More than half of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) sufferers appear to have a form of atypical food allergy. A chronic gastrointestinal disorder, irritable bowel syndrome affects about one in ten people. You may have heard about low-FODMAP diets, but they don’t appear to work any better than the standard advice to avoid things like coffee…
What does the gut have to do with developing Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease is an ever-worsening neurodegenerative disorder that results in death and affects about 1 in 50 people as they get older. A small minority of cases are genetic, running in families, but 85% to 90% of cases are sporadic, meaning they seem to…
The spice cumin can work as well as orlistat, the “anal leakage” obesity drug. In my video Friday Favorites: Benefits of Black Cumin for Weight Loss, I discussed how a total of 17 randomized controlled trials showed that the simple spice could reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels. And its side effects? A weight-loss effect. Saffron…
Please note: This blog contains descriptions of sexual assault. “Recent reports of medical students performing pelvic exams for training purposes on anesthetized women without their consent”—or their knowledge—“have produced a firestorm of controversy and calls for greater regulation.” However, that “burst of public outcry” was in the mid-1990s. California was the first state to make…
We had the pleasure of talking with Ale Graf about her work, food, and National Hispanic Heritage Month. We hope you enjoy this interview and her recipe for Hibiscus Chamoy. As someone who creates Mexican dishes with a plant-based twist, how is food an important part of your culture and how you share…
Please note: This blog contains descriptions of sexual assault. From Heart Failure, a book I wrote about my time at Tufts University School of Medicine: “I am all gloved up, fifth in line. At Tufts, medical students—particularly male students—practice pelvic exams on anesthetized women without their consent and without their knowledge. Women come in for…
What are the pros and cons of relative risk, absolute risk, number needed to treat, and average postponement of death when taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs? In response to the charge that describing the benefits of statin drugs only in terms of relative risk reduction is a “statistical deception” created to give the appearance that statins…
A Mayo Clinic visualization tool can help you decide if cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are right for you. “Physicians have a duty to inform their patients about the risks and benefits of the interventions available to them. However, physicians rarely communicate with methods that convey absolute information, such as numbers needed to treat, numbers needed to…
What is the dirty little secret of drugs for lifestyle diseases? Drug companies go out of their way—in direct-to-consumer ads, for example—to “present pharmaceutical drugs as a preferred solution to cholesterol management while downplaying lifestyle change.” You see this echoed in the medical literature, as in this editorial in the Journal of the American Medical…
How can you calculate your own personal heart disease risk to help you determine if you should start on a cholesterol-lowering statin drug? The muscle-related side effects from cholesterol-lowering statins “are often severe enough for patients to stop taking the drug. Of course, these side effects could be coincidental or psychosomatic and have nothing to…