There is a fire burning in America over an issue that at times seems hotter to me than the anger against Wall Street: obesity. Time after time when I talk about taking responsibility for our individual health by eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercising more, someone responds in anger.Many would consider me to be a wellness evangelist. They would be right. For nearly a decade I was sick ...

In med school budding doctors are told: "When you hear hoof beats, think horse." The problem is that sometimes when you hear hoof beats, it’s a zebra, and when that "zebra" is a disease, your patient leaves your office misdiagnosed. I’m that patient.In 1998 I had my first abdominal attack. I vomited for days and walked hunched over like a frail octogenarian. (For reference, I was extremely fit and twenty-seven ...