Gynecology
Erectile Dysfunction; But What about Female Dysfunction?
How many males would like to see their genitals shrink so it’s impossible to have sex? I bet not many. So today, the term erectile dysfunction (ED) has lost its stigma and become familiar words. Tens of thousands of males now find solace in ED drugs. But what about women in their 40s and later years who suffer from more than a headache when sex is mentioned? This is where equality of the sexes is sadly lacking. Maurice Chevalier used the say, “Vive la difference” about sex. But this difference presents problems at menopause for both sexes. For males menopause is less abrupt, but they can suffer from fatigue, insomnia, grumpiness, problems at work and ED. For females, the onset of hot...Read More
Lifestyle
Hazards of Travel
I’m sure many readers love to travel. I do too! After all, travel is associated with fun, education and happy times. No one intentionally leaves home to have a bad time. But travel can sometimes result in a “pukefest”, be outright dangerous and occasionally fatal. So how can the hazards be avoided? Flying to your Destination Some people have a fear of flying, especially to a destination when newspaper headlines have described a catastrophic airplane accident. But according to the U.S. National Safety Council, there’s a greater chance of dying in a car crash on your way to the airport. For instance, the death rate from cars is 0.47 per 100 million passenger miles. For domestic flights, it’s 0.001 or 500 times...Read More
Dermatology, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
It’s Time to Winterize Skin. It Doesn’t Tear Nylons!
My editor, namely my wife of 62 years, recently said to me, “I’m getting tired of reading about Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular problems, cancer and other dreadful ailments. Why don’t you, for one week, give us a break from depressing disease? I’m sure readers would like to learn how to protect skin during the coming winter season.” One thing I’ve learned over the years is you never say no to an editor, particularly one who is your wife! So I interviewed experts about winterizing skin so it doesn’t look like a dried prune. And are natural remedies available? Rule # one To show I’m not totally controlled by my editor, I’ll start with medical advice that’s good for all seasons. Stop smoking. Years ago...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
10 Facts You Should Know About Coenzyme Q10
Mark Twain once remarked, “Get your facts first, then distort them as you please!” Facts are easy to distort in medicine, particularly when talking about coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). So here are 10 vital things to know about this important enzyme. And what unintended consequences occur when humans start playing God. One- What is CoQ10? It’s often referred to as the “sparkplug of our motors.” Cars run on gas. Our 37 trillion cells get their energy from ATP (adenosine triphosphate), but we cannot make ATP without CoQ10. Two- Studies show that our body has the highest amount of CoQ10 during our 20s. But then it starts to decrease. Several medical problems may result, such as fatigue, muscle cramps, weakness, emotional troubles and hypertension....Read More
Gynecology
Women Are Not Just Men with Boobs and Tubes
George Carlin, the American comedian, once remarked when referring to God, “He, and if there is a God, I am convinced He is a He because no woman could or would screw things up this badly.” Karen Jensen, one of the world’s authorities on women’s health would agree. Her new book, “Women’s Health Matters”, reveals how male medical researchers and doctors screw up big time when it comes to women. They forget that women are not “just men with boobs and tubes.” Her main point is that women are different. I say thank God for that, or as Maurice Chevalier remarked “Vive La Difference!” But what is forgotten is the fact that this difference has to be considered in both research...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
I’ve Emerged from the Hearing Loss Closet!
