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NO. TWO: STAYING HEALTHY

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Prostate Specialist
WE ASKED: Marc Shuman, director of UCSF's prostate cancer program and cancer survivor
HIS PICK: Peter Carroll, chair of UCSF's Urology Department (415/353-7171)
Ten years ago, when Shuman was a rising-star prostate cancer researcher, he invited Carroll to give a lecture on the disease. Carroll's sobering talk rocked Shuman straight to the lab for a blood test, where he got "the shock of my life": not only did he have cancer, but it was so advanced "most doctors wouldn't have even operated." Carroll, however, recommended surgery. "I never even got a second opinion," Shuman says. Now in remission, he remains awed by Carroll's technical skill, dedication to helping patients preserve their "lifestyle" (i.e., ability to have sex), and sensitivity: "He took my wife to a private place to discuss the post-op results. No doctors find time to do that." No wonder, he adds, that Carroll's patients "all idolize him." INSIDE TIP: Prostate biopsies can be very tricky. Shuman recommends Katsuto Shinohara, a UCSF urological surgeon who helped develop the technique now widely used to identify such tumors: "He's a master." NEXT BEST: If the ultra-swamped Carroll is unavailable, don't despair. He refers patients to two other UCSF urological surgeons, both of whom he trained: Christopher Kane ("very detail oriented and extremely energetic and enthusiastic—he shows great leadership") and Maxwell Meng ("a natural—one of the most talented surgeons I've ever seen").

Internist and Pediatrician
WE ASKED: Dean Ornish, founder and president, Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito
HIS PICKS: UCSF's Ellen Hughes (415/353-7700), private practitioner Robert Gray Patton (415/668-0888)
Ornish is best known as the guy who proved the heart-health benefits of a low-fat diet. But more recently he's become a champion of mind-body medicine for preventing and treating all kinds of illness. Not surprisingly, the internist he recommends also favors an integrative approach: Hughes is a honcho at UCSF's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, where she works closely with another highly recommended internist, Bradly P. Jacobs. (One of her specialties is the treatment of menopause.) Ornish takes his own kids to Patton, a UCSF clinical prof who's trained hundreds of pediatricians over his 40-plus-year career. INSIDE TIP: Patton isn't taking new patients (he's retiring soon). But his partners at the super-in-demand Piel, Patton, Aicardi & Gonda are (or so they tell us, at least for the moment—expect a waiting list).

All-around Health Sage
WE ASKED: food guru Alice Waters
HER PICK: San Francisco acupuncturist Peggy Arent (415/221-5098)
Other than planning peak-of-the-season menus at Chez Panisse, there's just one thing Waters does every single week. She pays a visit to the much-recommended Arent, who's been needling her face, hands, and back for the past ten years. To describe Arent as a mere acupuncturist is a little like comparing a tarte aux framboises to a Pop-Tart. Whether Waters is feeling depleted, unhappy, or just a little sore, Arent can cure what ails her: "She's my therapist and healer, really. I always feel like she's looking after me in some very important way." INSIDE TIP: The downside of Arent's legendary attentiveness to clients is that she often runs late. Waters knows to bring along a letter to write while she waits. NEXT BEST: Arent does take new clients, but she assesses them carefully to make sure they're a good match. When she's unavailable, she recommends acupuncturists Richard Apollo in Mill Valley (415/388-5170) and Marcy Liner (Arent's former student) in S.F. (415/978-9195), as well as Kensington chiropractor Tom Hendrickson (510/524-8256) and Berkeley Rolfer Michael Salveson (510/548-8270).

OB-GYNs
WE ASKED: Laurie Green, Pacific Women's OB-GYN Medical Group
HER PICK: medical partner Joanne Hom (415/379-9600)
Chances are, if you ask three San Francisco moms who their OB is, at least one is going to say Laurie Green. She's delivered more babies at California Pacific Medical Center than anyone else for two years running (357 screamers in 2002 alone). So when she had her two kids, whom did Green choose to don a pair of plastic gloves and yell "push"? Hom, of course; they've worked together since they were residents in 1980. (Green returned the favor, delivering both of Hom's kids.) "I gave her a run for her money," laughs Green. "One of my babies I delivered at 2:48 a.m. on a weekend. That's a violation of code as an OB if there ever was one." INSIDE TIP: Green's practice is among the most sought-after in the city. While Green hardly ever takes new gynecology patients, her partners—including Hom, Maryam Arjomand, Frederica Lofquist, and Bonni Massa—will see newcomers, though you might have to wait to get the doctor of your choice. Once you're pregnant, Green says, you can switch to her for the duration if you insist. But, she adds, most patients are so pleased with their regular doc that they stay put.

