Health Tips

Who is the best person to direct you to a good technical surgeon? Your family doctor if she or he assists in surgery, but some may not do so. If you’re lucky to know a scrub nurse, one who hands instruments to different surgeons day after day take her or his advice. Then, if your find the recommended surgeon has the personality of Dracula, don’t panic. It’s the surgeon’s hands that performs surgery, so you should put personality as a lower-level concern.

A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal proves what W. Gifford-Jones, MD has stressed for years. Namely, that practice makes perfect.  Whether you are a surgeon or a lumberjack. Surgeons who have performed over 1,000 major operations are less likely to make a technical error than less experienced surgeons who have done only ten major procedures.  The report shows it’s the same story for minor surgery —  more complications occur involving doctors having completed fewer procedures. As one Harvard professor remarked, “There is no such thing as minor surgery, but there are a lot of minor surgeons.”

As we get older our stomach muscles tend to bulge. Small pouches can also occur in the large bowel, a condition called diverticulosis which usually does not cause symptoms. But when infection occurs in these hernias it’s called  diverticulitis, resulting in cramping, sometimes severe pain and fever.

A report from the Harvard Medical School confirms what W. Gifford-Jones, MD has stressed for years. A fiber-rich diet decreases the risk of diverticulosis by keeping bowel contents as soft as toothpaste. This fights the grunting and increased bowel pressure associated with constipation.

The solution is a high fiber breakfast cereal such as Raisin Bran with fruit. Add vegetables, and legumes with other meals. And yes, stools do float if they’re rich in fiber.

Use the search function (the magnifying glass in the tip right of the screen) to find more information on diverticulosis and diverticulitis. 

Who won’t read this medical tip? Children. Who must read it? Parents and grandparents. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association recently used this graphic bathtub image to get the message across. That children are drinking a bathtub full of sugar a year! The Centers for Disease Control reports that one in five North American children are obese. This means they’re headed for adult obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart attack. Children simply do not realize they’re literally “sugarizing” themselves to an earlier death. Parents and grandparents should explain to them of the dangers of sugary drinks, not just colas, but also fruit juice. You, not the government, must be held responsible for the ultimate care of your children.                 `

Previous studies show that binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption are associated with an increased risk of an irregular heart rate called atrial fibrillation. Now a study published by the Journal  “Heart Rhythm” claims that even moderate drinkers may suffer from this condition. The study included light drinkers (two to seven drinks a week) and moderate  drinkers (eight to twenty one drinks weekly). Many previous studies show that moderate drinkers live longer than teetotalers or alcoholics. This latest report studied only 75 drinkers with atrial fibrillation, so you may want to wait for more research before curtailing moderate drinking.

Researchers reviewed data from 185 studies and 58 clinical trials. They reported in the journal, The Lancet, that people who ate the most fiber had a 15 to 30 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease or diabetes or large bowel cancer, compared with those who ate the least fiber. Increased fiber was also associated with lower blood pressure, decreased blood cholesterol and lower body weight. People who had the greatest benefit consumed between 25 to 29 grams of fiber daily. So make sure you start the day with a high fiber cereal and that the diet includes fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Eat a bowl of blueberries and then brush your teeth. Then use either a Waterpik, Stim-U-Dents or floss. You will stare in amazement at the many bits of blueberries still trapped between teeth. This is where dental decay and bad breath begins. Brush the tongue too, which most people fail to do. The tongue contains deep furrows where debris collects and gases hover.  The blueberry test, by removing trapped food particles, helps to prevent halitosis but also helps to save gums from gingivitis which in turn saves teeth from falling out later in life.

Click here to visit my Recommended Products, including Waterpiks and Stim-U-Dents.

Hamilton Health Sciences, in partnership with McMaster University, has been involved in a major global study for 20 years involving 250,000 people in 50 countries. The findings challenge current dietary guidelines. For instance, contrary to popular belief, a moderate intake of fat in meat and dairy products higher than the current recommendations is linked to lower death rates. And a higher intake of potassium rich foods is associated with a  lower risk of stroke.

Harvard doctors report that insomnia is often related to anxiety and stress.  The solution they say is not medication. You may get more help from weighted blankets filled with plastic beads or pellets. The heavier blanket simulates a comforting hug and helps calm the nervous system.

