Alternate Treatments, Philosophy, Radiation
Let the Buyer Beware of Needless Radiation
There’s a Gifford-Jones Law that says, “Never accept radiation you don’t need.” But a dangerous new medical trend is breaking this law. What’s the worry? Across North America, some private clinics are now promoting the promise of early detection of disease to healthy people. In return for a fee, buyers get whole-body screening using a variety of diagnostic imaging equipment. These promoters don’t have to be marketing stars. People naturally fret about their mortality and become receptive listeners. It’s wrong to profit on those fears. But the trend is catching hold. The sell is easy when the hope is early detection of a small cancer. “You may not have any symptoms as yet,” they’ll pitch, “and an early catch means high likelihood...Read More
Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Who Has the Most Dangerous Job?
We often advise readers not to be foolish – not with your health, money, relationships, or other vital aspects of life. Some risks are unavoidable, like crossing a busy intersection. Yet there’s little sense in choosing a career as a test pilot if you want to live to 100. Now, new research suggests we might have that wrong. Dangerous jobs with a high safety conscious may be the better bet! What are some of the most dangerous jobs? Ambulance workers are near the top of the list. People working at skiing facilities and correctional institutions are in the top ten. So are couriers and people in water transportation jobs. Leave it to personal injury lawyers to know the facts. What does one...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Diabetes, Infection, Lifestyle, Vitamins
Preventing Diabetes Risk Due to COVID-19 Infection
Will COVID-19 and the complications associated with this disease ever vanish? Never bet on it. Virus experts say COVID-19 will rise its ugly head again this fall. With it, they add, the complication of both types of diabetes will increase. It’s the last thing we need when obesity is already causing a worldwide pandemic of type 2 diabetes. So, how can you reduce the risk? It’s easier than you think. First, type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin. Lifelong replacement and management of this hormone is the only option. With the more common type 2 diabetes, the body does not respond normally to insulin. We call this “Lifestyle Diabetes”. Why? Because it is preventable by avoiding...Read More
Lifestyle, Philosophy
More Fire and Smoke to Come
Fires are a natural part of life in the forests that extend across Canada and the northern US. But it is not normal for these forest fires to consume entire communities, take lives of unsuspecting citizens in a surreal panic, and leave thousands of people and animals displaced. Tragedies happen sometimes. Now however, experts tell us, we can anticipate more monstrous fires on a more frequent basis. Just when you think the great Canadian outdoors might offer a safe escape from all the maladies in the world, the lakeside campsite has become another danger zone. Climate trends are making northern summers hotter, drier, and longer. That means we can expect plenty more fires, more smoke, and more forced evacuations of campsites...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Neurology, Nutrition, Obesity, Philosophy
Starving the Gut Feeds the Brain
If our bodies could speak to our brains, many would hear this: “Dear brain, please know the difference between being hungry and bored. Sincerely, I’m getting fat!” Who doesn’t turn to food when the doldrums set in? The smart brains would offer their hosts three pieces of advice. One, eat nutritional food. Two, limit portion sizes. And three, now and again, engage in fasting. Why fasting? Because studies show that for obese and skinny people alike, after prolonged reduction of food intake, the body’s defences improve against stresses. Cardiovascular risks decline. And the brain functions better. Temporary cessation of eating provokes chemical changes throughout the body. Ketones are a type of chemical the liver produces when it breaks down fats. The body...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
What’s the Rub of Dry Eyes?
