When my wife asked me to take the bucket of clean laundry upstairs to the bedroom, I did it with zest. Why? Because it was no longer a...
Make walking part of daily routine for better health – Commercial Appeal
Read More
Articles in Newspapers
Farewell to Obamacare; now what comes next? – Commercial Appeal
Last week, we said goodbye to President Barack Obama, and soon we will say goodbye to Obamacare. Eight years ago, when the tumultuous...
Eliminating tuberculosis is a dream within reach – Commercial Appeal
Have you ever dreamed of being a force for good, so that you can impact the lives of future generations? The good may come from whatever...
What will ‘Trumpcare’ look like? – Commercial Appeal
Obamacare died on election night, and Trumpcare was born. With a majority of his party in the House and Senate, President-elect Donald...
Four Steps to Cope with Pain from the 2016 Elections – Huffington Post
The pain is silent, subtle and gnawing, like that of being overlooked for a promotion, or being rejected by your dream college. Over 60...
De-stress from presidential election – Commercial Appeal
If you are like us, you are exasperated with the roller-coaster ride and the vitriol of the presidential race. Many of us feel the...
No reason to add pounds over holidays – Commercial Appeal
It’s that time of year. No, I am not talking about elections, the flu, or holiday shopping — but rather weight gain. The myth is that...
On normal behavior and Donald Trump – Commercial Appeal
As a doctor, I am often encountered with the dilemma of trying to tease out normal behavior from the abnormal — or “pathologic” as we call...
Top health care priority should be holding down costs – Commercial Appeal
For me, the saddest part of the 2016 presidential election is not that we have two of the most disliked presidential candidates in history...
Presidential candidates’ medical histories not worth hoopla – Commercial Appeal
When you are 70 years old, you are bound to have some medical problems, so I am not sure why the media and the public are making a hoopla...
Doctors must play a role in curbing opiod addiction – Commercial Appeal
Last week, thousands of my physician colleagues and I received a letter from the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy. He asked us to...
Manoj Jain Interview On NPR About Zika
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/279332104″...
Dr. Manoj Jain: Travel advisory illustrates danger of Zika virus – Commercial Appeal
For this week’s column, I had been writing about the health care reform plans of the presidential nominees until the Centers for...
Brain scan data can predict political affiliation – Commercial Appeal
Over the past two weeks, I, like millions of Americans, watched the Republican and Democratic national conventions. As politicians,...
Let’s start treating gun violence like the epidemic it is – Commercial Appeal
A recent Time magazine article suggesting that we should treat “gun violence as a disease” rather than just as a crime got me...
Yoga continues to surprise with potential health benefits – Commercial Appeal
I began one of the longest days of the year with a sun salutation — a mountain pose, the lunge, the downward dog, the plank pose, baby...
Coping With Election Stress With A 5-Minute Loving-Kindness Meditation – Huffington post
Manoj Jain MD MPH and Mark Muesse Ph.D If you are like us, you are exasperated with the rollercoaster ride and the vitriol of the...
Research suggests Tylenol can dampen emotional as well as physical pain – commercial appeal
Last week, when I stubbed my toe on our family room coffee table, a throbbing pain ensued. Over the next two to three days, as the bruise...
Mississippi leads nation in measles vaccination rate – Commercial Appeal
Mississippi ranks 50th in the nation in infant mortality, 50th in physical activity, 50th in heart disease deaths and 49th in overall...
A peek behind the curtain into Lashondia Palmer’s journey from acute illness to health – Commercial Appeal
When I first saw Lashondia Palmer, 41, in Baptist Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit, she looked as if she were in a torture...
Measles outbreak shows consequences of vaccination myths – Commercial Appeal
Last week, Stephanie Morris, a nurse in the intensive care unit, stopped me. In the hospital, Stephanie cares for the sickest of sick...
Unprecedented measles outbreak prompts questions – Commercial AppeaL
Amid an unprecedented outbreak of six measles cases in Shelby County, parents are asking questions about potential exposure to the...
Beware sexual transmission of Zika virus – Commercial Appeal
Some years ago, when a biologist studying mosquito-borne viral illnesses returned from abroad to his home in Colorado, he became ill with...
Understanding root causes is first step in confronting violence – Commercial Appeal
At a time when our lives are filled with news of violence, it seems appropriate to talk about peace. With the attacks in Paris, San...
Quest for meaning makes satisfying midlife – Commercial Appeal
When he turned 45, Mitch Alsup bought a red Corvette. Mitch is a quick-talking guy with dirty blonde hair and a short, trim physique. He...
