Diabetes
Cholesterol Drugs Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
What is the last thing our health care system needs? More cases of Type 2 diabetes. According to the Diabetes Association, more than 33 million people in North America suffer from diabetes. More millions are unaware they have pre-diabetes. This disease is associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), blindness, kidney failure, heart attack and amputation of legs due to gangrene. But a recent study published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, indicates we are going to see more Type 2 diabetes. Finland researchers tracked 9,000 men without diabetes between 45 and 73 years of age for six years. One in four men were taking a cholesterol-lowering drug at the start of the...Read More
Lifestyle, Medicine, Miscellaneous
Reading History Could Save a Child’s Life
What is a parent’s greatest tragedy? It‘s the loss of a child. Recently parents in Alberta were charged with failing to provide their 19 month old boy with the necessities of life after he died due to meningitis. So how can parents avoid such a horrendous loss? And what can doctors learn from history about this lethal disease? A loving couple believed their child had croup or the flu and treated him for two weeks with natural remedies such as garlic, onions, horseradish and smoothies with hot peppers. But he finally stopped breathing and died after being rushed to the hospital. Fifty percent of cases of meningitis occur in those under five years...Read More
Cancer, Gastroenterology, Lifestyle, Nutrition
Can Fiber Decrease the Risk of Colon Cancer?
Humans don’t learn from history. Dr. Denis Burkitt, a British researcher, showed years ago that African natives, consuming large amounts of fiber, did not suffer from constipation, appendicitis or problems of the large bowel, such as diverticulitis (hernias of the colon). Now, a new British report states an increase in dietary fiber decreases the risk of large bowel malignancy. Being of Scottish heritage, I always consider ways to save money for our health care system. Luckily, there’s no need for expensive MRI’s to determine whether the diet contains sufficient fiber. A rectal examination that finds rock-like stools quickly provides the answer. Stools that don’t float are also a good sign more fiber is needed. Students of history may remember the World War...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
No Government Should Own Your Life
Mao Zedong, the Chinese revolutionary leader, was right when he remarked, “The power of government comes out of the barrel of a gun”. The recent Canadian law of Doctor Assisted Death guarantees that some people must still suffer before they have the right to die peacefully. Politicians have fired a merciless gun at helpless patients. And what does the Canadian Medical Association say about this inhumane decision? I agree we need a government and laws. So I agree to stop at a red light, not to rob a bank, not to kill my neighbor, not to sexually assault children, and with great reluctance even pay unfair taxes. But I will never agree politicians own my life. The government’s decision states that...Read More
Gynecology, Sex, Women's Health
STD: The Horizontal Mambo Has Hidden Hazards
A member of the Russian ski patrol was asked on TV what he did first on his arrival home from work. He replied, “I make love to my wife”. “I understand, as you’ve been away a long time”, said the interviewer. “But what do you do next?” “Oh, I make love again” he replied. Frustrated, the interviewer said, “But what do you do next?” “Oh, I take off my skis!” The elderly can only dream of this scenario. As one wise sage remarked, “in every older person there is a young person wondering what the hell happened!” But there’s evidence that more seniors have learned to do the “horizontal mambo.” Senior sex comes as a surprise to younger people. One University survey...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Miscellaneous
Did I Get My Medical License Back?
Several weeks ago I wrote that something happened that I thought would never happen. And what was the reaction of readers? At 92 years of age I had asked the Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to reinstate my medical license which I had reluctantly given up at the age of 87. Why? Because of a shameful and despicable medical event in Alberta. A resident of Alberta was dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, totally paralyzed and close to choking to death in her own mucous. It’s a malady as close to hell as you can ever get. She had requested doctor assisted death and was granted by a judge the legal right to die if she had the...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Medicine, Philosophy
Medical Care Main Cause of Death
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, may be rolling over in his grave. Why? He preached “First, do no harm.” I recently read a report in the Journal of Molecular Medicine called Death by Medicine. It’s the most damning medical report card ever issued. It claims huge numbers of patients are being injured and killed by conventional medicine. There’s also a big surprise there. A huge, meticulous study concluded that every year in the U.S conventional medicine kills 800,000 patients. Compare this figure to 700,000 that die of heart disease and 500,000 from cancer. The report claims that 7.5 million medical and surgical procedures are unnecessary. Another 8.9 million patients are admitted needlessly to hospital and 2.2 million patients suffer adverse reactions to...Read More
Gastroenterology
Colonoscopy: What Will Trudeau and Obama Do?
