99: Understanding Your Body Composition: Why the Scale Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

We swap small talk for a deep dive on body composition and why muscle and visceral fat tell a truer health story than the scale. Practical tools like DEXA, bioelectrical impedance, and a simple tape measure help you track what matters and take action.

• why body composition beats weight and BMI for risk
• what visceral fat is and why it drives inflammation
• how muscle improves insulin sensitivity and metabolism
• aging, sarcopenia, and protecting independence
• methods to measure composition from DEXA to smart scales
• using waist circumference as a powerful proxy
• healthy body fat ranges for men and women
• daily habits to build muscle and lower visceral fat

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hi, welcome to your checkup. We are the Patient Education Podcast, where we bring conversation from the doctor's office to your ears. On this podcast, we try to bring medicine closer to its patients. I'm Ed Delesky, a family medicine doctor in the Philadelphia area. And I'm Cola Rufo. I'm a nurse. And we are so excited you were able to join us here again today. Everything I say about a post-viral cough taking like four to six weeks after you get sick is actually really turning out to be true.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Yeah, it is. You sound like you're struggling over there.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Not so much. It's just like the entire day I was going fine, and we're like two weeks out now from me feeling unwell. And everything they say is that this cough is so annoying. All right, let's start with um for basically the first time in my life, I watched hockey this morning. And uh I knew that the gold medal game was at 8 a.m. USA, USA, USA gold medal winners. Hopefully I didn't spoil that for anyone. And we sat there and we were entertained. We had some nice sphincter tightening moments. And it was exciting. What can I say? It was.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

It was good. I'm glad we watched it.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Me too. You won't catch me watching a hockey game outside of the Olympics, and I think that's fair. But you've you found one concept of the hockey game match. Good old hockey game, really funny.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Well, no, it is. The penalty box is so funny, and it's so embarrassing. Because like hockey, especially, I feel like is one of the most like violent sports in terms of just like the players like fighting each other, not you know, it's not like football and they're like tackling each other, and that's kind of like the the skill of the game.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

You know, they just will like, you know, aside from the game, just start fighting each other and like doing stuff, and then you get put in the penalty box, and like in no other sport are you, well, at least that I know of, are you you get put in time out? Like there's a separate box, there's a separate place for you to like sit there and think about what you've done after like you and some other guy were just like going at it, like two like big hockey player like guys going at each other, and now it's like you have to sit in timeout for two minutes or however long the timeout box is. I don't know, but yeah, it's so funny.

Penalty Boxes And Snow Bets

SPEAKER_00 2:45

It was really funny. We were just cracking up, and like the fact they don't even go to the bench, like they don't go to where the rest of their team is. You're isolated, you can't talk to anyone, you just have to sit there in your thoughts, and that's what you're doing for four minutes or so, however long it is. I don't really know. That was really funny, and then there was a moment they went to like five on three, and I was like, oh my god. And no, it was great. Um, I anyone who knows me knows that I don't really watch hockey, and we did today in the penalty box really funny, funny thing. Um, we can you get let's give an update about the bet. So the well, you're working on your puzzle over there. Um what about this snow pile outside?

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Uh this snow pile. It's what's the date? It's February 22nd.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

I said March 3rd.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

You said March 3rd.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

You said March 15th.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

It is down to a slim little layer that's left on our pile, which would theoretically make me the winner. However, we're apparently getting like eight to twelve inches of snow tonight and to tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yes, we are.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

So that sucks. But then it's gonna get like warm again and rain a lot, so I'm thinking I still might have a chance.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

I absolutely still think you have a chance.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

We also were only wagering on this pile. There's not a clause for a new pile. There was no new pile clause.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

No, there wasn't. This is a little, this is a development that I'm taking full advantage of. You're gonna win anyway. Like it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah, I mean, regardless, like I'm getting a fuck rub either way. So all I have to do is ask.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Yeah, March, March 9th is the day that it would have to be gone by. I think it's gonna be gone by then.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Better be.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

No, I I'm as happy I have a chance. That's all I need. I just need a chance. I've been spending a lot of time with my fantasy basketball team. Um, too much time, perhaps. The trade deadline was today. I think it went well. I didn't make too many moves, just small moves on the edges. So that's the update on that. And then, oh, let's talk about our felon. Poor little guy.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Where is he?

