Coffee – More Anti-Oxidants To Go With My Chocolate
For those of you who read my blog on chocolate, you may be starting to wonder about my dietary habits. Coffee and chocolate are daily staples and I suspect that I am getting a hefty amount of caffeine per day. My dark chocolate habit, albeit moderate, likely results in 10 mg of caffeine being ingested….
Pollen Vortex — Part 1 of 2
Have you heard that this winter’s polar vortex is turning into the spring’s pollen vortex? It’s true! In my office, every spring we gear up for the high pollen count spring season. This year, we have a fun name (pollen vortex) to accompany the misery. The medical term for “hay fever” or pollen allergies is…
A Break from Myanmar’s Diary…More April Health Pearls…
1. Is smoking marijuana harmful to the brain function of young people? In what way might it harm their brain? A collaborative study between Northwestern University’s medical school, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical school showed how casual smoking of marijuana in the age group 18-25 can change the areas of the brain affecting emotion…
Safe Sleeping – The Latest in Newborn Positioning and More
When speaking to a new parent, it usually takes less than two minutes before conversation turns to the topic of sleep. Not surprising, given the many issues surrounding sleep (or the lack thereof!) in the first few months of life. One of the latest pushes in safer sleep practices is awareness about the risks associated…
What’s New in the Brain: Update in Neurology from the American College of Physicians Annual Meeting 2014
Last week I had the privilege of attending the ACP Annual Meeting where 10,000 internists from the United States and the international community meet to attend talks on the state of the latest in the field. Dr. Martin A. Samuels, the Chairman of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, summarized some the major findings in Neurology…
Gluten Or Gluten-Free — That Is The Question
Lately, there has been a lot of press about gluten, which is a wheat protein. To look at the proliferation of gluten-free products on the supermarket shelves, one would think that half the country has problems with gluten. Is this a real issue, or the latest fad? How many of us really need to avoid…
April pearls – Penicillin Allergy, Testosterone Therapy and The Elbow Sign in Sleep Apnea
Penicillin – Real allergy or not? Ten percent of the US population reports having an allergy to penicillin. It turns out that when they are tested, less than a tenth of those people were truly allergic. According to a recent study this is an important point to clarify. Those with a stated allergy to penicillin were…
Thyroid Myths Dispelled: It Doesn’t Have To Be a Pain in the Neck
As an endocrinologist, I see patients with a wide variety of hormonal issues including thyroid disease. From talking with my patients and reading mainstream media, I have noticed that there is an abundance of misinformation regarding the thyroid. I hope to answer many common questions and dispel some of these rumors. What is the thyroid…
March 2014 Health Pearls
1. Did you know that if you’re taking St John’s Wort and hormonal contraception (birth control pills, implantable contraceptives…), you might be at a higher risk for an unplanned pregnancy? St John’s Wort is an herbal remedy used mostly for symptoms of mild depression. The UK Medicinal Products and Healthcare Regulatory Agency reported unplanned pregnancies…
Is There an Ideal Dose of Alcohol?
As part of an annual physical, among the questions I ask patients are, “Do you smoke?”, “Do you drink?”. Several times in the past few months, patients have mentioned drinking amounts that are well above the recommended limits. Unfortunately, the popular press, by touting the benefits of red wine, has promoted the idea that red…