How should people decide whether or not to have a colonoscopy? New guidelines for this procedure have recently been published in The Canadian Medical Association Journal. It reports that some people have a choice. Others have no choice. But what will Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama do? Large bowel malignancies are the third most commonly diagnosed cancers today and a leading cause of death. So it’s prudent to give colon cancer the sufficient thought that it deserves. The CMA committee ruled that not all people need colonoscopy. This will bring a sigh of relief to many between 50 and 74 years of age who have no prior or family history of this disease, bleeding or polyps. It’s suggested that this group should...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
Child Hunger: How a Pharmaceutical Company Will End It
What has “Plant a seed and Watch it grow” have to do with a medical column? In one word, plenty! One of today’s medical disasters is that many children in this country are hungry and poor. Finally, a major pharmaceutical company has come up with a novel idea to eliminate this shameful social condition. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the greatest threat to public health. Canada, unlike many of its G8 counterparts, has no national child nutrition program. So, one in seven children live in poverty and hunger with increased risk of a variety of health problems. In the U.S., The Department of Agriculture says 9 out of 10 Americans are deficient in potassium, 8 out of 10 in...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
FOR SHAME
Something happened today that I thought would never happen! At 92 years of age I have asked the Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to reinstate my medical license which I reluctantly gave up at the age of 87. Why? Because of a shameful and despicable event in Alberta this week. Ms S, a resident of Calgary was dying of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Totally paralyzed and close to choking to death in her own mucus, she requested doctor assisted death. Justice Sheilah Martin of the Alberta court decided that, with the consent of two doctors and no psychiatric assessment, Ms. S was granted the right to proceed. Justice Martin has...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition
How does my Diet compare with The Mayo Clinic’s?
“What diet do you follow?” is a question I’m often asked when writing about cardiovascular disease. So I was interested to read a report from The Mayo Clinic recommending ways to have a heart-healthy diet. How did mine stack up? Sometimes I threaten the waiter! I couldn’t agree more with Mayo’s. For years I’ve stressed that calories do count and the larger the portion on the plate the greater the number of calories. But our eyes are often larger than our stomachs and we ignore portion size. Moreover, in some restaurants the only way to obtain a small portion is to threaten the waiter! Remember, you can have the most nutritious heart healthy meal available on the plate, but if it’s a...Read More
Women's Health
Medical Inequality between Men and Women
Today, it’s almost heresy to say there’s inequality between sexes. Everyone is supposed to enjoy equal rights and I have no problem with this philosophy. But, in medicine, the sexes are far from equal. A report in the health publication, “Nutrition Action”, shows that a head-in-the-sands approach to sexual inequality can have a severe effect on the diagnosis and outcome of an illness. Ask anyone what causes a heart attack and they are likely to respond, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, smoking, obesity or diabetes. Some might be aware that a heart attack produces the feeling of an elephant standing on your chest. They would be right as this is what often happens when men suffer a coronary attack. But what...Read More
Alcohol, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Women's Health
Readers’ Response to Drinking Mothers and Brain-Injured Childre
I recently reported that in the U.S. every year 40,000 children are born suffering with fetal alcoholic syndrome disease (FASD). In Canada there are 300,000 living with this problem. I asked, “Why doesn’t this human tragedy get as much attention as drunk driving?” And “Should some of the women involved be sterilized?” I’ve received a ton of responses. SR writes, “I believe the Mothers against Drunk Driving lobby gets more attention because the media provides many dollars of free air time.” R0 responds, “Dr, you are so-o-o-o-o right. Women who drink during pregnancy need to be sterilized. Full stop. Thank you and keep up the good work”. NB wrote, “Your column should be made mandatory in every bar, liquor/beer store,...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Obesity
Will a Tax On Sugar Cure Obesity?