We’ve come a long way.  Gone are the days (at least in this country) when we didn’t safely secure our children in moving cars.  We’ve worked hard to make drinking and driving taboo.  Now we have to worry about people driving high on marijuana.  Did you know that one person dies every hour in the U.S. due to fatigue-related mistakes? The best advice might be to support driverless cars.

British researchers say that people who visit coastal waters and enjoy swimming are at greater risk than landlubber counterparts The researchers analyzed 120,000 people mostly in high income countries such as the United  States, United Kingdom and Australia. Ear and stomach complaints were the most common. And the most common source of contamination was sewage!  Their advice: do not swim after a heavy rain when overflowing sewage treatment plants drain into beach waters.

Today too many North Americans have developed “Pillitis”, the use of too many drugs, particularly pain remedies. Excessive use of these drugs has resulted in a 10 percent yearly increase in the number of people requiring kidney dialysis. It’s a tragedy that can be prevented. Get smart. Take fewer pills. Put all your medication in a brown paper bag and show your doctor what you’re taking.

There’s been an ongoing myth for years that large doses of vitamin C cause kidney stones. It’s hard to know how these falsehoods get started. But the very opposite is true. The fact is that vitamin C increases urine flow, results in a slightly acidic urine, and prevents calcium from binding to oxalate causing calcium oxalate stones, the most common type of kidney stone.

Dr. Andrew Saul, is one of the world’s authorities on nutrition. In his book, “Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone”, he reports this interesting finding. In 1946, Dr. William J McCormick wrote, “I have observed that a cloudy urine is generally associated with a low vitamin C status. But as soon as vitamin C is given (500 to 2,000 milligrams) the urine sediment clears in a matter of hours.”

Because of this myth some people are missing out on the other benefits of vitamin C.

Benjamin Disraelie, a former British Prime Minister, once remarked, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Maybe we could add a 4^th: “Myths”.

Type 2 diabetes, is in my opinion, the number one rapidly increasing degenerative disease in the world. It will eventually lead to the failure of our health care system due its multiple complications. Diabetes triggers atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), and increases the risk of heart attack, kidney failure, and blindness. So medical consumers should be aware of any therapy that can decrease blood sugar and these risks.

Now, a report from Australia has interesting news. Researchers at Melborne’s Deakin University report that two 500 milligrams tablets of vitamin C taken after meals results in a 36 percent drop in blood sugar. Patients suffering from hypertension also noted a drop in blood pressure. It’s believed that these results occur because vitamin C has antioxidant properties that absorb free radical the end products of metabolism.

For readers taking CardioVibe, one half a scoop of the powder supplies 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C. In addition it contains lysine which  makes arterial walls stronger decreasing the risk of stroke.

The good news is that vitamin C is a natural safe remedy. Prescription drugs, on the other hand, kill thousands of North Americans every year. But there are no deaths caused by natural remedies.

Get out the tape and measure your height. The average height for men is 5 feet 9 inches and for women, 5 feet 4 inches. It may surprise you how much height  determines whether you’re bald, likely to get ovarian cancer, a stroke, or break a hip.

Cancer – A study of 100,000 women in Europe and North America showed that shorter women had  decreased risk of ovarian cancer. In Britain, short males had less risk of prostate malignancy.

Stroke – Taller people are less likely to have a stroke. And the shorter you are the less likelihood of developing a blood clot such as a fatal pulmonary embolism.

Diabetes – On the other hand, if you’re lucky to be tall, there’s less chance of diabetes.

Heart Disease – If you’re shorter than 5 feet 3 inches, you have a 5 percent greater risk of coronary heart disease than those who are 5 feet 9 inches.

Alzheimer’s disease – Here it’s better to be tall. A survey of 500 people showed  those 5 feet 11 inches or taller had 60 percent decreased risk of this crippling disease.  

Hair Loss – A study involving seven countries showed shorter guys go bald. But they break their hips less often and have less back pain.

Over 50 percent of North Americans take an average of four prescription drugs a day! And according to the journal, “Annals of Family Medicine”, a survey of 50,000 Canadians revealed that nearly half take certain drugs longer than recommended. Dr. Dee Mangin, professor of family medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada says, “Our whole medical system is geared to starting things, but completely invisible in the prescribing system is a setup for stopping things.”