Heart Specialists
WE ASKED: Stanford pediatric heart surgeon V. Mohan Reddy, who performed the world's smallest successful open-heart surgery, on a 1.4-pound preemie
HIS PICKS: UCSF cardiologists Kanu Chatterjee (415/725-3826) and Mel Scheinman (415/353-2554), Stanford surgeons Bruce Reitz (650/723-6459) and D. Craig Miller (415/353-2873)
Ex-UCSF doc Reddy describes himself as "obsessive-compulsive about getting things right." The same could be said of the colleagues to whom he'd trust his own heart health. For chest pain, fatigue, or shortness of breath, Reddy would consult the soft-spoken Chatterjee. "He has an international reputation. One of the best I've ever heard of." For palpitations or fainting, he'd see Scheinman, one of the fathers of adult electrophysiology (the study of heart rhythm). For an angiogram, bypass, or other surgery, Reddy suggests Reitz or Miller, his colleagues at Stanford since 2001. INSIDE TIP: Whomever you consult, "ask every little question that comes to mind," Reddy urges. "Trivial things can end up being important." NEXT BEST: While Chatterjee and Scheinman are on a year's sabbatical, Chatterjee recommends UCSF cardiologists Teresa De Marco, Michael Crawford, Jeffrey Olgin, and Dana McGlothlin (all at 415/353-2873).

Breast Cancer Specialist
WE ASKED: Susan Desmond-Hellmann, Genentech's chief medical officer, who oversaw testing of the breast cancer drug Herceptin
HER PICK: Laura Esserman, director of UCSF/Mount Zion's breast care center (415/353-7070)
Desmond-Hellmann, an oncologist with a strong family history of breast cancer, sends newly diagnosed friends, colleagues, and VIPs facing surgery to Esserman: "I think she's one of the most outstanding surgeons anywhere, not just at UCSF." Esserman's combo of smarts and soul is what makes her so special: "You often get these brainiac docs, and when you send people to see them they have a terrible experience," Desmond-Hellmann says. But Esserman "has a great bedside manner."

Sex Therapists
WE ASKED: Isadora Alman, sex columnist
HER PICKS: Marty Klein (650/856-6533), Carol Rinkleib Ellison (510/530-5600), Jack Morin (415/552-9560)
Some sex problems can be solved with a letter to Alman's Ask Isadora column. Others require a bit more intervention. For couples, Alman suggests Klein in Palo Alto ("a funny New York type"); his strengths include sexual health issues (hormones, Viagra) and the effects of aging on sexuality. Ellison, based in Oakland, specializes in "women's issues around sexuality"; Morin is your guy "if you're gay and stuck having anonymous sex and you don't like it." INSIDE TIP: Who should call a sex therapist? "Anyone limping along having mediocre sex," Alman says, or in the grip of "the three miserable myths: that there's one right way to have a relationship; that there's one right way to have sex; that there's one right way to be."

HIV/AIDS Care
WE ASKED: Martin Delaney, founder of the nonprofit AIDS group Project Inform
HIS PICK: Dr. Steve Deeks, San Francisco General Hospital (415/206-2400)
"If you have to have HIV, the Bay Area is one of the best places to be in the world," Delaney says. While any number of local docs have the expertise to treat early-stage patients, no one does a better job of managing full-blown AIDS than Deeks and his colleagues on the HIV/AIDS team at S.F. General. As the disease progresses, "you need someone who is really knowledgeable about the drugs and their interactions and who may have access to drugs that are still in development," Delaney says. Deeks, a UCSF researcher and clinician, and his colleagues are extremely plugged in, and because S.F. General is a public hospital, no one is turned away for lack of money. NEXT BEST: Delaney also offers sky-high praise for Dr. Stephen Becker and his partners at Pacific Horizon Medical Group (415/292-5477), Dr. Bill Owen in the Castro (415/861-2400), and any HIV/AIDS specialist affiliated with UCSF. "They all are very experienced," Delaney says, "and that is the most important thing."