35 years ago I warned readers about the dangers of excessive sugar consumption and labelled sugar the “white devil”. The sugar industry was not amused, and complained to the College of Physicians and Surgeons that I should be disciplined. I won, after a trying, difficult battle. How things change! Five countries currently have a sugar tax. Now the British are debating the merits of a 20 per cent tax on high sugar products to help fight the epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Why this change of heart? Dr Simon Capewell, UK vice-president of health policy, says, “public opinion on a sugar tax is shifting. The majority of parents are angry that their children are being made fat”. He adds, “It’s...Read More
Alcohol, Lifestyle
Why Does Drunk Driving Get More Attention Than FASD?
The figures are appalling. In the U.S. every year 40,000 children are born suffering with fetal alcoholic syndrome disease (FASD). In Canada there are more than 300,000 children with this disease. The lifetime cost for each child is five million dollars. So in Canada the cost to taxpayers of caring for those with FASD is 600 billion, the size of the national debt. In the U.S. the figure is six trillion. How can this medical and social tragedy be solved? Destroying your own body with alcohol is one thing. But destroying forever the mind of an unborn child is maternal madness. Today, FASD is the most common cause of preventable mental retardation in North America. I’ve recently talked to several people who...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Medicine
A Double-Barrelled Package to Treat Hypertension
Today millions of North Americans suffer hypertension and 99 percent are being treated by prescription drugs. Studies show that nearly 50 percent discontinue their medication due to unpleasant side-effects. But tossing away drugs is a hazardous move which can result in earlier death. This week, a double-barrelled natural remedy that helps to prevent high blood pressure. It can also be helpful to those with hypertension who wish to try managing it first without the use of prescription medication. It’s been said that “societies get the blood pressure they deserve.” It appears we deserve a lot. It’s estimated that 75 million adult North Americans have hypertension. What is more frightening is that doctors are now seeing this disease in young children who...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Gastroenterology, Medicine, Pain
Risks of Heartburn Drugs
What can the stomach tell us about the state of the nation’s health? Plenty! A report in the medical publication, “Life Extension”, states that 40 percent of North Americans suffer from heartburn every month! More appalling, 20 percent experience weekly attacks! So every year doctors write 119 million prescriptions for heartburn, generating 14 billion dollars in sales. But big sales can also mean big side-effects for unsuspecting medical consumers. What can go wrong? Proton-pump inhibitors (PPI’s) such as Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid can ease the feeling of a burning fire under the breastbone. It’s due to an over-indulgence in food and drink which pushes protein digestive enzymes and bile up into the lower end of the esophagus (food tube). This condition is...Read More
Medicine
Do You Really Need An Antibiotic?
What would it be like living in a world without antibiotics, where a simple infection could kill you? It could happen, as increasing numbers of bacteria are resistant to antibiotics. But there are ways to bypass antibiotics so this frightening scenario doesn’t occur. One herbal remedy, recently imported from Europe, can help to end the remark, “We know where you’re going!” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports 440,000 Americans are sickened every year due to eating or handling food contaminated with resistant bacteria. At least 2,000 of these people die from the infection. And over half of the antibiotics used are prescribed inappropriately! In Canada, Public Health Authorities report that about 25 percent of Salmonella infections are resistant to antibiotics. It’s...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition
Potassium Is Like Sex and Money
Can you have too much of anything these days? Surely, by now, you know that you can get too much sugar, too much salt and too many calories, to name a few things. But you can also get into trouble by getting too little of some nutrients. So this week, here’s why potassium is so like sex and money. Paul Whelton, Professor of Epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health in New Orleans, is an expert on hypertension. He reports good news in the Nutrition Action Health Letter for those who love to add salt to their food. He claims good evidence shows that consuming enough potassium may counter the effect of excess salt on blood...Read More
Alcohol, Cardiovascular, Lifestyle
Will A Drink a Day Keep the Doctor Away?
