Two studies published this year raise additional and serious challenges – that’s putting it mildly – to the common wisdom (sic) of annual mammograms for women of any age. The US Preventive Services Task Force shocked the world in 2009 by suggesting less routine screening mammograms: none until the age of 50, and then only every two years.
Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, people who love to row are renewing their annual winter friendship with the rowing machine, known as the ergometer (ur-GAW-muh-tur) or more affectionately as just the erg.
No, telomeres are not a new exotic vegetable to seek out at the market, but rather the little caps on the end of your own DNA, that protects the DNA from breaking into fragments or inadvertently connecting with another strand.
Human beings are essentially tubes – long channels open at both ends. The walls of our human body tubes can be described as the most complex tube in the world, so bear with me – this is actually a valuable concept. To understand our tube-like nature is to begin to grasp the relationship between the inside of the tube (our guts), the outside of the tube (our skin), and what connects the two – the wall of the tube, our bodies. Our bodies’ health and the very experience of a human
Scientists from my alma mater, University of California at San Francisco, have found and published the physical evidence of aging that correlates with what I hear from my patients.
What Is Known About DementiaHealthy Steps: Dementia—First StepsHealthy Steps: Dementia—Full ProgramPreventing DementiaFrom Dr. Deborah’s Desk Updated December 21, 2023 Dementia, or memory loss, is a concern to all of us. We all want to maintain the health of our brains, yet often encounter some degree of confusion and/or denial when we think about how to […]
On a recent Tuesday night, I had to go down into the basement – a dark and dingy combination of crawl space and failed fall out shelter – to get my fluffy comforter and an extra sheet to guard my outdoor tomatoes against that night’s frosty threat.Our house is nicely shaded throughout the summer, keeping our rooms delectably cool on hot nights. Now the shade is already a hindrance – our leather couch cannot be enjoyed without a throw across my lap.
Scientific studies have identified various ways in which cruciferous vegetables reduce the risk of breast cancer. Polish women who continue to eat cabbage more than three times a week after moving to the US, for instance, maintain a low risk profile similar to women remaining in Poland. Give up cabbage, it’s at your own peril: risk rises to equal that of their US born neighbors.
A study in the journal of Nutrition compared metabolic marker changes in two groups of obese diabetic subjects. One group followed a low-calorie diet and the other group was on a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet (LCKD). Both groups had favorable changes but they were more marked – i.e., greater improvement – in the LCKD group.
The recent news about vitamin D is confusing if you look to the news for insights about managing your health. Does it help prevent colds? What about more serious diseases? Health bulletins make good headlines, but they are often misleading and contradictory. It’s helpful to look at some specifics, and then remember to fall back on modeling our understanding of how health works based on how our healthy physiology works.