If having recurring headaches, most people go see a doctor. Or, for severe chest pain, it’s a rush to the emergency room. But when people are constantly rubbing their eyes, there’s no trigger of alarm. It’s just itchy eyes! But Dr. Clara Chan, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Toronto, says it could be a problem called dry eye syndrome. Neither lethal nor curable, sufferers simply need to keep the annoyance under control. Dr. Chan reports the sooner you see a doctor and start treatment the better the result. It’s surprising that an estimated 1 in 5 adults have personal experience with dry eye syndrome. Dry eye syndrome is more common in women, but aging is a cause in both...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
Potassium by the Doctrine of the Golden Mean
Aristotle’s doctrine of the golden mean lauds the middle ground of two extremes: excess and deficiency. But not everyone follows this sage advice. And not all vitamins and minerals send clear signals of absence or excess. This week, a look at potassium, the third most abundant mineral in the body. People, animals, and plants all depend on potassium for essential functions. Depleted soil requires potassium to be replaced with fertilizer. Young animals lacking potassium will quickly die. In people, there’s danger in either too much or too little potassium. But a healthy diet, including healthy drinks, is the best approach. The American Heart Association recommends 3,400 milligrams (mg) of potassium per day for men and 2,600 mg per day for women. A...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Cancer, Pain, Philosophy
A Veterinarian for Assessing Weakness
Readers of a great age face a common problem. It’s called frailty or general weakness. The frail elderly are at risk of falls that require hospitalization, often leading to palliative care. As the condition progresses, independent living at home can become impossible. For people who have reached the end of their desire to continue, frailty presents a medical dilemma for doctors. How much frailty is needed before the doctor allows, “There’s reason enough to end life by Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)”? And would a veterinarian be the better professional to make this decision? One of the conditions that doctors must decide at the end of life is whether weakness is reversible. This obviously makes sense when considering life or death...Read More
Medicine
Are You Making Medication Errors
Winston Churchill said, “The only statistics you can trust are those you falsified yourself.” Unreliable statistics make it hard to know how many people die each year due to medication errors. How many more are taking harmful drug combinations or the wrong doses? The numbers are elusive because medical professionals don’t want to showcase errors and consumers may not realize their mistakes. Yet, errors happen many ways and at different points. It’s like the telephone game where people take turns whispering a message into the ear of the next person in line. When the last person speaks the message out loud, it has changed along the way. It’s a game that teaches how important details get altered when passed from person to...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Medicine, Nutrition, Philosophy, Vitamins
Government’s Good Intentions Gone Bad
Everyone wants a safe, effective, and accessible supply of the products that keep us healthy. Doctors and patients need proven drugs. People seeking to prevent illness with natural remedies also need good products. But governments trying to ensure quality are putting measures in place that will limit the variety of supplements, make them more expensive, and make it harder for smaller companies with innovative products to compete. Natural products like vitamin C, fish oil, magnesium, calcium, and many other supplements are ingredients to good health. For the cost of a cup or coffee, daily supplementation can address deficiencies in the diet, add antioxidants, reduce inflammation, support the immune system, build bone, etc. For example, vitamin C and lysine in high doses help...Read More
Medicine, Pain
Not Every Pain Needs a Pill
How we wish there were better ways to treat pain. But scientists are struggling to find them. The very nature of pain remains illusive too. Determining if pain is mild, moderate, or severe is a personal perception. Doctors and nurses ask patients to rate their pain from zero to ten. Whether the patient says 2 or 15, there’s more judgement than science in decisions about pain management. But one thing is certain, people managing pain at home are taking too many pills. Pain, at best, is an annoyance. At worst, it is all consuming. It’s been said pain can collapse the universe and concentrate the soul until only the hurt is left. Elaine Scarry, a Harvard professor and author of “The...Read More
Lungs
Coughing Again? Could it be COPD?