We’ve been told for years that a nutritious apple a day helps to keep the doctor away. But could alcohol have the same result during this holiday season and the New Year? Or, is alcohol a wolf in sheep’s clothing, detrimental to our well-being? I recently mentioned during a talk that I believed that alcohol in moderation was the best medicine ever invented. The audience responded with a big applause. But was it justified? Critics damn alcohol because some people abuse it. I agree when people are killed by drunken drivers. But no one bans cars because some idiots cause needless deaths. My research on alcohol dates back many years. Why? Because I’ve always enjoyed a moderate drink and wanted to know if...Read More
Philosophy
Do Not Take Liberties with the Gods
What could solve many of the world’s problems this holiday season? There’s no more sage advice than the words, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Yet time and again, the very opposite happens day after day in medicine, politics and unfortunately, even religion. I wonder what the Gods are thinking when they survey the world today? Confucius wrote in the Book of Rites in 500 B.C, “Do not take liberties with the Gods or weary them.” Today, we certainly must be pushing our limits of both. This year, people of all religions will celebrate their holy days at shrines around the world. TV will promote a message of love to millions. But the Gods must surely be...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
Just Say “NO” or Just Say “Yes”
Nancy Reagan, wife of Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States, sent a direct, simple message to those who were tempted to take illegal drugs. Her advice was “Just say ‘NO’”. So what has this message to do with the ongoing controversy about assisted death in Canada and the United States? Quebec, a Roman Catholic province, has always been ahead of the rest of Canada in social change. Now it appears that it won’t be too long before Quebec will be the first province to allow assisted death. But for the rest of Canada, those opposed to it will use every legal measure to defeat this procedure. So is there any way that the two opposing forces, for and...Read More
Lifestyle, Medicine, Miscellaneous
How to Reverse Pre-Disease
Samuel Johnson once remarked, “Nothing sharpens the wit so much as the knowledge you’re going to be hanged in the morning.” So if a doctor says, “Your blood sugar is borderline for diabetes” or “your bones are getting fragile”, he’s giving you a pre-disease warning. But does it ring the bell of trouble ahead unless you do something about it? Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, Professor of Medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, is also the author of “Less Medicine, More Health.” Welch says we should keep in mind that, “Virtually everyone, as they get older, develops some sort of pre-disease”. The outward appearance of wrinkles and graying hair are for all to see. But kidneys, hearts...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Medicine, Vitamins
There Are Still No Dead Bodies!!!
Why is it impossible for investigative media reporters to get it right about health supplements? In March of 2013 medical research showed that every day 290 North Americans die from prescription drugs. To kill the same number of people a jumbo jet plane would have to crash every day. I asked Health Canada’s forensic bureaucrats to explain where the dead bodies are who took natural supplements? I have never had a reply. Now the media are using a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S Food and Drug Administration to damn supplements. Its study of 63 hospitals over a 10 year period showed 3,667 emergency room (ER) visits and 2,154 hospitalizations from the use of...Read More
Cardiovascular
Heart Failure = 2.1 to 5 Years of Life
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves”. Shakespeare wrote this over 400 years ago. The immortal bard could easily be referring to the epidemic of congestive heart failure (CHF) in this country. So what does this disease mean to us, and our health care system? To find out, I visited the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) at the University of Toronto. Dr. Michael McDonald, an expert on CHF, says, “Today, if you’re over the age of 65, heart failure is the most common reason for being admitted to hospital”. It’s prudent to read his remark twice as this diagnosis means a life expectancy as low as 2.1 to 5 years! McDonald says CHF can result from a...Read More
