Health

A seven-year study of 992 patients with colon cancer that had already spread to their bellies had a 42 percent reduction in death rate and a 31 percent reduction in recurrence of their cancer when they avoided overweight, exercised regularly (one hour of walking per day), ate a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and fruits, and low in red meat and processed meat, and restricted alcohol.

Nobody knows exactly why overweight is associated with increased risk for so many types of cancer, but the most likely explanation is that storing fat in your belly means that you store excess fat in your liver. Your liver controls blood sugar levels.

There is no good data to show that electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) produced by electric blankets, cell phones and other devices cause cancer. Electric blankets do emit radiation from the movement of electric current through wires. Extensive studies in animals have repeatedly failed to show that low-frequency radiation EMFs cause cancer.

Changes in diet should be the first strategy for anyone with high blood pressure, but most people will need to make drastic changes in their eating habits to succeed. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have shown why the DASH diet lowers high blood pressure to normal in more than 80 percent of...

Researchers reviewed the medical records of 55,593 men who were given testosterone for low testosterone levels and/or sexual dysfunction and compared them to men who received Viagra or Cialis but no testosterone. After three months, the risk for heart attacks was double in the testosterone group for all of the men older than 65,...

A study from China shows that antioxidant pills caused mice with liver cancer or colon cancer to have their cancers spread rapidly though their bodies. The authors then tested antioxidant pills on cells taken from patients with malignant cancers and grown in test tubes. The antioxidants caused the human cancer cells to grow faster and spread through the cultures. Overall, the conclusion from this and several other cancer studies is that antioxidants can help healthy cells to be protected from free radicals in the body, but they can cause already-developed cancer cells to grow and spread.

Statins are widely used to help prevent heart attacks, but a new study shows that the same process that causes this class of drugs to reduce heart attack risk can also increase memory loss, muscle problems, joint pains and diabetes (American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology, July 29, 2015). Progression to a Heart Attack Susceptibility...

A study from Israel found that intense exercise may help to prevent cancer from spreading, in humans and in mice, by using up body sugars so that less energy is available for the tumor cells to grow and spread. Compared to non-exercisers, those who exercised regularly before they developed cancers had a slightly reduced incidence of cancer, while those who exercised at high intensity after developing cancer had a 72 percent lower incidence of metastatic cancer than those who did not exercise after developing cancer.

Researchers at Stanford reviewed the medical records of nearly three million people and found that those who took a type of ulcer medication called Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) were almost 20 percent more likely to suffer heart attacks than those not taking these drugs (PLoS ONE. June 10, 2015). PPIs reduce excess stomach acidity...

Contrary to what you may have heard previously, it now appears that any amount of alcohol can be harmful. Researchers reviewed more than 50 studies involving more than 260,000 people and concluded that reducing alcohol consumption helps to prevent heart attacks, whether a person is a light, moderate or heavy drinker

A just-published study shows that drinking either sugared or artificially-sweetened drinks is associated with increased risk for diabetes (Am J Clin Nutr, Jun 28, 2017). Of 64,850 post-menopausal women followed for 8.4 years, 4675 developed diabetes.

Colon cleansers are foods and laxatives that loosen your stool and make you go to the bathroom. The latest research shows that regular use of laxatives or colon cleansers can harm you by blocking the absorption of healthful nutrients from your colon into your bloodstream.

If you suffer from severe back pain and your doctor has not found a cause, ask him or her if you need a bone density test to determine if you have osteoporosis. All women and most men will suffer osteoporosis if they live long enough.

Researchers analyzed data from 3865 adults and found that more than 50 percent said that they did not know that alcohol increases cancer risk. The people who incorrectly thought that alcohol doesn’t cause cancer were the ones most likely also to think incorrectly that alcohol can help to prevent heart attacks.

A recent study suggests that stents placed in arteries leading to the heart have not been shown to cure chest pain (Lancet, Nov 2, 2017). Placing stents in people who have heart pain from narrowed arteries and giving them medication is not more effective in relieving pain than just giving them medication and no stents. Stents do help to prevent the heart muscle from dying when put in place within the first few hours after the start of a heart attack.

When patients come to me with pain in the chest and I feel swelling and they hurt when I press on ribs just to the side of the large bone in the middle of the chest, I often diagnose a usually harmless condition called Tietze's syndrome, also known as costochondritis. Chest pain can be a...

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency, and the U.S. has recorded more than 7000 infections, more than any other country in the world. The only two states that have not yet reported monkeypox infections are Montana and Wyoming.

Millions of people take over-the-counter NSAID pain medicines when they have a headache, fever, chills, joint pain or various other aches and pains. A new study shows that NSAIDs are associated with increased risk for heart attacks.

A study from the University Hospital in Essen, Germany shows that riding a bicycle does not raise blood levels of PSA, the blood test used to screen for prostate cancer. Several studies suggest that ordinary bicycle seats can cause impotence which can become permanent with continued pressure on the nerves that control erection. Men who...

Metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes are characterized by high blood sugar, insulin, and triglycerides, low HDL and a fatty liver and obesity. Of 490 male adults, average age 58 years old, 37 percent with lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTS) had metabolic syndrome.

The American Association for Cancer Research reports that being overweight is linked to 25 percent of cancers, and adding lack of exercise and eating pro-inflammatory foods raises the risk to 33 percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the U.S.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has advised against people aged 60 and older taking aspirin for primary heart attack prevention because of their increased risk for bleeding into the brain or gastrointestinal tract.

About 40 percent of U.S. households cook with gas stoves. A recent study reported that “12.7 percent of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use." However, the authors did not show that gas stoves cause asthma. They presented evidence that gas stoves emit gases such as nitrogen dioxide, that can worsen symptoms in people who have asthma. Any air pollutant can cause an asthmatic to cough, wheeze and become short of breath. These authors have not demonstrated cause-and-effect, they only found an association between gas stoves and asthmatic symptoms.

Bilirubin is a yellow pigment released from dead red blood cells into your bloodstream. Not only is Gilbert's disease not harmful, it may prolong life by preventing heart attacks.

Achilles tendonitis Athlete's Foot Bunions (Hallux valgus) Corns and Calluses Cracked Skin on Heels Flat Feet Fungus toenails Gout Hammertoes Ingrown Toenails Neuroma (pinched nerve between foot bones) Orthotics Plantar fasciitis Stress fractures  

Atrial fibrillation is the most common irregular heartbeat. It occurs in 1.5 to 2 percent of the general population and risk increases with age. It affects 10 percent of 75-year-olds and 20 percent of those over 85, because aging increases the risk factors for atrial fibrillation such as blocked arteries, high blood pressure or...

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, means that a person has excessive fear, depression and inability to function normally after witnessing or experiencing intense fear or helplessness. While most commonly associated with veterans of combat or captivity, PTSD can also occur after:

A slow pulse rate in athletes usually means a strong heart, but in non-athletes, it can mean heart damage. Athletes often have pulse rates below 60 because their hearts are strong enough to pump large amounts of blood with each beat and therefore don't have to beat as often.

Cancers of the breast and prostate look more and more like diseases of inflammation. They appear to occur more often in people with lifestyles that cause inflammation, and people who have been diagnosed with these cancers live longer when they adopt anti-inflammatory lifestyles.

A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine (August 2003) showed that lack of physical fitness is a major cause of impotence. Dr. Eric Rimm of the Harvard School of Public Health showed that men who run for three or more hours per week, or play tennis five hours a week, have a 30...