The most common question I get this time of year is “should I get the flu vaccine?” To answer this question we really need to first look at the efficacy of the vaccine. The influenza A and B viruses for which people are being vaccinated against the account for less than 15% of all flu-like …
You would be hard press to find anyone that would discount the benefits of eating organically. And it would seem logical that organic crops are better for the environment than the massed produced crops. But this might not be so. Norman Borlaug, the father of the “green revolution”, and winner of the Nobel peace prize …
Because prostate cancer growth is fueled by androgens- especially testosterone- androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the treatment of choice for the 40% of men with this cancer who have disease that has spread beyond the prostate. But ADT has been shown to have many deleterious effects on the body. These include osteoporosis, increase in body …
To attract prospective employees after World War II, companies that couldn’t compete on wages (war era controls were still in effect) offered medical benefits. Today, more than 60 years later, roughly three-fifths of American have employer-subsidized, third-party health insurance. The problem with having a third party pay for our health insurance, however, is that there’s …
The FDA has issued a specific warning not to use quinine for leg cramps. Until recently, no quinine product was ever approved by FDA. They were on the market before FDA approval was required. Now that there is an approved product, Qualaquin, the FDA is forcing all the others off the market by June. This …
There’s a lot of buzz about the “wine pill,” resveratrol. Ever since the news that it can boost endurance and prolong life in mice, people have been rushing out to buy it. Resveratrol is one of the substances that are thought to give red wine some of its health benefits. It was first thought to …
Forget the lemonade-bring on the orange juice! Research published in The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology suggests that orange juice helps prevent the formation of kidney stones better than other citrus fruit juices such as lemonade. What researchers found was that orange juice had greater alkalinizing and citraturic effects than lemonade, despite …
Sometimes with chronic illness, especially if it is of slow onset, we try to ignore the symptoms and as a result we become accustomed to not feeling well. But often times treatment can restore the body quickly back to normal Such was the case of Jacob who about a year ago started to experience nausea …
People with generally positive outlooks show greater resistance to developing colds than do individuals who rarely revel in upbeat feelings, a new investigation finds. The recently published study exposed 334 healthy adults to one of two rhinoviruses via nasal drops. Those who displayed generally positive outlooks, including feelings of liveliness, cheerfulness, and being at ease, …
A little water clears us of our deeds! Study results published in Science suggest that hand washing “cleanses” the mind of unethical behavior, a result the researchers call the “Macbeth effect.” They asked 170 undergraduate students to focus on their conduct throughout the day. Those who remembered a misdeed were more likely to feel dirty …