San Diego Health

Curious about plant-based eating? Tina Tran, MD, an internal medicine physician at Scripps Coastal Medical Center San Marcos, discusses the health benefits of plant-based diets and offers tips for getting started. Learn how to get enough protein, avoid nutrient gaps and build meals you'll enjoy. Explore options like vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian and macrobiotic diets to help find what works for you.

A leaky tricuspid valve can cause blood to flow backward in the heart, leading to symptoms like fatigue, leg swelling, shortness of breath and even heart failure. But new minimally invasive procedures are changing how this condition is treated. Devices like the TriClip repair system and tricuspid valve replacement offer safer options than open heart surgery. Matthew Price, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Scripps Clinic, explains how these treatments are helping people return to active, healthy lives. 

Tired of glasses or contact lenses? LASIK eye surgery could be the answer. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor talks with Scripps ophthalmologist Peter Krall, MD about how LASIK corrects vision by reshaping the cornea, who’s a good candidate and what to expect during recovery. Learn if this quick, outpatient procedure could help you see clearly — without the hassle of glasses or contacts. 

Hannah Wangberg, MD, allergist and immunologist, Scripps Clinic Food allergies happen when the immune system overreacts to certain foods, triggering symptoms that can range from mild to life-threatening. Learn how to recognize these reactions and manage them effectively with expert guidance from Hannah Wangberg, MD, an allergist and immunologist at Scripps Clinic. Learn the difference between food allergy and food intolerance and when to seek medical evaluation and treatment.

Is hip pain keeping you from sports or staying active? In this video, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Cinque explains how minimally invasive hip arthroscopy can relieve pain and restore mobility — especially for younger patients with hip impingement. Learn how it works, who it's for and what recovery looks like.

Your gut does more than digest food —I t impacts your overall health, energy and even mood. In this video, Susan Taylor sits down with Katherine Urbina, DO to discuss how the gut works, what foods help or harm it and what you can do to support a healthier gut long term. 

Lupus is a complex autoimmune disease that can affect many parts of the body — and often goes undiagnosed.

Stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation that just won’t go away? You could be dealing with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In this episode , host Susan Taylor sits down with gastroenterologist Chiara Maruggi, MD, to talk about the causes, diagnosis, and treatment options for IBS. Dr. Maruggi explains the common signs to watch for, why IBS can be tricky to diagnose, and how factors like stress, diet, and gut health all play a role. Learn about the FODMAP diet, how lifestyle changes can help, and why managing IBS is all about creating a long-term partnership with your healthcare provider. If you or someone you know struggles with ongoing gastrointestinal symptoms, this episode offers valuable tips and insights to help you take back control of your digestive health.

Living Organ Donation- Living Kidney Donation: What You Need to Know Did you know you can live a healthy life with just one kidney—and potentially save someone else's life in the process? In this episode, Scripps transplant surgeon Dr. Jenny Lam explains how living kidney donation works, the benefits of donating while alive, and what to expect before, during, and after transplant surgery. Learn about the causes of kidney failure, treatment options like dialysis, and why a transplant from a living donor can offer better outcomes.

Can Type 2 Diabetes Be Reversed? Over the past few decades, Type 2 diabetes has become extremely common both in the United States and worldwide. Moreover, people are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at increasingly younger ages. What is causing the rise in this illness—and can Type 2 diabetes be reversed?  In this video, San Diego Health host Susan Taylor talks with Scripps endocrinologist Gabriela Jordan, MD, about what causes Type 2 diabetes and recommendations for preventing or even reversing the disease.

Atrial fibrillation happens when the heart beats at a very fast rate—typically more than 100 beats per minute. Commonly called AFib, atrial fibrillation is the most common form of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. AFib causes various symptoms and can be very serious. New technology can treat Afib using faster, more effective methods than in the past. In this video, San Diego Health host Susan Taylor talks with Doug Gibson, MD, a Scripps cardiac electrophysiologist and director of cardiac electrophysiology at the Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute.

