Click here for the Health Tip link. My patients sometimes have difficulty comprehending the extent to which chronic stress is responsible for their symptoms. Maybe it’s easier to understand how viruses cause a cold or plant spores bring on allergies. After all, both can be seen under a microscope. And yet chronic stress is much […]
Modifying Risk Factors
Doctors use the term “modifiable risk factors” to describe those aspects of a person’s life that are potentially dangerous but which can be reversed, or modified. Conversely, some risk factors are less modifiable. If you have a family history of a certain cancer, you can’t order a new set of genes, but you can have regular check-ups and avoid substances known to trigger your particular cancer risk.
Holiday Stress Rx: Part 2
Click here for the Health Tip link. Women play such a central role in family and celebration, to the degree that the stress of holiday demands can make you feel exhausted, anxious, and sick. Taking some time for yourself may seem counterintuitive, but it’s precisely what you need. Here’s another prescription for keeping healthy during […]
Most Common Deficiencies: Zinc
Click here for the Health Tip link. A popular blood test in our office measures levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It seems reasonable that as long as you’re spending good money on nutritional supplements, you might as well see if they’re being absorbed. It’s also helpful that some health insurance companies (notably, Blue Cross) […]
Nutritional Bad News
Click here for the Health Tip link. The government has made official what’s been common knowledge among nutritionally oriented practitioners for years: the vitamin and mineral content of our fruits and vegetables has been in steady decline since the 1950s, when scientists first began to measure them. Researchers sampled produce from grocery stores all over […]
Second Opinion
A lot of my patients recently are relating stories of having surgery that I regard as unnecessary. More charitably, these are surgical procedures whose chance for producing symptom relief is iffy at best.
Ginkgo Biloba
A lot of my patients ask me about taking ginkgo for memory. Here’s my answer, with a little extra detail: Ginkgo biloba has the longest life span of any tree, with some ginkgo trees estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Even more astonishing is that ginkgo, as a survivor of the Ice Age, […]
Living Longer, Living Healthier
Posted 11/01/2006 It’s been a good month for new research revealing ways you can live a longer and healthier life. Here are a few highlights: Medscape News for physicians reported that fully one-third of all cancers can be directly attributed to lifestyle factors. These include choices such as dietary selections and tobacco and alcohol use; […]
The Night Shift and Breast Cancer
For years, doctors have puzzled over why women who work the night shift are more likely to get breast cancer. Now they think they’ve come up with an explanation, and it has to do with melatonin–the same melatonin sold to promote sleep.
Homocysteine and Your Health
The medical profession has done a good job alerting the public to the dangers of high cholesterol, with ample help from the pharmaceutical industry.
Q&A: Supplements for Better Breathing
Q: My husband has congestive heart failure. While he’s getting excellent care from his physicians, I’m wondering if there are any supplements you could recommend that would improve his breathing. A: The single most useful supplement for congestive heart failure is coenzyme Q-10. Many cardiologists are aware of this, but because it’s not yet FDA-approved […]
Preventing Cancer with One Good Choice
You can prevent cancer by eating more vegetables, and specifically more cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts.
More than half of all cancers in US adults are likely caused by poor diet, and many others develop because we’re exposed to a gruesome soup of environmental toxins in our food, air, and water.
Supplements I Take: Acetyl-L-Carnitine
I ask every new patient what prescription medications and supplements she takes. Occasionally, someone turns the tables and asks me what my daily supplement regimen consists of.
Is Vitamin C Worthwhile?
I’m asked this question a lot.
You’d think the controversy would be over by now. Among doctors who take vitamins regularly (now the majority), vitamin C is always included.
Nutritional Health for Your Eyes
I was considerably cheered recently when I visited my ophthalmologist for a check-up and saw a shelf of vitamins in his lobby. Since I feel warm and fuzzy when I see a conventional physician recommending nutritional supplements, I had to ask.
Something New About Birth Control Pills
Just about everyone using the pill knows there are health risks involved, especially for women who smoke. Risks include migraine, blood clots, heart attack, and even stroke. Now some research has uncovered why this may occur. A recent report showed that women on the pill have much lower levels of two vital antioxidants, Vitamin E […]
Fish Oil Now by Prescription
Yes, you read that correctly. But don’t worry–fish oil will still be sold here and at your health food store.
Believe me, I was surprised when the drug rep came in with samples and said the fish oil capsules her company was making would be covered under most health insurance plans. I have mixed emotions about this.
Reducing Your Risk of Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer frightens women, and with good reason. More than 22,000 will be diagnosed with it this year–more than cancer of the uterus and cervix combined–and ultimately over 16,000 will die from it.
A Natural Heartburn Treatment
Among the many distasteful TV commercials for prescription drugs, my least favorite are the ones for people with heartburn. Although some people do have a legitimate problem with the valve between their esophagus and stomach, most heartburn is simple overindulgence.
Yet Another Reason to Enjoy Fruit
I’m not sure how far this will go to replace Pop Tarts with your children, but some new research reveals that children 16 to 18 years old as well as women 60 to 83 who ate fruit regularly had much better bones than those who didn’t.