LiveLongAgeWell

Last post I explored how the most popular anti-aging website on the planet, RealAge.com (27 million visitors!), might not be your best source of medical information, as they are supported, handsomely, by several drug companies. Some of the content and marketing material might be biased towards taking medications when something simpler, like exercise (or just getting off the couch more) could be just as effective, cheaper, and without side effects.

Nicholas Kristof

I suggest you read a short piece by Nicholos Kristof, a New York Times columnist, from March 18 entitled “The Daily Me” (a popular piece; for several days the most emailed article from the Times). The gist was that as paper newspapers go bankrupt and disappear—today a major Chicago paper declared bankruptcy, and a week ago the largest Seattle paper went online only—we will get more of our news online. No shock; you might say, that’s fine, but research shows a problem, and it could adversely effect your medical news.

Mr. Kristof discusses research that as people gather their own news online, they predominantly visit sites with news and opinions that they already agree with…few people visit sites that present information or opinions that disagree with their current thinking. The long-term tendency then is for less broadly-informed people; individuals more polarized towards their pre-existing biases. This effect could as well pertain to medical news as we more and more get health information from blogs and sites that are most comfortable, and avoid conflicting opinions or difficult advice. Some of the most attractive sites are those developed with big corporate money. There, sometimes the information (even when written by an M.D.)  may be a rehashed press release—another piece in the marketing pie.

So be careful as you read medical news online. Take into consideration corporate “sponsors” or “partners” (look for the “about” page or similar). Check out sites that might not have sponsors or advertising, and strive to get more balanced medical news by always looking for fresh sources and a variety of input.

Finally, relating to medical experts, I suggest Kristof’s column from this week “Learning How to Think”. Here he notes how many media “experts” actually are not, and that the more famous the media expert, the more likely they are to be wrong! Absolutely fascinating.  It seems TV and the media in general seek out “experts” with strong convictions and black-and-white opinions. Great for sound bites and boosting viewership, but the less famous experts—less splashy and well-known—tend to explore the nuances of an issue (more boring), but are more likely to be right. Kristof covers financial experts who were so wrong about the current crisis, but, might this also apply to famous medical experts? Think about that next time you see a doctor endorsed by Oprah.

If you have high cholesterol, and are taking or considering taking (prescription) “statin” medication to lower cholesterol and decrease heart attack risk, you might be interested in this large Israeli study. The results suggested that those who faithfully took their statin medication over a four- to five-year period had a significantly lower death rate (45 percent) than those who took their medication only occasionally. It’s interesting research—worth talking to your doctor about if you are in a high risk group—but it’s not a perfect study. It may be that those who took their medication faithfully also took better care of themselves in other ways, and those other ways were more responsible for their better survival than the statin drug.

(This dedicated to my brother for his birthday today…he’s a faithful and accomplished marathon runner. I hope he avoids cataracts based on his running, because he doesn’t use sunglasses, and that increases his risk.) Particularly if you have a family history of AMD (age-related macular degeneration, the biggest cause for blindness in adults) or cataracts, you will be interested to know that people who run faithfully may have a much decreased risk of developing those eye diseases. For example, one report showed that those who run over 4 kilometers per day (2.5 miles) cut their risk of AMD by up to 54 percent. Much more detail here.

Do you know people who still smoke, and are crazy about their pets? More about this later, but it seems that pets really suffer the effects of secondhand smoke too, and that many smokers might be motivated to quit once they realize they are harming their pets!

Facial Fillers For Wrinkles

We are all probably aware of the huge popularity of botox for smoothing facial wrinkles, but you might not realize how big is the next new wave in cosmetic dermatology: “facial fillers”—substances injected into slightly depressed areas and wrinkles in the face to fill and smooth and give a younger appearance. Amazingly, about 1.5 MILLION of these procedures were performed last year. Most patients seems satisfied with the results but still, there are risks, and if you think you might ever consider one of these procedures, read this report and talk to your doctor first about the possible complications before getting plumped up.

“Health Care Town” In South Korea

Another surprising figure is that some 750,000 Americans last year sought medical treatment outside the U.S., typically because surgery here, even if you are covered by insurance, can be exorbitantly expensive. Americans are traveling for everything from open-heart surgery to hip replacements to face-lifts. The total cost, even including travel, can be a fraction of the cost in the U.S. It’s estimated that within several years, millions of Americans will be traveling abroad yearly for care.