SPEAKER_00 5:12

I think he's just misunderstood. He's not a felon today. He was just a felon yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

He had a little tiff with a little neighborhood dog named Meatball.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Yeah, it didn't make any sense. You know, um, we were back home and then Meatball came around the corner. You know, I always met Meatball before. And just talking with the guy's owner, and we're just chit-chatting away, and then all of a sudden, the two just start going at it. And I don't think the guy saw that Ollie got started eating meatball.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

He got confused. He thought he was a snack.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Yeah, so then you uh Ali being my first dog, there are certain things that I don't quite understand because I was gonna start calling him unfriendly, like declaring him unfriendly whenever we walk by, but then you chose different language. You chose different language.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

He can be reactive because he loves us so much, right? It's actually quite annoying. Where is he? Like, even if we're there's his one friend in the neighborhood, Henry, who we like see Henry and his mom multiple times a week, like we'll walk with them. He and Henry get along great. But even if like Henry comes over to us and like, or like if we're petting Henry, then he comes in and like swoops in. He hates if we are like showing anyone else attention. Because we are his humans.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Yeah, even like if the door opens and he catches a glimpse of a dog outside, and I walk outside, he goes nuts at the door. So then I now when you combine, I've never seen him behave this way. So then the rest of the day we were calling him a convict.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

And a felon.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Felon.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

The perpetrator.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

He was. Um your mom said, like, you don't know what Meatball did beforehand to provoke Ollie, which I I think is fair. I do think it's fair, but I was embarrassed. And when you told me this because he loves me so much and loves us so much, my heart, you know, it turned a little bit in favor of Ollie. And then when you said that he what was the other thing? Oh, and then the the revelation that like he heard meatball and he probably just got really excited for a snack. And maybe that's just what happened. We also have this other theory that he just like heckle and hides when his harness goes on and he becomes Mr. Hyde. Not not in not exactly, but you know, the concept, and that's why he runs away whenever we he hates putting on his harness.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

I also hate putting on his harness. And he's always been like that. Like, I have spent so much money on harnesses the like first couple years because I was like, oh my god, he might must just like not like this one. I have to get, I was like getting all these ones that were different shapes because he has sensitive pits and he doesn't like his armpits touched. So I'm like, oh, maybe this harness is like too up in his armpits. No, he just doesn't like it. Because then once it's on, he's fine.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Right. He just I think it's because he becomes a psycho when he has it on.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

He doesn't like it.

Dog Drama And Daily Routines

SPEAKER_00 8:38

He doesn't like what he becomes. Like this version of myself. So he's good today, though. He's been a good little boy. But needless to say, he did not get a treat when we came back in after he battered someone. He didn't actually batter anyone. He didn't batter anyone. All right. Well, this paints him in a unfavorable light. We love him.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

He's the best boy.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

He is, and he works so hard being our intern. All right. Any other uh thoughts or feelings or things you're looking forward to?

SPEAKER_01 9:13

I'm looking forward to Masala Kitchen tonight for dinner.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yes, me too.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

And I'm looking forward because me and you both get to work at home together tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

I'm so excited about that.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Finally got we don't have to rush out the door. That's gonna be a good one. We can turn off our 4 50 alarm off. We don't have to get up so early.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

I guess you're right. I guess we can sleep in.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Yeah, we can sleep until like 5 30 or something.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah. Look, I it's been working for me. It has been. But Monday mornings, for some reason, maybe it's because like it's when the podcast goes out, that they're just like busier. Like I try to get like a full run-in if I can. Walk Ollie. Any parent listening to this who works is like, shut up. It's not busy. But it's busy for me.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

So we had a good dinner last night. We didn't have a good dinner last night.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

The um those muscles, muscles that I'm finally get it right. Because I did the whole muscles calamari thing again.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah, you did.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Those muscles were great.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

They were separate from the they weren't in the show, and they were like it was a cold dish. And were they like pickled a little bit or something?