Finding out a pregnancy is high-risk can understandably bring a mix of emotions. But a highly skilled perinatology team can ensure that high-risk moms-to-be receive the very best care and have the healthiest pregnancy possible. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor and Sean Daneshmand, MD, medical director of the department of maternal-fetal health at Scripps Clinic, and Scripps prenatal genetic counselor Caitlin Grandfield, discuss what constitutes a high-risk pregnancy and how physicians care for high-risk moms-to-be. Dr. Daneshmand also explains what prospective parents can do to lower their risk even before getting pregnant. 

In this podcast, San Diego Health host Susan Taylor speaks with Dr. David Hermel of Scripps Cancer Center about immunotherapy, a groundbreaking approach to fighting cancer. Unlike traditional treatments like chemotherapy, which affect both healthy and cancerous cells, immunotherapy precisely targets cancer cells by modifying the immune system. Immunotherapy is particularly effective for cancers like melanoma and may be combined with chemotherapy or radiation. Side effects are generally mild, resembling cold-like symptoms. At Scripps Cancer Center, multidisciplinary teams personalize treatments for optimal results.

An estimated one in eight men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives. For the roughly 300,000 men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, early detection and treatment can help ensure to a successful outcome. And as prostate cancer often has no symptoms in its early stages, regular screenings are key to early diagnosis. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor and Scripps Clinic urologist Ramsey Chichakli, MD, discuss prostate cancer, how it’s diagnosed, and treatment options. Dr. Chichakli also explains how surgery for prostate cancer has advanced over the years to become more precise and less invasive. 

Choosing a pediatrician for your new bundle of joy is one of the most important decisions you can make for your child—one you’ll make even before you give birth. Your pediatrician is a critical partner in your baby’s health and will likely care for them from birth through their teenage years. But how do you pick the one who’s right for your family? In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor and Scripps pediatrician Dania Lindenberg, MD, discuss what to consider in your search for a pediatrician. Dr. Lindenberg also outlines some specific questions parents-to-be should ask in a meet and greet with a potential pediatrician. 

Heart failure is a life-threatening condition that affects more than five million people in the U.S. each year. However, the “failure” part can be a little misleading. It doesn’t mean that the heart has ceased to function; it means that, while the heart is still pumping, it can no longer effectively pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor and Rola Khedraki, MD, a heart failure and transplant cardiologist at Scripps Clinic, discuss the causes of heart failure, its symptoms, treatment options, and who’s at risk. Dr. Khedraki also outlines what people can do now to help prevent heart failure in the future.

Bike riding is a great way to get around and get some exercise—if you do it carefully. There has been a sharp increase in bike- and e-bike-related injuries and deaths in older riders. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults over the age of 55 have the highest incidence of bicycle-related deaths. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor discusses bicycle safety with Walter Biffl, MD, medical director of trauma and acute care surgery at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, and Paige Colburn-Hargis, trauma injury prevention coordinator for Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. The experts also outline the reasons that put older adults at higher risk for injury and why a high-quality helmet is the most important piece of safety equipment riders have.  

Just about everybody gets a headache from time to time. But for the 45 million Americans who suffer from chronic headaches, it can seem like frequent pain is just a part of life. Having a headache seemingly all the time isn’t normal. Fortunately, treatment is within reach. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor and Scripps Clinic neurologist Emily Rubenstein Engel, MD, discuss the different types of headaches, what causes them, and how they’re treated. Dr. Engel also outlines what happens during a doctor’s appointment for a chronic headache diagnosis and when further investigation is needed.

Multiple sclerosis, commonly referred to as MS, is a chronic autoimmune disease that attacks the body's central nervous system and causes a wide range of symptoms. Without treatment, MS can become worse over time. Fortunately, newer treatments have slowed the progression of the disease and improved quality of life for those living with it. In this podcast episode, San Diego Health host Susan Taylor talks with Scripps neurologist Louis Goodrich, MD, about the causes, symptoms and treatment of MS.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. and kills roughly 53,000 people each year. It’s understandably not something people like to talk about, but initiating the conversation with your doctor about your risk for colorectal cancer could end up saving your life. In this episode of San Diego Health, host Susan Taylor and guest Walter Coyle, MD, he head of gastroenterology at Scripps Clinic, discuss the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer, who’s at risk, how it’s diagnosed, and treatment options. Dr. Coyle also touches on the environmental factors that could be behind an increase in colorectal cancers in younger people.