Category Archives: Health & Wellness

January is Blood Donor Month

Donate blood

Will You Be Saving A Life And Donating In January?

January is Blood Donor Month, which means it is time for us to help change lives. There are a wide range of diseases and crises that call for the need for immediate blood. As a blood donor, we have the ability to transform an individual’s situation into a far less unpleasant one.

Donating blood on a regular basis is a very honorable habit, as it makes the world go round. There are a wide range of reasons why an individual would choose to become a blood donor, including knowing someone with an ailment that requires blood transfusions or simply believing it is the right thing to do. No matter what the reasoning is, our honorable efforts are greatly appreciated.

Blood is a liquid that circulates through the body via a pathway of blood vessels, arteries and veins, carrying nutrients, oxygen, antibodies and other necessities of life to every cell and tissue throughout the entire body. Blood is also the means by which waste and waste byproducts are removed from the cells. Think of the circulatory system as a transportation system consisting of vehicles, roads and highways, similar to how we move goods and products throughout the world!

Of course, we don’t have little vehicles speeding through our veins, so how does blood do this? Whole blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, all which are suspended in a fluid called plasma. Each of these components of our blood has a very specific and important job.

Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a type of protein that gives blood its red color, and are primarily responsible for carrying fresh oxygen throughout the body while removing spent carbon dioxide from the cells.

White blood cells are very important to our immune system; they protect us from foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Platelets are the smallest-sized components in whole blood, but they are mighty in importance. They are responsible for blood clotting, which helps stop bleeding should we suffer from a cut or other trauma to the circulatory system.

Plasma is the fluid protein and salt solution in which the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are suspended. Plasma is 90 percent water and also contains several proteins that aid in blood clotting and the creation of antibodies. It is vital in providing blood volume, hydration, and mineral exchanges throughout the body, which are critical for proper cell function.

A whole blood donation can be separated into its different components and used for specific treatments for cancer or other illnesses, bleeding disorders or traumatic injury. In fact, since a single blood donation can be separated into components, your donation may help three different transfusion patients!

Medical advances and modern surgical techniques, (such as cancer treatments, organ transplants and open heart surgery), have increased the need for blood. In addition, the advancing age of the Baby Boomer generation has caused stress on the blood supply. Our national blood supply must be ready for everyday needs as well as the unexpected, such as accidents, natural or manmade disasters. Volunteer blood donors are needed year-round.

All blood is not the same! Different people have different blood types.

Rebecca Brightman, M.D., Hormone Replacement Therapy

Dr. Rebecca Brightman

Please join Maria and her conversation with Dr. Rebecca Brightman about Hormone Replacement Therapy and menopause. It is a very informative interview about the latest developments in the field.

Dr. Brightman is a Board Certified OBGYN in private practice in New York City since 1990. Her particular areas of interest include: the management of perimenopause, menopause, contraception, pre-pregnancy counseling and obstetrics. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and is also a NAMS certified menopause practitioner. Dr. Brightman graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 and received her Medical Degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1986. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr. Brightman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and is a Voluntary Attending at the Mount Sinai Hospital.

In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Brightman serves on the advisory board of Women’s Day Magazine and she has been quoted in other popular magazines and blogs for women. She has discussed women’s health issues on NBC-The Today Show, CBS-The Morning Show, CBS Evening News, Fox-The Morning Show, ABC-World News Tonight, Yahoo’s-The Shine and Katie’s Take with Katie Couric. She has spoken at the 92nd Street Y, has been published in peer-reviewed journals as well as in Letters to the Editor of the New York Times. She is on an Advisory panel for TEVA Women’s Health and JDS Therapeutics and is also a Women’s Health Expert for L’Oreal/Vichy Laboratoires and Proctor and Gamble. Dr. Brightman is also listed by Castle-Connolly as one of the top physicians in the New York Metro Area. She is married to an Ophthalmologist and has two sons. Her passions include: spending time with her family, friends, and her 3 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels as well as fitness, reading and fashion.
Board Certification

National Board of Medical Examiners-1987
Certification-American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ABOG), 1992
Recertification-ABOG, 2013

Privileges: Mt. Sinai Medical Center, ATTENDING, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science

Teaching Appointments: Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, ASSISTANT CLINICAL PROFESSOR, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science

Professional Education: Certified NAMS Menopause Practitioner, 2013
Residency and Chief Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology-Mt. Sinai Medical Center, NY. 1986–90
M.D.-Mt. Sinai School of Medicine 1986
B.A., magna cum laude-University of Pennsylvania 1982

Society Memberships: Member of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), 2013
Fellow-American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 1993
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Alumni Association
University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association

Drs. Chuck and JoAnn Bird, board certified clinical sexologists

Drs. Chuck & JoAnn Bird

Please join Maria as she has a conversation with Drs. Chuck and JoAnn Bird who are Board Certified Clinical Sexologists, licensed mental health counselors who are also sex therapists.  Drs. Chuck and JoAnn Bird talk about their professions and how they help various clients with couples counseling and coaching, discernment counseling, workshops for couples, individual therapy and sex therapy.

