Combination Pill to Prevent Heart Attacks?
A respected group of researchers found that after a patient had a heart attack, taking one pill containing three heart drugs was more effective than taking similar prescribed drugs in separate pills during three years of follow-up (New Engl J of Med, August 26, 2022). The combined pill was more effective in preventing death from heart disease, another heart attack, strokes, or urgent surgery to replace heart blood vessels.
Late Afternoon Exercise Helps to Control Blood Sugar, Cholesterol and Triglycerides
A study from Japan found that exercising in the late afternoon (4-6 PM) helps to control blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels better than exercising in the morning (9-11 AM).
Adolf Hitler: A War On Drugs
After the end of World War II in 1945, the U.S. military commissioned captured German doctor Erwin Giesing and six of Hitler’s other physicians to write a detailed 225-page report of Adolf Hitler’s medical records. They showed that while he was Chancellor of the Third Reich, Hitler was addicted to cocaine, took 28 different drugs for intestinal gas, had severe lack of libido, and was given drugs that contained strychnine, a poison that most likely caused his constant pain.
How Sugar Can Cause Obesity and Diabetes
A recent study on mice helps us understand how eating sugar can cause diabetes and obesity. Eating excess sugar can cause loss of protective T Helper cells (TH17 cells), to allow overgrowth of harmful bacteria that damage the linings of your gut and increase absorption of calories and fat when you don’t need them. Eliminating sugar from the mice’s high-fat diet protected them from developing obesity and metabolic syndrome.
New COVID-19 Vaccine Appears to Be More Protective
More than 450 people are still dying every day from COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Communicable Disease Center (CDC) have authorized the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccines as a single booster dose at least two months after primary or booster vaccination, for anyone over 12 years of age).
Richard Nixon’s Paranoia
On April 18, 1994, Richard Nixon suffered a massive stroke at his home in Park Ridge, New Jersey. Four days later he sank into a coma and died at age 81. Famous people from all over the world, including five U.S. presidents, attended his funeral. President Bill Clinton’s eulogy talked about Nixon’s accomplishments in foreign affairs and did not mention his constitutional crimes.
Ultra-Processed Foods and Risk for Obesity and Cancers
One study followed more than 200,000 U.S. men and women for up to 28 years and found that eating almost any type of ultra-processed food was associated with increased risk for colorectal cancer in men, but not in women Men were at significantly higher risk for colon cancer if they ate a lot of meat and sugar-sweetened beverages. Ultra-processed foods were also associated with increased risk for weight gain.
Healthful Lifestyle Linked to Lower Death Rate in Parkinson’s Disease
In the largest prospective study yet on the subject, researchers followed 1251 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study who developed Parkinson’s Disease. (JAMA Netw Open, Aug 19, 2022;5(8):e2227738). The average age at diagnosis was 73.4 years. During the 32-34 years of follow up, 942 patients died. They found that compared with those who had the worst before-and-after lifestyles, those with the healthiest eating and exercise regimens prior to diagnosis reduced their all-cause death rates by 49 percent.
Tony Siragusa, Genetic Obesity and Heart Attacks
Tony Siragusa, nicknamed “the Goose,” was a defensive tackle for 12 seasons and a major player in the 2001 Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl-winning team. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts. From 2003 to 2015, he was Fox Sports’ sideline reporter for National Football League games. He also hosted several television shows. He died on June 22, 2022, from what appeared to be a heart attack that may have been associated with recent extensive weight loss (down from well over 400 pounds to 360 pounds).
Physical Activity and Longevity
Four interesting studies supporting the benefits of physical activity have appeared in recent medical journals.