Richard was born in Boca Raton and went to Boca High School. He was very active during his middle school and high school years, and he built a muscular physique due to hours of daily intense exercise in Boca Raton high school. Despite his athleticism, Richard had a massive sweet tooth, and indulged in cookies and ice cream. Richard then went to FAU in Boca on a full scholarship because of his achievements in football. After his 4 year study in FAU in Boca, he enlisted in the US Army. He continued to eat a lot of processed food when he served in the army for 18 months in West Palm Beach.
Richard started his own business in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Parkland, Pompano Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Miami, Coconut Creek and Deerfield Beach after his serving in the Army in West Palm beach. The high levels of stress generated from his business increased his craving for sweets, and he was eventually diagnosed with type II diabetes when he was 50 years old. Richard was given metformin to lower his blood sugar twice a day before meals. His blood sugar was under control, but his belly started growing very fast. Because he did not change his diet, the medications lowered the blood sugar by transferring excess energy from the sugar into the fat cells. Because he was diabetic, he cannot use blood sugar for his energy production, so he ate even more to stabilize his blood sugar. A few years after Richard started metformin for his diabetes, he was diagnosed with fatty liver, diverticulitis, sleep apnea, arthritis and acid reflux. He was then given statin drugs and pain killer to help lower his cholesterol and control his back and hip pain. Unfortunately, his high sugar levels caused inflammation in his blood vessels and nerves, and he developed neuropathy, sciatica, AF and hypothyroid condition.
Several years ago, Richard finally decided to see a Chinese acupuncturist in Boca to optimize his blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation. His acupuncturist in Boca suggested that he get rid of all processed food and eat more vegetables. In the meantime, he started eating small portions of food three times a day, along with vegetables. Interestingly, after each acupuncture treatment, his craving for sweets was reduced; he also had more motivation to exercise in a Fancy Gym in Delray Beach. After a few months of acupuncture two or three times a week, Richard was told his A1C dropped to 5.7 by a diabetes specialist in Boca Regional Hospital, and he was able to cut down his Metformin and subsequently lost 20lbs. Today, Richard continues his regular acupuncture treatments in Boca, and uses it to combat hip pain due to his three times hip surgery.