It’s a trend worth watching, especially if you ever require an expensive operation. (Of course, quality and follow-up of care might be your primary concerns.) Read this fascinating New York Times article for a look at this phenomenon. Featured is the newest of the countries welcoming foreign patients, South Korea, where the government is building “Health Care Town” on a resort island, complete with prime beaches and a 18-hole golf course, presumably for whomever goes along with you on your trip.

In 1845, Congress voted to make the first Tuesday in November “election day”. Why Tuesday? It seems Sunday was out because it was a holy day, and most farmers needed a day to travel by horse to their county seat to cast ballots, so if they left on Monday, then Tuesday was the natural choice. They could then be back home by Wednesday, which was “market day”. Here’s another reason we might consider somehow improving on this older-than-slavery Tuesday tradition…

Unless you voted early, hopefully tomorrow if you’re in the U.S. you will be going out to vote. But before you go out on election day—either as a pedestrian or a driver —consider this new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It showed that your chances of being killed in a car, or by a car, on an election day is 18% greater than on a typical Tuesday.

These researchers studied crash data from all U.S. presidential elections from 1976 through 2004 and found a consistent pattern that it was significantly more dangerous to be out on election day. On a typical day (shocking enough to realize), an average 134 people are killed in car accidents, but on an election day the number rises to 158. And of course, many more are injured.

The researchers didn’t have any sure answers as to why this occurred, but suspected that more people were driving those days, maybe more were distracted, or taking new routes to find their polling places. Perhaps there was a bad combination of more older drivers on the roads mixed with impatient younger drivers trying to squeeze in voting to and from work. If people had more time to vote—and working people didn’t have to rush to vote—not only might more people vote, but it might be more relaxed and safer.

So this Tuesday, be extra alert on the road for slower drivers, or people jaywalking to and from their polling places. In the future, it’s another good reason to vote early if you can, or by mail, and perhaps we in the U.S. need to consider changing our Tuesday tradition and move to weekend voting, as it is practiced by most advanced countries. If interested, read about this non-profit organization Why Tuesday?

Most likely you have seen the flashy advertising for pomegranate juice, and primarily these ads promote it as a health drink, not for great taste or that it’s refreshing. Fortunately, there is good evidence that this juice is full of wonderful anti-oxidants; it probably cuts the risk of atherosclerosis, and may slow the growth of various cancers, particularly prostate and breast. However it’s expensive, rather bitter, full of calories, and if you buy the most heavily advertised brand, you actually might be getting more cherry juice than pomegranate (for all fruit juices, it’s important to read the label fine print carefully). You might find 100% pomegranate juice—just not the most heavily advertised brand—in some warehouse stores at a reasonable price.

For some years now it has been known that another healthy juice— grapefruit—can cause problems for people taking certain prescription medications, particularly blood pressure and “statin” drugs for high cholesterol. Grapefruit interferes with the metabolism, or breakdown, of certain medications in the body, so if you take one of those medications and also drink grapefruit juice, you could end up with too much of the medication in your system. It seems pomegranate might cause similar problems.

While it’s an ancient fruit that was celebrated centuries ago for its longevity and protective powers, pomegranate has burst into the U.S. scene so recently that scientists need more time and research to figure out exactly how it might interact with medications…still, there is enough concern such that if you take prescription medications, you should check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking grapefruit or pomegranate juice (or eating the fruit, of course). Likewise if you have cancer, or are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, check with your physician (it could actually impair your treatments). Still, for most people, pomegranate is a very interesting and promising fruit. It just might fulfill its legendary promise and give many health benefits, and I will cover it, and other new, exotic fruits more in future posts (one pleasant Friday post will include the pomegranate martini, otherwise titled: how you can make alcoholic drinks healthier).

Over the years, various vitamins are touted as the having the most wonderful benefits, yet some—such as vitamins C and E—while still important, have lost their super-star status. Now the new darling of the vitamin world is vitamin D, and numerous reports have been published recently linking higher levels of vitamin D (the “sunshine vitamin”) with decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, even various cancers. Hopes are running high that this vitamin will, over time, maintain its lofty status.

This week’s study showed that people with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s had lower blood levels of vitamin D, but since this was not a clinical trial, it’s not known if taking more vitamin D will cut the risk of those diseases. Again, more studies are needed. Until then, it seems wise to ensure you are getting plenty of vitamin D either through your diet (not so easy for adults), sunshine, or supplements. This site will keep you informed of the various studies that appear. Much more vitamin D information, including how to ensure you are getting an adequate intake, can be found here (from the very useful Dietary Supplement Index on the LLAW right sidebar).

If we undergo a medical test and the results come out “normal”, we probably trust that whatever was studied, is indeed truly “normal”.  Read this report in the New York Times, and you will see that your trust may not be justified, at least in the case of MRI scans.

