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Meta
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Vitamin D Supplementation Helps Prevent Falls in Older Adults
Each year, one third of adults 65 years and older have at least one fall. And, 9% of those falls require an emergency department visit and up to 6%result in a fracture. Consequently, strategies to prevent falls have become an … Continue reading
Posted in Nutritional Health
Tagged falls, preventing falls, vitamin D, vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D supplements
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Dark chocolate Easter eggs good for your heart?
Easter eggs and other chocolate may be good for you – at least in small quantities and preferably if it’s dark chocolate – according to research that shows just one small square of chocolate a day can lower your blood … Continue reading
Posted in Heart Health, Nutritional Health
Tagged blood pressure, chocolate, dark chocolate, heart disease, preventing cardiovascular disease, preventing heart disease
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Afternoon Nap Might Make You Smarter
A study is claiming that snoozing refreshes the brain’s capacity to learn. While the findings are preliminary, this new research raises the prospect that sleep, specifically a lengthy afternoon nap, prepares the brain to remember things. Think of it as … Continue reading
Posted in Men's Health, Woman's Health
Tagged lack of sleep, naps, sleep, sleep and health
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Superfoods for Women
Most of us love to eat great food. But, we also want to feel great. Can we do both? You bet you can if you choose foods that make you energetic, smarter, leaner, and stronger — and then use them … Continue reading
Posted in Nutritional Health, Woman's Health
Tagged avocado, blueberries, blueberry, broccoli, chocolate, dark chocolate, greek yogurt, oats, olive oil, red beans, salmon, steel cut oats, walnuts
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Coffee and Your Health
Today I’m teaching the family medicine residents at the In His Image Family Medicine Residency Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of them asked if there were any health benefits of coffee. Of course, long time readers on this blog know … Continue reading
Posted in Heart Health, Nutritional Health, Woman's Health
Tagged coffee, diabetes, heart rate, palpitations, type 2 diabetes, type 2 DM
2 Comments
Eating Processed Meat Riskier Than Red Meat
Here’s some surprising information from the Harvard School of public health. It’s an old news, new news story. First a reiteration of some old news: Eating processed meat such as bacon, salami, hot dogs, or lunch meats is associated with … Continue reading
Posted in Heart Health, Nutritional Health
Tagged diabetes, diet, healthy diet, heart disease, Nutritional Health, processed meat, red meat
2 Comments
Can Hibiscus Tea lower your blood pressure? Surprising new research says, “Yes.”
When I speak on natural medications (herbs, vitamins, and supplements), I tell folks that my favorite natural medicines website is the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database which has new information about Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa). NMCD says, “Hibiscus is getting more attention as … Continue reading
Posted in Heart Health, Nutritional Health
Tagged hibiscus, hibiscus tea, high blood pressure, hypertension
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Loneliness harms blood pressure
Like happiness, loneliness is contagious In my book, the 10 Essentials of Happy, Healthy People, one of the ten essentials of health I write about is “avoiding loneliness like the plague.” I say, “Avoiding loneliness and pursuing healthy relationships can … Continue reading
Posted in Heart Health, Mental Health
Tagged blood pressure, Heart Health, high blood pressure, loneliness, preventing cardiovascular disease, preventing heart disease, relationships
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Increased spiritual support may be linked to higher quality of life in cancer patients
This headline is likely not news to most of the readers of this blog — or likely to most people. We all seem to know intuitively that terminal diagnoses cause people to begin to think about spiritaul and eternal issues. … Continue reading
Posted in Bioethics, Cancer
Tagged Cancer, end of life care, positive spirituality, Spiritual Health, spiritual history, spirituality, spirituality in medicine, terminal cancer, terminal care
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If you take St. John’s wort, here’s another potential side effect you need to know about
My favorite natural medicines website is the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database and the NMCD has a new warning about St. John’s wort (SJW) and your eyesight: St. John’s wort has now been linked to an increased risk of cataracts in new … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Medicine, General Health
Tagged cataracts, depression, hypericin, St. John's wort
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St. John’s wort may cool the hot flashes of menopause
Reuters Health has a nice report on the popular herbal remedy, St. John’s wort, and some news from a small study that says it may help ease menopausal hot flashes. St. John’s wort is probably best known as an herbal antidepressant, … Continue reading
Amberen a new supplement for hot flashes. Does it work?
