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From the Editor

Health Matters

    Is your doctor on the Best Doctors in America list?
    The 2009 East Bay Medical Guide, a major component of this issue, has a list of 180 physicians deemed by their peers to be the best in their fields, as determined by Boston-based Best Doctors Inc.
    The East Bay is full of able practitioners, as evidenced by the esteemed ones whose names make their way onto the Best Doctors list. In “The Best Doctors in the East Bay,” Linda Childers interviews five outstanding local clinicians—a pediatric cardiologist, an obstetrician/gynecologist, an internist, a neurologist and a dermatologist—to find out the latest-breaking advancements. One prediction: cures for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will occur in this lifetime. Some advice: Women should take folic acid before getting pregnant; develop a passion so exercise is eagerly anticipated, not avoided; and don’t over eat.
    The physician on the cover, Dr. Katie Rodan, runs an Oakland-based medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology private practice, and she’s the co-developer of Proactiv Solution, a results-oriented acne management system making headlines these days.
    The annual medical guide is chockfull of health information with articles on dentistry, dementia, ADHD and libido plus a directory of hospitals and a comprehensive list of East Bay physicians. It’s all an effort to put health information in a concise format at your fingertips for easy reference all year long.
    What we eat is directly related to our health, and an Alameda company, Revolution Foods, is changing the way kids eat at school by bringing more nutritious and mostly organic foods to school lunch programs in a few Oakland schools.
    Thanks to this forward-thinking lunch-service provider, area kids are trading in their frozen corn dogs and fish sticks for freshly prepared barbecue chicken and roasted potatoes, ingesting less fat, less sugar and more protein in the process. Students can also enjoy pizza and chicken nuggets, but Rev Foods serves improved, health-conscious versions parents can be comfortable with.
    Freelancer Noelle Robbins, in “Lunchroom Coup,” traces the Rev Foods evolution from the idea Kristin Richmond and Kirsten Toby cooked up at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the company’s founding in 2006 to its current status as a cutting-edge cafeteria revolutionary. Today Rev Foods—whose ingredients are local, fresh and at least 50 percent organic—operates with assembly line precision out of an old McDonald’s, delivering meals daily to 80 public and charter schools.
    The company also has developed a line of products such as peanut butter, chips and fruit snacks that Whole Foods Markets is carrying, so watch for this startup to become a nutrition titan whose brand denotes yummy, good-for-you chow kids will love.
    What do you love about Oakland? Drop me an e-mail and see what develops.
 

Judith M. Gallman
judy@oaklandmagazine.com