A basketball star convinced me to become a podiatrist.
It was the mid- to late-1960s.
The Vietnam War was heating up fast and young men my age were getting drafted.
“Not me,” my friend said. He was a basketball superstar.
“My dad’s a podiatrist and I’ve always wanted to do that. So I’m going to podiatry school. It’s a good way to get a deferment.”
“What’s a deferment?” I said.
He shot me a look. “Deferred military service? If you stay in school, you don’t have to go overseas.”
That sounded good to me.
Plus, the more my friend described it, podiatry sounded like a noble pursuit.
And so, as my time at Villanova drew to a close, I applied to the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine. And got accepted.
Later in life, I became interested in tracing the biochemical roots of diabetic neuropathy.
Which led me to conclude that so many diseases—migraine headaches, spikes in energy, rashes, fatigue, digestive problems—are caused by compression of the peripheral nerves.
Which, in turn, is often caused by a diet rich in sugar.
I wrote about this in my book “Sugar Crush.”
But I don’t want to spoil that for you.
For now, if you’re interested, keep reading my posts.
I’ll tell you a bit more about it.
Or, if you’d like to ask me questions, I’d be happy to answer them as best I can.