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Can Dairy Fat Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes?

We are all aware of the current obesity trend in this country and across the globe.  Avoiding fat in our diet has been the conventional mantra now for the last 4 or 5 decades.  But what has this low-fat obsession gotten us?  Well, Americans are now fatter than ever.  Paralleling that trend has been a dramatic rise in diabetes cases and, cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer of Americans.  New research has focused on a trans fat component found mainly in dairy fat that may ward off type 2 diabetes and protect cardiovascular health. While more research is needed, it suggests fats may play a more complex role in human health than previously acknowledged. Read the rest of this entry »

Alzheimer’s Disease…Have We Been Barking Up The Wrong Tree?

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is often called the most common form of dementia.  All dementias are characterized by a progressive loss of mental functions.  Since 1906, AD has been considered to be a distinct form of dementia distinguishable from all other dementia by certain structures found in the brains of sufferers.  Although this has been the conventional wisdom among neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, gerontologists, and others medical professionals, a new breed of scientists are challenging that notion.  The conventional theories about AD may be trying to treat the wrong issue. Read the rest of this entry »

Avoid Getting Sick, Naturally

Despite all of the tremendous medical advances of the last century, strategies to fight the viruses that cause seasonal flu and the common cold remain largely unchanged.    There are no cures for either which makes prevention all the more important.   Last year, we suffered through the first flu pandemic in 40 years courtesy of a new and very different flu virus named H1N1. Although there are thousands of fatalities attributed to the flu every year, getting a cold is usually less serious though still very unpleasant.    What are your options besides just rolling the dice and stockpiling Kleenex? Read the rest of this entry »

Does Hormone Therapy Increase Breast Cancer Risk?

Over the last decade, the safety of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been questioned in the media, in medical journals and in doctor’s offices across the country.  Unfortunately, the discussion is usually over-simplified and delivered to the public in sensationalized sound bites.  Without even getting into the scientific controversy, we can apply some rudimentary logic to the discussion.  If human hormones are the major cause of heart disease and breast cancer in women, wouldn’t you expect to see the greatest incidence when hormone levels are the highest?  For women, that would be their teens and twenties; a time when both breast cancer and heart disease are distinctly uncommon.[i]  But, when hormone levels decline at and around menopause, the incidence of both rises dramatically.  Perhaps there is more to the story than the sound bites suggest. Read the rest of this entry »

Breast Cancer Prevention – Myth or Reality

The statistics have become familiar enough to most of us: Breast cancer accounts for almost 200,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths every year. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 12.7 percent of women alive today will be diagnosed with some form of breast cancer during their lifetime. This makes breast cancer by far the leading cancer in women, accounting for almost 40% of all cancers diagnosed in women. Read the rest of this entry »

Sweet Dreams

It may seem obvious that sleep is beneficial. Even without fully grasping what sleep does for us, we know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel terrible, and that getting a good night’s sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world.  When we awaken from a restful sleep, we feel more alert, more energetic, happier, and better able to function. However, the fact that sleep makes us feel better and that going without sleep makes us feel worse only begins to explain why sleep might be necessary. Numerous studies have linked poor sleep with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, a weakened immune system, cancers, high blood pressure, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Read the rest of this entry »

Is the FDA Negligent?

Over the last twenty years, Americans appetite for prescription drugs has exploded.  One need only to turn on the TV to see ad after ad  suggesting that there is a pill to satisfy any pain, discomfort or ailment that you may encounter.  The message seems to be: “No need to work hard at anything or modify the way you live because we have a pill for it; whatever it is”.  But with the FDA looking out for the public welfare, isn’t that a safe proposition?

Well, let’s look at the facts.  Last year over half a million Americans suffered adverse events due to prescription medications.[1]  Almost 100,000 people die yearly as a result of complications from pharmaceutical drugs.[2]  Read the rest of this entry »

47,000 Deaths and Counting

It is inconceivable that a product could remain on the market after it has been directly linked to tens of thousands of deaths.  But this is exactly the case we have with two popular diabetes drugs, Avandia and Actos.

Avandia was introduced in 1999 and a study performed by its maker, SmithKline Beechem (later acquired by Glaxo) found that it posed a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events and bone fractures.  What did they do?  They suppressed the data for the next 11 years!  Read the rest of this entry »

Are You Losing Muscle Mass?

“Normal” aging is typically accompanied by easier weight gain and, along with declining hormones and decreased physical activity can reduce muscle mass, lead to frailty and a higher prevalence of metabolic disorders.  This insidious, age-related loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia.

In many respects, sarcopenia is to muscle what osteoporosis is to bone.  The typical American gains one pound of fat and loses a half pound of muscle yearly between age 30 and 60.  Deterioration of muscle and loss of muscular strength is a major reason elderly lose mobility and cannot remain living independently.   Read the rest of this entry »

Summer on Martha’s Vineyard

It was a tough assignment, but someone had to do it.  On August 13th of this year, I was invited to speak at the second annual Summer Executive Workshop 2010 , held at the Harbor View Hotel on Martha’s Vineyard.    The overall theme of the conference was “Health, Wealth and Leadership”.  Conference attendees included successful, seasoned professionals and senior level executives from across the country.   The conference provided an opportunity for top tier educational panels and informal networking in a relaxed setting.

 The keynote address was delivered by Ron Williams, Chairman and CEO of Aetna.  Three educational panels included:  Intergenerational Wealth Transfer, Executive Wellness and 21^st Century Leadership.   Read the rest of this entry »