Ahead, Doctor Mike speaks candidly with The Healthy, sharing his thoughts on the \u201ctrend\u201d of protein, his healthy aging advice, and why he devotes so much time to debunking prevalent health myths.<\/p>\n
Find out how your favorite stars stay well when you subscribe to The Healthy newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n The Healthy: It\u2019s fair to say protein has become a trendy health conversation in recent years. As a medical expert, what\u2019s your take on it as a \u201ctrend\u201d? Are there components you wish people were more mindful of?<\/p>\n Doctor Mike: Yeah, when it comes to nutrition, dieting fads are not new. This has been a staple of nutrition communication in media since the earliest days of media and health. So usually what happens with fad diets, there is a lot of times negative components or dangerous components. But what gets me excited about this new movement is that it\u2019s focusing on a macronutrient<\/a>. That is one that helps a very vital organ in our body known as muscle, and muscle is extremely important for longevity<\/a>, not just for living longer, but having a healthy lifespan where you can be functional, you can be independent, you can be strong, you can basically show up at your highest potential. So while I\u2019m usually downplaying trends or oftentimes trying to have people pump their brakes \u2026 very early on in those trends, when it comes to protein, I get kind of excited.<\/p>\n The one situation that I would want to point out to your readers is that when it comes to protein, we need to realize that, while this is a macronutrient that can support muscle, it can bring calories to the body in a way where you\u2019re getting a secondary benefit by stimulating muscle synthesis.<\/p>\n We also need to realize that nutrition goes past one number, the same way that we in healthcare oftentimes say that your weight can have an implication on your health. It\u2019s not the sole implication; it\u2019s only one number and only a single glimpse into your health. There are many other factors at play. And when it comes to nutrition, just because you eat protein does not necessarily you\u2019re always eating healthy or complete. So we need to not overly zoom in on protein and realize there\u2019s a lot of other valuable nutrients that we could be missing out on.<\/p>\n The Healthy: Obviously we know about the classic forms of protein, such as eggs<\/a>, meats, or nuts<\/a>, but let\u2019s talk about snacks specifically. Which protein-packed snacks would get Doctor Mike\u2019s thumbs up?<\/p>\n Doctor Mike: Well, if I\u2019m giving this a hierarchy rating, for me, whole-food protein snacks are always what people should strive to eat, if possible. So, right away, what comes to mind is a Greek yogurt, a cottage cheese<\/a>, you mentioned eggs\u2014I love hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, that\u2019s kind of my go-to snack in the morning. But at the same time, we have to remember that the best protein snack that I would recommend is one that you can actually use, meaning that it\u2019s something that you can transport easily, something that you enjoy eating, something that could be a part of your routine.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I\u2019m so proud of this partnership with Quest because I love their products. I\u2019ve been eating them for years, and I very much have recommended them to friends and family even before this partnership, from their protein bars [to] the Quest protein chips. [They\u2019re] very delicious, tasty treats that also help me match and meet my protein goals throughout the day, especially when I\u2019m on the go, being that I am not just practicing as a doctor, but also making content on social media. I\u2019m a professional boxer, an amateur race car driver. So I\u2019m desperately needing to manage my time. And I realize that whenever I make a recommendation in a public health sphere, the best recommendation is one ultimately that people can follow. And when it comes to these protein snacks, Quest is my choice.<\/p>\n The Healthy: Related to that, obviously your millions of followers pay attention when you endorse something. What drew you to this particular partnership?<\/p>\n Doctor Mike: Yeah, we\u2019re actually incredibly protective of the partners that we work with, because we understand that when I discuss a partnership, it\u2019s different than when a random influencer does it. So I understand that there\u2019s an added value of authority when I speak on a subject.<\/p>\n So for me, given the fact that this was a product I\u2019ve already endorsed, recommended on a personal level, on a professional level, nothing was changing about my messaging in bringing upon this partnership. And that\u2019s what made it a no-brainer for us. It was a partnership that I was excited to dive into headfirst, and it\u2019s, again, a product that makes meeting your protein goals, perhaps meeting your fiber goals<\/a>, a little bit more accessible. And in this day and age, with how busy folks are, how difficult it is to meet your nutrition goals, I thought that partnering with Quest for me, again, was a total no-brainer.<\/p>\n The Healthy: If you were talking about the idea of longevity or healthy aging to your patients or your online followers, what are one or two things you\u2019d want them to know or think about?<\/p>\n Doctor Mike: I think it\u2019s a very hot topic right now. I\u2019ll give you two things and my second one is a bit of a two-parter. Number one: In order to have healthy aging, you need to avoid bad habits<\/a> that shorten your lifespan, that shorten your ability to stay independent, to stay functional, to achieve your goals. And usually this means not smoking, not over-consuming negative products like alcohol, drugs, that\u2019s the general picture. So, avoidance of bad habits is the best thing that you can do to improve your lifespan and your functionality.<\/p>\n The second thing is making sure you\u2019re taking into consideration the few pillars of healthy living, which means healthy eating\u2014a whole foods, plant-focused diet,<\/a> not necessarily only plant-based, but plant-focused diet where you\u2019re getting fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins;<\/a> exercise\u2014150 minutes is what we recommend weekly, generally speaking, [though] it can be dependent on the individual that we\u2019re speaking to; and getting enough hours of sleep<\/a>\u2014crucial, undervalued, so much so. And then the final one is about mental health, which means something different to different people. For some, it means maintaining healthy relationships [with] friends<\/a>. For some, it means getting help when you need it, working with a mental health specialist, with your primary care doctor, to make sure that you\u2019re functioning to your best self.<\/p>\n Now, I mentioned that the part two was gonna be a two-parter. Because there are these pillars that are required for healthy living, you want to make sure that shiny objects don\u2019t discourage you or distract you from investing in those healthy pillars. There are many shortcuts that are marketed online, on television, all over the place, that can actually promise you a miracle shortcut, whereby, you stop doing one of those healthy pillars in hopes of buying the miracle cure-all supplement, and that just does not exist.<\/p>\n The Healthy: Speaking of, you use your platform to do a lot of debunking\u2014or perhaps simply explaining\u2014either prevalent health myths or misconceptions. Why is it important to you to do that? And what do you wish more people understood?<\/p>\n Doctor Mike: For me, I think the absence of evidence-based healthcare providers on social media over the last decade online has hurt us tremendously, has hurt patients tremendously.<\/p>\n Because social media was a place where folks were coming to seek information, seek answers to their questions related to their health, and we were not there for them. Who was there for them? People who were spreading misinformation<\/a> for their own gain. And we are now behind on trying to figure out how to learn these algorithms, learn these platforms in order to deliver a meaningful message.<\/p>\n I view social media as an extension of my practice as a family medicine doctor. You know, the beauty of my specialty is that we practice in the hospital, in the clinic, in the nursing home. We even make home visits sometimes. But then we were absent from the one place where people were seeking answers, and that\u2019s why I\u2019ve invested so much time in order to get people the answers that they want, whether they\u2019re on the right, the left, the center, it doesn\u2019t matter \u2019cause the truth should be for everybody. And scientific truth can absolutely change, but what we know now should be given to the people in the most unbiased, transparent way possible.<\/p>\n For daily wellness updates, subscribe to\u00a0The Healthy\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow\u00a0The Healthy\u00a0on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Google<\/a>. Keep reading:<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n \t\t![\"Thld26](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/THLD26_Dr.Mike_DM-Operations_01_SSedit.jpg\")
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