Friends of Franz

According to the World Health Organization , around 3.6 billion diagnostic radiologic medical examinations are performed worldwide yearly. Diagnostic imaging exams — including X-rays, MRIs, Ultrasounds, CT scans, and PET scans — can truly save lives and change the trajectory of a patient's care plan by potentially preventing the necessity of surgery and more invasive procedures. Yet, despite the i...

According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) , nearly one-fourth of older adults aged 65 and older are at increased risk for loneliness and are considered to be socially isolated, with risk factors being attributed to hearing loss, losing family or friends, role changes such as retirement, living alone, and chronic disease. Geriatric syndromes — such as polyph...

Did you know that, according to the National Institute of Aging, if we stretched out our arteries, veins, and capillaries as adults, they would measure around 100,000 miles? This means that our blood vessels could circle the globe four times, given that the Earth's circumference is about 25,000 miles! The human vasculature is truly an intricate system that literally supplies us with blood (with ve...

According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) , approximately 2.9 million annual injuries occur in sports, athletic, and recreational settings, with sprains and strains accounting for the largest portion of injuries at 41.4 per 1,000. Truly, the universal recommendation is that we all engage in physical activity and exercise due to its evidence-based benefits on our cardiopulmonary...

"Life in plastic, it's fantastic." This iconic line from the 1997 hit song "Barbie Girl" by Europop band Aqua alludes to the Barbie doll that debuted in 1959. Barbie has long been the paradigm of societal attractiveness through physical features, as confirmed by a survey report by Fairmont State College professor Albert M. Magro. In the same year as the song was released, Magro published the paper...

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration , in 2021, 25% of Asian American adults with a mental illness reported receiving mental health services compared to 52% of White adults. Additionally, Asians were 2.25x more likely to report mental health treatment being ineffective. What is it about the Asian American community that their approachability to mental health a...

According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) , approximately 65% of over 50 million anesthesia services in the United States are delivered by certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) each year, whether in collaboration with a physician or independently. In many rural and underserved areas in America, this percentage is significantly higher at over 90%. Despite this,...

According to the Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the Sleep Research Society (SRS), and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) , adults should regularly sleep at least 7 hours a night to promote optimal health. However, over one-quarter of adults do not meet this recommendation. (Oops, me included!) AASM states that about 30% of adults have insomnia symptoms, and about 10% of adults have insomnia th...

According to Harvard Medical School , the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a long-hidden mystery of the human body - a complex network of chemical signals and cellular receptors that play a crucial role in regulating various essential functions in our body, such as sleep, temperature regulation, immune responses, learning and memory, and so much more. With the "cannabinoid" receptors in our brain,...

There is a saying that goes, "The mind is the Devil's playground." Though this particularly refers to thoughts, mindsets, and emotions, the organ that houses the mind also seems to be an abode to nefarious diseases that have long been regarded as death sentences. Brain tumors and cancers, like meningioma and glioblastoma, are the most-feared adversaries of the nervous system, but there is an array...

Does sunscreen really prevent skin cancer? The higher the SPF, the better? Do oral sunscreen and UPF clothing actually work? Does the sun cause melasma and hyperpigmentation? Does one still need to apply sunscreen during the winter or if staying inside the house? We are joined today, not by one, not two, but three expert board-certified dermatologists all the way from Manila, Philippines, to talk...

Throughout nursing school, working in the hospital or at "the bedside" was definitely the encouraged career path after graduation and licensure. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing , 55% of registered nurses worked in hospitals in 2022. However, a beauty of the nursing profession is its versatility of where one could take a position: ambulatory services, home health, schoo...

Have you ever seen the meme that goes: "Nursing exams be like: 'Which one is the most orange?'" and goes on to provide four images of the same orange fruit? Having been a nursing student myself years ago who bore the burden of these tests that were often oblique and required specific tackling strategies, I understand the pressure and mental stress of the whole examination process. How should one,...

Over the past few years, the health and wellness space has been flooded with the concept of the "gut microbiome," or the ecosystem of microorganisms in our stomachs. Probiotics, which have become prominent on social media, are said to strengthen this bacterial community and can result in benefits like improved nutrient absorption, skin inflammation, and even mental acuity. However, this connection...

Who here lives to eat good food? According to Nature Medicine and the American Society for Nutrition , food is undeniably essential to both our physical and mental health. Beyond the nutrients we acquire from food alongside their ability to prevent and fight disease, certain foods can improve mood and result in the reduction of depressive symptoms. As for me, I know that I get super excited and ha...

Disease. Sickness. Malady. These are words that can truly send a chill down the spine as they bring us to the reality of the fragility of life and our proximity to the brink of death. Greek physician Hippocrates, known as the "father of medicine" from the 4th century BC, was the first known person to investigate the reasoning behind disease and its relationship with environmental factors. What exa...

There are what seem to be rudimentary acts in our daily life that we do without a second thought, to the point that we refer to them as "second nature." Whether it's buttoning our shirts, turning a doorknob, or using a fork to eat, these are things that our body has already memorized, like taking a breath. However, what happens when we lose the ability and autonomy to perform the most mundane of s...

According to the 1964 Mary Poppins children's film, "just a spoonful of sugar" is said to make the medicine go down. But what if we say that those daily spoons of sweetness may actually result in the need for kids to take medication? According to the American Diabetes Association , approximately 30 million people in the United States alone in 2021 were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, Types I and...

At first, the operating room and an art studio may seem to be the antithesis of settings and purposes. However, they could not be more alike and comparable: the stillness of focus of both operating on an organ and painting on a canvas, the vast array of sterile scalpels and paintbrushes, the richness of flowing bright red blood on the table and the maroon pigment dripping on the floor from the boa...

It is so fascinating to think of how much the body can take before breaking. However, there are people who definitely engage in activities and sports that seem to take the body's limits and potential to the most extreme of environments and conditions. In this episode, we hear from a professional athlete who is constantly vulnerable to both physical injury and mental strain due to competitive human...

One shameless confession that I have is my love for watching the show " Hannah Montana" on Disney Channel as a kid. The concept of living two different personas as a normal student in the daytime and a rockstar at night spoke to my reality of wanting to be so many things as a child: an actor, a doctor, a dancer, a marine biologist (despite me not knowing how to swim), you name it. This is actually...

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) , medicine remains male-dominated, with women physicians making up only 37.1% of the workforce in 2021. However, a study that same year released by The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that women are 32% more likely to die post-operatively if their surgeon was a man, relaying better health outcomes for both ma...

AND WE'RE BACK! I am beyond excited to announce that the third season of the Friends of Franz Podcast is finally dropping every Friday morning at 5 AM EST starting this week on December 1st, on all streaming platforms worldwide! I am beyond grateful for the support you have granted this passion project I have produced and hosted for the past three years: streamed in 100+ countries, on 6 continents...

I made sure to end this season with a loud and shiny BANG! Diamonds...the most coveted gemstones in all of its beauty and radiance. Yet, their journey into brilliance is borne out of intense pressure and melting heat. This is true of our special guest today: primordial stories of pain and questions that have materialized with hard work and determination into a narrative of power and splendid succe...

Over the past year, the tabloids and social media feeds have been flooded with so much discourse and opinions on obesity and its entailed weight loss medications, specifically injectables, such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy. Known as incretin gut-derived hormones, GIP and GLP-1, that regulate secreted insulin levels after food consumption, these diabetes medications have come under hot fire reg...