The newspapers these days seem to be full of studies that tell us that alcohol may be good for certain things (like preventing heart disease and stroke) while telling us that it's bad for other things (like the liver and memory). I am often asked by my patients, their family members, or friends how much alcohol is the "right amount." As far as the... Read more
What is the best way to take my pills?
This question is at the root of more confusion than any other question in medicine. The public wonders about which pill is best for a given disease, and we are constantly under the barrage of pharmaceutical advertising, but the fact still remains that most doctor's prescriptions are not filled. And... Read more
While high cholesterol (either as a high LDL or “bad” cholesterol; or low HDL or “good” cholesterol) certainly contributes to the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, it is not the only contributor. Each year it seems that I have one or two patients that have “no excuse” for having coronary artery... Read more
We have all seen information in the newspapers that suggests that we should avoid trans fatty acids, but why? What does this mean? My thanks to Dr. D. Mozafferian for an explanation that permits me to understand the importance of this problem and explain it here. Partial hydrogenation (another name for trans fat) is a production method to make... Read more
_____ died last week. He was in great shape, exercised and ate right. Why should I believe that if I do all the right things the same thing wouldn't happen to me? Jim Fixx wrote the "Complete Book of Running". He was a former smoker (2 packs per day) and overweight but made himself trimmer (taking off 60 lbs.)... Read more