Happy Holidays to everyone. We have three inspiring sets of guests on Monday’s show with stories that are educational and inspirational.

45 years ago Howard Mehl needed a kidney. He received it from his brother, Joe. This was at a time when transplantation was still considered an experimental procedure. Howard is one of the oldest living kidney recipients in the world. Hear about their story, how it affected them at the time and in the years hence.

Dr. Rovenia Brock is nutritionist and fitness coach, who participated in Essence Magazine’s “Health Intervention” for one hypertensive reader…the article will appear in the January 2011 issue. Dr. Ro, as she is known, is “Just 10 Challenge” nutrition coach for the Dr. Oz Show. Find out about what a health intervention is and if you have anyone in your family who may need one give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS. It may be the best holiday gift you can give someone you care about.

Unless they have already used their deductibles, people often don’t think of colon cancer prevention right before the holidays. Its not the type of thing you hope Santa brings you. But there’s never a bad time to discuss an important topic. Join me and Gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Kreines as we speak to Bob and Katie Hendirckson, a married couple who both have stage III colon cancer. Find out about their story and have all of your colon cancer screening questions answered at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

Monday, December 13th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio

The holidays are getting close. The parties have started, and, if it wasn't for that cough that seems to be affecting New York, the office would be getting a bit quieter. A perfect time to think about nutrition! OK, maybe not, but its never to early to get ready for New Years Resolutions.

We have been talking a lot about probiotics and the hygiene hypothesis on the show. Its an important topic. Which brings us to the next question...what's the story with using probiotics in kids? Joining me to talk about this is University of Wisconsin at Madison Pediatrician Dr. Frank Greer. Dr. Greer is the co-author of Clinical Report on Probiotics in Children that is in the current issue of "Pediatrics."

Call us with your questions about children's nutrition at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

Ask Doctor Ira has switched around a little bit today. We will be answering all of your questions from 8:30 to 9:00 Eastern Time.

Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS with any questions that you forgot to ask your own doctor.

My favorite kitchen utensil is my deep fryer. I know its unhealthy, but its crispy brown goodness calls my name. Every now and then I'll take a Twinkie, dip it in pancake batter, and throw it in. Which brings me to my next topic: The Twinkie Diet. Dr. Mark Haub lost 27 pounds on a diet consisting of junk food. Join me and Registered Dietician Keri Gans as we find out what this is all about.

If you have any "interesting" methods you've tried to successfully lose weight, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

Bill Katovsky is a multi-sport endurance athlete and the founder of "Tri-Athlete" Magazine. He also suffered a series of emotional and physical misfortunes, which stopped him from competing. But he found his way back and recently wrote a book, entitled "Return to Fitness: Getting Back in Shape After Injury, Illness or Prolonged Injury. " Find out about his inspiring story, and call us with your own questions about getting back after suffering a setback at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, December 6th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio

We've had a busy week at Westside Medical Associates, thanks to the "cough that never ends." This hacking misery appears to have infected a significant portion of Manhattan. Despite this, people in New York keep exercising and buying stuff for the holiday seasons. And reading about weird but cool developments in medicine. Which brings us to our show on Monday....

First exercise. I have been seeing lots of people in the office with runner's feet, the beat up, callous filled, cracked and fungus laden feet of many people who have run the NYC Marathon recently. This, despite all the high technology training and gear that people currently use. Amby Burfoot, the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon as we talk about the new trend to have athlete's exercise the "ancient way." Although running barefoot in New York City may not be safe, find out about the new footwear and old techniques that runner's are using to to "back to the future."

Then, buying stuff. Oh, and aresenic based life forms. And bedbugs. Dr. Phillip Tierno knows it all, and will be discussing it with me on Doctor Radio. We will be talking about the bedbug epidemic, which has hit some major retail outlets. We will also be talking about the discovery of arsenic liking bacteria that can live without phosphorus (which sounds kind of dull, unless you learned in college and medical school how this was totally impossible) by a group of scientists at NASA. We'll also be talking about a new study that shows that excessive handwashing with antibacterial soap may not be a great thing to do...which will lead us into our third segment.

Call us with any of your holiday bug issues at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

I've been treating ulcerative colitis for years. I have used steroids, anti-inflammatories, anti-tumor necrosis factor and even antibiotics. But I have never used parasitic worms. And that may have been a mistake! Join me as I interview Jasper Lawrence, who suffered from allergies until he treated himself with worm eggs! I will also be joined by two experts: Dr. Joel Weinstock, the Chief of Gastroenterology at Tufts New England Medical Center, and Dr. P'ng Loke, a Parisitologist here at NYU Medical Center.

If you have ever wondered about how the alternative becomes the normal, you are not going to want to miss this segment! Call us with you colitis and parasite questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

For everyone not tyring to infect themselves we will hae another holiday edition of Ask Dr. Ira, where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all and I will be happy to answer...give me a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, November 29th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio

December 1 is World AIDS Day. Although we don't hear as much about AIDS as we used too, the disease is still around and is a huge problem here in the United States as well as abroad. Treatments have improved considerably, but the disease still has no cure. Prevention has also improved here in the United States but not to the extent that we would like. We are devoting our first hour to discussing what's going on in HIV and AIDS prevention, detection and treatment.

In our first segment, I will be joined by Larry Siebert, the CEO of Chembio Diagnostics, a company dedicated to make tests for early detection. We will also be joined by Thomas Denny, the Chief Operating Officer of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology at Duke University. Until a vaccine is developed, early detection is extremely important. Learn about advancements in both technologies from our two guests.