Ear, Nose, and Throat Speacialist
WE ASKED: internationally acclaimed opera star Frederica von Stade
HER PICK: Dr. Barry C. Baron, head of the ear, nose, and throat practice at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) (415/923-3882)
When you sing arias for a living, a sore throat isn't just a pain in the neck—it can choke your career. Von Stade, who lives in Alameda when she's not performing around the world, first heard about Baron from pals at the San Francisco Opera, and since then has recommended him many times. Indeed, Baron is the man responsible for keeping the entire city in tune, with patients from the symphony and virtually every local theater, as well as performers in town for the night. "I've gone to see him for colds, sore throats, mainly to ask him, ‘Is it OK to go on?'" von Stade says. "He's stopped me once or twice." Baron says the nondivas among us might consult him for hearing, snoring, or sinus problems.

Autism Specialists
WE ASKED: Juno Duenas, executive director, Support
for Families of Children with Disabilities
HER PICKS: UCSF psychologist Bryna Siegel (415/476-7385), the Child Development Center at CPMC (415/600-6200)
Siegel, author of the authoritative World of the Autistic Child (Oxford, 1998), is one of the nation's most in-demand autism experts. Good luck getting through to her at her Langley Porter offices; we couldn't even leave a message in her voice mail box (it was full). CPMC's respected program is much more accessible to normal folks; the offerings include top-notch occupational, physical, and speech therapists as well as innovative "social groups" that encourage children with autism to develop their social skills. Barbara Bennett, the developmental pediatrician who runs the program, wins raves.

Baby Nurse
WE ASKED: fortunate new moms around the Bay Area
THEIR PICK: Marcia Armstrong (415/731-4034)
When 2 a.m. wails need soothing and tiny bodies need swaddling, S.F. movers and shakers breathe a sigh of relief that Armstrong is upstairs in the nursery. Over the last 14 years, Armstrong has helped make new parenthood a lot less overwhelming for Gary and Kendal Friedman (now Restoration Hardware's CEO, he ran Pottery Barn during the wildly successful launch of PB Kids), Terry Gamble Boyer (as in Procter & Gamble), and hundreds of others lucky enough to book her. Armstrong, who has five grown kids, does it all, from making the baby's room more sleep-friendly to helping Mom perfect her breast-feeding moves. New parents will wish they could be on the receiving end of one of her baths ("We called them spa treatments," Kendal says). INSIDE TIP: Most baby nurses take just a few clients a year, so don't wait till the last minute to line one up. Armstrong says, "I have women calling me saying, ‘I have a pregnancy-test stick in my hand, and it's just turned red.'" Typical fees are $20 to $35 an hour, or about $275 a night.

Teen Shrinks
WE ASKED: Lynn Ponton, UCSF psychiatrist, author (The Sex Lives of Teenagers, Putnam, 2001), and mom of two teenage daughters
HER PICKS: psychiatrists Luke Moix (415/221-2123) and Sam Judice (415/476-7237)
Ponton is one of the country's leading experts on teen-age sex and risky behavior. When she's overbooked, she refers patients to Moix, affiliated with St. Mary's, and Judice, a clinical instructor at UCSF. Besides having excellent training (two years beyond the standard for psychiatrists who work with adults), "they are both very attuned to adolescents," she says. "They have good relationships with parents, too." In the East Bay, she recommends Dr. George H. Stewart, "an excellent child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst" in private practice in Berkeley (510/644-4440).

Homeopathic Doctors
WE ASKED: Dana Ullman, director of Homeopathic
Educational Services in Berkeley and author of eight books, including Homeopathy A to Z (Hay House, 1999)
As head of one of the country's leading homeopathy clearinghouses, Ullman doesn't have much time these days to practice his specialty. But he did manage to flip through his Rolodex and recommend a few talented colleagues. In S.F., Ullman suggests David Anderson, a homeopath and psychiatrist (415/831-1862), or Richard Pitt, head of Pacific Academy of Homeopathy (415/695-8200). In San Leandro, Ullman recommends Steven Subotnick (510/278-9990), a homeopath, podiatrist, and chiropractor; in Point Richmond, Nancy Herrick (510/412-9040). His own homeopath is Randall Neustaedter in Redwood City (650/299-9170), an acupuncturist and author (The Vaccine Guide, North Atlantic Books, 2002), who counts many kids among his patients. In San Anselmo, Ullman sends parents to homeopath/pediatrician Ifeoma Ikenze (415/258-9600). For Kaiser members, he suggests Richard Jenkins, an MD and homeopath with the HMO in Novato (415/899-7412).

