Columns
Be Cautious About Medications Offered for Bone Thinning
Millions of American women are being diagnosed with osteopenia, which is not truly a disease, and many are told to take medication they may not need to prevent broken bones they might never get. At the same time, millions of others are never properly diagnosed – or treated – for osteoporosis, a serious condition that…
Water and Safety
In the sparkling sunshine yesterday, runners at the finish line of the Boston Marathon said they had taken very much to heart the new warnings about drinking too much water during a race. ”I was conscious of not taking huge amounts of water,” said Ian Bloomfield, 52, of England, who pronounced himself ”quite pleased” with his time of 2…
Eat Fish, Be Happy
Feeling depressed? Ask not what your parents did or didn’t do when you were a child. Ask yourself what you had for dinner last night, and the night before, and the night before that. For half a dozen years now, the evidence has been growing that omega-3 fatty acids, the kind found in fatty fish…
A Commitment to Exercise
This column is for everyone who hates to exercise, or would like to exercise, sort of, but really, truly, deeply believes they don’t have enough time or just can’t do it. First, if you’re in this category, take heart: You’re not alone. Two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese, according to government figures, and…
Biology May be to Blame for Panic Attacks
Carol Brown is 54 now, healthy and happy. But until her early 40s, her life was one panic attack after another. The first occurred when she was 16, in an elevator. Out of the blue, said Brown, who lives in Belmont, “my heart started racing, my hands were sweating, my breathing was shallow. I thought…
Alcoholism a Disease or a Moral Failing
In the old days, people used to debate whether alcoholism was a disease or a moral failing. Now it is abundantly clear that not only is it a disease, but one with a strong genetic component. At least 50 percent of the vulnerability to alcoholism is now believed to be triggered by genetics, and the other 50 percent by…
Diabetes and Heart Disease are Closely Linked
More than 30 years ago, when Dr. David Heber was an intern at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, he asked the senior doctors the same question over and over. “How come all my patients have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes? Are these things linked?” His mentors would shrug and say, “Dave, common things…
Pump Head – a Possible Outcome of Coronary Bypass Surgery
When Bill Clinton, 58, underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery on Labor Day, the former president, like most Americans who have similar operations, spent time – in his case, 73 minutes – hooked up to a heart-lung machine while surgeons re-routed blood vessels to his heart. With luck and his relative youth and health going for…
Cinnamon Joins Cholesterol Battle
A common spice already enjoyed by many Americans appears to lower blood sugar and cholesterol, a potential boon to millions of people with diabetes and millions of others with high cholesterol. The spice is cinnamon. In a paper published in December in Diabetes Care, researchers from the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland, part…
Optimism isn’t the cure
Nancy Achin Audesse, 45, knows a thing or two about serious illness and optimism. Audesse, executive director of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Medicine, has had cancer four times: Hodgkin’s disease when she was 14, the first round of breast cancer at 33, the second bout (which included a relapse of the first,…
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