You may be asking what is sex therapy? Sex therapy is a specialized form of therapy that focuses on intimacy and sexual concerns or issues. It is a solution-focused therapy designed to reach goals that are established by those seeking services. Sex Therapy consists of discussions in the therapists’ office, along with special exercises designed to make you feel more relaxed in your sexual interactions. These exercises are practiced by the individual or couple in the privacy of their own home. At no time does it involve clients performing sexual acts in front of the therapist or sexual contact between the therapist and clients. The goal of sex therapy is to maximize one’s potential for satisfaction, pleasure and happiness.

Because Drs. Bird practice in the state of Florida these are the requirements that they have to meet for their state. A licensed therapist who has specialized training in Sexology (the science of sexual behavior) and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual issues/concerns. A licensed therapist must meet the State of Florida requirements (additional education/training and supervision) to be called a Sex Therapist. A Sexologist is a clinician that holds a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in the field of Sexology.

Sex therapy is for people of all ages, gender, and sexual orientation, who have sexual concerns or want to improve their quality of life by dealing with sexual issues. Sex therapy is for individuals or couples.

If you are in a relationship and are both available to see a sex therapist, that is highly recommended. No matter which one of you feels “responsible” or “blamed” for the problem, it is a problem that both of you are experiencing. It has become a “couples problem”. If you, as a couple, are interested in having a satisfying sex life, you will benefit from being in sex therapy together.

Friday, September 5th, 2014 – Love Coach

Bruce StarrAre you out of your mind to be in love?  This question and more relationship advice is the subject of today’s conversation with the original Luv Coach, Bruce Starr.

Bruce started relationship advising and relationship socializing on the internet in 1993. This is a very revealing subject matter because it explores how and why we fail to thrive emotionally.

Join us and learn how to stop preventing ourselves from having love in our lives.

One of the first and most important steps that we can take in creating a loving relationship in our lives is to first love ourselves unconditionally with abundance and acceptance. Warts, blemishes, short comings, failings, all part of the human condition are also preventing us from attaining what we want in our lives.

After we agree to have self acceptance, to recognize that we need to love ourselves more and that we operate out of love as a basic essence, then we are able to love another unconditionally.
The next three steps should be to stop dating. Slow down. Stop rushing to find the next great love of our lives.

If we’ve given away all that we have to give and thus have an “empty pie plate” and most likely match up with someone else who also has an “empty pie plate” then we have nothing to give and nothing to receive.

Finally, meditation is important. Meditation will help keep us quiet and centered. It will help us to stop judging ourselves, to operate with kindness towards others and operate selfishly – as opposed to self centered.

Being selfish means that we are there for ourselves. Being self-centered means that we expect that the world will revolve around us.
Lastly, we should feel love and not think love. Find out more by listening now! Please feel free to contact us about additional topics you would like to explore and learn more about the Body Traders.

Changing the face of the world! Steven Svoboda

Maria & Steven Svoboda August 2014

At the Maria Sanchez Show, we try and focus as much as possible on good news. Oftentimes it isn’t so easy to do so. For whatever reason, the human condition appears to need stimulation and we find it in salacious, dramatic, tragic situations. Thus the rubber necking that occurs on our roadways when there is an accident.

This is why the media focuses on blood and guts. Either we have prurient interest or we want to be distracted so very much from our own existences that we focus on the horror.

Enter one of my idols, a man that I am proud to call a collaborator, and someone who is literally changing the way we look at an issue that was traditionally and socially acceptable – male circumcision.

When I first met Steven, I was working at an NPR affiliate as a talk show host and I brought him on the program to talk about female genital mutilation and what was occurring at that time in Africa.

In our conversation, Steven compared that atrocity with male circumcision. Of course I rebuffed his words and the concept as “our” circumcision in the United States is conducted by a mohel (a Jewish practitioner) or a physician, in clean, sanitary, well lit and controlled circumstances.

After all I argued, my father, my 2 brothers, my 3 sons and my ex-husband were all circumcised. That’s just what we do. That’s how ignorant I was at that time in my life.

Steven’s point to me then and to this day (we’re talking late ’90s) was, “genital mutilation is genital mutilation, regardless of the gender and the circumstances.”

That began a 15+ year of professional collaboration. I affectionately have called Steven our “Circumcision Correspondent” because he visits with us whenever circumcision is in the news.

The organization he founded 20+ years ago which is his passion to this day, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, seeks to educate people, physicians, cultures, countries about surgically removing viable skin for cosmetic reasons. www.arclaw.org for more information.

Steven and I had never met in person. This picture of the two of us was taken last Friday, August 22 in Santa Monica, CA as we finally had an opportunity to speak to one another face to face.

I hope you’re helping to make this world a better place! Steven is a shining example of that.