Mila Felder

Emergency medicine physician, 53
Advocate Christ Medical Center

SHALL WE DANCE?

“I used to be a rhythmic gymnast, many years ago in Ukraine. I have made music and movement part of any exercise I do, because that makes it more likely to be successful and lasting. Over the last 10 years, my husband and I started doing ballroom dancing. That’s been very joyful. He has since quit, claiming to have a back injury, but I still love it. There’s a wonderful community around it, and that’s the secret to any success: having people around you who are passionate.”

THE SKINNY ON SKIN CARE

“Skin care is part of my waking-up routine. I experiment with Korean products, and I’ll play with a mask now and then. I use moisturizers religiously and sunscreen consistently. I fell in love with Colorescience because my daughter played tennis, and it’s hard to get teenagers to do sunscreen, but they have this cool powder — it looks like a bronzer — that has SPF 50.” 

DOG DAYS

“I stumbled onto a dog agility club. Not only do I go there with my younger dog, Nala, but I usually bring my parents to watch, so it’s simultaneously family therapy and exercise for me and the dog. It’s much more than running around the course and jumping over things with dogs, which initially was my biggest aspiration. It’s become one more portal to connect to people from very different walks of life. My class has people as old as 80, living well. Connecting your well-being to interacting with your pets certainly appears to impact quality of life, if not longevity.”

John Pandolfino 

Gastroenterologist, 56 
Northwestern Memorial Hospital 

PB & CARBS

“Every morning I have a cup of coffee with a bit of cream. At work, I have another. I maintain that until about 1, 2 o’clock, when I feel like I’ve got to eat something —
usually a peanut butter sandwich, my healthy go-to. I guess I’m hip, because I’m an intermittent faster. I’ve been a pescatarian for 17 years. I jokingly say I’m on a high-carb diet: I love pizza, pasta, rice. I’ve been the same weight since I was 18.”

knockout TACTIC

“Boxing is the greatest workout. It’s something that resonates with me because it’s a sport of discipline. I started with it at the Police Athletic League in Brooklyn when I was a kid. I love playing basketball, but my back began to hurt, and it never does when I box.”

LET’S GET PHYSICAL (THERAPY)

“A lot of injuries can be fixed with physical therapy. Right now, my shoulder is not perfect. Instead of getting surgery or taking a bunch of pills, I can strengthen up a different muscle set. The first time my shoulder blew out. I thought, That’s never going to work. But the therapist proved me wrong.”

STRESS VS. DIET

“It wasn’t until I understood how the brain interacts with the GI tract that I became a better doctor. We would fix the plumbing, but the person wouldn’t get better. We had to fix anxiety too. Diet is very important, but I am cautious about giving restrictive diets. If chocolate or wine doesn’t bother you, I don’t want you to stop. Eating comfortably with your family or friends is more important than knocking something off a list.”

Pauline Camacho

Endocrinologist, 53
Loyola University Medical Center 

CARB UNLOADing

“I try to limit carbs for me and my husband. Dinner will be protein and greens. We are from the Philippines, so rice was a big part of our diet growing up. We experimented with cauliflower rice, quinoa, lentils — just something different — and after some time, you realize you actually don’t crave the rice we used to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

TENNIS, ANYONE?

“We fell in love with tennis when our kids were young. That was 17 years ago. It’s been such a blessing, because we can play wherever we are. The tennis bag has a guaranteed spot in our check-in luggage. What I like about the game is it’s not just physical; it’s a whole lot of mental. And there has to be other fitness off court to improve your game.”

MEDITATION MAVEN

“Before I learned mindfulness techniques, I just did whatever to deal with stress. Now I realize there’s a whole science to it. I use the app Mindvalley, which has many courses. I ended up with a program by Paul McKenna, a 25-minute meditation called Hypnotic Trance for Everyday Bliss.”

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

“I was just reading an 80-year Harvard study about how people stay happy. The quality of your relationships is key. Don’t go to sleep with a bad feeling toward your spouse. If there are issues at work, sort it out. When you carry these negative feelings, that affects you physically.”

Valluvan Jeevanandam 

Cardiac surgeon, 63
UChicago Medical Center 

CARDIO CARE

“I don’t like the treadmill because it’s high impact. My favorite is the elliptical, because it does upper and lower body and I can watch a TV show and not really think about it. Doing cardio comes out of necessity for me. I’ve done more than 1,500 heart transplants, when I stay on my feet upwards of 10 hours. I need endurance. With cardio, I get my heart rate up to 150 for at least 10 to 15 minutes of my half hour, four to five times a week. I do it just before dinner, because right after you exercise you get an endorphin high. About three hours after that, you hit a lull, and that naturally puts me to sleep.”

FASTING AND FAT

“I intermittently fast — I don’t eat between 8 p.m. and noon the next day. I don’t eat any red meat, fish, or chicken. After my residency, I started reading about Hinduism and became a vegetarian. I make high-protein waffles from a mix. I use egg whites instead of milk and add low-fat cottage cheese, collagen protein for my joints, wheat bran for fiber, oats for texture. I eat the waffles with a bit of almond butter. Carbohydrates and protein are not great for satiation, but fat is, and almond fat is actually good for you: It’s all unsaturated.” 

STATIN STAN

“I believe in statins. Having any cholesterol in your arteries causes inflammation, which leads to all types of problems. The only proven way to drive cholesterol out is with statins. Everybody should have a CT coronary angiogram at 45 to see if they have any blockages. If you’re starting to form calcifications, go on a high-dose statin to drive your LDL level below 50. The earlier you start, the better your prognosis.”