Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Fitness, Health and Nutrition

Chat with Dr. Mirkin’s AI research assistant about health issues that are discussed on the site

Your Appendix is Useful After All

Your Appendix is Useful After All

I had my appendix removed when I was a child because the doctor told my mother it was a useless organ that might someday burst and cause horrible problems. After generations of children had their appendices removed for no reason, researchers have found that perhaps it may have an important function.

Research on TMAO

Research on TMAO

I have reported before on TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) that is produced by certain bacteria in your gut when you eat foods that contain lecithin, carnitine and choline, such as meat, eggs and dairy products. High levels of TMAO in the bloodstream have been associated with increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, clots, diabetes and certain cancers.

Your Appendix is Useful After All

Deaths from Liver Cancer Increasing

Deaths from cancer of the liver are increasing every year. Each year, more than 35,000 North Americans develop liver cancer and 25,000 die from it. Less than 20 percent of liver cancer patients are alive five years after being diagnosed. If the cancer is diagnosed after it has spread to surrounding tissues, the five-year survival rate drops to 11 percent.

Robert Marchand Sets Amazing World Record at 105

Robert Marchand Sets Amazing World Record at 105

On January 4, 2017, 105-year-old Robert Marchand rode his bicycle 14.01 miles to set the world record for his age for the one-hour ride. He rode 92 laps at the Velodrome National near Paris and as he completed his ride, the fans gave him a standing ovation, chanting “Robert, Robert” while dozens of TV crews and cameramen captured the moment.

Robert Marchand Sets Amazing World Record at 105

Protein Supplements Don’t Make You Stronger

A researcher posing as a 15-year-old football player called 244 health food stores across the United States and asked if they would sell him protein supplements to give him larger muscles. More than two-thirds of sales attendants at the health food stores recommended that he buy the protein supplement, creatine.

Research on TMAO

Eat WHOLE Grains, Not Flour

Whole grains reduce risk for overweight, diabetes and heart attacks, whereas refined foods made from flour increase risk for these conditions. Researchers followed 54,871 Danish adults, aged 50-64, for almost 15 years and found that those who ate a lot of whole grains, particularly rye and oats, had far fewer heart attacks

Alan Thicke and Aortic Dissection

Alan Thicke and Aortic Dissection

On Dec. 13, 2016, at age 69, Alan Thicke collapsed while playing ice hockey with his 19-year-old son and died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm after first being diagnosed as having had a heart attack at a Burbank CA hospital.

Your Appendix is Useful After All

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

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:

Robert Marchand Sets Amazing World Record at 105

Ten-Minute Workouts for Fitness

One minute of intense exercise can give you the same level of fitness as 45 minutes of more casual exercise. Two groups of out-of-shape men exercised three times a week for 12 weeks. . .