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

Should Men Take Testosterone?

Should Men Take Testosterone?

Many men take testosterone because they think it will help them to function better sexually, increase muscle strength, raise bone density, and improve mood, behavior, and mental function. As of May 2022, the only FDA-approved indication for men to take testosterone is having low testosterone levels. Testosterone has not been approved for age-related drops in testosterone, and there is significant concern that testosterone use is associated with increased plaques in the arteries leading to the heart.

Senator Orrin Hatch and Strokes

Senator Orrin Hatch and Strokes

Orrin Hatch was an attorney whose 42 years in the U.S. senate from 1977 to 2019 made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senator ever. He retired from the senate in 2019 and died at age 88 on April 23, 2022, one week after suffering a stroke.

Fatty Liver Disease Can Often Be Cured With Lifestyle Changes, Not With Drugs

Fatty Liver Disease Can Often Be Cured With Lifestyle Changes, Not With Drugs

More than 80 million North Americans suffer from Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), and many do not know that they have it because most people with a fatty liver have normal liver function blood tests in the early stages of the disease. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, supported by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, has just issued new guidelines for diagnosing and treating NAFLD.

Senator Orrin Hatch and Strokes

Mickey Gilley and The World’s Biggest Honky-Tonk

Mickey Gilley was a country music legend who recorded 42 singles that reached the top 40 on the U.S. Country charts and 17 No. 1 country hits. His most famous songs include “Room Full of Roses”, “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time”, and “Stand by Me.”

Cancer Patients Are At Increased Risk for Heart Attacks

Cancer Patients Are At Increased Risk for Heart Attacks

A study of 4,519,243 Canadian adults followed for 12 years found 224,016 cases of new cancers, and the people with newly diagnosed cancers were at increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, lung clots, or death from heart disease. Patients with new cancers of the kidney, urinary tract, stomach, intestines, chest, nervous system or blood were at the highest risk for heart disease.

Resistance Exercise Becomes Even More Important As You Age

Resistance Exercise Becomes Even More Important As You Age

Recent studies suggest that lifting weights can help to prolong your life. An analysis of 16 studies including almost 480,000 people, 18 to 98 years of age, found that those who spent 30 to 60 minutes per week in strength training had a 40 percent lower risk of premature death, 46 percent lower risk of heart disease, and 28 percent lower risk of dying from cancer.

Exercise to Treat Arthritis

Exercise to Treat Arthritis

If you have joint pain, you should still keep moving. There is increasing evidence that exercise can help to treat and prevent osteoarthritis of the hips and knees. Low-intensity sessions of walking or cycling offered pain relief after just 2-12 weeks (BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, Feb 3, 2022;23(113)), and after joint replacement surgery (Sport Sci Rev, 2021;49(2):77-87).

Senator Orrin Hatch and Strokes

Joe DiMaggio’s Famous Last Words

Joe DiMaggio was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His 56-game-hitting streak record still stands today. He played in 10 World Series and his team won nine times. He was a three-time American League most-valuable player and 2-time champion of the American League in batting, home-runs, and runs-batted-in.

Fatty Liver Disease Can Often Be Cured With Lifestyle Changes, Not With Drugs

Get Your Calcium from Foods

A study from the Cleveland Clinic found that people with mild to moderate calcification of their aortic valves who took calcium pills were at double risk for dying from heart disease and three times more likely to need surgery to replace their heart valve than the participants who did not take calcium pills.