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By now most Americans have either seen or heard of Dr. Ian Smith. He’s appeared as a medical contributor on various TV programs, the latest being The Rachael Ray Show” He hosts the nationally syndicated radio show “HealthWatch” on American Urban Radio News. And he doles out medical and diet advice to the stars on VH1′s Celebrity Fit Club.

Besides the broadcast exposure, Smith has authored several best-selling books including The Fat Smash Diet, Extreme Fat Smash Diet and The 4 Day Diet. And he has just completed SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet.

Recently, we talked with Dr. Smith about his career, health and wellness.

MadameNoire: Why did you write SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet?

Ian Smith: I had been working with just a few friends who called me up and were frustrated because they had tried everything, but couldn’t break through their weight-loss plateau. They wanted me to come up with a program specifically for them that would get them shedding pounds again. So, I created SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet. All of them were losing lots of weight on the program. I held it in reserve for some time, then decided to tweet some of it to my followers on Twitter to give them a weight-loss boost. So many people were losing so much weight that my publisher and I decided to publish the book and make it available to everyone this December.

MN: You have had several bestsellers. Why is writing a book a good business move?

IS: I never really looked at it as a business move.  My motives were to help people and to continue to do what I have been doing for some time. Being a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, I travel the country speaking about fitness and nutrition and other health issues. So this was really an extension of that. However, dieting is a big business and it is one that unfortunately is not going away. People spend billions of dollars each year on dieting programs, services and products. People like me want dieting to be a shrinking business instead of one that’s growing.

MN: What are the three biggest diet mistakes people make?

IS: 1) Unrealistic expectations. People want to lose too much weight too fast.  They set unrealistic goals and when they don’t meet these goals they get upset and frustrated and leave a program that is probably good for them in the long run.

2) Obsession with the scale.  People want to weigh themselves every day to see if they are losing weight. Once a week is enough.

3) Starting too early. Weight loss is a journey and often it’s difficult. Too many start a program at the wrong time and when they are not ready or in the best position to succeed. Start when you’re ready and when you have control of your food and exercise environment.

Source: Sciencephoto.com

How much more do male doctors make than female ones?

Researchers say the gap is 12-thousand dollars per year and that’s adds up to more than $350,000 over a typical-30 year career!

The Huffington Post reported:

Women physician-scientists are paid much less than their male counterparts, researchers found, with a salary difference that over the course of a career could pay for a college education, a spacious house, or a retirement nest egg.

To get the fairest comparison, the study authors took into account work hours, academic titles, medical specialties, age and other factors that influence salaries. They included only doctors who were involved in research at U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals, all at the same stage in their careers. And they still found men’s average yearly salaries were at least $12,000 higher than women’s.

While previous studies have found that female doctors are frequently paid less than male doctors, many observers have assumed that’s often related to having children – working fewer hours, or choosing less time-consuming, lower-paying specialties to allow time for child-rearing.

The new study did find more women in less lucrative specialties, including pediatrics and family medicine, and more men in the highest-paying fields, including heart surgery and radiology. But it still found salary inequities even among women and men without parental responsibilities, in similar jobs.

A common reason given in situations like these (including this one) is that men tend to be more aggressive at self-promoting and asking for pay raises than women. That may be true, but when will we stop using that as an excuse to pay women less than what they’re worth? Especially when we know and it has been documented that women make less. Shouldn’t these companies begin to look at their hiring practices and how they determine salaries and raises instead of always leaning on the “women aren’t aggressive” argument?

I’m not buying it. I think women across the board (not just doctors, but in other professions as well) are paid less because companies know they can get away with it. The companies forbid employees to talk about their salary, and, as a result many women don’t even realize they are making less than they deserve. Then when it takes a national study to point it out, everyone goes back to the “women don’t ask for raises” excuse.

Of course, these doctors salaries are nothing to sneeze at considering this report says the women are pulling in an average of $168,000 a year. That’s not exactly poverty, however that’s still not enough when the men are making on average $200,400 per year. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but how many more of these studies have to be released before someone starts looking into these companies and hospitals and determining whether the blame for the disparity really falls on the women employees or if the human resources department hasn’t clearly determined that women just aren’t worth the money?

Alissa Henry is a freelance writer living in Columbus, OH. Follow her on Twitter @AlissaInPink or check out her blog: This Cannot Be My Life

Since the country’s inception, black women have been working tirelessly to advance the cause of medicine and eradicate sickness and disease. From the first black nurse to the first black female neurosurgeon, African-American women have solidified their place in medical history and left a legacy of firm determination, selfless compassion, and academic excellence.

Photo courtesy of Detroit Free Press

Dr. Alexa Canady

In 1976, at age 26, Alexa Canady became the first black female neurosurgeon in the United States when she was accepted as a resident at the University of Minnesota. In 1986, after four years at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Canady became chief of the hospital’s neurosurgery department. In 1993, she received the American Women’s Medical Association President’s Award. Canady’s research in neurosurgical techniques resulted in the invention of a programmable antisiphon shunt, which is used to treat excess fluid in the brain. She shares a U.S. patent for the device with two other neurosurgeons.

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