Dr. Austin Baraki is a practicing Internal Medicine Physician, competitive lifter, and strength coach located in San Antonio, Texas. Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, he completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the College of William & Mary, his doctorate in medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
In our introduction to cholesterol article, we discussed the basics of cholesterol and blood test interpretation. We also covered the major factors that influence blood cholesterol levels to build a strategy for managing high blood cholesterol. Our discussion has been highly simplified for practical purposes, but the relationship between diet, blood cholesterol levels, and the […]
Note: This was a 2-part series (Part 1 & 2) that we merged together. The concluding article (Part 3) can be found here: Cholesterol: Myths & Misconceptions. Cholesterol is a substance that plays many essential roles in the body. It is involved in things like the structure of our cells, brain and nerve function, and […]
A doctor has just diagnosed you or a family member with osteoporosis. What does this mean, and what should you do about it? In this article we will address these basic questions. Bone Basics To begin, we must learn a bit about our bones. The bones of our skeleton are made up of many different […]
Cancer is among the leading causes of disease and death in the U.S. and contributes to a substantial burden of disease in the world [CDC, WHO]. Enormous amounts of resources are spent on treatment as well as research into new treatment approaches (e.g., chemotherapeutics, immunotherapies, and other emerging treatments) that often provide small, incremental survival […]
Our attempts to understand and explain complex systems commonly involve reductionist analysis, whereby a system is broken down into its component parts for easier understanding. Theoretically, after analyzing and understanding each of the individual components of the system, we can “add” these understandings back together in a linear fashion and emerge with a complete understanding […]
Have you ever been told you have “arthritis” in one of your joints? Do you know anyone who said they have “bad knees” or who underwent surgery to replace a joint? Given how common osteoarthritis (OA) is across the world, the odds are that the answer to at least one of these questions is “yes”. […]
We frequently receive questions from lifters who see their doctors and get a variety of screening tests done, including bloodwork. Interpreting lab data accurately can be a tricky endeavor, particularly for individuals who lack training in clinical medicine. Simple comparison of results against the lab reference ranges, for example, is a recipe for problems ranging […]
People are bombarded with conflicting and confusing information from multiple sources on health related topics. This makes it hard to recognize who to trust, what information to believe, and what to apply to your own life in hopes of improving health and longevity. With this resource we hope to target a handful of behaviors and […]
So you’ve been training, but have started experiencing pain. This is an extremely common experience that we get asked about on a daily basis. Essentially, the question is “Doc, what do I do?” Before we begin, we should point out that this will not be a philosophical magnum opus on pain and the human condition. […]
Crepitus is the menacingly-named phenomenon of noises produced by a joint during movement. It is common to hear snaps, crackles, and pops when flexing or extending a knee or an elbow. At times, these noises can be accompanied by a sensation of mechanical stiffness. When combined, these can cause distress, evoking deep-seated fears people have […]