Well-intentioned health practices can inadvertently lead us down the path of booby - traps - unexpected pitfalls in health that impair health, rather than enhance it.
I encounter these health booby traps every day in my experiences with patients. Let me list some of the most common.
Reduce salt
Public health messages urge us to... Read more
Many people older than 50 years still remember the days of goiters, enlarged thyroid glands that developed due to iodine deficiency. Up to a third of the population in many parts of the U.S. were affected with goiters, an unsightly bulge in the neck. With goiter comes thyroid dysfunction of a variety of types, usually low thyroid... Read more
What nutritional supplement increases "good" HDL cholesterol 10-20 mg/dl, reduces triglycerides, reduces small LDL particles (the number one cause for heart disease in the U.S.), even reduces risk for heart attack substantially with no side-effects? It doesn't even require a prescription.
If we believed the advertising claims, that bill... Read more
See that container of yogurt?
It contains 600 mg of plant sterols that help reduce cholesterol. It even says "heart healthy" . . . but is it?
"Trans" fats all over again?
Back in the 1970s, we were all warned to reduce the saturated fat in our diet. Food manufacturers helped us comply with this advice by... Read more
Hang around a hospital coronary care unit, and you will hear the phrase "unstable angina" used a lot.
"Mr. Smith was admitted last evening with unstable angina."
"Mrs. Jones has unstable angina and is going to the cath lab today."
Just what does "unstable angina" mean? And what makes it so "unstable"?
The term... Read more
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