Eudene Harry, MD, is the medical director for Oasis Wellness and Rejuvenation Center in Orlando, FL, a wellness practice devoted to integrative holistic care. She is a veteran physician with more than 20 years of experience. Harry earned her medical degree and performed her residency at Thomas Jefferson University.
She is the author of three books designed to empower the individual to get started on their path to optimal health. She has published extensively on the topics of reducing stress, healthy lifestyle choices and regaining youthfulness. Her most recent book is titled, Be Iconic, Healthy and Sexy at any Age. She regularly contributes to television and radio shows nationwide.
Question: What was your inspiration for writing Be Iconic?
Answer: When writing this book, I realized that one of the primary obstacles that many of us face when we decide to change the things about ourselves that might be holding us back is learning to accept, respect and love who we are now. If we don’t, we run the risk of sabotaging our efforts at every turn by the constantly berating and criticizing our efforts. Very few things or people thrive under that environment. I didn’t when I was working on losing the 80 pounds I had gained when pregnant with my son. I had to change my internal dialogue. I knew that this had to be an important part of this book.
Question: How does sleep, or the lack thereof, affect the body?
Answer: Sleep deprivation is one of the most insidious health suckers. When we sleep, the brain has the opportunity not only to rejuvenate, but also to be able to get rid of a lot of the toxins that have been built up during the day. This is truly a time of rejuvenation and restoration. People who do not get enough sleep are at increased risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and developing a lowered immune system that makes it more difficult to fight off illnesses. Lack of sleep also interferes with short-term memory formation, decreases your ability to concentrate, interferes with executive brain function that helps you to make good decisions, increases inflammation and can leave you feeling fatigued and frazzled for the rest of the day.
Question: What is “computer vision syndrome”? What steps can be taken to prevent it?
Answer: Computer vision syndrome is a series of symptoms that can develop after sitting for a prolonged period of time in front of the computer or screen of your choice. Oftentimes we spend a good deal of time hunched over our computers or electronic devices working, checking our social media status updates or catching up with what’s new in the news today. As you can imagine, this may lead to symptoms that experts are now referring to as “computer vision syndrome.” Some symptoms are nagging headaches, neck and shoulder pain from hunching over the screen in one position, tearing, burning sensation in the eyes, sensation of blurred vision and feeling that the eyes are dry and irritated. Some ways to combat these symptoms are:
1. Taking frequent breaks to get up and walk around
2. Adjust your screen to reduce the glare. Look for dimming feature on the device and dim the light to a more comfortable level. Tilt the screen of the computer to reduce glare, about 10- or 15-degree tilt should do.
3. Look away from the screen about every 20 to 30 minutes to look at point about 20 feet away to refocus your vision
4. Do not place screen directly in front of your face
5. Invest in a computer screen filter to filter out some of the glare
6. Keep lubrication eye drops handy to combat the feeling of dry eyes.
Question: What supplements do you recommend? Why?
Answer: We would like to believe that we can get all the nutrients we need from our daily diet and in the ideal world—this may very well be the case. But, very few of us live in an ideal world. We are often overworked, over stressed, in a hurry, skip meals and many times eat a fairly imbalanced meal despite our best efforts. As we get older, our bodies tend to be less efficient at absorbing specific nutrients such as magnesium and even vitamin B12. Put all these things together and it is a recipe for nutrient insufficiencies, if not frank deficiencies. While I do not ascribe to the fact that one size fits all, it is my opinion that many individuals over the age of 40 can benefit from a basic multivitamin that supplies at least the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of trace minerals and vitamins. I would recommend without iron unless your physician has determined that you are iron deficient. Otherwise, I believe that vitamin and nutrient supplementation should be need-based. My philosophy is: give the body what it needs—and more, oftentimes, is just more and not necessarily better.
