11 Reasons You Should Stop Chewing Gum NOW!
Over the centuries, human beings have evolved on many fronts. One thing is for sure – that we are not like “cows” who bring up their food for hours and keep on chewing and digesting it. Why then do we as human beings resort to continuous “Cow-like” chewing…..via chewing gum? After practicing dentistry for 20+…
What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
One of the most common questions that I get, is “what made you go into this field?” usually asked as I am about to insert a scope into a patient’s rectum for his or her screening colonoscopy. The answer is, “it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it” and “aren’t you glad that…
Baby Pearly Whites – Handle With Care!
How much should we care about “baby teeth”? After all, there’s another set of “real” teeth coming in a few years, right? When we look at the facts, there’s a lot of reason to care about those pearly white primary teeth and it’s not just about the tooth fairy! What was once known as…
February 2014 Health Pearls
For years, heart disease has been the number one cause of death. Very soon, cancer might take that position, as the incidence of cancer worldwide is estimated to skyrocket from 14 million cases in 2012 to 22 million within two decades. The cancer deaths are predicted to increase from 8.3 to 13 million during that…
Gas Is a Blast – For Some
How serious a problem is intestinal gas? Serrin’s mind started wandering after she read an article titled “Flatulent Cows Start Fire at German Dairy Farm.” Ninety cows producing methane gas plus a static charge resulted in one cow being burnt and damage to the barn. It led to wondering whether humans might pose a similar…
Safe Shoveling – and Other Options For Those Who Opt Out
So, the meteorologists got it just right – right to the minute in my area. Snow started falling at 7 PM and we got about a foot of snow. Many of you will be out shoveling, so here are some tips to help you avoid joining the thousands of people who end up in emergency…
Heroin: Chasing the Dragon, Slaying the Demon
Many people believe that addiction, and certainly more “serious” drug use or abuse is limited to the inner city – people in gangs, homeless, chronically mentally ill. This is simply false. The recent death of famous actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and local McLean High School student Emilee Lonczak is opening the dialogue not just about…
Chocolate – Friend or Foe?
I have always loved sugar. Halloween was my most beloved holiday. I remember trips to High’s with my brother, our allowance funding purchase of Big Buddy’s, Hostess cupcakes (the ones with the orange swirl icing that came off in one piece), Charleston Chews….I could truly go on and on. I exercised. I maintained a healthy…
What’s New In Cholesterol Treatment?
What’s New In Cholesterol Treatment? Do you ever wonder why cholesterol is important? We all wish we had the power to predict the future. While physicians do not have a crystal ball to see into the future, we use medical research to try to tell each patient what diseases they are at most risk of…
January 2014 Health Pearls
1. Many of us often wonder: Is it too late to start exercising as we reach middle age? We look at women like Jane Fonda or Diane Nyad and wish we were active like them in our younger days. Could we have had toned arms like Fonda, or swam a hundred miles like Nyad, if…