Mind-Body Fertility Specialist
WE ASKED: docs at the city's top fertility clinics
THEIR PICK: Angela C. Wu, Wu's Healing Center (415/752-0170)
Wu, a doctor of Chinese medicine who recently retired as director of the Chinese Healing Studies Program at S.F. State, has a reputation far beyond the Bay Area. Her results have been so impressive that she is featured on the PBS series Healing Quest. (She also has a book, Secrets of the Fertility Goddess, due out from Rodale this year.) Wu describes her method—a combo of herbs, needles, diet, and other traditional techniques—as "putting out the invitation to the baby." She and her staff (including her nephew, acupuncturist and herbalist Po-Lin Shyu) regularly work with mainstream specialists to provide support for in vitro fertilization and other conventional baby-making treatments. Wu's clinic also treats a range of other "female problems," from hot flashes to cramps.

Birthing Options
WE ASKED: Peggy Vincent, former midwife and author of Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife (Scribner, 2002)
HER PICKS: S.F.-based Rites of Passage (415/454-5804) and the Birth Home in Pleasanton (925/462-2194)
During her 16-year career as a baby-catcher, Vincent delivered more than 2,500 babies, mainly in the East Bay. For moms-to-be who want to give birth in the comfort of their king-sized Serta, she recommends Rites of Passage, whose three experienced midwives, "including the wonderful Cynthia Banks," travel the Bay Area providing prenatal care, assisting during labor and delivery, and doing follow-up checkups after birth. If you want to give birth in a homey place without worrying about the sheets or the neighbors, the Birth Home, housed in a 1911 Craftsman cottage, is your best option. One of three freestanding birth centers in the Bay Area, it sounds more like a spa (music, candles, a Jacuzzi for labor) than a delivery room. The staff includes an ob-gyn and several midwives (Vincent singles out Beah Haber), and a hospital is just three miles away. INSIDE TIP: "If I wanted a midwife-assisted delivery at a hospital, my first pick would be Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley (510/649-5959). But in the city, it might be surprising, but I'd consider S.F. General (415/206-8725)." The facilities are a tad shabby, but "the hospital is quite innovative and enlightened when it comes to childbirth," Vincent says. "As the site of UCSF's midwifery school, it has a history of great relationships between the doctors and the midwives."

Pediatrics Office For Kids Adopted Overseas
WE ASKED: Andrea Stawitcke, head of Bay Area Adoption Services
HER PICK: the International Adoption Clinic (510/428-3010) at Children's Hospital & Research Center, Oakland
Headed by Dr. Nancy Curtis, who had a private pediatric practice for 15 years, this new clinic, the first of its kind in a 400-mile radius, offers everything from preadoption medical consults to postadoption counseling and expertise in child development and infectious diseases. The staff includes clinical nurse specialist Teresa Courville, herself a single mom of two daughters from China.

Special-needs Vet
WE ASKED: Bobby Wise, owner of the George pet boutiques
HIS PICK: Dr. Alan Stewart, San Francisco Veterinary Specialists
(415/401-9200)
George, Wise's beloved fox terrier and the inspiration for his Pac Heights and Berkeley stores, "has been gone for a little over a year," he says. "He was 15, and he had lots of complications," including a tumor and degenerative spine disease. During those final months, George and his owner followed Stewart, a cancer specialist, from a practice in Berkeley to his new clinic in the city, where the offerings include dermatology, internal medicine, dentistry, and ophthalmology, all informed by Eastern medicine. In George's case, this included acupuncture "to make him more comfortable," Wise says. The clinic also welcomes cats, guinea pigs, ferrets, lizards, and snakes.
 