Let’s all do our part to reduce food waste – Commercial Appeal
I am about to place my plate in the sink, until I see a single pea left on my plate. I recall a recent article in National Geographic that...
Yes, we can teach greater compassion – Commercial Appeal
Last week, an old friend of mine, Arun Gandhi, came to Memphis to speak at Rhodes College on “Conscious Compassion and Commitment —...
What we need to know about the Zika virus – Commercial Appeal
Every few years it seems a new virus captures the public’s attention. Over a decade ago, it was SARS, which had people in Hong Kong...
Air quality in New Delhi sounds warning for Memphis’ future – Commercial Appeal
It’s Jan. 1, 2016, and I just landed in New Delhi, India, for a medical conference. The city of 16 million, like any other city, has...
Bringing metrics and accountability to government – Commercial Appeal
At peak time, 6 p.m., the average 911 call answer time is 150 seconds. In June, 10,000 youths participated in athletic activities. In...
Pharmaceutical market puts profits above all – Commercial Appeal
A grandmother develops a boil which turns out to be a difficult-to-treat staph infection (MRSA). She needs high-powered antibiotics. A...
Carter sets humble example with Habitat for Humanity work – Commercial Appeal
Last month, a house was being built in the Uptown neighborhood — not by construction workers, but by the former president of the United...
Research shows that processed and red meats increase risk of cancer – Commercial Appeal
I am standing in line at the lunch buffet at my hospital and I have an option: a red meat steak entree or an eggplant parmesan. If each...
A doctor puts his mind to mindfulness
A few summers ago during a week-long vacation, I started playing a mind game. In the mornings, I would sit outside on a comfortable deck...
Super sweet soda is way too accessible – Commercial Appeal
I am standing at the kitchen counter and conducting a simple demonstration. In a tall glass of carbonated water, I begin to add teaspoons...
Teenage years marked by changing brains, bodies – Commercial Appeal
Pencil marks dot up the white door frame of my 16-year-old son’s room. The highest is at 5-feet-8 inches, and it reads...
On International Peace Day, commit to nonviolence in your own life – Commercial Appeal
On International Peace Day, commit to nonviolence in your own life For years, I had driven by it, admiring the architecture, but I had...
We Have More in Common Than in Conflict: Reflections for International Day of Peace – Huffington Post
For years, I had driven by it, admiring the architecture, but I had never visited it until this summer. The building, one of the newest...
Santhara — Jain Way of Death with Equanimity – Huffington Post
Last month, a deeply religious man in India ended his life in a way that has been practiced for millennia by devout members of the Jain...
Coordinated Care Can Reduce the Spread of Resistant Infections – Huffington Post
It was a week into my elderly patient’s hospital admission when he began to have fever and profuse diarrhea, some 10-12 bowel...
The benefits of meditation – Commerical Appeal
This summer’s Disney-Pixar movie “Inside Out” makes us think about our thinking. But, I wonder, first of all, “can we even think about our...
His wife is ill. He’s a doctor. Isn’t he supposed to know what to do? – Washington Post
Two weeks after my wife has a hysterectomy, she begins experiencing fevers that rise and spike each evening: 99.2, then 100.7, then 101.5....
Facing consequences can help change harmful behaviors – Commercial Appeal
Sitting across the desk at the car dealership, Steven Ethridge, a soft-spoken salesman, was copying down the VIN number of our newly...
Rising Insurance Premiums and the Future Costs to Health Care – Huffington Post
Recently, health insurance companies across the nation have petitioned to increase premium rates for customers covered under the...
Making sense of 36% Blue Cross premium increase – Commercial Appeal
This week, when I read the headlines “Blue Cross proposes premium increases,” I cringed. Health care premiums are a significant burden on...
A Doctor’s Experience in the Nepal Earthquake – Huffington Post
The morning after his brother’s bachelor party, standing on the fourth floor of his family home, Dr. Arvind Goel, felt the ground...
National Nurses Week honors essential partners in patient care – Commercial Appeal
Some years ago, when my father underwent bypass surgery, he was anxious, depressed and in pain as he lay in the hospital bed tied to IV...
Gender pay gap persists especially in health care professions – Commercial Appeal
Last Tuesday evening after dinner, with a cup of tea in hand, I read a newspaper column titled, “Women still earn a lot less than men.”...
2015 Gandhi-King Conference to explore stubborn racial disparities – Commercial Appeal
When I walk into an exam room and my patient is black, do I treat him differently than if he were white? I may say “no”, but the data say...
Meditation a useful technique for achieving mindfulness – Commercial Appeal
We sit in a conference room on red swivel chairs, quiet, motionless, eyes closed. We turn off our senses just like we turn down the house...