Are Americans Healthy? We hear that Americans are doing better – at least in terms of health. Childhood obesity is not increasing. Adults and children are living longer. But what about the future? A recent study out of Mayo Clinic Proceedings is more disturbing. It looked at ten year old data (it takes a while to research […]
Electronic Cigarettes (4/15/13)
Electronic Cigarettes? Several countries, like Brazil and Panama, ban them. The FDA declares their use not backed by proper clinical trials. Some addictionologists hate them, thinking they can addict kids and keep others hooked on nicotine. Others, like the newspaper the Economist and many public health officials think they are a breakthrough in smoking cessation. […]
Going to the dogs – for your health (1/11/12)
Who Lives, Who Dies My internist cousin says he knows who will live and die among his older patients: those who own dogs. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provisionally agrees. They believe the data show that dog (and cat) ownership can lower: Blood pressure Feelings of loneliness Cholesterol and triglyceride levels While increasing – […]
After Iraq and Afghanistan – veterans’ health, PTSD, and sleep apnea (12/5/11)
The Wars Are Not Over US veterans are in trouble. Veterans returning to the work place are finding it difficult to find jobs with their unemployment rate north of 12%, versus the (falsely low) figure of 9% for the country. One reason is many have come back ill. What sort of ailments is the question. […]