Malpractice Lawyer
WE ASKED: Kevin Dunne, chairman of San Francisco's Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold
HIS PICK: Jim Bostwick (415/421-8300)
Dunne, a nationally respected attorney who defends docs accused of malpractice, knows who he'd hire if his own surgeon took out the wrong kidney: Bostwick, whom he's faced numerous times. The son of a doctor, Bostwick has a natural affinity for all things medical, Dunne says. And while patients injured by their doctors have the legal odds stacked against them, Bostwick consistently manages to snag multimillion dollar settlements for his clients without the expense of going to trial ($500 million total, his website says).

Donating Your Body to Science
WE ASKED: Mary Roach, author, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (Norton, 2003)
HER PICK: Stanford Medical Center (650/723-2404)
Here's your chance to get into one of the best med schools in the world. Stanford goes out of its way to make the donation process convenient, with door-to-door pickup of your body at no charge. It will also cremate your remains and return them to your family. INSIDE TIP: Talk about a view to die for. The dissection room at UCSF's Willed Body program (415/476-1981) has the kind of vistas that give a whole new meaning to the words "I left my heart in San Francisco."

Women's Health Superstar Diana Taylor's Picks for Battling PMS
Taylor, a UCSF prof and researcher, has focused her entire career on the one thing most women would like to forget: menstruation. Her holistic approach to managing PMS—outlined in Taking Back the Month (Perigee, 2002)—has won her national acclaim. The bad news: Even in the PC Bay Area, plenty of docs still don't take PMS seriously or understand how to help women control it. The good news: There are lots of other practitioners who do. Taylor's go-to list:
OB-GYN: UCSF's Elena Gates (415/885-7788) is "warm and smart" and takes an integrated approach.
NURSE PRACTIONERS: Taylor, an RN, says PMS sufferers often get better results consulting with nurses because they're easier to get an appointment with and "they have the time to work with you." She recommends Janis Luft and Carolyn Muir, both women's health specialists at UCSF (415/885-7788).
PSYCHIATRIST: For patients with severe PMS, Ellen Haller, director of UCSF's WomenCare Mental Health Clinic (415/476-7500), can figure out what, if any, drugs are appropriate. She can also help determine whether there's an underlying psychiatric condition that mimics and magnifies PMS.
WEBSITE: www.theredweb.org is a PMS clearinghouse established by local health educators.
MASSAGE THERAPIST: Stress and PMS don't mix. Taylor sees Spirit Savage (415/675-9894), a teacher at the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville, every week or so for a combo of Swedish and lymphatic massage (great for premenstrual migraines).
INSIDE TIP: Starting this month, Taylor will be leading PMS workshops at UCSF (see www.takebackthemonth.com).

Hip Mama Ariel Gore's Picks for Unconventional Families
Little did Gore know when she started Hip Mama magazine for her senior project at Mills College in 1993 that she would turn into the Dr. Spock of the pierced and tattooed set. "I was just trying to graduate," she says. Her daughter, Maia, is now 13 and her home base is Portland, but Gore still has strong opinions about the Bay Area kid-care scene. Her favorite healers:
ALTERNATIVE PEDIATRICIAN: Daniel Donner, a licensed acupuncturist who directs the Piedmont Avenue Clinic in Oakland (510/655-0555), is Maia's former doc. The clinic offers homeopathy, herbal remedies, and nutritional evaluations for kids and adults, plus a skeptical take on vaccines.
CHIROPRACTORS FOR KIDS: Jean-Paul Martinet of Oakland (510/530-3328) "helps families deal with allergies and vague pains that otherwise send frightened parents to expensive specialists," Gore says. Julie Orman of Oakland (510/654-2399) is a social worker turned chiropractor who treats many kids with ADD. She works with parents to sort through the diagnosis and tries to steer clear of drugs, favoring "natural solutions, like nutritional changes and corrections of physical causes."
THERAPISTS FOR MOMS: Gina Mendicino, who's based in Hayes Valley (415/646-0904), has an MA in clinical psychology with an emphasis in feminist theory (and a sliding scale). Her goal: to help her clients (plenty of men and couples as well as women) see "that all people in the world are equal and that hatred and violence are not the only way to do things." Even less traditional is "self-acceptance educator" Cherie McCoy of Novato and Albany (415/897-5997), who emphasizes helping "students" (not "patients" or even "clients") find inner peace using techniques such as guided meditation. Gore reports that McCoy achieves "awesome" results: "She's great if you don't have ten years to fix it—you need to fix it now."

