“Many types of cancer and other chronic diseases are now known to be connected with lower cholesterol and there is evidence that people with low cholesterol are at greater risk of suicide. However, we don’t know if most of these conditions are lowering cholesterol or if lower cholesterol is causing the conditions. What we need is some large trials to resolve the uncertainty.” Read more…
The low-fat diets his doctors gave him did little to lower his count. So Kowalski, who had been a science writer for 25 years, and has two degrees in science journalism from Iowa State University, started researching. What he ended up with was a dietary plan based largely on oat bran and niacin. It worked for him so he decided to share his findings with others. Read more…
Step awkwardly off a curb or trip in high-heeled shoes and you can sprain your ankle. Lift a heavy load incorrectly and you risk a strained back. Sprains and strains occur frequently and usually are minor injuries. Read more…
Inexorably, as the national health bill rises, the number of people able to afford health care diminishes, steadily and alarmingly. There are more than 37 million uninsured; untold more millions are underinsured, while we boast the most technologically advanced facilities in the world. Read more…
IT is not a totally radical idea that poverty, pollution and poor job prospects are at the root of many of society’s health problems. But the notion was given important new currency this week with the release of several reports by the Ontario Premier’s Council on Health Strategy that have been nearly four years in the making. Read more…
The number of reported AIDS cases among gay men has slowed dramatically in the last three years – shortly after the life-prolonging drugs AZT and aerosolized pentamidine were introduced. But AIDS is still raging unabated among intravenous drug users. Read more…
With a health care system that fails to cover one in seven persons but is nonetheless the world’s costliest, the stage may be set for major surgery on the way U.S. citizens receive and pay for medical treatment. Read more…
Look carefully. You have about 6,500 clubs to choose from, offering pools, weight rooms and other amenities. But watch out for crowds. Membership estimates range from 8 million to 12 million, says Peg Angsten, editor of American Fitness magazine, with some clubs counting as many as 50,000 members. A checklist: Read more…
These can all be symptoms of prolonged stress, and they are not confined to ousted presidents. They have been found in blue collar workers facing layoffs, in accountants as tax time nears, in bereaved spouses and other lonely people, in ethnic minorities, in the poor and in children. If you think you can get away from stress by fleeing the city and taking up the rustic life, forget it. Read more…
Recently diagnosed diabetics treated with cyclosporine, a drug developed to help organ-transplant patients, can survive without insulin for as long as a year, according to a two-year study at University Hospital in London, Ont. Read more…