Ask any singer what they detest the most and they will say, “People who cough at concerts.” So how do you tell if your annoying cough is due to getting older or being a little out of shape? Is it a common cold? Or could it be a life-threating condition, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? It’s estimated that one in four people globally over the age of 35 will develop COPD. Worldwide, it’s the third leading cause of death. It’s worrying that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reports that over 15 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD and another 12 million don’t know they have the disease. What causes COPD? It’s almost entirely due to smoking. Older women...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle
Safe and Effective Responses to Stress
What is the world coming to? Recent news has artificial intelligence (AI) researchers and CEOS warning of an “extinction risk” from the technology running wild. Forest fires are literally running wild too. Nuclear war might us out. Or economic collapse. If these things don’t get you stressed, then how about the rest of the pressures of everyday life? Stress is, according to the World Health Organization, “a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives.” What a gentle way to put it. Scientific experiments attempting to identify the health impacts of stress suggest this natural response may be taking off years of life expectancy. In one study, Stanford and University of California cell biologists, biochemists, and...Read More
Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Medicine, Obesity
New Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes
Albert Einstein wrote, “Everything is a miracle.” Is it possible that a new class of drugs is finally providing a miracle in the fight against diabetes? Ozempic and Trulicity, produced by Novo Nordisk and Ely Lilly, are examples of the brand-name prescription drugs gaining attention for fighting type 2 diabetes and showing success. Type 2 diabetes is among the leading killers globally. But information about these drugs is running wild. The hoped-for miracle needs a measure of grounding. Consider Ozempic, a prescription drug, injected weekly by pen. It’s approved in Canada and the U.S. to treat type 2 diabetes, a lifestyle disease linked with obesity and a major risk factor for heart attack, blindness, kidney failure, and gangrene of the legs...Read More
Infection, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
The Health Consequences of Cats
Dog lovers may want to skip this week’s commentary. For cat lovers too, this column may prove a disappointment. A health risk assessment of household cats might be all you need to recommit to a dog. Cats are the darlings of the Internet. And that may be the safest way to enjoy them. There can be no doubt that cats provide crucial companionship for many people. Their entertainment powers rival dogs. But here are a few thoughts on the ways cats can have an impact on human health. First, the killer instinct of cats has a startling effect on biodiversity. About a decade ago, the journal Nature published a study that estimated domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually!...Read More
Pain
Little Relief and High Costs for Back Pain
A humorous greeting card reads, “Technically I’m still young, but due to my back pain, I’m actually 90.” Whatever the age, including 99, back pain can be agonizing. It’s a surprisingly common problem. A new study published by the Lancet Rheumatology Journal reports that 619 million people suffer from low back pain globally. That’s nearly 10 percent of the world’s population! Why so many people? With higher numbers of people living longer, in part it’s the mathematics. The older one gets, the greater the risk. By 99 years of age, the probability of living with back pain is high. In addition to aging, what else causes the trouble? It is no surprise that researchers found obesity high on the list. Their finding that...Read More
Gynecology
Early Hormone Therapy Has Benefits
It was surprising news in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. There’s another about-turn among scientists studying hormone therapy (HT) as a treatment for symptoms of menopause. This time, researchers have produced findings that suggest benefits to healthy women who start HT early in the transition to menopause. Women have long been perplexed by conflicting advice on hormone replacement, and this new study doesn’t offer universal guidance. The bottom line remains, HT is a complicated business, requiring patients and doctors to weigh many factors in deciding for or against. Dr. Iliana Lega of the Women’s College Hospital and the University of Toronto has this to say, “Menopausal hormone therapy is the first line treatment of symptoms in the absence of contraindications.” That clarity...Read More
Dental, Lifestyle
Good Oral Health Demands Manual Labour
Mickey Mantle, former star of the New York Yankees baseball team, often remarked, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” He was only 63 when he died. Now, with many of us getting a good chance to live beyond 100, what’s one of the best investments in maintaining good health? It’s cheap, easy, and right inside your mouth. Tooth decay affects 96 percent of North American people 50-64 years old. The statistics for tooth decay are almost as high for people aged 20-49. One in five North Americans over age 19 have lost teeth. One in four over 75 years of age have no teeth. Last year, the World Health Organization...Read More
Philosophy, Surgery
Total Family Doctor Prevents Needless Surgery