How to Score with a Top Doc
We know what you're thinking: What good is a guide to the Bay Area's best if it's impossible for mere mortals to get in to see them? So we asked some of the city's most in-demand docs for their scheduling advice. We can't promise these tips will work every time, but we can promise that at the very least, they'll get you the name of someone great who can see you.
BE NICE TO THE FRONT-DESK STAFF. "It is all about respect and kindness," says dermatologist Seth Matarasso, the skin specialist to many of the Bay Area's most visible celebs. That means being willing to wait—and wait. Even Matarasso's regulars typically must book appointments six weeks in advance. (If you aren't already his patient, bad luck—his waiting list is long.)
IF IT'S URGENT, SAY SO. Kanu Chatterjee, perhaps UCSF's top cardiac doc, has a six-month wait for regular checkups, with patients flying in from around the world. "But if I hear that your case is urgent"—and if it piques his professional interest—"I am going to make room," Chatterjee says.
IF YOU'RE STRESSED OUT, SAY SO. "If you call saying, ‘I have a high school reunion, I'm getting married,' I get that," Matarasso says. Dermatologist Richard Glogau, whose waiting period can be several months, also tries to squeeze in people who are especially freaked out, says his wife, Pam, a nursing prof at S.F. State who sometimes helps in his office: "He wants to make their anxiety go away."
BUT DON'T ABUSE THAT. "Don't call in for a Botox emergency—that's when you look in the mirror while you're driving and think, ‘Omigod, I really need my Botox,'" Matarasso says.
DROP NAMES. "If you say, ‘Smith, my internist, thinks you are just great'—that kind of entrée will often help," Matarasso says. But don't expect to jump to the front of the line by dropping your own name ("Don't call saying, ‘Do you know who I am?'"). Another loser line: "I know Dr. Matarasso from the gym." "We get that all the time," he says dismissively.
AVOID PEAK SEASON. For a pediatrician, it's back-to-school time. For a skin doc, it's the holidays or the start of the social season. "Everyone wants their Botox or collagen looking good for Christmas or New Year's," says Patricia Narvez, who does scheduling for Pac Heights dermatologist Kathy Fields.
BE FLEXIBLE. Matarasso advises: "Give the nurse a time frame—‘I'd like to see someone over the next week, or anytime between 2 and 4.' Tell her, ‘I don't mind being put on hold.'"
GET A REFERRAL. Ask the front desk for the name of an up-and-coming doctor who's good but less in demand. You might well be happier with the level of attention and care.
TRY AGAIN. Ask to be placed on a waiting list for new patients, in case someone drops off (or dies). But don't wait for them to call you—phone periodically to see if a spot has opened up.

Alternative Medicine's Picks for Quack-free Living
The staffers at Tiburon-based Alternative Medicine magazine spend their days (and, when necessary, their days off) assessing alternative therapies and practitioners to separate the pros from the quacks. Who takes care of them?
HEALTH CENTER: UCSF's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (www.ucsf.edu/ocim) is a research center and clinical practice that offers a full range of alternative and conventional approaches to healing, plus some of the best docs anywhere.
PRIMARY CARE DOCS: San Francisco Preventive Medical Group's four MDs specialize in integrative treatment of degenerative diseases, hormonal imbalances, and other chronic conditions (415/566-1000).
HOMEOPATH: Brigitte Essl in Mill Valley (415/460-0517) is "patient, responsive, and good at treating women's issues and anxiety—the kind of doctor everyone wishes she had."
PEDIATRIC ACUPUNCTURIST: Anju Gurnani in San Francisco (415/469-4808) "has the ability to make needles your friend—even if you're a kid who doesn't like them."
GUIDED IMAGERY EXPERT: UCSF prof Martin L. Rossman (415/383-3197), an integrative physician and acupuncturist based in Mill Valley, is cofounder of the Academy for Guided Imagery. Author of Fighting Cancer from Within (Henry Holt and Co., 2003) and other books, he specializes in helping people with cancer and other chronic conditions manage pain.
PHARMACY: Elephant Pharmacy in Berkeley (510/549-9200) is an integrative pharmacy with service so friendly and helpful it's worth crossing the bridge for. The offerings include free seminars, 3,000 books, and free consults with practitioners. Pharmaca, with three locations (Cole Valley store: 415/661-1216), is like Elephant's little sister, providing many of the same services but on a more intimate scale.
FREE ACUPUNCTURE: Three times a week, the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine's walk-in clinic in Potrero Hill (415/282-7600) offers free needle treatments on the ear (useful for kicking tobacco, losing weight, or battling anxiety).
LIBRARY: CPMC's Health & Healing Center (415/600-4325) is the largest integrative medical center in the nation. Its library is world-class, with computer access to ten health databases.
SPIRITUAL (RE)TREATS: In the city, International Orange Spa Yoga Lounge (415/563-5000) on Fillmore Street combines pampering treatments with a relaxing yoga chaser. For a spa experience worth the hour-plus drive, try the wood enzyme bath at Osmosis Enzyme Bath & Massage in Freestone (707/823-8231). Kids are welcome the first Sunday of the month at the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in Muir Beach (www.sfzc.org), where the treats include a Zen storyteller, a romp in the organic garden, and tea. (For more Alt Med picks, see www.sanfran.com.)

