Articles

Prescription drugs can kill, natural remedies rarely. It's one of the most important lessons I've learned practicing medicine. So why risk a prescription drug to lower cholesterol when a natural one is available? This week, how Sytrinol can be a safe, effective, less expensive and natural way to lower blood cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart attack. Cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) do decrease blood cholesterol and risk of coronary attack. But to question their use is like attacking Motherhood and apple pie, even though there are several short and possibly long-term side effects. For instance, one major study showed that patients taking CLDs may be exchanging one devil for another. Those taking CLDs had 22 fewer deaths...Read More

Miscellaneous

Millions of North Americans are suddenly aware of potassium iodide (PI) since Japan's nuclear plants started spewing out radioactive material. But how much will PI protect us from radioactive particles? Who should take it, and who should not? During a nuclear explosion or meltdown, radioactive iodine (I-131) enters the atmosphere and it has a malignant effect on the thyroid gland. The thyroid normally obtains iodine from iodized salt and shellfish to produce the hormone thyroxin. This hormone acts much like the accelerator of a car, controlling heart rate, temperature and energy level. Too much of it causes hyperthyroidism and too little, hypothyroidism. But the thyroid gland isn't particular where it obtains iodine. It also has no way of distinguishing between radioactive I-131 from...Read More

Alternate Treatments

What would you do if you were the judge? A man in his 40s (his name is protected under provincial law) is involved in a severe car crash. His spine is badly damaged resulting in painful spasms. A variety of painkillers are prescribed to alleviate the pain, but none are effective. Would you agree to the medical use of marijuana? Patient X requested insurance coverage for marijuana, but it was refused. It wasn't an unexpected decision, as the use of this drug has sparked controversy for many years. But an unusual event occurred in this case. The Quebec judges wrote, "The tribunal is well aware of controversial attitudes regarding the therapeutic use of marijuana." But then they added this important message: "There...Read More

Pain

“Why shoot a mouse with an elephant gun?” I recently remarked to a patient suffering from osteoarthritis (the wear and tear type). She had never been advised to try a variety of these lesser medications before using stronger drugs which may cause major complications. Vitamin C I believe this vitamin is the most overlooked natural remedy in treating aging joints. It’s an indisputable fact that vitamin C is needed to produce healthy collagen, a vital component of cartilage. Unhealthy cartilage eventually means bones grind against one another causing pain. Researchers at Boston University Medical Center studied the vitamin C intake of 640 people. They discovered that those with a higher intake of vitamin C were protected against progression of...Read More

Vitamins

What do the Japanese eat for breakfast that could help North Americans? Every year 7.5 billion packages of Natto are sold in Japan. The government has made it an integral part of the school breakfast program. Natto contains vitamin K2, a largely unknown vitamin on this continent and it packs a whammy. Studies show that K2 helps to prevent osteoporosis (brittle bones) and cardiovascular disease. In 1929, Danish scientist Dr. Henrik Dam, discovered vitamin K. Later, Japanese researchers reported that women living in Tokyo, where Natto, a centuries old Japanese food is a popular, had increased bone density. But women living in Western Japan where Natto is not popular showed a decline in bone density. Further research determined that vitamin...Read More

Lifestyle, Nutrition

“How did this happen?” you wonder when you look in the mirror. Your stomach used to be flat. The conclusion is obvious. You’ve developed a large gut, like millions of other North Americans. It’s called “killer fat” and it increases by four times your risk of heart disease. But here are ways to reverse this dangerous problem. One – Stop Being Surrounded By Food You can’t eat what’s not there. So get rid of the cookie jar that contains 150 calories per cookie. By enjoying four you’ve already used up 600 of your 1,800 calorie limit per day. Get rid of cola drinks with eight teaspoons of sugar, another 120 calories. Get smart, buy a calorie book and stop living...Read More

Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat

“Why isn’t he more careful when pointing that laser beam?” I wondered during a recent lecture. The speaker was careless with the red beam, casting it about before pointing it at the screen. I knew lasers could damage eyes. When used for treating medical problems, protective glasses must be worn. But I had no idea whether the use of a laser pointer was dangerous. Now I know. Dr. Martin K. Schmid, an ophthalmologist at Lucerne Cantonal Hospital in Lucerne, Switzerland, reports in the New England Journal of Medicine the case of a 15 year old boy who wanted to have a little fun. So he purchased a laser thinking he would burn a hole in his sister’s sneakers and pop...Read More

