Weight loss and Weight Chat Blog

Depending on which headlines you’ve seen recently, you may think that some pain relievers are being recalled because they’re dangerous and you might be wondering if you need to clean out the medicine cabinet and throw out any number of these products. I’m going to try to explain this highly complex situation, but the bottom line is that when taken as directed, all of the pain relievers currently on the market, be they prescription or over the counter (OTC), are still considered to be safe and effective and you don’t need to throw them away (and nothing is being recalled at the moment either).
The bottom line problem, however, is that when it comes to pain relievers many people don’t follow directions and wind up taking far more pills than they should. And when those products contain acetaminophen it can lead to toxic levels of that drug, which can and all […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

When any person dies suddenly or unexpectedly it becomes the responsibility of the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Such is the case in the tragic death of Michael Jackson at the all too young age of 50. When I worked as a medical examiner in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, our policy was to automatically do a full autopsy investigation on anyone 50 or under regardless of their medical history. Over 50 and we might waive the autopsy if there were a clear medical history of illness or disease and there were absolutely no suspicious circumstances, as investigated by the homicide unit of the D.C. police force.
Of course it goes without saying that for someone like Michael Jackson, who died suddenly at age 50 yesterday without any obvious cause, that a full scale investigation will be conducted including a complete autopsy and full toxicology work up. […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

When any person dies suddenly or unexpectedly it becomes the responsibility of the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Such is the case in the tragic death of Michael Jackson at the all too young age of 50. When I worked as a medical examiner in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, our policy was to automatically do a full autopsy investigation on anyone 50 or under regardless of their medical history. Over 50 and we might waive the autopsy if there were a clear medical history of illness or disease and there were absolutely no suspicious circumstances, as investigated by the homicide unit of the D.C. police force.
Of course it goes without saying that for someone like Michael Jackson, who died suddenly at age 50 yesterday without any obvious cause, that a full scale investigation will be conducted including a complete autopsy and full toxicology work up. […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

You may have heard or read news reports, such as the one in the Washington Post, announcing the findings of a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) survey, which found that obesity “is as much of a risk factor for serious complications from the [swine] flu as diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy, all known to raise a person’s risk.” But I suggest you take the CDC report with a large grain of salt because the survey was based on a very small number of patients and was not designed to provide data from which such conclusions could be drawn.
The survey looked at only 30 patients hospitalized with swine flu in California. Of those, only four were obese. So the conclusion that obesity might be an independent risk factor for severe swine flu was based on four patients! Not only that, but according to the data table contained in the CDC report, […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

While the media fans the flames of mass hysteria over swine flu, which has infected only a small number of people and killed almost none, they routinely ignore the more common, if not widespread, causes of death, many of which are completely, or nearly completely, preventable if only people were educated and motivated enough to make changes to their lifestyles. Imagine if just a fraction of the energy that people are putting into avoiding swine flu were put into efforts to reduce smoking, high blood pressure and obesity, which together are responsible for over one million premature deaths every year. “To have hundreds of thousands of premature deaths caused by these modifiable risk factors is shocking and should motivate a serious look at whether our public health system has sufficient capacity to implement interventions and whether it is currently focusing on the right set of interventions,” said Majid Ezzati, PhD, […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

There’s good news for those of you who like to do crafts, read books or play games. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have found that those people who regularly engaged in mentally stimulating activities during middle age reduced their likelihood of developing mild cognitive impairment in older age by 40 percent. Similarly, those who did these activities when they were 65 and over reduced their chances of mental decline by 30 to 50 percent. The key factor seems to be the degree of mental involvement or challenge of the activity, because those who simply watched TV all day did not show a reduction in cognitive impairment (some TV is ok, but watching more than seven hours a day was associated with more mental decline than less than seven hours a day).
The study involved 197 people between the ages of 70 and 89 with mild cognitive impairment, or diagnosed memory loss, […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

Virtual colonoscopy is an x-ray examination of the colon used to screen for cancer. It is also called CT colonography because the x-ray test used is a CT scan (also called computed tomography or CAT scan for computed axial tomography). Virtual colonoscopy is in the news because of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that compared the x-ray test to traditional colonoscopy and found comparable results in terms of identifying abnormal growths. But while the headlines will tout the positive findings, there are a few things you should know before undergoing one of these procedures.
First off let me say that screening for colon cancer is an extremely important and life-saving yet underutilized undertaking that I’ve written about before, and which you should undergo regularly as appropriate for your age and risk level (please read the article for more details). So efforts […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

After surgery for colon cancer, you are still at risk, both for cancer recurrence and for development of another new colon cancer. Because of this it’s important for colon cancer survivors to be followed closely and monitored carefully. But new research has found that many such survivors aren’t getting the proper follow-up care. And it looks as though the fault lies more with the doctors than it does with the patients. If you or someone you love is a colon cancer survivor, it’s important to know the guidelines for follow-up in order to ensure you’re getting the right tests.
In the study, published online in the journal Cancer on September 8, 2008 - only 40 percent of colon cancer survivors who were followed for three years had all the right doctor visits and tests. But since 92 percent of patients had all the proper office visits, […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

In a move that has already ignited a firestorm of criticism from doctors’ groups, ABC still plans to premiere its new legal drama “Eli Stone” tonight (January 31, 2008) in which a mother, whose child allegedly developed autism after receiving a mercury-containing vaccine, wins a $5.2 million dollar lawsuit against a fictional drug company. The show’s premise is based on a long-standing belief held by childhood immunization critics that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, formerly used in vaccines, is a primary cause of autism in children.
There are just two basic problems with this. First, countless medical studies have failed to show any link between vaccination and autism. But let’s say you don’t care about scientific studies or just don’t believe them. Well, the second, and more important fact, is that since 2001 no childhood vaccines have contained thimerosal or any other mercury-containing product! And autism rates […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com