How to Live Forever (or At Least Longer)
Cynthia Kenyon, 49, head of UCSF's Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging, is on the fast track to a Nobel Prize for her groundbreaking research on aging. Here's how she plans to live to a ripe old age, taking her cues from the earthworms she studies.
LESS SUGAR: Kenyon stopped eating high-glycemic-index foods a few years ago after she discovered that sugar shortens worms' life spans. (Her exception is a glass of red wine daily, which she drinks "with great relish.") While she eats plenty of nonstarchy carbs, such as salad—plus meat, fish, eggs, and cheese—she steers clear of potatoes, bread, rice, and, naturally, the cookie jar. "I feel great," says Kenyon. "It's like becoming younger—I weigh what I did in college."
MODERATE EXERCISE: "You don't have to exercise really hard," she says. "Research shows that if you let a frog hop around for a little while every day, it's fine." Kenyon gets hopped up by walking her dog: "We go to Land's End, Fort Funston, Twin Peaks—they're as beautiful as anything anywhere."
MORE SHOPPING: "I buy nice clothes and scarves. When I take care of myself, it affects my sense of self in a positive way."

How to Shop at Trader Joe's
When you live in the land of farmers' markets, fresh is the way to go. But let's be honest; some evenings all you can manage is to swing open the freezer door. For those times, we asked Debra Waterhouse (www.waterhousepublications.com), Orinda-based nutritionist and author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell, to show us how to shop at a supermarket. She suggested Trader Joe's, where she sends many of her clients. "Most of the food is made from good ingredients," she says, "not too many preservatives."
BEWARE OF THE LOW-CARB FAD. Waterhouse is all for cutting way back on sugary snacks, but bucking the Atkins trend, she aims for an old-fashioned ratio of 50 percent carbs, 20 percent protein, and 30 percent fat. "People who drastically cut carbs do lose weight initially, but they often gain it all back," she says. "Your body needs carbs for energy."
PAY ATTENTION TO FAT... "Frozen shrimp are great. They're low in saturated fat. Boil ‘em up and eat them with cocktail sauce." Italian foods mostly don't make the cut. Chinese and Japanese foods, on the other hand, "tend to have a lot of flavor; they have some veggies; they don't have much fat per serving. The chicken rice bowl: 3 percent of the recommended daily amount of fat. Same for the Thai shrimp gyoza."
...BUT DON't GO OVERBOARD. Waterhouse picks up a package of baked crinkle-edged potatoes. "Only 6 percent of your recommended daily allowance for fat. Much better than French fries cooked in oil." As long as you like them, that is. "If the taste doesn't satisfy you, half the bag won't be enough."
FROZEN VEGGIES ARE OK—REALLY. "They're often better nutritionally than fresh, though they may not taste as good. Spinach freezes pretty well."
DOWNSIZE YOUR PORTIONS. "Your stomach is the size of a fist," Waterhouse says. "You can eat everything, as long as you do it in moderation." Ask yourself three questions: "Am I hungry?" (If not, don't eat.) "What am I hungry for? Protein, carbs, salad?" And after you've eaten, "Is my hunger satisfied?" "Trust your body," Waterhouse urges.