Columns
Weight-loss surgery increasingly seen as treatment for diabetes
Elizabeth Soto used to say no when her husband suggested they go dancing. “I didn’t want to go,” she said. “I felt tired and ugly.” She also was carrying 314 pounds on her 5-foot-7-inch frame and had diabetes. She had gastric bypass surgery last June and now, at 235 pounds, the 38-year-old Chelsea resident said…
The unsung benefits of lifting weights
I’m an exercise junkie — and proud of it. I swim, I run, I bike. But, like many other people, I’m a disaster when it comes to lifting weights, also called strength, or resistance, training. The closest I come is lifting a few tiny dumbbells at home in front of the TV. And that’s only…
Book on fertility and diet stirs buzz, skepticism
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have created a buzz with their new – and controversial – book, “The Fertility Diet.” The book doesn’t actually come right out and claim that the new Harvard diet is a cure for infertility. But that’s the message desperate couples could be forgiven for getting, given its…
Let the post-diet era begin
Is permanent, significant weight loss really possible? If you’re talking merely10 to 20 pounds — and nobody knows the actual figure — you probably can diet and exercise your way to a svelter self and stay there, provided you stick with your weight control program rigorously. Forever. But if you’re among the two-thirds of Americans…
Fitness plays a key role in battling cancer
So. You get the worst news of your life: Cancer. You dutifully sign on for chemo, surgery, radiation. You also vow to eat better. More fruits and veggies, less saturated fat — all that good stuff should tip the odds in your favor, right? There’s actually surprisingly little evidence that such dietary changes prolong survival…
The fading allure of vitamins
My love affair with vitamins and supplements is over: With a few exceptions — stay tuned — I’m tossing them out. Things started going south for this romance 13 years ago when a Finnish study of 29,000 male smokers showed a higher rate of lung cancer in men who took beta-carotene and vitamin E and,…
Heart attack at 43, Boston Marathon at 56
Today, Larry Haydu will attempt something that most people would have assumed was impossible — and perhaps even unadvisable. Haydu, 56, who was almost completely sedentary until last summer, will run the Boston Marathon. He and 11 teammates — all exempted from having to qualify for today’s race — are running as part of an…
The balance between life and disease
Like many other Americans lately, I’ve found myself thinking hard about – and personally identifying with – the dilemma faced by Elizabeth Edwards and her husband, John, the former senator and would-be president. His career, her health. Not an easy balancing act. Who should sacrifice for whom? How much? Nobody wants to be – or…
Advice for all ages: Don’t skip the dentist
Earlier this month, a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut and London announced that aggressive treatment of gum disease can improve the function of blood vessel walls in the body, potentially reducing the risk of heart attacks. A few weeks before that, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reported a study…
Favorite books on alternative medicine
One of the many perks of writing about health is that you end up with a terrific collection of books. A decade ago, most of the tomes on my groaning shelves were the traditional sort – biology textbooks, medical dictionaries, pharmaceutical references and the like. Lately, thanks to a deluge of new titles, I’ve got…
Categories
Aging
Alcohol
Allergies
Alternative Medicine
Anxiety
Breast Cancer
Cancer
Dental
Depression
Exercise/Fitness
General Medicine
Heart Disease
Hormone replacement
Loneliness/Loss
Nutrition
Pain
Sleep Problems
Women's issues