Valsartan Recall: An Ongoing Saga
We got a frenzy of portal messages from our patients in the last few weeks wondering why the evening news on television announced a recall of high blood pressure meds they take. They thought changing Valsartan (a commonly used blood pressure medication that is part of the ARB family) to other blood pressure medications should…
Why Is Weight Loss So Difficult – A Scientific Explanation
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to a Smithsonian sponsored talk by Dr. Hall, who is a Senior Investigator at NIH and chief of one of the research programs at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases that reaches across different branches of the institute. It was the…
Just Keep Truckin’
You may have heard recently that lack of exercise is a greater risk factor for death than high blood pressure, high cholesterol or smoking. I was curious to see whether this was a sensational headline or if there was good data to back up the claim. The article referred to in the popular press was…
Big News From the FDA Today Regarding e-cigarettes
Well, we’re finally seeing some action on e-cigarette use in youth! It’s a few years too late, but hopefully we can catch up. E-cigarettes are a form of ENDS, or electronic nicotine delivery systems. We reviewed some pros and cons of the first generation of these devices in October, 2014. “We’ve worked so hard for decades…
Have you noticed there are so many numbers on your menus?
Over the past few years, and more commonly in the last few months, you may have noticed calorie counts on menus. Federal requirements for this information have been in the works for years, with some cities and states leading the way. New York City was at the forefront with implementation in 2008. Since these rules…
Low Dose Aspirin as Preterm Birth Prevention; Low Levels Alcohol Consumption & Brain Health; Grilled Meat & Elevated Blood Pressure
*Low Dose Aspirin May Lower Rate of Preterm Birth (PTB)* A recent study, released on June 15, 2018, by researchers from the Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY, showed how baby aspirin use significantly lowers the rate of preterm birth in patients less than 34 weeks pregnant….
Basic Strategies for Stress Management
Everyone deals with stress in his or her own way. Some of us seem to have as busy and as stressful a life as others, yet we seem to have little or no anxiety or depression, whereas others in similar situations suffer significantly. Some of us, when feeling stressed, develop “bad” habits, like drinking alcohol…
Safeguard Yourself from Ticks and Mosquitoes
With warmer weather and longer days, we spend more time outside. This brings plenty of opportunities to improve our health with exercise and events in the great outdoors. The great outdoors also exposes us to more insects such as ticks and mosquitoes that can threaten our health. We need to be preparing for protection. This…
Acrylamide in Coffee? I Am Not Giving Up My Daily Two Cups of Coffee
Every Sunday morning, a group of Lady Docs friends and I take our run or walk on the C&O canal by the Potomac River, a five mile run or four mile speed walk. We then regroup at the starting point and drive to Black Lion Cafe, a charming Ethiopian coffee house in Rockville, to…
Dr. Rachel Schreiber welcomes spring by talking to Kojo Nnamdi on NPR
Our own Dr. Rachel Schreiber, former President of the Greater Washington Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society, was interviewed at length on the Kojo Nnamdi show on NPR. I was so proud of her – so calm, so knowledgeable! She answered Kojo’s questions and those from many callers. They covered everything from the most common allergens,…