This book, Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You, is a careful, documented analysis of what goes on in our minds as we make decisions whether to take a drug or undergo a procedure that our doctor recommends. I see myself in here – a doubter is my profile. And I … Continue reading Book review: Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You
Hypnosis is about becoming relaxed–all the way to your core. And because a calm state of mind is helpful for so many medical treatments, a researcher in Israel–where the procedure is very popular–decided to try it for in vitro fertilization. Of course, in this study they had to choose women who were already good candidates … Continue reading Relax — for improved medical outcomes
A multidisciplinary panel of medical experts agreed recently to raise the blood pressure limits for people over 60 and people with kidney disease. Instead of 140/90 the new top limit is 150/90 for people over 60. For people with diabetes or kidney disease it’s changed from 130/80 to 140/90. The result is your doctor has more … Continue reading New guidelines suggest fewer blood pressure meds – and the fight is on
It wasn’t on purpose that I ended up with the movie “First Do No Harm” playing on my computer on January 1, 2014. But the timing was convenient in the sense that today is the day a whole bunch of the 45 million Americans who previously didn’t have medical insurance will start having coverage. The … Continue reading “First Do No Harm” film highlights med insurance shortfalls
“The benefits of maintaining hope” is one of the topics to be presented by a neurosurgeon at a daylong conference for brain tumor patients and caregivers to be held October 23 at Cedars-Sinai, an academic medical center that both treats patients and conducts research. Another topic, mixed in with all the drugs and radiation and … Continue reading Hope acknowledged as a useful tool
Yes, the question remains–as Groucho Marx used to ask–Who do you trust? Seems some medical experts support continue to support their conclusions with data from studies that have long been invalidated in clinical trials. This report says they’ve proven this so far for at least Vitamin E, estrogen, and beta carotene. Here are the facts … Continue reading Peer-Reviewed Journals continue to cite invalidated studies
For guys who don’t smoke, who eat a healthy diet, and who exercise regularly, having two drinks of any kind of alcohol each day is consistent with a far lower incidence of heart attack than for guys who don’t drink or drink only half a drink a day. As always with medical studies, they’re not … Continue reading 2 drinks a day => lower incidence of MI in men
Yes, we’ve heard it lots of times. Keeping mentally challenged and socially connected makes a big positive difference in how sharp your mind remains as you grow older. But now there’s also some new strong evidence that not only does it keep you sharp, it may actually prevent you from showing signs of Alzheimer’s even … Continue reading Mental activity protects aging brains–yeah, but…
At an international conference in Cleveland, Ohio this week, nanoscientists from around the world are meeting with nano-lovers from industry and academia. One of the speakers during aerospace day technical sessions mentioned nano-geo-bio-chemistry–talk about your cross-functional sciences–being able to determine how a small item found in a cave affects the evolution of the earth. He … Continue reading Getting tinier and tinier–nano for optical lithography
The cost of healthcare is on the minds of many today, as the U.S. government begins encouraging employers (and sole entrepreneurs) to use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as a means to cutting costs. The plans offer a tax-free savings account in which you deposit up to the amount of the deductible in your high-deductible health … Continue reading Speaking of health care costs…