“ Don ’ t eat anything white ”
I’ve heard this advice countless times, as I’ll bet you have, too. I’ve also witnessed many people try it (though certainly not on my advice), only to experience modest (if any) benefits that quickly come a halt. And, of course, this advice makes no sense.
“White,” of course, refers primarily to refined grain products such as breads, rolls, and bagels made with white flour, as well as sucrose table sugar. Non-white primarily refers to whole grains that are darker based on the commonly held misconception that whole grains are not just better for you, but healthy. (I’ve discussed this logi...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - December 19, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle gluten-free grain-free grains Inflammation Weight Loss Source Type: blogs
Racial inequalities in cancer survival
Three studies published in a supplemental issue of the journal Cancer this month come to disturbing conclusions: in the United States, the survival rates for colon, breast, and ovarian cancer are lower for black people than for white people. The news isn’t all bad: overall cancer survival rates are going up. The three studies mentioned here draw from two larger studies of worldwide cancer survival, the CONCORD... // Read More » (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - December 10, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Joe Gibes Tags: Health Care Justice Allocation / Access / Public Health allocation/access/public health; health care practice bioethics Culture / Ethnicity / Gender / Disability human dignity medicine racism syndicated Source Type: blogs
The accused physicians who are my colleagues
From the earliest days on the clinical wards, everyone probably worked with a senior physician who knew how to game the system. It might be doing a rigid sigmoidoscopy on admission for every patient who had a rectum — something not the standard of care forty years ago. Or maybe it was accepting a pharmaceutical company subsidized tax-deductible junket under the guise of CME at a place with sparkling white sand in February — something that might have been the standard of care 40 years ago. While people would question the propriety of these things, there did not seem to be any material challenge to the legality. And the ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - December 2, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/richard-plotzker" rel="tag" > Richard Plotzker, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Malpractice Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs
The Couric-Jolie effect: The impact of celebrities ’ medical advice
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
Some called it the Katie Couric effect. Soon after her husband died of colon cancer in 1998, the journalist and television personality had a televised colonoscopy to promote the test. Rates of screening colonoscopies soared for at least a year. Or, call it the Angelina Jolie effect. In 2013, the actress wrote an editorial in the New York Times about the tests she had for genes (called BRCA) linked with breast and ovarian cancer, and how the positive result led her to have a double mastectomy. Soon after, rates of BRCA testing jumped.
Whatever you call it, the effect is real. When it comes...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Health care Managing your health care Source Type: blogs
The Couric-Jolie effect: When celebrities share their medical experiences
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
Some called it the Katie Couric effect. Soon after her husband died of colon cancer in 1998, the journalist and television personality had a televised colonoscopy to promote the test. Rates of screening colonoscopies soared for at least a year. Or, call it the Angelina Jolie effect. In 2013, the actress wrote an editorial in the New York Times about the tests she had for genes (called BRCA) linked with breast and ovarian cancer, and how the positive result led her to have a double mastectomy. Soon after, rates of BRCA testing jumped.
Whatever you call it, the effect is real. When it comes...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Health care Managing your health care Source Type: blogs
In Honor of National Caregiver Appreciation Month: An eBook Sale Just for You
As The Author of Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories, I'm honored to be chosen to be part AlzAuthors. This post is courtesy of AlzAuthors. Read through for some incredible deals on ebooks written by authors who've been where you are. MOE is among the books on sale. All are $2.99 or less.
November is National Caregiver Appreciation Month, a time to recognize the long hours, sacrifice, and love all caregivers bring to the task of caring for a loved one with dementia or any long-term illness. In honor of their efforts, AlzAuthors is hosting an eBook sale and giveaway! This is a terrific way...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 15, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
NYTimes: The Growing Toll of Our Ever-Expanding Waistlines
The Growing Toll of Our Ever-Expanding WaistlinesBy JANE E. BRODY NOV. 13, 2017Paul Rogers I hope you ’re not chomping on a bagel or, worse, a doughnut while you read about what is probably the most serious public health irony of the last half century in this country: As one major killer — smoking — declined, another rose precipitously to take its place: obesity.Many cancer deaths were averted after millions quit lighting up, but they are now rising because even greater numbers are unable to keep their waistlines in check.Today, obesity and smoking remain the two leading causes of preventable dea...
Source: Dr Portnay - November 13, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr Portnay Source Type: blogs
Targeted Radiotherapy Combined with Immunotherapy Kills 100% of Colorectal Cancer
Researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and from MIT are reporting the development of a new combination therapy that completely eliminates colon cancer, at least in laboratory mice. The technique is a type of radioimmunotherapy, which delivers radioactive particles directly to tumors on the backs of targeting antibodies that seek out those tumors.
In their study, the target was tumor antigen glycoprotein A33 using a bispecific antibody, plus hapten, a molecule that produces an immune response. The combination of attaching a radionuclide and getting the immune system to fight the tumor aggressively at the ...
