Personalized Practice
Diabetes is a growing epidemic in the United States and elsewhere. According to the American Diabetes Association, 8.3 percent of the U.S. population suffers from diabetes – over 25 million people. That's why endocrinologists like Dr. Damaris Vega are so important.
“Endocrinology is the study of hormones. I think it’s really wonderful how everything that the body does, it does because of the hormones,” Vega said. “Hormones follow different pathways for the heart to pump, or for the kidneys to work. And being Hispanic, I do have a lot of family members with hormonal problems, including myself.”
Vega has worked for larger establishments, but she's now decided to open her own Texas-based practice, the Houston Endocrinology Center, in September. The integrative approach to health care appeals to her standards of individualized care. “I want to have to opportunity to spend more time with a patient and help them as much as possible. Nowadays, with the way medicine is, the only way to accomplish that is to have your own practice,” she said.
Vega believes that lifestyle issues are a major cause of the diabetes epidemic. “People between 30 and 50 years old are much more likely to be obese than they used to be 30 years ago, and I think diet is the main issue,” she said. According to her, a long-term solution involves better education early on. “I always thought we should give classes in elementary school. Why not just do a lifestyle class, teaching the kids how to eat healthy? They should know what it means to eat an apple versus French fries.”
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