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…
OOH baby it’s cold outside
What better time to talk about frostbite prevention than during a week of record low temperatures across the country? Frostbite is the formation of tiny crystals inside the body which damage the cells and the blood vessels. Tiny blood clots form, so when the tissue is thawed, there is not enough blood flow, resulting in…
Pre-Diabetes and How to Make a U-turn on the Road to Diabetes
Recent news in the prevention of diabetes is that weight training and yoga help decrease the risk of diabetes in women who have already been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Although it does not appear to be as effective as cardio exercise, such as biking, jogging or swimming in that regard,it’s good to know it provides additional benefit. This…
I’ve got the flu!
Many of our common illnesses are viral. What’s the difference between the common cold and “the flu”? First, “the flu” is not one disease. You can get “flu-like” illnesses anytime, but the REAL flu is influenza virus, the very same one you get a “flu shot” for every fall. The influenza vaccine components are determined…
Hot Flashes and Some Remedies
Over the years, my patients have gotten older and almost half of my practice now is comprised of women over forty which explains why I often fall behind my schedule by the middle of the morning or afternoon. Being 40-50 is a fairly tough decade of life, when the “women’s hormones” start changing. An…
Influenza season is upon us – focus on pediatrics cold and flu with some general tips
With cold and flu season upon us, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of what we can do to keep our little ones healthy and treat the symptoms when they arise despite our best efforts. A central theme to pediatric care is prevention, which is why we advocate so strongly for immunizing the entire…
December Health Pearls: The last one of 2013!
December Health News Vaccine for Prevention of Mild and Moderate-to-Severe Influenza in Children, New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 369(26): 2481-91. Children who received a quadrivalent (targeted against 4 specific strains) flu vaccine versus Hepatitis A vaccine (control group) had a 59% less likelihood of contracting influenza. The study included 5168 children in 8 countries. The difference…
e-cigarettes: what you should know
Over the past few months, I’ve seen articles on e-cigarettes frequently in the popular press and in medical journals – so I thought you might like the scoop on this misnamed device. It sounds like a virtual cigarette you might find on the internet, but it’s not. It’s very real, and although it has one…