Why is it that we accept the fact that everyone should see their dentist twice a year to detect dental decay? That we should get regular eye examinations and a checkup by our family doctor once a year? But ironically we rarely, if ever, hear that we should do the same for our ears! So why is this? And why am I not going to tell anyone that I can now finally hear? By interviewing a number of experts my research revealed an interesting fact. Even in 2017 large numbers of North Americans continue to hide in the hearing loss closet. And I’m embarrassed to tell readers I’ve also been hiding in the same closet for years. But I’ve had a lot...Read More
Cardiovascular, Medicine
Ten Vital Facts to Know About “Baby Aspirin”
IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD A HEART ATTACK One – You’re in your 50s. The Medical Publication, Health After 50, reports that a panel of experts has updated the guidelines for taking Aspirin at various ages. It says you, in your 50s, have a 10 percent or greater risk of coronary attack or stroke in the next 10 years, and a life expectancy of at least 10 years with no increased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. If you meet one of these requirements it says you may be a candidate for a daily baby Aspirin (81 milligrams). You can calculate your risk of heart attack at www.cvriskcalculator. Two – You’re in your 60s. In this case, the publication says you have a...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Vitamins
Gifford-Jones, “I wish Dr. Saul had taught me at the Harvard Medical School”
This week I interviewed Dr. Andrew Saul, an international authority on nutrition and vitamin therapy, and Editor of The Orthomolecular Medical News Service. Saul believes the greatest medical dangers today are the epidemic of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, overuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and neglect of natural remedies. These, he says, will be the medical tsunami for our Health Care System. So I asked Dr. Saul to elaborate some of these pitfalls. Saul immediately defended natural vitamin E. He claimed that in the early 1960s the U.S. postal service prosecuted people for mailing this vitamin! But now we know it’s essential for fighting cardiovascular disease. Doctors, he says, forget their physiology lessons, that vitamin E increases the amount of work...Read More
Alcohol, Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Medicine, Miscellaneous, Nutrition, Surgery
Dr. Gifford-Jones’ RX for a Long Life
One : Buy a Scale Obesity is a huge killer and it sets the stage for Type 2 diabetes, heart attack and hypertension. Be a smart consumer. Step on the scale each day so there are no surprises about weight gain. Count calories to live healthier and longer. Two : Buy a Pedometer To Count Steps Ships tied up at a dock too long get barnacles. To avoid medical barnacles, walk 10,000 steps a day. There’s no need to run the four minute mile. Remember, lions don’t buy Nike running shoes. Besides, studies show excessive exercise can cause medical problems. Three : Avoid Needless Radiation. A single CT scan delivers the same radiation as 500 chest X-rays or 1,000 dental ones. Always ask if an...Read More
Cancer, Lifestyle
How Safe Are Cell Phones?
Are some cell phone users destined to develop cancer after years of use? Or, is this fear being over-played? For years I’ve tried to find an unbiased informative source. Now, a report from the University of California attempts to answer this perplexing question. We know that high frequency ionizing radiation from excessive X–ray exposure can possibly cause malignancy. This radiation is cumulative, and like an elephant, it never forgets the amount of radiation received. But cell phones emit very low intensity non-ionizing radiofrequency energy that’s generally assumed to be safe. Researchers at the University of California analyzed several studies from around the world. They believed the debate would be settled by the “Interphone Study”. This research involved 13 countries and...Read More
Miscellaneous
Has the Texas Disaster Taught Us A Lesson?
I recently predicted our planet was doomed due to either nuclear holocaust, viral pandemic or azoospermia (lack of sperm). Biology 101 proves that adding 70 million people a year to our world will result in catastrophic consequences. The Texas flood disaster helps to prove this fact. Here is what readers had to say. JW writes, “For the sake of our planet I pray your prediction is right, namely the gradual reduction in male sperm and returning the world to animals. If that happens, perhaps evolution would reduce the scourge of human curse that we are experiencing today. If only governments had the “balls” to curb population growth like China. But it won’t happen here where religion plays a powerful role.” He continues,...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
Is It Prudent To Increase The Dose of Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs?
Do you remember the story about the straw that broke the camel’s back? How the camel’s owner kept loading more and more straw on the animal’s back. Eventually one more straw broke the poor creature’s back. Pushing your luck too far is a poor idea. Now, a report in the British Medical Journal shows that doctors, like camel owners, should heed this advice. Colin Dormut, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, participated in a study of excessive medication. He reports that during an 11 year period over two million patients’ charts were examined to see if kidneys were affected by the long-term use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). The researchers focused on high potency CLDs such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor....Read More
Medicine, Miscellaneous
Is It Nuclear War, Viral Epidemic or Azoospermia?