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Um, I thought they were maybe not pestoed.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Oh, yeah, maybe they were pesto'd.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

They were great though. And the sourdough, and it was like there's a lot of sauce with it, big sauce guy, put the sourdough on there. You can like dress your bite together. That was great. I I don't even know if that was on the menu last time.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

I don't think it was.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

It was absolutely delicious. And I love a I love an oyster. Are those raw oysters? Mm-hmm. Curse the dead. It's like the day my family found out that I like shrimp. They were all really upset about that. Why? Because then they'd have to share the shrimp.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Because there was a time when I was like, I don't like that. And they were like, Yeah, you wouldn't like it. And I believe them.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Yeah, you big dumb idiot. You wouldn't like this at all. There's absolutely no reason why we're all eating it and you're not.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

But um, I felt a similar way when you decided that you like oysters.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Yeah. And you have to buy double oysters.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

I would love to find an oyster place that like where you can get a bunch of them. Like an oyster day. Like I feel like there are places that do that. Like you go to like an oyster, an oyster off, like a festival of oysters.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Oh. I think I would like oysters.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

I would like that.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

We'll probably find some sort of oyster festival. I know. The criminal is up and at it again.

unknown 12:07

The criminal.

Setting The Stage: Body Composition

SPEAKER_00 12:09

So, what are we going to talk about today, Nick?

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Today we're talking about probably one of your top seven favorite things to talk about.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

I know, I can't believe we haven't talked about this yet.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Only right behind diabetes and hypertension and LP Little A is body composition.