While not a scientific study, I highly recommend you read this article, as it emphasizes that when we undergo a test, particularly an x-ray, we still need to “listen to our body”. And if a test result comes out very different than what our body is telling us, consider a second opinion and repeating the test, probably at a university or specialized medical center.

Part of the issue is the quality of MRI machines vary greatly from center to center—the machine that scanned you might be several generations removed from what the university medical center has available…it could be the difference between “a black-and-white TV and HDTV” in image quality!

Further, the radiologist who read your scan may have been the “on call” weekend radiologist who is an expert on say, chest scanning, not on your knee scan. So investigate further if results don’t make sense to you, and this article gives you some places to start. (Part of the issue is that many doctors rely much more on test and x-ray results than on your history and physical examination… another reason you want a doctor who really listens to you…more in future posts.)

OBESITY AND THE BRAIN: Recent research may give a clue for one reason it is so difficult to lose weight (this study was done in mice, but the researchers felt a similar process occurs in humans): eating a high fat, high sugar diet switched ON a particular gene in the mouse brain. This gene then triggered a generalized increase in the level of inflammation in the mouse’s body, which then caused the mouse to become less responsive to the hormone leptin. In humans, leptin makes us feel full. So if we respond less to leptin, then even if we eat too much, we won’t feel full…and a vicious cycle can result…another reason to avoid a diet with too much fat or sugar.

One goal we should have is to cut the level of inflammation in our bodies. Scientists feel that a state of chronic inflammation can lead to such serious problems as diabetes, atherosclerosis, and even various cancers.

ECONOMIC BAILOUT BILL AND MENTAL HEALTH: With the current level of financial distress in the world, more of us may want to seek out psychological help, but are held back because of the cost, and that our insurance doesn’t cover mental health problems as well as physical problems. But that will change now, at least for employees in plans with over 50 workers. Added to the “bailout” bill just passed is a provision to finally require insurance parity for mental and physical health problems. It is good news that this long battle in Congress has been won, and read here for more details.

GOVERNMENTAL EXERCISE GUIDELINES: If you exercise daily you will probably not only live longer, but have a much higher chance of getting your 90s dancing and without disability. Besides cutting your risk of heart disease and diabetes, daily exercise cuts your risk of various cancers, bone fracture, and depression (some studies point to daily aerobic exercise as possibly as effective as an anti-depressant).

Now the Department of Health and Human Services has come out with new recommendations for the weekly amount of exercise, and the type. They recommend, for adults, a minimum of 2 ½ hours of moderate exercise per week, to include muscle-strengthening exercise at least twice a week (to help keep both your muscles AND bones strong). And, sensibly, these new HHS guidelines stress that you don’t need to go to the gym, but just find some physical activities you like to do, and keep them up, faithfully. The important thing to remember is: keep moving as much as you can!

MEDICAL TOURISM NOW COVERED BY SOME HEALTH INSURERS People are traveling abroad for more and more care—typically surgeries—at much lower cost than here in the U.S., and some insurance plans are starting to pick up the tab. From living part-time in Brazil, I know that health care in foreign countries can be excellent…in Brazil, for example, the expertise in reconstructive and plastic surgery is often more advanced than in the U.S.

ANIMAL STUDIES SUGGEST VITAMIN C USE DURING CHEMOTHERAPY MIGHT BE HARMFUL Since chemotherapy works by disrupting cell growth (in some cases by producing cancer-cell-killing “free radicals”), and vitamin C  protects cells from free radical damage, then taking vitamin C during some chemotherapy treatments could blunt the cancer-killing effect of the drugs. This is an animal study, not a human study, so the results have to be viewed with caution, and other studies have shown vitamin C can be helpful for some cancer patients. Bottom line: if you or a loved one is undergoing chemotherapy, make sure the doctors know of ALL medications you are taking, including all vitamins, herbals, and supplements, any of which might affect chemotherapy treatment.

WHO IS FUNDING THAT DRUG STUDY? In many cases the news reports we read or hear about on the Internet don’t reveal that the study was funded by the very drug company which stands to profit from a positive report. One report showed that drug company sponsored studies are five times more likely to come out favorable for the drug they are studying. So especially when you read a favorable report about a new drug, look to see if the news report mentions who sponsored the study.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE “PERSONALIZED” MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE Microchips embedded under our skin containing out entire health history and which can be read anywhere in the world, chips we swallow that give feedback on our body’s functioning, and personalized medical testing and treatment based on own genetic sequences…it all might be part of our medical future.