Dental

Do you enjoy paying dental bills? Or having dentists scraping plaque from your teeth? If it’s a pleasure, there’s no need to read this column. But I’ve never enjoyed these regular checkups. Now there’s a way to retire dentists, prevent cavities, protect gums and rid teeth of plaque, using cheap, ordinary soap. My first reaction when I read this report was, “Come on, Dr. Judd, you must be kidding! Who would ever brush teeth with soap?” But Dr. Gerald F. Judd is no nut. He’s a retired Emeritus Professor of chemistry at Purdue University. I admire people who have the intestinal fortitude to question well-established theories that may be wrong. Besides, I discovered he and I both believe dentists...Read More

Cancer, Miscellaneous

What’s the biggest problem facing airline travellers today? Ask this question and many would say it’s the long wait at airports, removing shoes, extensive screening procedures and that “Damn Pat-Down” by airport personnel. But during the public uproar about airport security some travellers will make a huge mistake. The U.S is replacing many metal detectors with more sophisticated equipment, better described as Personal Exposure Devices. In effect, the technology can detect articles beneath the clothing along with you-know- what, and this infuriates many travellers. There are two types of scanners. The millimeter wave machine is safe, creating an image of the body by using electromagnetic waves. The other, “Backscatter” devices, use low energy X-rays to produce a picture of the...Read More

Miscellaneous

How much did you learn from this column in 2010? I like to believe that it makes you wiser about medical matters. But let’s see how much sank in by answering these true or false questions. And did you miss the column that could save millions of lives? 1 – Cat lovers are less likely to encounter winter blues than those who don’t have “Whiskers” sitting on their lap. They also have fewer headaches, less chance of catching a cold and sleep better. 2 – One percent of Caucasians and 30 percent of those of African descent have a gene that increases the rate at which codeine changes into morphine. This has caused respiratory death in children following tonsillectomy. 3...Read More

Cardiovascular, Vitamins

BEST COLUMN OF 2010 Five years ago I wrote in this column, "Former President Clinton has joined 400,000 Americans who required coronary bypass surgery in the last year". Clinton had high blood cholesterol and took cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). But in spite of these drugs, along with superb medical care, they failed to prevent a blocked artery. Again, recently the insertion of two stents (tiny structures like scaffolding) were required to reopen one coronary artery after he experienced chest pain. Five years ago, following his bypass, I wrote to the former President. I suggested he should discuss with his cardiologists the merit of high doses of vitamin C and lysine to prevent a recurrent blockage (restenosis) of his coronary arteries. I did not...Read More

Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition

What is the greatest tragedy that can befall parents? It’s that a child will die before they do. It’s tragic when this happens and we may see it more often. Many years ago I attended a service in Westminster Abbey in London, England. I can’t recall the sermon. But I do remember seeing chubby choir boys. I realized then how obesity was starting to affect children. Since then several studies have shown the growing extent of childhood obesity. One study involved 5,517 grade 5 students in 291 public schools in Nova Scotia. Of these students 32.9 percent were overweight and 9.9 percent obese. One in 10 is a frightening figure. We don’t...Read More

Orthopedics

Warren Buffett, the world’s greatest investor, says, “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing”. What is true in economics is equally true in medicine, particularly so when taking medication. A recent report from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has a sobering message about bisphosphonates, drugs such as Fosamax, Actonel, Atelvia, Boniva and Reclast, used to prevent osteoporosis (fragile bones). It’s an ironic situation. The FDA warns that prolonged use of drugs to decrease the risk of fracture can actually result in an increase in “unusual fractures of the thigh”. In fact, three years ago “The Harvard Women’s Health Watch Report” wrote about these fractures when they started to appear. These fractures are unusual because the break occurs just...Read More

Alcohol

Have I ever felt the need at Christmas for Prozac, sleeping pills, or the mass of over-the-counter medication? The answer, a definitive no! But I always enjoy a relaxing pre-dinner drink at the end of the day. So I’m always looking for good news about the health benefits of moderate drinking. Recently, I found an unsuspected reason to continue the cocktail hour. A report in the Archives of Internal Medicine claims that a drink a day aids in keeping pounds off. LU Wang, a Harvard researcher, studied 19,200 women age 39 and over whose body mass index was normal. Wang reports that 38 percent of the women were teetotalers, 32.8 percent drank one-third of a five ounce glass of wine...Read More

