According to the 1964 Mary Poppins children's film, "just a spoonful of sugar" is said to make the medicine go down. But what if we say that those daily spoons of sweetness may actually result in the need for kids to take medication? According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 30 million people in the United States alone in 2021 were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, Types I and II combined, with 352,000 of these being under the age of 20. Diabetes is a chronic condition influenced by the body's inability to either produce the insulin hormone or effectively utilize it. Truly, hormones and their balance influence the optimal functioning of the human body, especially in the youth. According to the American Board of Pediatrics, if left untreated, diabetes and other leading chronic diseases influenced by hormones, such as obesity, can lead to detrimental health concerns, such as cardiovascular disease and mortality. Endocrinology is the complex field of hormones and their equilibrium, and there is no space for sugarcoating in this domain.

We are joined in this episode by Dr. Sheila Pérez-Colón, a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist based in Puerto Rico. She received her BS in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, MD from the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara with its pathway completion at New York Medical College (where she attained a #1 class rank), Pediatrics Residency at Maimonides Medical Center/Infants and Children's Hospital of Brooklyn, and Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University where she later served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine. Dr. Sheila became an attending physician in offices across the United States, having been the Diabetes Clinic Director at Kings County Hospital in New York City, Baptist Health South Florida, and Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles. Having moved back to Puerto Rico in 2020 to serve her homeland, she currently stands as the Owner ofElite Endocrine MD, a direct specialty care practice that focuses on pediatric diabetes, obesity management, thyroid disorders, and pubertal disorders. Dr. Sheila has over 15 publications on prediabetes, autoimmune thyroiditis, and adolescent obesity and has been featured on Yahoo! News and Everyday Health.

Livestream Air Date: March 28, 2023

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