

Let’s be more a mindful and inclusive society – starting with our words

When I hear the word “retarded” used to describe someone or something that is unintelligent, silly or even as a filler-word when another adjective doesn’t suffice, it literally makes me cringe.  Worse yet is when I hear it being used to actually describe someone with a disability in a derogatory way.  As a physician, I …

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What you May Not Know about Diet Soda

As you relax in front of the TV with your sandwich, chips and large diet soda you may think to yourself, “This meal isn’t as bad since I switched over to diet”.  But is this really true? Recent studies suggest that diet soda may not be the healthier alternative after all.  Most popular diet drinks …

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Addressing the Mental Health of the General Population in the Wake of Newtown

Mental health is today’s hot topic given last Friday’s tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.  The importance of this issue is no longer a topic for discussion but a topic for action.  It is imperative that our health care system create room for mental illness to be destigmatized, detected, treated, and prevented.  As I see it, the …

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Food’s Complicated: Learning the UNcomplicated Prophetic Diet

Our system of food production is becoming more and more complicated and we are becoming less and less confident in the quality of what’s going inside our bodies. Understanding food today is much more than reading nutrition facts labels. Last month, thousands of people on facebook posted a guide to decoding produce stickers.  Four numbers …

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The Health Benefits of Fasting

On the first day of Andrew’s neurology rotation, his attending turned to him and asked, “Name one thing that has been scientifically shown to prolong life.” Andrew, a newly minted 3rd year medical student, replied in his naivete, “Antibiotics, of course.” The attending shook his head no.  “Ok, vaccines?” he tried a second time.  Another …

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Deaf Muslims: Will our request for inclusion be heard?

Imagine being at a community gathering with your family. The gathering lasts for hours. Everyone is laughing, clapping and seemingly enjoying themselves, but you have no idea what’s going on. You are isolated, despite the fact that you are in a room full of family and friends. This is the reality for many deaf people, …

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Dealing with Muslim Patients with Dementia

Samara, Naim, Nassir, Mona, Malika, yes that’s it Malikah. How are you? I waited patiently as my grandmother called the names of her grandchildren before she recognized that I was the one standing before her. I was not alarmed initially because it is normal to have a typical age-related change. Sometimes forgetting names but remembering …

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