If you have any questions about a vaccine for HIV, or want to know about getting tested as soon as possible (for whatever reason), give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

When I was in training at NYU, many of the senior physicians would talk about the early days of the AIDS crisis. For the first few years, they had no idea what they were dealing with. When was the first HIV patient seen in the United States? The answer will surprise you. Join me and Dr. Memory Elvin-Lewis, a Professor of Microbiology and Ethnobotany at the Washington University in St. Louis, who was directly involved with examining what is believed to be the first HIV patient in the United States.

While early patients with HIV did poorly, the outlook has been improving (although still no cure). Regan Hofmann, the Editor in Chief of Poz Magazine, will be joining us to tell us about living with HIV right now.

If you or a loved one has HIV, and you want some helps or tips for living with HIV, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

In our second hour, we are changing gears. An expanded Ask Doctor Ira, with a concentration on the skin. As the weather gets colder, people get all kinds of rashes. But did you know that many Gastrointestinal diseases, such as Celiac or Ulcerative Colitis, can do the same thing. Find Out! And call me with any questions you may have on a variety of gastrointestinal or GI topics.

Give us call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday November 22nd on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone is getting ready for the holiday. We have a show tomorrow pretty much dedicated to everything food for Thanksgiving! Medical, historical and just downright fascinating, learn about our history from the perspective of what we ate (and eat!).

Joining us for our first hour is Mary Gunderson, culinary historian and the author of "American Indian Cooking Before 1500: Exploring History Through Simple Recipes" and the "The Food Journal of Lewis and Clark, Repices for an Expedition." Also joining us is Sandy Oliver, a food historian and the co-author of "Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and History from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie." To help give us a modern perspective, registered dietitian Keri Gans, the author of the forthcoming "The Small Change Diet" will be on with us, too.

We be covering everything from what the Native American ate to dietary problems of the Pilgrims. We'll also be talking about our own Thanksgiving eating.

Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS for any questions on food of Thanksgiving's past, anything that's different about your Thanksgiving meal, or of course, advice on dealing with any problems with heartburn after the meal!

For our second hour, we get back to medical problems and Thanksgiving. Specifically, food allergies. We always here that turkey can make you tired, but can you had a deadly allergic reaction to it? Although rare, true allergies to various birds have been reported. Join me and allergist Dr. Julie Wang of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York as we speak about food allergy dangers.

Call us with your food allergy questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Our last segment will be holiday Ask Doctor Ira, where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all and I will be happy to answer them. Give me a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, November 15 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio

Thanksgiving is coming! Which of course makes me think of 1) eating too much, 2) getting sick from eating too much and 3) watching TV. Although this normally consists of football and the Parade, we have a TV and film celebrity joining us tomorrow!

First the eating too much. Cholesterol tends to creep up with your weight, and many people, even despite not being overweight, have too high a cholesterol level. One thing that many of my "medication hating" patients have been doing is to take the supplement red yeast rice. But is the stuff any good (and is it safe?). Join me and Dr. Ram Gordon, who is the lead author of a study on Chinese Red Yeast Rice that appeared in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" recently.

Call us with your cholesterol questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

While its not the heat of the summer, Thanksgiving is a time when we make a lot of food and serve it to a lot of our friends and family: how do you keep the food from becoming a source of illness? Join me and Shelly Feist, the Executive Director of the Partnership for Food Safety Education, as we talk about ways to make your holiday spread tasty and safe! You can also check out their holiday safety website to catch any tips you miss on the radio.

Call us with any holiday food preparation questions you may have at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

A little change in our schedule this week. Ask Dr. Ira will be at the 9 AM Eastern Time hour. Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS with any questions you forgot to ask your own doctor!

For our last segment, we will be joined by Mr. James Van Der Beek, who has been an actor on TV shows including "Dawson's Creek" and "Mercy" , and films, including Varsity Blues will be coming on the air to talk about the new campaign he is spearheading: Voices of Ulcerative Colitis. James will talk about how having a family member with this disease affected him and I will be happy to answer any medical questions on colitis that you may have at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, November 8th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 XM 119: Doctor Radio

Here in New York, the fall is really here. Flu shot season is in full swing at the office, and the dreaded "cough crud" has started to rear its ugly head again. Meanwhile, we have a show dedicated to new findings in cancer prevention, antibiotic use and overuse and even a little bit about the history of hearing aids! And of course, "Ask Dr. Ira," where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all.

There has been a lot of talk recently about a large trial that seems to show the CT scans of the lung help reduce lung cancer deaths in smokers. Dr. Elliot Fishman, the Director of Radiological Imaging at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and a Professor of Radiology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will be joining us to talk about the National Lung Screening Trial.

If you are (or were) a smoker, and have questions about whether you should get a CT scan, you are going to want to call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS with your questions.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease, including Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, is on the rise. Are antibiotics in infants part of the problem? Join me and the Chief of pediatric gastroenterology here at NYU Dr. Joseph Levy to talk about a new study showing that part of the increase in inflammatory bowel disease may be a result of giving kids antibiotics in their first year of life.

If you have any questions about your kids and their gastrointestinal symptoms, call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

The picture above is from a Charlie Chaplin film, circa 1928. Is that women on a cell phone? Join me and Mr. Philip Skraska, an archivist for visual and graphical archives at the Bernard Becker Medical School at the Washington University of St. Louis as we talk about....hearing aids! Yup, there was no Miracle Ear in those days. Even with large size, people have been trying to hide their hearing aids for many years. Find out about the interesting history of this important device!

Call us with any times you've tried to hide medical devices in your life at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

We will of course end the show with Ask Dr. Ira...post call episode. Hear my tales of a weekend in the hospital and ask me any questions you have on any medical topics at all...call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Remember, hear me live every Monday from 8AM to 10AM Eastern Time, with reruns throughout the week. If you live in the New York area, we are accepting new patients as well.