Fat, Visceral Fat, And Risk

Lean Mass, Muscle, And Bones

Why Composition Beats BMI

How We Measure Body Composition

Bioimpedance At Home: Pros And Cons

Other Methods And Limitations

SPEAKER_00 12:27

I do. I do like talking about this. And it's I think it's something that people think they understand a lot about, and maybe they do, but I think it's way more important than it gets credit for. And people usually only see one part of the picture, and it's body composition. But here's the thing the number on the scale doesn't actually tell you what your body is made of. And when it comes to your health, what you're made of matters a lot more than what you weigh. So today we're going to break down what body composition actually means, the main parts that make up your body, why it matters for your health, and how it's measured. So let's get into it. What is body composition? When we talk about body composition, we are talking about what your body is made of, not just how heavy it is. Your total weight is made up of fat, muscle, bone, water, organs, and connective tissue. So two people can weigh the exact same number, but have completely different health profiles depending on how much of that weight is fat versus muscle. And that is why body composition gives you a much better picture than weight or BMI alone. There are several main components to your body that we're going to walk through. So there is fat mass or body fat. Fat has gotten really bad marketing. Really bad. Fat isn't the enemy. Your body actually needs fat. It stores energy, protects your organs, helps regulate hormones, and in fact keeps you warm. It does. It does. But too much fat, especially visceral fat, the deep belly fat that lives around organs, that is inflammatory. That type of fat causes problems. It raises risk for things like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers by being inflammatory and perpetuating insulin resistance. To further that point, not all fat is equal. The fat under your skin is less dangerous than the fat packed around your liver and other organs. So then we move on to lean mass. Lean mass is everything in your body that isn't fat or adipose tissue. That includes muscle, bone, organs, water, connective tissue. Lean mass is what keeps you strong, mobile, and metabolically healthy. More lean mass usually means better blood sugar control, higher metabolism, and more functional strength as you age. If we get into a more granular level and we talk about skeletal muscle as a subset of lean mass, these are the muscles that help you move, walk, lift, stand, carry, be functional, and live your life. Skeletal muscle is incredibly important for balance, preventing falls, maintaining independence as you age, and even protecting your bones. As we age, we naturally lose muscle unless we actively work to maintain it. When muscle is lost, it's called sarcopenia. And it's a big reason people get weaker and more frail over time. If we look into a different subset of lean mass and we look at bone mineral density, we explore that the bones aren't just a scaffolding for the body, but they're a living tissue. Strong bones help support your body, they protect organs, and they help prevent fractures if they're stronger than weaker. Muscle mass actually helps protect your bones, especially because when muscles pull on bones, they stimulate them to stay dense and strong. Your body is also made of a lot of water. A huge portion of your body is water inside your cells, outside of your cells, in your blood, and in between tissues. So hydration itself can affect energy levels, digestion, circulation, and how well your muscles and organs function. Literally, things don't work as well if you are formally dehydrated, not just like thirsty. So then it gets to the point of why body composition matters. Two people can weigh exactly the same, but have very different health risks. Body composition can help track whether you're losing fat or muscle when you're trying to change your body. It can identify risks earlier, especially if someone has low muscle or high visceral adiposity or high visceral fat. It can help personalize treatment for people with obesity, people who have malnutrition. And there's probably even some benefit in people who have cancer, heart disease, and who have been experiencing bone loss. So today we implore you that instead of just asking, what do I weigh? We really should be asking, what am I made of? So this is all nice in concept, but if you don't have the information to be able to actually act on this, it's problematic. And for a long time, we really only had a few things. We had weight, which is something that is helpful, but is probably pretty limited in terms of its propensity to estimate health outcomes. Then there's BMI called the body mass index, which is a measurement of weight against your height, which might be good in 90 to 95% of situations, but there's several situations where it doesn't help as much, and it's pretty limited in terms of its applicability for certain people. It is, however, very easy to calculate because you just need two measurements. And so I know there's a lot of BMI haters out there, and it really does get the job done for most people, but it's pretty limited. So thankfully, technology is improving these days, and there are several different ways that we can measure body composition. So we're going to go into a couple of those next. So there are a few ways that doctors and clinicians and um, you know, gyms and things and other people can actually measure body composition. Headline is that none of them are perfect, but some information, I would take it, is better than none. So there's the DEXA scan. A DEXA scan is a type of X-ray that looks at the whole body and is able to measure lean mass, muscle, and fat tissue. It is very accurate. It is practically the gold standard. In some lenses, it's the gold standard because it's actually accessible. It's very accurate. It measures bone, fat, and lean tissue. And admittedly, I, in my practice, haven't been able to find anyone who is able to actually get a DEXA scan for body composition. And I've spoken to people who are either patients or work with patients who say that, like even in certain areas, it's hard to find radiology groups or radiologists who do this. So it's fairly limited if you're doing this like on your own. So that's what makes this a little bit tricky. So then there's another technology. It's called bioelectrical impedance. This is a second option to measure body composition. These end up being very common in clinics and gyms because they are quick, painless, and don't have any radiation. And the concept is that electricity conducts through your body at different rates through different substances, like water, adipose tissue, or muscle. And so these scales or these devices take advantage of that scientific fact and then are able to estimate pretty accurately the composition across your body of how much muscle is in certain spots, how much adipose tissue is in other spots, how much water there is. And it's pretty great. And now they're pretty a little more expensive than the average scale, but if you're into this sort of thing, then it could be useful. There are commercially available ones that you can purchase as a regular consumer and have in your own home and associated apps that are able to help you track body composition over time over time. And this is something we've actually been using at home. And I got it for a gift, and it's been a really fun thing to. Take a look at. Having it at home has made it super convenient because we don't have to go to the gym where you have to like get a schedule and then like go visit there at a certain time in the day and then do it. You could just do it every day if you want to. And that's what I try to do. So that's been a really cool experience and now available at home. So I I like it a lot. It's not meant to be perfect, but it's meant to definitely give you an idea when people are on their health journey explaining how your body changes more. Do you have any thoughts about these? You have to be careful not to have any implantable electrical devices like a pacemaker that could be altered by these things. So just be careful there. But other than that, as long as you're not wearing socks or any other strange clothing, they're pretty reliable. And I mean, we've had people step on the scale and get really important information about their health so far, and they otherwise wouldn't have. So I think they're great. So then comes like other options. Um, there are skin fold testing where someone uses calipers to estimate body fat. Um, this was an older practice, and now that there's newer core technology, I think it's not used as much. There is another measurement of just using simple waist circumference that we're gonna dive into a little bit later. And then there's also something called a bod pod, or there's um these like tubs that people can go into and they actually like measure how buoyant you are, which can measure the adipose tissue and body fat. Um I've literally never heard of anyone like going to do that like on their own. And so I don't think that that's a reproducible thing for the average person listening to this to be able to go do. And then there are CTs and MRIs, and I think these are mostly used in research and special medical cases to be able to address body composition, not for the average person to have like access to. And all that to say, no method is perfect, but each of them can give useful information depending on each person. And now, in a really cool way, they're way more commercially available to the average person so that people can get more information than just the number on a scale. All right, Nikki. So you've got a cool section coming up here. We're gonna talk about types of body composition and other sorts of things. Um, so can you tell us what affects your body composition a bit?

