I don't normally post about health or nutrition per se, but an article caught my attention and I thought it worth sharing. Most everyone is probably aware that excessive sugar consumption is a problem and that sugar consumption has been on the rise for decades...there is obviously a direct link to obesity and diabetes trends.

To get some of the facts about sugar, consumption trends etc check out Sugar: 8 Shocking Facts from Yahoo's Shine.

In good times lots of things get overlooked in the business world...some that are now getting deserved scrutiny. Over the past decade there has been little challenge to the standard venture capital model...raise as much money as possible...live well on a 2% management fee and add a nice carry to the mix. Claim you add value through a Rolodex and some semblance of operational or market expertise on the team.

As more and more of my friends began looking closely at VC portfolio returns before jumping into Fund #5, the enthusiasm to become an LP began to wane quickly. Sure there were the stellar funds...mostly carried by one or two big hits...but the long term, track record of most VCs has been dismal with those few exceptions.

Fred Wilson has been reviewing the math behind VC returns recently and to his credit was pointing out that the math didn't add up well. Azeem Azhar takes the math one step further thanks to data from Thomson Reuters...and the returns are even worse than Fred had depicted.

From time to time I like to share great restaurant, travel or hotel experiences with readers of this blog. I hope you find them useful when you are conducting your own travels. I just returned from Dallas and experienced a relatively new hotel (almost 1 year old) that is immediately one of my top 5 favorites in the world! Regardless of price.

The Joule, owned by Tim Headington and part of the Starwood Hotel chain and is located in the middle of downtown Dallas. It's a renovated space with a 1920s neo-Gothic facade and a very hip interior. This hotel is to genuine what the W is to fake. Despite the terrific finishes, service and experience, the prices are not over the top...competitive.

Top 5 things I love about the Joule:

Thank you to everyone who attended the innovateHealth Capital Summit today. A special thanks to my cosponsors: Davis Wright Tremaine (Joe Whitford, Stu Campbell), Clarity Health Services (Peter Gelpi), Faultline Ventures (Rob Coppedge) and certainly my team at iMedExchange. By all accounts the event was a huge success!

Davis Wright Tremaine hosted the packed event at their HQ conference center. The logistics and coordination were flawless from the DWT organization. Most importantly, we were treated to a world class group of panelists starting with Michael Butler of Cascadia Capital and Andy Dixon of Harris Williams. Next up we were fortunate to have Al Scott of the Puget Sound Business Journal moderate a terrific panel comprised of Alan Frazier ( Frazier Healthcare Ventures ) and Gary Kaplan, MD (CEO of Virginia Mason Hospital ). The event closed with a large and lively panel mixed with capital experts and proven entrepreneurs.

Thanks to Charlotte Graeber for all her help including the "Live Blog" transcript of the event which you can review here.

Please feel free to join the innovateHealth Group on Facebook and offer suggestions for forthcoming events. We will be announcing the topic and date for our June event early next week.

Howard Luks, MD is one of the most tech savvy physicians in the country (that's why we recruited him to be Medical Director at iMedExchange) and he is also incredibly socio-politically aware. He attended HealthCamp Boston yesterday and wrote a post today calling on his fellow physicians to get involved in the health care reform debate that is heating up by the week. Click here to read: Social Media, Health Care Reform...Where are the Physicians?