Dermatology, Miscellaneous

What comes to mind when someone mentions Japan? Most people envision Japanese superlative products such as cars and electronic devices. But North Americans must expand their vision of this country. The Japanese have now taken a Nobel Prize winning discovery and developed a dual action product to fight acne, brown spots, wrinkles and damaged skin. Acne has plagued the rich and the not so rich for years. Brad Pitt appears to be flawless, but look closer and you will see countless pock marks. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Leonardo Di Caprio have also suffered from acne as well as millions of the less celebrated. Acne affects up to 85 percent of young people and 11 percent of adults 25 and older. The...Read More

Endocrine, Genetics

Where is “peace on earth” this holiday season? Problems continue in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senseless killings occur almost daily in our major cities. Women continue to be raped and physically abused all over the world. Daily newspapers and TV news shows repeat the indisputable fact underlying this trend. Most of these crimes are committed by men. So could a frog experiment help to end these senseless acts? Maurice Chevalier used to say “Vive La Difference” when talking about males and females. And the often quoted phrase that “girls are sugar and spice and everything nice” is, with rare exception, true. Like Chevalier, I too, have always been happy with “La Difference”. And pleased that, with some exceptions, females do not possess the...Read More

Lifestyle, Surgery

Why was it so hard for me to have a good night’s sleep? It wasn’t the continuing uncertain state of the economy. Rather, every time I rolled over in bed my shoulder reminded me it wasn’t happy. This wouldn’t have happened if I’d been smarter and taken my own advice about prevention. But luckily Low Intensive Laser Therapy (LILT) has saved me from surgery a second time. Several years ago I became involved with trap shooting. I enjoyed the eye-to-hand coordination that’s required, but one day I got careless and shot too many rounds. That’s when the excessive recoil of the gun caused a rotator cuff tear (RCT) in my shoulder. I would have told anyone...Read More

Infection

How many times will you see this happen during the holiday season? I’d predict several times unless you’ve decided to say “no” to parties. My bet is that someone will walk up to the table, pick up a shrimp, dip it into the sauce, enjoy the taste, then dip again. And when I see this I wonder, “How safe is it to share the sauce in the communal bowl with them?” And “Why didn’t their Mother tell them not to do it?” Since research on double dipping won’t win anyone the Noble Prize, there’s not much science on this topic. But the question did catch the attention of Paul L. Dawson, Professor of Food Chemistry at Clemson University, South Carolina....Read More

Psychiatry

“How can he live this way?” This thought always crossed my mind when I entered the office of my medical colleague. For years medical journals and other assorted material were stacked a foot or more high all over his desk. In fact, so high that he had to talk to patients in his examining room rather than his office. But it seems he was not alone. A study conducted in 2008 by Johns Hopkins Medical School revealed that hoarding may be more prevalent than previously thought. Researchers concluded that one in 20 people may suffer from some form of hoarding. In fact, it appears I’m one of the 20! My wife recently threatened, “If you don’t toss out those old...Read More

Pain

How did this country and the U.S. become such a drug-addicted society? A recent report states that the pain killer, Oxycontin is now the number one drug used by addicts. But whether it’s this drug, crack cocaine, crystal meth or others, the result is always the same, wasted lives, needless deaths, crime and tons of taxpayer’s money that should be used for productive purposes. It’s a cop-out when Ministers of Health claim there’s no easy answer. What’s appalling is how Oxycotin is being so ill used and easily available in Ontario alone. In 2008 provincial pharmacies dispensed prescriptions for Oxycontin that were more than double the national average. Then in 2009-10 the Ontario Drug plan processed 3.9 million opioid claims made...Read More

Surgery

“How one error can have such a devastating effect on your life!” a friend said to me. She had spent summers in the same cottage for years and knew well the step from living room to kitchen. But one evening she forgot, fell, and sustained a severe fracture of the leg. I wrote several weeks ago that she had been taken to the local hospital and remained there for three days without treatment. Whether she will be in a wheel chair the rest of her life depends on a new way to heal broken bones. Dr. Rob Gordon is an orthopedic surgeon at the University Health Network in Toronto and an early pioneer in the use of shock wave therapy....Read More

Miscellaneous

A sage African American once remarked, "It's not the things you don't know that gets you into trouble, it's the things you know for sure, that ain’t so". So here are some medical myths that just ain’t so. Myth # 1 - Wearing a copper bracelet cures arthritis. Those who promote copper bracelets say that copper is absorbed through the skin and helps cartilage regenerate. But this notion has never been proven. There’s no evidence that copper regenerates damaged cartilage to reduce pain. Our bodies need only small amounts of copper and we get this in our daily diet by eating vegetables such as potatoes, beans and peas. Copper is also present in nuts and grains such as wheat and...Read More