SPEAKER_01 24:38

I can well, a lot of things affect your body composition. Um number one is probably age, because as we age, we are gaining fat and losing, can lose muscle over time. Sex, because unfortunately, women naturally carry more body fat, which is so annoying. Your activity level. So, how much are you strength training? Because that builds muscle, that alters your body composition, nutrition, and your diet, and then there are genetic components, some hormones, and then other sort of medical conditions or medications can affect it.

What Shapes Your Composition

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Yeah, if we didn't say it earlier, it's having more muscle on board can be really helpful because it increases your resting metabolic rate. And so the concept of that is like if you when people think about resistance training versus cardio, I think always, I mean, we like preach it here where we're like, oh yeah, 30 minutes, five times a week of moderate intensity exercises, the live longer amount of exercise. And you've heard me say that over and over again. And then I usually toss in at the end, oh yeah, two days of resistance training. But the resistance training by increasing the muscle mass burns more calories when you are at rest doing nothing else. Like it increases the basal metabolic rate, like the I am burning calories while I am sitting here. You burn more of them if you have more muscle. And so it's helpful to know like, are you 10% body fat? Are you 45% body fat? Like, what is that situation? And so that's why it's like a little quick aside here that we are looking at today. All right. So then I wanted to go into features of like detail about body composition, some figures that of like is there an ideal body composition? What do we actually know? Because we've spent time talking about what body composition is. And the obvious question after that is what is ideal? And I want to be careful here because there is no single perfect number or set of numbers that are perfect. But there are ranges that are associated with better metabolic outcomes, metabolic health, and long-term outcomes. And so let's start with body fat percentage. Here are some helpful ranges. Broad swaths of research in most adults suggest these things. For men, there is a certain level of essential fat. Like the body itself needs at least three to five percent total body fat. I'm looking at your brother. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Oh, yeah, he's definitely there.

Healthy Ranges For Body Fat

SPEAKER_00 27:32

And that's like what it needs. A general healthy range is roughly between 10 and 20 percent of body fat. And then once we start looking at above 25%, that is typically associated with an increase in cardiometabolic risk. And let's switch the lens to women. For women, there's an essential amount of body fat that is about 10 to 13 percent, with a general healthy range being roughly about 18 to 28 percent. And if we start getting up to about 32 to 35 percent body fat, that is often associated with increased metabolic risk. So you see here that it's different for men and women, and that's important biologically. These ranges that we're talking about aren't about aesthetics. You've heard me mention it a couple times. It's about metabolic health, it's about insulin resistance and how your body processes nutrients that you need, like glucose or fats, and how that affects your organs, like your liver, or how much blood sugar is around that causes trouble. And they vary based on age, genetics, hormone status, and ethnicity as well. So the goal is to not chase a fitness magazine number. I like that's not what we're trying to do here, not trying to be on the cover, but it's to the idea is to stay in these healthy ranges that support your metabolic health. There's a couple other figures that we want to talk about about muscle mass and health outcomes. So let's talk about muscle. And I think this is thing where things get pretty interesting. So higher muscle mass is associated with better insulin sensitivity, which is the opposite of insulin resistance, a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, lower cardiovascular mortality, a reduced frailty risk, and even better outcomes during hospitalization. This was a cool thing. We had a lecture in med school that I'm remembering now about when people exercised more and they stressed their bodies, they did better when they were sicker because their body was used to performing under stress.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

And why'd it take so long for you to get over your man cold?