As we age, this can cause side-effects such as interacting negatively with other medication. Or, taking a common medication too long, such as PPI’s (proton pump inhibitors) to treat heartburn, can have serious side-effects. These drugs should be used intermittently or daily, but not longer than three months. If they are, they increase the risk of serious intestinal infection, and have also been linked to kidney failure. There is one exception. Patients who have gastrointestinal reflux disease, (GERD), an inflammation of the lower end of the food pipe, may require longer treatment. If so, doctors should use the lowest possible dose. Others should ask their doctor if they can gradually taper off the dose.

So let’s start to learn how to stop taking drugs.

Most males know that the little blue pill helps to cure erectile dysfunction. But why not try to prevent ED?  Now, a report in the Journal International Urology and Nephrology, claims that as folic acid decreases there is an increased risk of ED. Researchers also concluded that supplementation of folic acid improved ED in diabetes patients.

The onset of ED, due to atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), may in some cases, be a warning sign of cardiovascular disease. This makes sense, as a decrease in blood flow to the pelvic area may indicate that there’s also a decrease in oxygenated blood to the heart as atherosclerosis can affect other arteries. So discuss this possibility with your doctor if there is less activity in the bedroom.

Researchers admit that more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of folic acid in treating this common male problem. In the meantime, males who need more tiger in the tank should try NEO40, a natural remedy that increases the production of nitric oxide (NO). This molecule expands arteries increasing blood flow which dilates penile blood vessels and is available without a prescription in Health Food Stores. NO is produced by the inner lining of blood vessels, but its production decreases as we age. The usual dosage is one tablet twice a day for two weeks and then one tablet daily.

Studies show that 30 million North American males suffer ED. And that just one in four seek medical help.

Hate exercising, but know it’s a sound way to better health? But it means driving to the gym, changing into spandex, hating the repetitive exercise, working up a sweat, showering and happy the ordeal is finished. If so, Martin Gibila, a Kinesiology professor at McMaster University, has the perfect excuse for staying home. Just get started on the 20 second super-mini workout. Then feel good you’re not part of the global inactivity epidemic that’s causing obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart attack.

Twelve inactive volunteers were asked to climb three flights of stairs as quickly as possible three times a day for six weeks. This required about 20 seconds! I’d say they must have been fairly young to be so speedy. The result? A 5 percent increase in aerobic fitness.

Such super-mini workouts won’t replace the benefits of lengthier ones. But remember, even a small improvement is better than none at all. And it’s not lack of time to exercise that prevents it. It’s simply that many people loathe exercising.

It may seem surprising that people with a deficiency of vitamin C may be depressed. But a report from The Mayo Clinic says that studies of hospital patients who have low blood levels of vitamin C found that their mood improved after being prescribed vitamin C. In another study of high school students those who had vitamin C supplements also had lowered anxiety levels.

More study is needed to confirm these findings, But we already know that an adequate intake of vitamin (4,000 to 6,000 milligrams of C daily in divided doses) increases immunity, keeps gums healthy so teeth do not fall out, and decrease the risk of arthritis, stroke and heart attack.

Giff’s Own CardioVibe powder is the easiest way to take vitamin C and is available online and in health food stores.

Few people forget to hydrate when they go for a run or workout at the gym.  Yet, a good romp in bed can require the same physical exertion. Having water on hand to replenish fluids lost from sweating, heavy breathing, and kissing will help avoid dehydration.

Bananas are a good idea too.  Loaded with potassium to lower blood pressure, they also contain magnesium and calcium, all of these nutrients helping to ease strained muscles.

Putting bananas and water at the bedside can also be a fun way to signal your romantic intentions to your partner.

If you’re losing the battle of the bulge, there’s a good chance you’re taking in more calories than you’re burning up.  There’s a possibility that medication may be a factor. For example, insulin can lower blood sugar and stimulate appetite. Corticosteroids, on the other hand, can cause you to burn calories more slowly or to store fat. Blood pressure medication, such as beta-blockers, can cause fatigue and shortness of breath, resulting in less exercise. Other blood pressure drugs such as calcium blockers can result in the body retaining water.