The VA Medical Issue: Is Congress's Lack of Funding to Blame?

I was recently asked if I'd ever trained at a Veterans Affairs hospital and what the real problem was at VA medical centers. The answer is yes -- and I suspect Congress.

The issue relates to the long waits at VA hospitals and the deaths of vets who are waiting to be seen. Although this particular question came from San Francisco, that person knew (from NPR, I'd guess) that the Cleveland Clinic has a policy of offering same-day appointments to all who call. His email question went on: "How can you at the Cleveland Clinic staff to see people that day, and the VA not staff to see people until some die from waiting?"

[Read: When to Fire Your Doctor .]

Almost all doctors have trained in a VA or two -- I did at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and "the wet Rox," as we called it, near Boston. And I've been in many others. My in-depth experiences are so long ago that I am in no position to answer these questions. But the VA's medical leaders of the 90s were so superb that they literally leapfrogged past many of us in the academic and private sectors of medicine to set the standard in quality and in information technology. And I would guess those docs are still there working their behinds off trying to do good.

Toby Cosgrove, our Cleveland Clinic CEO -- a doctor and Vietnam veteran -- put a lot of emphasis on serving patients at the Clinic the same day they call for appointments. Some of our smaller departments, like the Wellness Institute's Integrative Medicine, doesn't hit the mark perfectly because of too-fast growth. And my guess is that is the VA's problem as well -- when these wars were started, our government didn't plan for the VA budget to treat the soldier victims. And Congress still hasn't allocated enough funds to adequately do so. But that's all conjecture. Still, I do know how to solve the problem. Just get Toby Cosgrove to lead the VA. (And those of us at the Cleveland Clinic hope he doesn't accept.)

[Read: How to Describe Medical Symptoms to Your Doctors .]

Now, for two tips I do know can immediately help you keep younger skin: Don't ever use or be around a hookah, and banish blue wavelengths at night.

Hookahs are the water pipes seemingly spreading from the younger millenials to Gen Xers and Boomers, because it was thought to be a safer way to get the nicotine from tobacco and the THC from Marijuana without the side effects of inflammation that promotes cancer, skin wrinkles and impotence. That's what tobacco does -- the last two are the most predictable effects of long-term tobacco and marijuana smoking. But a new study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention indicates that thought was plane wrong. Scientists from the University of California at San Francisco studied the issue and found hookah smoke laden with skin-wrinkling, impotence-promoting, inflammation-causing carcinogens. Using a nicotine patch and eating the marijuana is much safer for you and anyone around you.

Now for banishing blue: In the glow of your smartphone, you tire yourself out, catching up on emails or watching YouTube. This sends you off into a restful sleep. Or does it?

At darkness, your body secretes melatonin, a hormone that naturally gets you ready for bed. It makes you sleepy, keep s you sleeping and sets off a series of biological processes for the coming day.

[Read: The Trouble With Sleep Texting .]

When light hits your eye, it slows the production of melatonin. It makes it harder to go to sleep and harder to get back to sleep. Anyone who has ever been jolted awake by a bright light knows that. But research is getting more specific, focusing on the actual wavelengths of light that impact our sleep the most.

The findings? Blue light wavelengths keep you more alert at night. Light with blue wavelengths is especially good at hindering melatonin, and it's exactly what you're staring at before bed -- your smartphone, your iPad and your TV. Another culprit? Energy-saving lightbulbs. They are usually fluorescent, which emits blue spectrum light.

For ultimate beauty benefits, lose the blue wavelength devices in your bedroom. Use red wavelength light bulbs only in your bathroom. Sleep is all-important to your health and beauty, so when it's interrupted, its effects are far-reaching. Animals exposed to blue light gain more weight, even if they consumed the same amount of calories.

[Read: 8 Steps to Fall Asleep Fast .]

The best thing you can do for your zzz's is quit working on your computer and smartphone -- and make sure you don't see lights with anything but red wavelengths for about an hour before bedtime. Trade the television for a good book, and read anywhere but your bedroom. It will make your RealAge three years younger.

Your bedroom? That's for sleep and sex only.

Thanks for reading. Remember these are the views of Mike Roizen only, and do not necessarily reflect those of any organization he is or was affiliated with.

An esteemed authority on health and wellness, Michael F. Roizen, MD, chairs the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic, the first such position at any major healthcare institution, where he actively coaches patients. He is a former editor of six medical journals and has published more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Board-certified in internal medicine and anesthesiology, Roizen co-founded with Mehmet Oz YouBeauty, a media company focused on helping women lead healthier, more beautiful lives, and RealAge. His RealAge series of books as well as his "YOU" series, written with Oz, are worldwide bestsellers, with four No. 1 bestsellers in the U.S. and No. 1 bestsellers in at least five other countries. Roizen and Oz write a daily syndicated column that appears in over 130 newspapers. Roizen has appeared regularly on Oprah, Today, 20/20 and Good Morning America and has a two-hour, 33-station radio show. He is 67 calendar years of age but his RealAge is 48.7 He routinely tweets the week's top medical stories @DrMike Roizen.