Are prescription drugs truly safe? Depends on how well and how long you look. When I was discovered on endoscopy to have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD,) my gastroenterologist told me I should immediately go on proton pump inhibitors, known as PPIs. They were extremely efficacious. “And they’re safe. I’ve been on one for 16 years. […]
Survivor Bias and Health Care
Why should I pay for anyone else’s health care? is a sentiment frequently expressed. Congressmen like Mo Brooks point out that the “good, healthy” people should not be “subsidizing” the care of others. So how did we come to the point where leaders believe the risks of life, its uncertainty and luck, do not apply to […]
Is Much of Health Due to Luck?
Dementia and cancer have more in common than most people recognize. Two thirds of tumors appear to be the result of random mutations. And two thirds of dementia cases also appears to be basically random, with only about 35% responsive to lifestyle changes (so far.) The implications of this “odd” convergence is wide. First, for diseases with difficult or ineffective treatments, […]
How Much Booze is Best?
Is moderate drinking good for you? Does consistent imbibing of a glass a day prevent Alzheimer’s? Heart disease and stroke? Or is drinking booze more akin to radiation, where there is not yet a clear “safe” dose? Recent research has begun moving against the consensus of decades. Booze on the Brain For example, take a recent study in […]
How to Kill People Twice (Walking in America)
How does America protect public health? A clear example can be seen in national pedestrian deaths, up twenty percent from 2009 to 2014. Presently five thousand walkers a year are mowed down by motor vehicles, with tens of thousands seriously injured, and hundreds of thousands maimed. In a recent study by Smart Growth America, a […]