According to a new report by the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD), Amberen is a popular new dietary supplement used mainly for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. The manufacturer says the product is “Backed by published clinical, toxicology and … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Woman's Health
Tagged Amberen, hot flashes, menopausal symptoms, menopause
4 Comments
Unvaccinated Children at Center of Measles Outbreak
Many parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated, don’t realize the potential harm of this decision on both their children and the children in their community. The reason? Children whose parents refuse vaccinations for them provide fertile ground for … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Parenting
Tagged measles, mmr, MMR vaccine, unvaccinated children, vaccine myth, vaccine myths
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Nearly a third of physicians surveyed unaware of ‘Choking Game’
In the New York Times online Doctor and Patient column, Pauline Chen, MD, observed, “Until recently, there has been little attention among healthcare professionals to” the “choking game” in which “children ages seven to 21 participate … alone or in groups, … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Parenting
Tagged choking
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Medical community unaware of ‘Choking Game’s’ popularity among teens
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reported that there is a game being played throughout the nation by some teenagers that involves “cutting off oxygen to the brain” to “induce a natural high.” Although the “choking game may not … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Parenting
Tagged choking game, self-destructive behavior, self-harm, self-strangulation
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Discovering Teenagers’ Risky ‘Choking Game’ Too Late
Here’s a heart rending story from the New York Times about an extremely risky game that is becoming more and more popular with teens. Worse yet, most parents and doctors are unaware of the game. Here are the details: The … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Parenting
Tagged choking game, Funky Chicken, Purple Dragon, Rush, self-destructive behavior, self-harm, self-strangulation, Space Monkey
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Understanding the California Law Suit Over PCBs in Fish Oil Supplements
Long-time readers to this blog and my best selling book, Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, know of my enthusiasm for fish oil (omega-3 fatty acid foods and supplements). And, you’ve read where I’ve written that no fish oil supplements have … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Medical Economics, Nutritional Health
Tagged dioxin, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, PCBs
2 Comments
Court once again rejects theory that vaccines cause autism
A federal court has determined that the theory that thimerosal-containing vaccines cause autism is “scientifically unsupportable,” and that the families of children diagnosed with the condition are not entitled to compensation. Three special masters in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims … Continue reading
Posted in Bioethics, Children's Health, Parenting
Tagged ASD, autism, mercury-based vaccine preservative, mmr, thimerosal, vaccine myth, vaccine safety
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Nearly One-Third of Doctors Could Leave Medicine if Health-Care Reform Bill Passes
What if nearly half of all physicians in America stopped practicing medicine? While a sudden loss of half of the nations physicians seems unlikely, a very dramatic decrease in the physician workforce could become a reality as an unexpected side … Continue reading
Posted in Bioethics, Medical Economics
Tagged healthcare reform, nationalized health insurance, Obamacare
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Expert calls for an end to inappropriate use of PSA screening
Each year some 30 million American men undergo testing for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an enzyme made by the prostate. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994, the P.S.A. test is the most commonly used tool for detecting prostate … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Mental Health
Tagged digital rectal exam, DRE, preventing prostate cancer, prostate cancer screening, prostate-specific antigen, PSA
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New guidelines say physicians should educate men on risks and benefits of PSA testing
On an edition of ABC World News recently, Dr. Richard Besser reported that “there’s a big change in store” for prostate cancer screening. He went on to say, “Since 1997, the American Cancer Society (ACS) … hasn’t routinely recommended the … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Men's Health
Tagged digital rectal exam, DRE, preventing prostate cancer, prostate cancer screening, PSA
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New report questions effectiveness of Saw Palmetto for prostate health
According to a new report by the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD), saw palmetto might not be as effective as we used to think for reducing symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Many men take saw palmetto to decrease urinary symptoms … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Men's Health
Tagged benign prostatic hyperplasia, BPH, finasteride, Flomax, Proscar, prostate health, saw palmetto, tamsulosin
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Obese children show signs of heart disease
Obese children as young as three years old show signs of future heart disease, say US researchers. In a study of 16,000 children and teenagers, researchers showed the most obese had signs of an inflammatory marker which can predict future heart … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Heart Health, Nutritional Health, Obesity, Parenting
Tagged childhood obesity, Obesity, pediatric obesity
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Obese kids more likely to injure legs, ankles, feet
Obese kids’ injury patterns look different from those of their slimmer peers, a new study out in Pediatrics shows. According to a report in Reuters Health, Dr. Wendy J. Pomerantz of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio, and her colleagues reported … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Nutritional Health, Obesity, Parenting
Tagged childhood obesity, Obesity, pediatric obesity
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Kids pack on the calories with frequent, unhealthy snacks
Children today snack an average of three times a day, and they are mostly consuming sugary beverages, cookies, cake, candy, salty snacks and other high-calorie junk food, a new study shows. In fact, children are now consuming 168 more calories from … Continue reading
Posted in General Health
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Child Obesity Rates Still Going Up
In my Amazon.com best-selling book, SuperSized Kids: How to protect your child from the obesity threat, I predicted that if we did not stem the epidemic of childhood obesity, that our children could become the first generation in American history … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Nutritional Health, Parenting
Tagged childhood obesity, Obesity, pediatric obesity
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Though unproven, 1 in 4 parents believes vaccines cause autism
The New York Times, in Vital Signs, reports that one in four parents “think some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, and nearly one in eight have refused at least one recommended vaccine,” according to a study published online March … Continue reading
Survey Shows Parents Still Worry Unnecessarily About Vaccines
Most parents believe vaccination is a good way to protect their children from potentially deadly diseases, but a study shows more than half still worry about the possibility of vaccine side effects. The study concludes: Although parents overwhelmingly share the … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Parenting
Tagged MMR vaccine, vaccination, vaccinations, vaccine, vaccine myth
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Parents Often Miss Subtle Autism Signs
Action Points Explain to interested parents that autism may progress more slowly and subtly than previously thought. Note that parents often miss regressive symptoms of autism in their children. The symptoms of autism tend to emerge in children after six … Continue reading
Kitchens, Bathrooms No Place to Store Vitamins or Medications
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reported that keeping vitamin C supplements in the bathroom or kitchen may expose them to “humidity and high temperatures” that “may seriously degrade” them, according to a study published online in the Journal … Continue reading