Source: Medgadget - November 7, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Nuclear Medicine Radiation Oncology Source Type: blogs
“ Gut bacteria ‘ boost ’ cancer therapy ”
That’s the title of a very interesting BBC News article I read this morning, thanks to my friend Paul: goo.gl/pkXS1J It’s about two recent studies that examined patients with cancer (1. lung or kidney; 2. melanoma), discovering that those who had a lot of “friendly” gut bacteria responded better to immunotherapy.
Excerpt: Dr Jennifer Wargo, from Texas, told the BBC: “If you disrupt a patient’s microbiome you may impair their ability to respond to cancer treatment.”
Okay, so the patients in the two studies didn’t have myeloma. But I would bet anything that those three types o...
Source: Margaret's Corner - November 4, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll BBC News Clostridium difficile gut bacteria microbiome probiotics SCT Source Type: blogs
Matching Seniors and Caregivers: Interview with Josh Bruno, Founder/CEO of Hometeam, and Dr. Jeffrey A. Sachs, Hometeam Advisor
Finding a suitable caregiver for an elderly relative can be difficult, and leaving a vulnerable loved one with a stranger can be tough, especially if they have very specific medical or care needs. An innovative platform, developed by Hometeam, a company working in New York City and New Jersey, aims to match caregivers with seniors based on their medical needs, and their interests. Once care has started, the platform can track seniors’ daily routines and medication schedules and allows caregivers to communicate directly with seniors’ families using a tablet computer in each home. The system aims to help seniors ...
Source: Medgadget - October 31, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Geriatrics Medicine Source Type: blogs
Empathy is better felt than defined
Empathy is a cryptic term. Those in the health care profession can certainly spout off a variety of phrases and metaphors that are typically used to describe the concept of empathy in the educational setting. Throughout my medical education thus far it has been described as “putting yourself in another’s shoes” or “sharing in another’s emotion.”
We are also taught early on what empathy is not. Empathy is not feeling sorry for someone. Now, these are all definitions that might be elicited when asking the average medical student about the concept of empathy. However, discussing empathy in a classroom does very li...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 31, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/brian-schnettgoecke" rel="tag" > Brian Schnettgoecke < /a > Tags: Education Cardiology Hospital-Based Medicine Medical school Source Type: blogs
We are all just one diagnosis away from a different reality
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”
—George Washington Carver
Earlier this week, I walked into the exam room and introduced myself to a 48-year-old male. As I generally do, I sat in front of him and asked, “How can I help you today?” We talked about bleeding that started one month ago, discussed his concerns about only having a bowel movement every other day and his mother’s bout with colon cancer in her 60s. We proceede...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 29, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/cedrek-l-mcfadden" rel="tag" > Cedrek L. McFadden, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Oncology/Hematology Surgery Source Type: blogs
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
I took the super-duper thick yogurt that I made with added prebiotic fiber and made a really delicious and rich chocolate frozen yogurt.
Most store-bought yogurt, of course is the outdated and unhealthy low- or non-fat variety, often thickened with emulsifying agents to improve consistency, but damaging the mucous lining of your intestinal tract and encouraging dysbiosis, even if it contains probiotic microorganisms. We can make high-fat yogurt, prolong the fermentation process to further reduce lactose and denature the casein protein, and add a prebiotic fiber such as inulin to increase bacterial counts and increase butyr...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - October 20, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Recipes Wheat Belly Lifestyle erythritol gluten-free low-carb monk fruit monkfruit natural sweetener stevia virtue Wheat Belly Total Health Source Type: blogs
Yogurt That Can Stand Up
I tried something new with making yogurt.
I made the Super-Duper High-Fat Wheat Belly Yogurt starting with organic half-and-half for richer fat content. This generally yields an end-product with great creamy mouthfeel, thicker than most store-bought full-fat yogurt, certainly far thicker, tastier, and more filling than the low- or non-fat garbage that fills most supermarket refrigerators.
Recall that, while dairy products undoubtedly have their problems, the process of lactate fermentation yielding yogurt reduces many of these problems. The lactose sugar is converted to lactic acid, reducing carb content, and potential for...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - October 19, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Recipes Wheat Belly Lifestyle Fermentation gluten gluten-free grain-free grains high-fat lactate lactic Wheat Belly Total Health yogurt Source Type: blogs
Yogurt So Thick It Can Stand Up
I tried something new with making yogurt.
I made the Super-Duper High-Fat Wheat Belly Yogurt starting with organic half-and-half for richer fat content. This generally yields an end-product with great creamy mouthfeel, thicker than most store-bought full-fat yogurt, certainly far thicker, tastier, and more filling than the low- or non-fat garbage that fills most supermarket refrigerators.
Recall that, while dairy products undoubtedly have their problems, the process of lactate fermentation yielding yogurt reduces many of these problems. The lactose sugar is converted to lactic acid, reducing carb content, and potential for...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - October 19, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Recipes Wheat Belly Lifestyle Fermentation gluten gluten-free grain-free grains high-fat lactate lactic Wheat Belly Total Health yogurt Source Type: blogs
