Health

If you develop dizziness that lasts for more than a few seconds, check with your doctor. it could be a stroke. Recurrent dizziness can...

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.

There are many ways to measure risk factors for having a heart attack, but since the 1950s the criteria used most by doctors to predict your likelihood to suffer a heart attack has been that HDL ("Healthy") cholesterol predicts protection, and the LDL ("Lousy") cholesterol predicts increased risk for heart attacks. An extensive review of the world’s literature demonstrates that this is not always true.

Impotence often precedes a heart attack by three to five years. A review of the scientific literature found that men who are impotent have a 59 percent increased risk for heart attacks, a 34 percent increased risk for a stroke, and a 33 percent increased risk for dying from any cause. One study showed that impotent men were twice as likely to develop heart disease.

Unfortunately, there may not be much you can do; a study from Denmark shows that skin wrinkling and aging are influenced heavily by genetic factors.

Most people who develop diabetes in later life can be controlled so that they are not at increased risk for the many complications of diabetes such as heart attacks, strokes, blindness, deafness, amputations, kidney failure, burning foot syndrome, venous insufficiency with ulceration and stasis dermatitis.

A recent Danish study followed 54,903 healthy men and women, 50-64 years old, for 16 years. Those who ate primarily fermented dairy products such as cheese and yogurt were significantly less likely to suffer heart attacks than those who drank milk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will ban triclosan and 18 other antibacterial chemicals in soaps and liquid hand or body wash products because they are ineffective and potentially harmful. The banned chemicals are also found in hand sanitizers, detergents, deodorants, antiperspirants, lotions, creams, toothpastes, dishwashing liquids, shampoos, mouth washes, shaving cream, after-shave lotions, hair conditioners, foot odor products, cleaning supplies, pesticides, kitchen utensils, toys, bedding, socks, trash bags and even baby pacifiers, but the FDA ban does not affect these products.

More than half of North American adults over 65 years of age suffer from osteoarthritis. It used to be that you would go to your doctor and tell them that you have pain in your knees, hips, hands or spine. Your doctor would order multiple x-rays and blood tests and most would come back normal, so they would then tell you, “Aha, you have osteoarthritis, ” which meant they didn’t have the foggiest idea why your joints hurt.

People who had higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids at the time of a heart attack were far less likely to die or to have repeat heart attacks within three years, compared to those who had lower levels. The sources of omega-3s in the 944 heart attack patients in this study included both fish and plants.

Many studies show that eating meat every day is associated with increased risk for heart disease, but until now we have had little data about the effects of eating meat less often than that. A new study followed 29,682 participants, average age 53.7, for 30 years and found that eating two servings per week of mammal meat or processed meat was associated with a seven percent increased risk of heart disease.

Women pay millions of dollars for products that are supposed to get rid of cellulite, but there is no such thing as cellulite. The fat on a woman's hips and thighs is the same as the fat anywhere else. She has skin on the outside, fat in the middle and muscles and fascia underneath the fat.

One in 20 North Americans can expect to develop colon cancer, with more than 100,000 new cases each year. A recent review of 80 studies found that most cases of colon cancer are linked to poor lifestyle choices.

It looks more and more as if prostate cancer is a metabolic disease that is influenced by your lifestyle. Extensive research has failed to show association between infections and prostate cancer risk, but following a healthful diet and lifestyle has been associated with reduced risk for the aggressive type of prostate cancer that can spread and kill.

Diabetics who have lost teeth and cannot chew properly have significantly higher blood sugar levels than diabetics who can chew their food well. Correcting dental problems so a person can chew food adequately can help to lower high blood sugar levels. The treatment for both diabetes and general weight control should include eating lots of fiber-rich plants, chewing food properly, and correcting dental problems.

Heart attacks and strokes cause 50 percent of the deaths in North America today, yet many people are not adopting the lifestyle changes needed to prevent the factors that cause them: inflammation and clotting. A new study from the University of Michigan shows how important inflammation is as a cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Most type II diabetics are overweight, but about 15 percent are not overweight. A study presented on September 23, 2022 at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Stockholm found that 70 percent of normal-weight type II diabetics went into remission when they lost 10 percent of their body weight.

We have no data to show that testosterone helps to prevent heart attacks in older men. In an effort to find out if taking testosterone could help to prevent heart attacks, doctors gave injections of testosterone to 45 men and placebo to 43 men for 40 weeks. Those treated with testosterone showed a reduction in the cardiac biomarker NT-proBNP, but no reduction in another biomarker, hs-cTnT.

The same lifestyle factors and diseases that cause impotence also cause heart attacks. Many impotent men have no idea they are at high risk for a heart attack and cannot even name any of the six factors that put them at high risk for both impotence and heart attacks: smoking, overweight, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and lack of exercise.

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.

Angioplasty may not boost survival for heart disease patients. A 15-year follow-up shows that those who have had angioplasties do not live longer than those who received just medication. This supports other studies that have shown that some angioplasties should not have been done

Lack of vitamin D may change the colon bacteria to an overabundance of harmful bacteria to cause inflammation that increases risk for autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, lupus and some types of arthritis.

Virtually all doctors agree that exercise helps to keep you healthy and to prolong your life. People who exercise into later life live longer than non-exercisers and are at reduced risk for high blood pressure, heart attacks, premature death, diabetes, strokes and even some cancers (Circulation, July 25, 2022;146(7):523–534). Endurance bicycle racers who participated in the Tour de France from 1947 to 2012 have lived an average of five years longer than their countrymen. People who exercise regularly are far less likely to develop irregular heartbeats called atrial fibrillation.

All men and women will develop osteoporosis if they live long enough and the best way to prevent this increased risk for breaking bones may well be a resistance exercise program. A study from Romania found that a resistance training program markedly increased the bone density of osteoporotic women, average age 56 years, in just six months.

More than six million North Americans suffer from dementia, which affects three percent of people age 65-74, 17 percent of age 75-84, and 32 percent of those age 85 and older. Anything that damages brain cells can cause dementia and many of the causes are treatable.

A low fasting blood sugar or an abnormally low HbA1C (a test of the amount of sugar stuck on cells) may increase risk for heart attacks. Researchers followed almost 5000 people for 13 years and found that having a very low fasting blood sugar (<80 mg/dL) and very low HbA1c (<5.0 percent) is strongly associated with increased risk for heart attacks and premature death.

Statins may raise your blood sugar levels, but your doctor is still likely to recommended them if you have risk factors for heart attacks or strokes. Reviews of many studies show that statins can raise blood sugar levels, which increases risk for diabetes and cataracts, but they are so effective in helpi.ng to lower the bad LDL cholesterol and to prevent heart attacks that doctors should still prescribe them

Refusing to wear a mask when you have a respiratory infection and are near other people shows total disregard for their health. We have just gone through the major portion of a COVID-19 epidemic and can expect other epidemics from this and other viruses in the future. Many studies show that a proper mask will block some of the viruses, and droplets spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or talks.

Knowing when to take your blood pressure can help you predict your likelihood of suffering a heart attack. We know that having high blood pressure markedly increases your risk for heart attacks. Blood pressure is usually lowest just before you go to bed at night and when you first wake up in the morning.

Premature ejaculation means that a man doesn't last as long as he wants to, regardless of time or strokes. Ninety percent of teenage boys suffer from this condition, while 90 percent of men over the age of 55 suffer from delayed ejaculation.