Jacques Servier and the Fenfluramine Scandal
What would you think about a man who was worth almost eight billion dollars repeatedly denying that his company’s weight-loss drug caused heart damage? Fenfluramine was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1997, but the French parent company, Laboratories Sevier, continued to market its similar product under another brand name until 2009.
Knee Osteoarthritis: Exercise Therapy More Effective than Surgery
With aging, a person wears away the shock-absorbing cartilage in the knees, which increases risk for pain and swelling. Many studies present overwhelming evidence that surgery for torn knee cartilage (torn meniscus) does not reduce knee pain or swelling in the long run.
Healthful Fats
A report from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study of more than 126,000 men and women who have been followed for 32 years shows that increasing total fat intake is associated with decreasing risk of death.
Gene Wilder: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Alzheimer’s
Gene Wilder was a beloved American stage, screen and TV actor who made people laugh just by being himself. He was also a successful screenwriter, film director and author. He is best remembered for the movies where he appeared to be naive and childlike: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein . . .
Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Higher Blood Sugar Levels
Obese people who have taken aspartame or saccharin in the last 24 hours had higher blood sugar rises after taking sugar than those who had not used artificial sweeteners. Lead author Dr. Jennifer Kuk says, “Our study shows that individuals with obesity who consume artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame, may have worse glucose management than those who don’t take sugar substitutes.”
Eero Mantryanta’s High EPO Gene
Eero Mantyranta was one of the greatest cross country skiers ever. He competed in four Winter Olympics (1960–1972) and won seven medals. In the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, he won the 15 kilometer race by an incredible forty seconds and then won the 30 kilometer race by more than a minute.
Irregular Heartbeats in Lifelong Exercisers
Many studies show that a lifetime of vigorous exercise makes the heart stronger and healthier and does not harm it. However, a few studies that got a lot of media attention suggested that chronic intense exercise can damage the heart to cause irregular heartbeats. Now a new study of elite lifetime endurance athletes has found no evidence of irregular heartbeats from damage to the right ventricular heart chamber
How Excess Fat Can Spread Cancer
People who have cancer and are also overweight are at increased risk for having the cancer spread through their bodies. A new study shows how excess weight may spread cancer cells through the body.
Houston McTear, a Natural Runner
One of the greatest natural track athletes of all time died from lung cancer at age 58. He went from extreme poverty to athletic riches and back to extreme poverty, never having won an Olympic medal. He was unknown to most people but is a legend to all true fans of track and field.
Cupping for Faster Recovery
When Michael Phelps won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay at the Rio Olympics, he was covered with red circles on his back and shoulders from cupping. Many of the U.S. swimmers and gymnasts at the Olympics are using cupping, along with massage, saunas, ice baths and compression garments, to help them recover faster after a race or a hard training session.