How important is what I like to call the “Total Family Doctor” (TFD)? For years, I’ve praised the hardworking family doctor for the role he or she plays in medical care. Now, many North Americans say it’s impossible to find a family doctor. What has happened to them? Prior to becoming a surgeon, I had the good fortune to spend time as a family doctor. And I nearly decided to follow this path. Why? Because I also watched Specialists performing the same task every day. It could become boring, I thought. So, surgery finally won. But I’ve never forgotten the challenges of being a family physician. I even experienced the roles of hotel doctor and ship’s surgeon during medical training. I believe...Read More
Gynecology, Pain
Why Do Some Women Have Pain During Sex
Why do some women shy away from sex? It might be fatigue after a long day where everything, everything, has gone wrong. But before men jump to conclusions, they should know about a disease called endometriosis. This problem causes severe pain during sex. It occurs in about 10 percent of women and has a profound effect of their lives. And, about 30 percent will have trouble becoming pregnant. Some women with endometriosis may be fortunate. In spite of extensive disease, they are completely free of symptoms. Others, with minimal amounts of endometriosis bitterly complain of a variety of symptoms. What is endometriosis? At the end of a menstrual cycle women experience vaginal bleeding. The inside of the uterus, called the endometrium, starts...Read More
Infection, Miscellaneous
Make a Stink for Better Public Washrooms
When asked how to become a famous comedian, Steve Martin replied, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” It’s true, bad performers can usually be ignored. But there’s no ignoring bad public washrooms. Public washrooms have a reputation for abysmal filth, as evidenced by dirty toilets, overflowing trash, empty or broken soap dispensers, sloppy countertops, and door handles not to be touched. An American survey found that 21 percent of respondents used a public washroom at least six times a week, sometimes over 15 times! The reason was not always obvious. Youth tend to visit washrooms to use their phones, change their clothes, or “get away”. In fact, 21 percent of youth acknowledge the use of public washrooms to take a mental health...Read More
Cardiovascular, Infection, Lifestyle, Neurology, Pain
Are Canadians Better at Preventing Lyme Disease?
It’s tick season and the little pests are out with a vengeance. Tiny as they are, ticks are a huge nuisance and a hazardous vector of disease. Their ability to latch onto unsuspecting hosts has made them one of the most successful blood-sucking parasites on the planet. Ticks are the primary carriers of Lyme disease, infecting people with their bite. But do ticks or people account for the sizable difference in the number of reported cases in the US and Canada? Every year, in the United States, about half a million people are diagnosed with Lyme disease. Based on population, all other things equal, one would expect about 50,000 cases annually in Canada. Other things, however, must not be equal. Because...Read More
Cardiovascular, Gastroenterology, Nutrition
Fish Oil: Superhero of Supplements
You may be forgiven if you are unfamiliar with Aquaman, a superhero who breathes underwater, communicates with sea creatures, and possesses superhuman strength and agility. But revisit past columns if you haven’t learned that fish are the real superheroes. Why? Because when mere mortals consume fish, their bodies gain extraordinary powers to fight the arch-nemesis of illness. Studies have repeatedly shown that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil have remarkable health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, improving cognitive function, and reducing inflammation throughout the body. To gain these benefits, eating enough fatty fish, like salmon and mackerel, isn’t easy, especially with high food prices. For a fraction of the cost, fish oil supplements are a no-brainer. What’s preventing...Read More
Cholesterol, Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Obesity
What Is the Best Nutritional Advice Ever Given?
How long has this column recommended a high-fiber diet? Since March 1978 when readers were informed that processed foods create a “slow assembly line” in the bowels. Now some of the world’s most highly regarded nutritional scientists at Imperial College London say dietary fiber is “the best health advice of all time”! What is it about fiber that is so important? Soluble fiber dissolves in the stomach and can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Insoluble fiber passes through the digestive system, supporting a faster assembly line that moves waste out, reducing the risks for hemorrhoids and colon disease that creep up when hard stools loiter the bowels. Experts agree that women need about 25-30 grams of fiber daily, and men...Read More
Nutrition
Ecosystem Biodiversity Important to Human Health and Nutrition
The routine of modern-day life for most of us involves regular trips to the grocery store and three meals a day. The regular patterns of our diet can be a source of comfort or a rushed necessity. But is eating the same familiar foods – often the same recipes, products, brands, over and over, day by day – good for us? As nutritious as a “well-balanced” diet may be, there are good reasons to strive for a more diverse diet. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the acclaimed Nigerian writer, was not referring to plant and animal ecosystems when she wrote, "Diversity is not about feeling included, it's about feeling valued." Yet, she’d surely agree. Unless biodiversity is valued, it will lose ground, quite literally. Now,...Read More