It’s been said that “Those who do not remember history are destined to relive it”. Today, the problem is that none of us seem to remember history, so we’re destined to relive it one way or another. So will our civilization end with a nuclear holocaust? A world-wide viral pandemic? Or, will it be due to azoospermia? Then, whatever happens, we can give our planet back to animals who deserve it more than humans. After all, they only kill to eat! While I was in premedical training, rats taught me an important biological lesson. Place two rats in a cage and they enjoy the company. A few more keep them happy. But keep adding them, and they, like humans, start to...Read More
Gastroenterology, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Nutrition
The Fart Pill: Could It Get The Nobel Prize?
Could a researcher of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), the gas that causes the odour of farts, ever receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine? Dr. Rui Wang, an internationally known Canadian researcher, reports that one day we may have a “fart pill” that fights one of our great killers, hypertension. Passing flatus affects Kings, Queens and the rest of us. Who hasn’t been at a dinner party when we’d prefer to be in the Sahara Desert so we could pass flatus? It’s also hard to research how much flatus is normal. After all, no doctor wants to say, “I’m a specialist in farts.” But research reveals that most people fart 15 to 25 times a day. Dr. Wang has been studying hydrogen sulfide for...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Nutrition
Puritanical Lies about Alcohol
Are you becoming as skeptical as I am about public information? Fake political news? Alternative facts about the state of the world’s economy? So, now I ask how honest is medical news? Of course everyone knows that consuming stupid amounts of alcohol is unhealthy. But puritans and some doctors can’t accept the proven fact that moderate amounts of alcohol can prolong life. Professor Keith Scott-Mumby, an internationally known U.K. expert on alternative medicine, echoes what I have written over the years, that people who drink moderately live longer on average than teetotalers or those who drink to excess. In fact, there are over 20 studies that confirm this. In court it’s a criminal offense to withhold truth, so why doesn’t the...Read More
Cardiovascular, Surgery
Surgery More Effective Than Drano for Stroke
How would you feel if you suffered a stroke and were left paralyzed? Then later discovered that if you had been aware of early signs of stroke, paralysis could have been avoided? This column might help to prevent this tragedy. Moreover, the good news is that surgery is superior to anti-clotting drugs for treatment of this devastating event. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that surgery, rather than TPA, a clot dissolving drug that works like household Drano, produces a better outcome. There are two kinds of stroke. 80 percent of the time “blockage strokes” are caused by a clot that prevents oxygenated blood from reaching the brain. The other type of stroke happens when an artery ruptures...Read More
Surgery
The $1,000,000 Surgical Error
Many years ago I wrote, “The problem with laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery is it leaves the impression that tiny incisions mean a simple, uncomplicated way to perform an operation. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as catastrophic complications can happen.” Recently, a Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) survey confirmed the potential dangers of keyhole surgery. So what went wrong to cause a $ 1,000,000 settlement? The CMPA reviewed 423 surgical cases involving keyhole surgery. It revealed that patients suffered a number of injuries to the bowel, blood vessels, nerves, and reproductive organs. There were 46 deaths. Operations that resulted in the most trouble were hysterectomy, other gynecological procedures, removal of the gallbladder, appendix and kidney. In one study of 613,706 gallbladder operations, 2,380...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
Need Cataract Surgery? So What Should You Know?
Do you remember the Holiday Inn ad? It stated, “There Are No Surprises at the Holiday Inn.” But, unlike Holiday Inns, there’s no such thing as surprise-free or risk-free surgery. To get an update about Cataract surgery I interviewed Dr. Raymond Stein, Medical Director of the Bochner Eye Institute, and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Toronto. Today, by age 80, half of North Americans have developed cataracts. The only good treatment when visual loss finally affects quality of life is to have a foggy lens removed and replaced with another one. Today, due to improved surgical advances, it’s possibly the safest surgery performed. But I also receive reports from people who are...Read More
Infection
Swimming In 20 Gallons of Pee!
