Category Archives: Uncategorized

Do You Eat These 7 “Unhealthy” Foods?

Posted on March 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Do You Eat These 7 “Unhealthy” Foods?

PBS NewsHour has the details.

  • breakfast cereal
  • Subway sandwiches
  • Light yogurt
  • Protein bars
  • Reduced-fat peanut butter
  • Vitaminwater
  • Gluten-free snacks and baked goods

“Unhealthy” in this context is defined as Melanie Warner.

h/t Donald Sensing

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High Adiponectin May Not Protect Against Stroke and Heart Disease After All

Posted on March 19, 2013 | Comments Off on High Adiponectin May Not Protect Against Stroke and Heart Disease After All

I’ve written in the past about adiponectin, a hormone-like protein that may help protect against disease.  Obese folks have less of it.  However, a new study published in Obesity Reviews found no protection against stroke and coronary heart disease (like heart attacks) in people with higher levels of adiponectin.

Read the abstract.

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Businesses May Have a Way to Escape Obamacare

Posted on March 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Businesses May Have a Way to Escape Obamacare

…through self-insurance according to an article at MedPageToday.  Many businesses are quite concerned about their ability to pay for the Affordable Care Act.  They’re looking for ways around it so they can stay in business, keep all their employees, without raising prices too high.  From the referenced article, here’s how self-insurance works:

To employees, medical self-insurance looks like a regular health plan. Self-insured employers pay for most worker health costs directly, though they contract with an insurer or other company to administer claims. The employers also buy coverage known as stop-loss for claims exceeding a certain amount. Brokers say a growing number of firms see such plans as low-cost alternatives to conventional coverage because they’re exempt from ACA requirements such as insurance taxes and specified benefits.

For example, if an employer doesn’t want to pay for sex-change operations, they could exclude that as a covered service.

Read the rest.

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High Calcium Intake Linked to Higher Risk of Death In Swedish Women

Posted on March 18, 2013 | Comments Off on High Calcium Intake Linked to Higher Risk of Death In Swedish Women

Six of every 10 middle-aged and older women in the U.S. are taking calcium supplements, hoping to keep their bones strong and thereby avoid osteoporotic fractures of the hip, spine, and wrist.  A new study in the British Medical Journal suggests that high calcium consumption, whether from food or supplements, increases the risk of death.

The researchers wrote: 

In this study of women in the Swedish mammography cohort, a high calcium intake (>1400 mg/day) was associated with an increased rate of mortality, including death from cardiovascular disease. The increase was moderate with a high dietary calcium intake without supplement use, but the combination of a high dietary calcium intake and calcium tablet use resulted in a more pronounced increase in mortality. For most women with lower intakes we observed only modest differences in risk.

 

 

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The Ashley Goes Behind the Scenes at The Biggest Loser Show

Posted on March 16, 2013 | Comments Off on The Ashley Goes Behind the Scenes at The Biggest Loser Show

 …details are here.  What’s it like to be at the ranch for days?  Are there many injuries?

 

h/t Dr. Yoni Freedhoff

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Does Female Hormone Replacement Therapy Really Cause Breast Cancer?

Posted on March 15, 2013 | Comments Off on Does Female Hormone Replacement Therapy Really Cause Breast Cancer?

Hormone replacement therapy at the time of menopause fell out of favor a decade ago.  One of the concerns was that such therapy caused breast cancer.  Some investigators question the association.  Details are here.

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Consensus Statement on Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopausal Symptoms

Posted on March 15, 2013 | Comments Off on Consensus Statement on Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopausal Symptoms

Hormone therapy after onset of menopause is a complex issue. A couple decades ago it was widely accepted as a way to suppress symptoms and side effects of menopause. Subsequently, we had fears that it may be linked with breast cancer or cardiovascular disease, with potential to shorten life span.

An international group of professional societies has published some guidelines recently:

The consensus recommendations included the following, as listed at MedPageToday:

  • Among women younger than 60 or within 10 years after menopause, estrogen-alone HRT at standard doses “may decrease coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality.” Mortality benefits of estrogen plus progestogen in this group are less clear with no increase or decrease in cardiovascular risk.
  • For women whose only menopause symptom is vaginal dryness or discomfort during intercourse, low-dose topical estrogen is preferred.
  • Estrogen-only HRT is preferred in women after hysterectomy; other women should receive estrogen plus progestogen.
  • Venous thromboembolism and ischemic stroke risk increases with oral HRT but the absolute risk remains low in women younger than 60. Such risks may be smaller with transdermal therapy.
  • HRT is not recommended in breast cancer survivors.
  • Custom-compounded “bioidentical” hormone therapy is not recommended.

Read more details at MedPageToday.

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Gwyneth Paltrow Apparently Has Her Kids on a Low-Carb Diet

Posted on March 14, 2013 | Comments Off on Gwyneth Paltrow Apparently Has Her Kids on a Low-Carb Diet

…according to Joanna Blythman.  Some dietitians are upset.  Blythman writes:

Of course, the processed food industry works ceaselessly to convince us that we must eat highly refined starchy foods, such as breakfast cereals and white bread, trumpeting that they give us energy. But all food gives us energy. Contrary to what we have been led to believe, there is no dietary “need” to eat starchy carbohydrates at all.

I agree with that last statement.  That’s how a healthy adult can live two months without any food whatsoever: any carbohydrate we need (glucose) can be made from our stores of protein and fat.

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Does a Low-Carb High-Fat Diet Impair Performance of High-Level Endurance Athletes?

Posted on March 14, 2013 | Comments Off on Does a Low-Carb High-Fat Diet Impair Performance of High-Level Endurance Athletes?

…Dr. Jeff Volek would probably say no. On the other hand, personal  trainer Alan Aragon says yes.  Read about their recent debate at Alan’s blog, they you decide.

Here’s and excerpt from an invited editorial at Journal of Applied Physiology:

“…it seems that we are near to closing the door on one application of this dietary protocol [high-fat, low-carb eating (aka “fat adaptation”) for optimal sports performance]. Scientists may remain interested in the body’s response to different dietary stimuli and may hunt for the mechanisms that underpin the observed changes in metabolism and function. However, those at the coal-face of sports nutrition can delete fat loading and high-fat diets from their list of genuine ergogenic aids for conventional endurance and ultra-endurance sports.”

 

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If You’re a Fan of Brave Maverick Doctor Stanislaw Burzynski

Posted on March 14, 2013 | Comments Off on If You’re a Fan of Brave Maverick Doctor Stanislaw Burzynski

…please read this post at Science-Based Medicine.  You may change your mind.  I’m surprised the Texas Medical Board hasn’t been able to rein him in.

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