Richard Harris MD, PharmD, MBA (2025)

13/08/2025

I'm thrilled to share that I'm embarking on an incredible journey to become a published author with Scribe Media! This milestone, which I celebrated alongside my son, is incredibly meaningful to me. The creation of "White Coat, Heavy Soul" has been a labor of love, years in the making, and I can't wait to share my healthcare experiences and the invaluable lessons I've gathered along the way. Stay tuned for the updates—The pending release date will be at the end of February, possibly with a release party and book signing at Parker Seminars Las Vegas! Join me on this adventure!

17/07/2025

Effects of blinking exercises on palpebral fissure height and tear
film parameters

PMID: 39920919
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39920919/

Blinking is a crucial muscle movement for the health of our eyes and visual comfort. Evaporative dry eye has increased in prevalence, likely due to the prolonged use of digital devices, which decreases the quality and quantity of blinks. Inadequate blinking occurs when the upper and lower eyelids fail to meet, resulting in an insufficient spread of the tear film across the eye's surface and exposing that portion of the eye to air. Previous research supports the use of blinking exercises to improve dry eye symptoms, tear stability, and incomplete blinking. This study evaluated the effects of blinking exercises on palpebral fissure height (PFH, a measure of eye openness), dry eye symptoms, and tear parameters.

Participants were randomized to an artificial tears group or an artificial tears group plus blinking exercises. Blinking exercises were performed in five sets per session, five times a day, over three days. Artificial tears were used before blinking exercises. Compared to the control group, subjective symptoms improved significantly, including eye strain, eye discomfort, and SPEED scores. The exercise group also saw improvements in several eye surface parameters, including PFH, IBR, LLT, NIBUT, and reduced fluorescein staining. In subgroup analysis, the exercises were effective in improving dry eye symptoms, PFH, and tear film stability, whether participants were diagnosed with dry eyes or not.

15/07/2025

PMID: 40332494

Passive heat therapy has become a popular therapeutic tool. Elevations in skin and body temperature activate brain areas that increase sweat production and blood vessel dilation, helping to release heat. Both skin blood flow and cardiac output (the amount of blood the heart pumps in one minute) can increase substantially during heat therapy, comparable to regulatory changes seen in moderate intensity aerobic exercise. Similarly, passive heating may elicit an immune response driven by IL-6, mediating an anti-inflammatory response. This study compared the effects of hot water immersion (HWI), traditional Finnish sauna (TRAD), and far-infrared sauna (FIR) on body temperature, cardiac output, and immune response.

Twenty healthy volunteers completed three bouts of passive heating, separated by one week. HWI for 45 minutes at 105°F, TRAD for 3 10-minute sessions at 176°F with 5 minutes at 71°F, and FIR for 45 minutes at 113°F initially increasing to 145°F. This study did not match interventions to core body temperature; instead, it used protocols that mimic real-world use.

Overall, the change in core temperature and body temperature was highest in the HWI group. All groups experienced an increase in HR, with HWI showing the largest change. HWI also had the greatest decrease in mean arterial pressure and the greatest increase in cardiac output. IL-6 increased from baseline in the HWI group, but remained the same in TRAD and FIR. The HWI group saw a decrease in CD4 cells and an increase in CD8 and NK cells. In the perceptual analysis, overall, patients in HWI reported feeling hotter, being more uncomfortable, and feeling more physically taxed. The mechanism by which HWI may have improved outcomes is the high thermal conductivity of water, allowing for quicker and more efficient heat transfer, as well as a reduced ability to cool the body through sweating. Water's hydrostatic pressure may aid in venous return, helping to increase cardiac output.

12/07/2025

My thoughts on a recent news report of an unfortunate liver injury that may be associated with high-dose turmeric supplementation.

21/04/2025

I didn't want to see another doctor because I was afraid I was going to be judged. This patient almost had a critical delay in her GLP medication, which was working for her. Find out how this conversation went by watching this video.

Become a patient or download our free healthy habits and mindset ebook - https://linktr.ee/DrharrisMD

14/04/2025

Besides having diabetes, high blood pressure, and being overweight, I'm pretty healthy. I heard this from a stranger on an airplane after he learned I'm a doctor. I began to ask him some clarifying questions and outlined how I assess an individual's health status.

Become a patient or download our free healthy habits and mindset eBook - https://linktr.ee/DrharrisMD

09/04/2025

I have a bad diet. I hear this from patients all the time, and instead of judging them or immediately telling them what to do, my first question is usually, "What makes you think you have a bad diet?" This video dives into my approach when patients tell me they have a bad diet.

Book a discovery call to see if we are a good fit to work together - heal.me/ghw

02/04/2025

I don't have time to work out, which is a common response I receive from patients after discussing how exercise can help prevent and lower the risks associated with several diseases.

This video discusses one such encounter and how I addressed this limiting belief and helped guide a patient from "I don't have time to workout" to "having a full workout plan within 15 minutes."

22/01/2025

Coffee drinking timing and mortality in US adults

PMID: 39776171
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39776171/

I love a good cup of joe, and many Americans do as well. Coffee intake in most prospective studies shows a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even death. Recently, there has been an interest in examining differences in behaviors like food intake with circadian rhythms. This study from the NHANES database examined the timing of coffee intake with all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and cancer mortality.

Coffee intake was taken via 2 24-hour food recalls in the NHANES cohort and validated agaisnt a 7 day dietary recall from the WLVS and MLVS cohorts. After adjusting for several confounding variables compared to non-drinkers, morning coffee drinkers had a 16% and 31% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular-specific mortality, respectively, independent of the amount of coffee intake. All-day coffee drinking patterns were not associated with all-cause or CVD-specific mortality. Neither pattern was associated with cancer-specific mortality.

Potential mechanisms for why all-day coffee intake may not offer the same benefit include previous evidence supporting that heavy afternoon or evening coffee consumption lowered peak melatonin levels by 30%. Lower melatonin levels have been associated with higher oxidative stress, blood pressure, and CVD risk. Another mechanism could be that coffee's anti-inflammatory effects are heightened in the early hours due to a circadian increase in inflammatory markers in the morning.

The findings of this study align with the general recommendation to limit caffeine intake later in the day to help prevent disruptions in the circadian rhythm and sleep. I try to cut off my caffeine intake at noon.

Want to become my patient? Join the waitlist to get notified of when we start seeing patients - https://drharrismd.kit.com/ab0944eb08

17/01/2025

Hello, my name is Richard Harris, and I am an internal medicine physician and pharmacist. Thank you for watching this video about my direct primary care practice, Great Health and Wellness.

In this video, we discuss the following:
1. What is Direct Primary Care (DPC)? 0:49
2. Why did I want to create a virtual DPC clinic? 1:19
3. What is my practice philosophy? 1:59
4. How DPC is different from what you may be used to. 2:47
5. Why I do not take insurance. 5:21
6. What you can expect as a patient. 7:59

Become A Patient - heal.me/ghw or check the link in my bio.

22/11/2024

I've found in my career that safe treatment means something different to providers and patients. This video discusses how I evaluate medical interventions from a cost, benefit, and risk framework. We discuss the number needed to treat and the number needed to harm and why these are essential to the cost/benefit/risk analysis.

01/10/2024

Welcome to the first Health Musings with your host, Dr. Richard Harris. In this episode, we discuss musing and how fasting helps me feel closer to God with food noise. The Health Musings segment aims to talk about health issues from a more holistic or different perspective than I've seen online. I hope you enjoy this first segment. Please let me know what topics you would like to see me ramble about.

Richard Harris MD, PharmD, MBA