Muscle As A Metabolic Organ

Waist Size, Aging, And Sarcopenia

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Good point. So there is even data showing that low muscle mass predicts mortality independent of BMI. Making two people with the same BMI, the one with lower muscle mass, having a higher risk, possibly. And that's powerful. Then we talk about waist circumference, like we alluded to before. It's simple, but it's powerful. So let's say someone doesn't have access to DEXA scans or bioelectrical impedance or body fat testing. The waist circumference is a very powerful tool. In general, men have increased risks when their waist circumference goes above 40 inches, and women have increased risks when their waist circumference goes above 35 inches. Waist circumference does correlate very strongly with visceral fat. And this, like we've talked about, is the metabolically active fat around the organs that causes problems. So sometimes a tape measure tells us more than a scale. I'd like to switch again and talk about aging and muscle loss. Starting around age 30 to 40, adults lose approximately 3 to 8% of muscle mass per decade. That rate accelerates after age 60. So without resistance training and adequate protein, this loss compounds over time. And why this matters is because we've talked about this before. Low muscle mass is associated with increased falls, loss of independence, higher hospitalization rates, and increased all-cause mortality. And that is why muscle isn't just cosmetic, it is protective to people's health and lifestyle. When people age and become seniors, that is some one of the biggest things we talk about. The whole framework around their health shifts to keeping things simple, maintaining independence, and reducing the risk of falls. And if we can avoid those things by keeping people strong, why don't we? So we've been huge into talking about muscle here. And we were just talking about muscle in seniors, but even if we look at muscle for everyone as a metabolic organ, it isn't just for movement, it acts as a major glucose reservoir. After you eat carbs, skeletal muscle is one of the primary tissues that clears glucose from your bloodstream. More functional muscle is helpful in improving blood sugar regulation. It lowers insulin demand and supports metabolic flexibility. So once again, this is not about appearance, this is about metabolic health for people who have problems with blood sugar control, pre-diabetes, diabetes, MASLD with liver problems, whatever it is, muscle helps it all. So let's reframe the whole situation. Instead of asking what should I weigh, a better set of questions certainly are do I have adequate muscle? Is my waist circumference in a healthy range? Am I strong for my age? Am I metabolically resilient? Because optimal body composition isn't about being as lean as possible, it's about having enough muscle to protect you and not carrying excess visceral fat that increases risks. The healthiest body isn't the lightest one. It's the one that is strong, metabolically stable, and resilient over time. If this episode helped you see your body differently, in a more informed and compassionate way, then it did its job. Because your body isn't just a number, it's a system. And the more you understand it, the better you can take care of it. So thank you for coming back to another episode of your checkup. Hopefully, you were able to learn something for yourself, a loved one, or a neighbor. You can come back next week. You can also share this with a loved one or a neighbor. You can follow us on Threads, find us on Instagram, send us an email. But most importantly, stay healthy, my friends. Until next time, I'm Ed Delesky.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

I'm Nicola Rufo.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

Thank you and goodbye.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

This information may provide a brief overview of diagnosis, treatment, and medications. It's not exhaustive and is a tool to help you understand potential options about your health. It doesn't cover all details about conditions, treatments, or medications for a specific person. This is not medical advice or an attempt to substitute medical advice. You should contact a healthcare provider for personalized guidance based on your unique circumstances. We explicitly disclaim any liability relating to the information given or its use. This content doesn't endorse any treatments or medications for a specific patient. Always talk to your healthcare provider for a complete information tailored to you. In short, I'm not your doctor. I am not your nurse. And make sure you go get your own checkup with your own personal doctor.