Articles

Cardiovascular, Vitamins

George Orwell, the English journalist, wrote, “Myths that are believed in tend to become true.” Today cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer. Yet there are still myths about this disease which can be dangerous to your health and longevity. I don’t have high blood pressure because it’s only high when it’s taken by my doctor. You may be right. Some people do have what’s called, “White Coat Hypertension” due to anxiety when a doctor takes the blood pressure. But you may also be wrong. Studies show that in your home you may still be having spikes of increased blood pressure, a prelude to hypertension. Having blood pressure taken by a nurse may show a lower reading. But if in...Read More

Alternate Treatments

Years ago I nearly made a bad decision. I was asked to attend a pain conference and initially declined. The meeting was about treating pain and other medical problems with low intensity light therapy (LILT). I thought it resembled old-fashioned snake oil. But then I noticed the speaker’s credentials and decided to attend. Now for the last 15 years, I’ve seen how this natural remedy is able to treat a variety of acute and chronic conditions. Dr. Mary Dyson, Emeritus Professor at King’s College, University of London, England, an international expert spoke about wound healing. She provided evidence that LILT gives a jump-start to the body’s natural healing process, delivering energy that is transformed into biochemical energy. The end result is...Read More

Infection

Today, we face a recurrence of measles because some parents have refused to have their children vaccinated. This error reminded me of a time several years ago when I interviewed Professor Etienne-Emile Baulieu, a researcher at the famous Pasteur Institute in Paris. Today, parents and children should be grateful for the discoveries of this great scientist. Before Pasteur’s time, the world was ravaged by plagues. Women in childbirth died of puerperal fever, and surgical operations frequently caused death due to infection. Not too long ago infections had control over us, now we usually, though not always, have control over them. Pasteur’s initial experiments showed that cultures of organisms lost their strength with age. And by inoculating fowl with weak organisms, he could...Read More

Gynecology, Philosophy

Abortion became legal in Canada in 1969. I faced a dilemma. I had written a book titled, “On Being A Woman: The Woman’s Guide to Gynecology”. It supported a woman’s right to control her own body, including the right to abortion. So I had two choices when doctors started referring patients to me for this procedure. I could change my mind about abortion to avoid censure. Or I could follow my own conscience. Thus, legal abortions became a part of my surgical practice. I entered what I described in my biography the "Bastille years" of my life. They were difficult times. If I were a woman, I’d be mad as hell now, considering what is happening in the U.S. Several states...Read More

Philosophy

This week’s column is a friendly challenge to doctors, members of parliament, senators, lawyers, and readers. The challenge is to inform me why a  simple approach to medical assistance in dying (MAID) would not be fair to all Canadians and also apply to those in the U.S. The solution is, “Let the bracelet decide.” In June, 2016, the Canadian parliament passed a law that allowed medical assistance in dying. But the law had major flaws. For instance, if an individual is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, or another form of dementia, he or she is not allowed to sign  an ‘Advanced Directive” while the patient is still mentally competent. In effect, a document stating that they want life ended when their brain is...Read More

Cancer, Obesity

What decreases the risk of cancer? A colonoscopy detects polyps before they become malignant. Also a rapid response to report unusual bleeding, a cough that lasts a few weeks, or a suspicious mole. But a report funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, links excess weight as the cause of several types of cancer. So what is it about obesity that triggers malignancy? And what to do about it? For years health authorities have labelled obesity a health hazard. The reason is that it often leads to Type 2 diabetes, then later to heart attack. But now, researchers claim that excess weight will soon be the second leading cause of cancer just behind tobacco. Sadly, being overweight has not received the attention...Read More

Gastroenterology

Napoleon Bonaparte once required a soldier for a dangerous mission. The story goes that he ordered several soldiers to face a firing squad. He then chose the one who showed no tendency to move his bowels! Fear has a major effect on the large intestine. So, it, and other factors, are often responsible for what’s called the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). But friendly gut bacteria (probiotics) play a role in easing terrifying and embarrassing occasions when nature calls. Especially when  there’s no bathroom in sight. Probiotics are living organisms with numerous health benefits. What is not generally known is that the metabolic activities of gut bacteria actually resemble those of a human organ. That’s why some researchers refer to gut bacteria as...Read More

Alternate Treatments, Neurology

I receive a lot of questionable mail. One says I can invest one thousand dollars and make an easy million. Another, that a simple lifestyle change will cure anything that ails me. Still another arrives that I initially believe is rubbish until I read on. It’s a report from The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It states that researchers from the University of South Florida claim that coffee could decrease the risk of this mind-robbing disease. But is this possible? Or just another hoax? Previous studies in humans have suggested that daily coffee intake during middle and older years has decreased the risk of this frightening disease. They credit caffeine with lowering the production of beta amyloid, a protein that has been...Read More

