Health Expert Dr. William Davis shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/1435/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/1435/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/1435/index http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/1435/131472/xanthelasma Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:55:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis "Xanthos" means "yellow" in Greek. Xenthelasma are indeed skin deposits of yellow-colored fatty material and debris, the remnants of inflammatory cells (macrophages) bloated with lipid material that confers the yellow color. LDL particles are trapped in tissues, in this case in the connective tissue of the eyelids. Interestingly, the LDL particles trapped within the xanthelasma are oxidized, the form that also causes atherosclerotic plaque.... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/1435/131472/xanthelasma http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/118832/neglected Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:27:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis The thoracic aorta is the biggest artery of the body. It lives within the chest doing its job of delivering blood flow from the heart to all the other arteries of the body. The aorta is located just under the sternum, initially above the heart as it aims headward, then turning left and downward towards the abdomen, pelvis, and legs.   Forces within the body can work to weaken the aorta. When the aorta is weakened, it enlarges. Enlarged... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/118832/neglected http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/112679/scan-results Thu, 27 May 2010 12:14:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis In my last post, I discussed what a heart scan score, or coronary calcium score, means.   You may recall that coronary calcium serves as an indirect gauge, a "dipstick," for the amount of atherosclerotic plaque present in the three coronary arteries. Unlike "risk factors" like high LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, or c-reactive protein, a heart scan score tells you that coronary atherosclerotic plaque, the stuff of heart attack and... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/112679/scan-results http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/110300/reduce-cocoa Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:16:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis Green tea and red wine are powerhouses of flavonoid content, the plant-sourced family of compounds that are believed to be the source of health benefits of vegetables and fruits.   What has more flavonoids than both green tea (brewed) and red wine?   Cocoa. Cocoa has more flavonoids, gram for gram. This means that flavonoids, such as catechin and epicatechin, as well as their polymers, the anthocyanidins, are present in larger... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/110300/reduce-cocoa http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/109323/glucophobic Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:27:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis You've heard of claustrophobia (the fear of closed spaces), agoraphobia (fear of public places), and arachnophobia (fear of spiders).   How about glucophobia?   I made this one up. But it's easy to figure out: the fear of sugar. This includes all foods that convert to sugar (glucose) in the body, such as foods made of wheat flour, cornstarch, cornmeal, rice starch, potato starch, and different sugars.   Now, not all... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/109323/glucophobic http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/108161/make-faster Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:38:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis Like miles on an automobile, Advanced Glycation End-products, or AGEs, accumulate in our bodies over the years of our lives. AGEs are part of aging. They are also part of human disease.   AGEs result when glucose (as the glucose in table sugar, or sucrose, that enters the blood after consumption) modifies the various proteins in the body. Accumulated AGEs form the basis for many disease conditions like dementia, cataracts, osteoporosis,... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/108161/make-faster http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/105910/sources Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:51:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Anyone who checks blood sugars after meals ("postprandial") already knows that there are hidden sources of sugar in many common foods.   You hopefully already know that foods like breakfast cereals, breads, bagels, pretzels, and crackers cause blood sugar to skyrocket after you eat them. They are all carbohydrates. Carbohydrates increase blood sugar, often substantially. Blood sugar levels in non-diabetics of 120, 140, 150 mg/dl or higher... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/105910/sources http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/105382/consumption Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:25:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Over the years, coffee has been much maligned as an indulgence, a trigger of blood pressure and brown teeth, a diuretic that works against good hydration. Some studies from the 1980s even suggested increased risk for heart attack. Coffee has been classified by many in the "undesirable" list, along with hydrogenated fats and too much alcohol.   But there's another part of the discussion that often gets little attention: coffee's ability to... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/105382/consumption http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/104640/toxicity Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:12:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis There is an epidemic of pre-diabetes and diabetes in the United States. Fifty years ago, diabetes was a relatively uncommon disease. Today, the latest estimates are that 50% of Americans are now diabetic or pre-diabetic.   There are some obvious reasons to explain why this epidemic has developed: excess weight, inactivity, the proliferation of fructose in our diets. It is also my firm belief that the diets advocated by official agencies,... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/104640/toxicity http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/103918/bill-disease Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:21:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Dear Mr. Clinton,   I'm sorry to hear that you needed to undergo another heart procedure just six years after undergoing a bypass operation. I've heard that your doctors successfully implanted stents into one of your heart's arteries to make up for a bypass graft that failed.   I am a bit concerned, however, that your heart disease has progressed. I know that your cardiologist, Dr. Alan Schwartz, has stated that coronary disease is... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/1435/103918/bill-disease