John Earl R. Conese, MD

Read: Childhood Immunization Schedule 2026 ✅✅

For the full text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m2eaMdF_l8B9YHJN1Kc7Et8pvODxdRob/view?usp=drivesdk

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭

While doing my OPD consult, a lola came in for a check-up —not for any specific complaint, but to ask for a prescription for an herbal capsule she had been taking for MALASAKIT claims. She had been using it for two months, convinced by a radio advertisement that it could cure almost everything— hypertension, diabetes, ulcers, hepatitis, pneumonia, kidney problems, and even HIV.

She confidently told me:
"𝐾𝑎𝑛𝑖 𝑟𝑎 𝑎𝑘𝑜, 𝑑𝑜𝑐, 𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑖 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑎-𝑑𝑎𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑎 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑦."

"𝑀𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑢-𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑘𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑖, 𝑑𝑜𝑐, 𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑏𝑎𝑛."

She truly believed she had found a safer, more effective alternative to multiple medications. But when I checked her vitals, her blood pressure was 190/100, worse, she already had signs of end-organ damage.

I gently explained to her:
𝟏. 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫. Left uncontrolled, it damages the kidneys, heart, and blood vessels, leading to complications like stroke and heart failure.
𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 "𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞-𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬-𝐚𝐥𝐥" 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞. Chronic diseases require a personalized, evidence-based approach, including proper medications, lifestyle changes, and regular monitoring.
𝟑. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 "𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥" 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. Many herbal supplements lack scientific validation and can even worsen certain conditions.

The Philippines is seeing a rise in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), with hypertension and diabetes as the leading causes. Many patients, like lola, prefer herbal supplements, believing them to be safe and kidney-friendly. Unfortunately, this belief delays proper treatment, often leading to irreversible kidney damage and, eventually, dialysis.

Here are my take-aways:
𝟏. 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. Testimonials and advertisements can be powerful influencers, often more persuasive than science.
𝟐. 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲. Patients deserve clear, compassionate, and evidence-based explanations to help them make informed decisions.
𝟑. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐜𝐮𝐭. There is no magic pill, but there are proven strategies that can help people live longer and healthier lives.

As she left, I could see hesitation in her eyes—but also a spark of understanding. Hopefully, it was the first step toward real healing.

🔴Management of Obesity in HF – 2025 ACC Update⤵️

🔹 BMI ≥35 ➡️ Obesity confirmed
🔹 BMI 30–34.9 ➡️ Check waist / DEXA
🔹 HFpEF or HFrEF?
🔹 💊 GLP-1 RA or 🥗 lifestyle
🔹 🔪 Bariatric surgery if indicated
🔹 📋 Monitor symptoms & labs

Summary By updates_in_medicine

🔹https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2025.02.018

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟕,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡!
A major new study published in The Lancet Public Health (August 2025) confirms what many health experts have long suspected, walking more each day can dramatically reduce your risk of chronic disease and death.

Here’s what the study found when adults walked just 7,000 steps per day:

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔:
✅ 47% lower risk of death (all causes)
✅ 37% lower risk of cancer death
✅ 25% lower risk of heart disease
✅ 38% lower risk of dementia
✅ 22% lower risk of depression
✅ 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes

𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 = 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 (6,000–8,000/𝑑𝑎𝑦) ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑠!

As a lifestyle medicine physician, I strongly encourage you to walk your way to better health, literally. Prevention is powerful, and every step counts!

The 🆕 AHA/ACC/Multisociety on high blood pressure provides updated recommendations for clinicians on the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults.

Published in , the new guideline reflects the latest research and evidence since February 2015 and replaces the previous version from 2017. The guideline includes new recommendations addressing topics like secondary forms of hypertension, primary aldosteronism, lifestyle and psychosocial approaches, hypertension and pregnancy, acute intracerebral hemorrhage, resistant hypertension and renal denervation, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Access the guideline here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4oCwJLk

Moving more, eating well, and limiting or avoiding alcohol are simple but effective ways to manage high blood pressure. The High Blood Pressure Hub offers patients guidance for living with and monitoring high blood pressure, including downloadable infographics on the basics of blood pressure measurements and more.

Visit the hub and share these resources with your patients: https://bit.ly/4lxWqtP