Cancer, Lifestyle, Obesity

What’s a great medical tragedy?  It’s being diagnosed with a disease for which there is no cure. Possibly an even greater tragedy is dying from what’s been called the “Stupidity Factor”. These cases occur because patients ignore symptoms which indicate cancer may be present. But due to either fear or the hope it won’t happen again, they do nothing, thereby signing their own death warrant. This folly occurs in both sexes, resulting in failure to get a test done. The   prime example is colonoscopy, which detects polyps in the large bowel that can be removed. This procedure can save people from premature death. Another major folly is to ignore rectal bleeding. I recall a friend who confided he had noticed rectal bleeding....Read More

Genitourinary

Sir William Osler, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, remarked, “The one thing that separates man from animals is man’s desire to take pills.” Now, a report from the University of California, says 30 million North Americans, largely due to what I’ve labelled, “Pillitis”, suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 95 percent don’t know they have it. Kidneys are the master chemists in our body. They control water balance, keep the blood neither too acidic nor alkaline, help to control blood pressure, and filter every drop of blood in our body every 3 minutes. Unfortunately humans do not learn from history. Years ago Australians began to use mixtures of powders containing Aspirin and phenacetin to ease pain. By the 1970s,...Read More

Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Psychiatry

Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Are you counting sheep and getting nowhere? Today, for many people a good night’s sleep is an elusive dream. Now, a report from the Harvard Medical School says that anxiety and stress often cause insomnia. And it’s refreshing to read that its solution doesn’t involve doctors or drugs. A prolonged lack of sleep can have devastating consequences. For instance, the huge oil spill by the Exon Valdez and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster were both believed to be related to sleep deprivation. But chronic insomnia can be life-threatening in other ways. Dr. William Dement, a renowned sleep researcher at Stanford University in California, says there’s compelling evidence that how well and how long we sleep is...Read More

Cardiovascular, Nutrition

How would you like to decrease the chance of life-threatening diseases such as diabetes and heart attack? Also lower blood cholesterol at the same time without the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs)? If you don’t have a peanut allergy, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report that eating peanuts every day is not a nutty idea. Today, there’s a worldwide epidemic of Type 2 diabetes. Every 40 seconds a new case of diabetes is diagnosed in North America. Even before the development of Type 2 diabetes, a dangerous lull before the storm, called “insulin resistance” occurs. Insulin resistance, or pre-diabetes, begins when the body’s cells that normally accept insulin to lower blood sugar, get tired of doing so. This means the pancreas has...Read More

Lifestyle, Miscellaneous

Getting older is a very dangerous disease. As we all get older, we’re likely to die from one of the big killers: heart failure, stroke, or cancer. But there’s another threat, falling down! It’s been said, “Never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey.” Sounds easy, but the figures of elderly falls would make the dead sit up and take notice. The risk of falling increases with age, and is greater for women than men. Each year, falls are reported by one-third of people over the age of 65 and the leading cause of death. It gets worse. More than half of falls involving people 75 and older are fatal. And 25% of seniors who break...Read More

Last week, I discussed a tragedy that never gets the attention it deserves. That children born into a competitive world, are not born equal, and do not receive justice. They’re newborns with damaged brains, born to mothers who consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Angry readers of the column replied saying, “Thank you for reporting this matter.” A problem not familiar to many. An angry reader from Lethbridge, Alta., writes, “This is one issue I cannot be silent on as it’s the highest level of child abuse. It must be viewed as criminal behaviour as these babies do not have a voice and enter this world with a huge developmental disadvantage due to the sins of their mother. I’m amazed that some of these women...Read More

Alcohol, Women's Health

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms says that all Canadians receive justice. The U.S. Constitution states that “All men are created Equal”. But some children are born who do not receive justice. Nor will they ever be equal. It’s because they have damaged brains at birth, due to mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy. Recently, in Canada, there was an outpouring of public anger when police removed a newborn baby from her indigenous mother. I have no knowledge of whether this action was justified. Authorities claim that the woman was drunk when admitted to hospital. Others deny this. But regardless of who is right or wrong, there are startling facts about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disease (FASD) that may make your hair stand...Read More

Pain

He preaches patience that never knew pain.” These sage words were published in the Handbook of Proverbs in 1855. Or, as Shakespeare wrote, “They breathe the truth that breathe their words in pain.” Today, pain is the most common medical symptom that plagues humankind. But when does it kill? The number of people suffering from pain depends on the source of data. Some reports claim 25 to 100 million have some level of pain, and over 10 million suffer from considerable pain every day. Dr. Emiko Petrosky, at the U.S. Center for Injury Prevention and Control, analyzed data on 123,000 suicides. His report, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that one in 10 patients with sizable pain decided to end...Read More

Alternate Treatments, Pain

Can stretching spinal vertebrae ease lower back and neck pain? Can it circumvent surgery? It’s a question I’ve researched for several years as I suffer from spinal pain. The first spinal clinic I sought looked at my neck MRI’s and concluded that stretching the spine was too dangerous at my age. But recently another doctor agreed to treatment. So, was this therapy more successful than a 5 o’clock rum, or glass of Chardonnay? After the cold and flu, spinal pain is the number one cause of work absence. Studies show that up to 85 percent of the North American population will suffer from back or neck pain at some time during their lives. Often it’s due to a ruptured spinal disc...Read More