Have you ever wondered what you’re swimming in when someone invites you to a pool party? I’ve always found it hard to turn down these weekend soirees. The weather is usually good, you enjoy cocktails talking to friends, and then a refreshing dip in the pool. Now, an eye-boggling report by Jennifer Clopton in the publication WebMD, shows there’s more lurking in the pool than you imagined. Clopton reports that Indiana Health Officials had to close a water park when two children received chemical burns from chlorine in the water! This resulted when the chlorine equipment malfunctioned. At least this is a fixable problem. But Clopton’s research also shows that fixing human behaviour poses a greater challenge. Her study shows that many...Read More
Genetics
Damn It, I was born too soon
Is it an impossible dream to find Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth? No! I’ve just attended my 67th reunion at The Harvard Medical School (HMS) and, while interviewing Dr. George Church, I discovered it is no longer science fiction. Dr. Church, Professor of Genetics at HMS, one of the world’s great scientists, predicts we are about to end the aging process. In the next five years no less! That’s why I say “Damn it, I was born too soon.” Is Church too optimistic? Maybe, but when you see his 6-foot 5 inch body towering over you, with his white beard, it’s like talking to Charles Darwin or even Jesus Christ. Just walking through his huge laboratory is an awesome experience. Church’s research...Read More
Medicine, Vitamins
What Are You Doing To Grandma?
Is Grandma’s doctor slowly harming her by over-medication? I’m being facetious here, as no doctor wants to injure patients. But remember, today is not the horse-and-buggy era of medical practice. Today, rushed doctor visits and potent drugs can be a hazardous combination. So can you protect a beloved grandparent? First, keep an eye on what grandparents are consuming. Studies show that 60 percent of those over 65 are taking five or more prescription drugs. This includes one in five who are taking 10 or more drugs and one in 20 using 15 or more. “Pillitis” has reached staggering levels in 2017 and it’s potentially harmful. Especially when natural remedies may treat Grandma better. Today there’s a 30 percent chance she’s taking a...Read More
Lifestyle
Over the Edge: An Experience I‘ll Never Forget
Why would anyone in their 94th year, without consulting a psychiatrist, agree to descend from the top of Toronto’s City Hall on a rope? My wife thought I had gone mad. Surreptitiously, I momentarily agreed with her! So what was it like descending (rappelling) from the top of a 30 story high building? And why did I do it? My son is one of many volunteer WISH Grantors for Make-A-Wish Canada. It grants wishes to children who have life-threatening illnesses. Since 1983 it fulfilled all kinds of requests for 6,800 children. And each year 600 more are granted the wish of their dreams. I discovered that my son was rappelling not only for a great cause but also for his current...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
“I Was Married By a Judge, I Should Have Asked For a Jury”
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, remarked, “There are no boy philosophers”. Fortunately, most of us do get wiser as we age. However, it’s never been a top priority of mine to rush into old age so I could be a wise, elderly, medical journalist philosopher. Could I be wrong? Consumer Reports on Health says there are several good things about aging. So I had to read on. It appears I was wrong on one point. I’ve always believed that the elderly suffered from more depression than younger people. After all, they see old friends die, illnesses become more frequent, their wife runs away with the local preacher, and it’s not as much fun to look in the mirror. But according to the...Read More
Medicine, Neurology, Vitamins
Concussion: What Surprised Me about Its Treatment
How should hockey star Sidney Crosby, or my own child, be treated if he suffered a brain concussion? To answer this question I interviewed Dr. Andrew Saul, Editor-in-Chief of the Orthomolecular Medical News Service, and a world authority on nutrition. Dr. Saul confirmed what I suspected, that bruised brains are not receiving the treatment they desperately need. Newton’s Law states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Unfortunately, our Maker didn’t use screws to anchor the human brain inside its skull. So, without this protection, sudden blows to the head toss the brain against a formidable hard skull, causing various degrees of injury. But there’s a problem. It’s easy to diagnose a fractured arm, but impossible to know the...Read More
Neurology
Suffer From Headaches, Blurred Vision and Tingling In Ear?
A friend recently asked, “Giff, what’s happened? You’ve lost weight!” He was wrong, as my weight has remained the same for years. But this is not the first time this has happened. It’s because I’ve never liked dress shirts with tight collars. Loose collars exposing the neck convey the impression of weight loss. But surprise! They also help to protect wearers from glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in North America. While a student at the Harvard Medical School, I heard this story. A 55 year old businessman complained of headaches, blurred vision and a tingling sensation in the right ear. Harvard professors were not able to make a diagnosis. So he consulted doctors at The Mayo Clinic and famous...Read More