Alternate Treatments, Miscellaneous

Years ago I told this story. A Russian member of the Russian Ski patrol arrived home after several months on duty. A TV interviewer asked, “What do you do first after being away so long?” He replied, “I make love to my wife.” “Yes, but what do you do next?”  “I make love to my wife again.” Frustrated, the interviewer continued, “But then what do you do?” “Oh, I take off my skis.” Then, another famous skier boasted, “I’m so fast on the ski hill that I could make love on the way down and still win the race.” At this point readers may be saying, “Gifford-Jones, if you plan to change careers and become a comedian, don’t sell the farm!” I...Read More

Medicine

How much will artificial intelligence (AI) play in the future when you require medical care? Today, millions are being spent to produce cars that drive by themselves. Will the same be spent on Dr. AI, your family doctor? Ironically, this column wasn’t triggered by reading a medical report. Rather, it originates from an article written by Matt Harrison, Contributing Editor of the Park Avenue Digest, an economic news publication. Harrison writes that we’re getting closer to seeing a robotic doctor than one would think. For instance, the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York already has a robot able to pick up pneumonia in chest X-rays, with the final diagnosis made by a human doctor. But I wonder how...Read More

Nutrition, Sex

Hmm, should I order flowers, maybe consider a romantic candlelight dinner, or a box of chocolates? This year, chocolate wins after reading an article from the highly respected Nutrition department at Tuft’s University. So, what’s good and what’s questionable about chocolate on Valentine’s day? I believe readers will agree that we need a lot more love in this troubled world. The Aztec Indians thought so too. They considered chocolate an aphrodisiac.  The story goes that Montezuma consumed a huge chocolate drink before visiting his harem. Alas, this is more fiction than science. A chemical called phenylethylamine is present in chocolate and does play a small part in emotional arousal. But studies show that eating chocolate does not increase the level of this...Read More

Miscellaneous

Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most successful investors has sound advice for those who want to become rich.  He counsels, “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” This sage advice also applies to many aspects of life. For one, it applies to a recent report in the Canadian Automobile Association Magazine (CAAM), for those who believe they can use marijuana and drive safely. And what should you know about Bill-C 46? Today, every 50 minutes someone in North America dies in a car accident due to alcohol consumption. And in these fatalities, 30 percent of drunk drivers are between 21 and 24 years of age. But this frightening trend could get worse. In Canada, 25 percent of car fatalities are...Read More

Philosophy

Readers may ask why I chose to award a Service Dog the first W. Gifford-Jones Prize for Humanity. And wonder why human achievement was ignored. There were plenty of reasons and it required only moments for me to choose a seeing-eye dog. It’s been aptly said that “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself!” Harry S. Truman, former President of the U.S., an astute observer of the political scene in Washington, once remarked, “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog.” Truman knew a dog would provide unconditional love regardless of what happened during his Presidency. The prize winner, Ulysses, will devote his entire life to the welfare of one person with...Read More

Philosophy

For 44 years I’ve been writing this medical column. It’s been a privilege, but also a huge responsibility. Now, in my 95th year, my time on this planet is limited. Consequently, I’d like to establish The W. Gifford-Jones Prize for Humanity to honour somebody or something that personifies the importance of common sense, a healthy lifestyle and innovative medical thinking that I have been preaching for years. Years ago I wrote that “The problems of society are caused by supposedly intelligent people who are largely fools.” I haven’t changed my mind as it’s the lack of good sense and faulty lifestyle that are the root cause of many of today’s medical and societal problems. To emphasize this point I proposed that we could...Read More

Vitamins

Death from influenza is always tragic. But it is particularly so when it occurs at a young age. This year an increasing number of influenza cases is being seen in emergency centers. And, as usual, thousands of North Americans will die from this seasonal disease. But are some dying needlessly? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. reports that, for the first time in 13 years, every state reports an increase in influenza caused by an aggressive virus. Authorities stress that the best way to decrease the number of cases of influenza and deaths has always been to get a flu shot. As Dr. Shobhit Maruti, officer of Health in Edmonton, Alberta, where deaths have occurred, stresses, “It’s never...Read More

Neurology

Ask anyone what causes a heart attack and most will say it’s high blood cholesterol, too much dietary fat, excessive stress, obesity or a lack of exercise. But how many would answer, it’s sugar? And how many would reply excessive amounts of sugar are also responsible for Alzheimer’s disease (AD)? Dr John Yudkin, former professor of Nutrition at London University, made headlines years ago when his book, “Pure White and Deadly”, was published. He claimed that sugar, not fat, was causing the increase in heart disease. Yudkin showed that as sugar consumption increased in several countries so did the increase in heart disease. The sugar industry was not amused and made life difficult for Yudkin. Since then other studies have linked an...Read More