Archive for the ‘ Harmful Habits ’ Category
Antibiotics first became widely available during the mid 1940s and unquestionably have proven their worth saving countless lives. However, we are now in a situation where antibiotics are becoming far less effective in combating the bacterial infections for which they were designed. Over time, bacteria change and develop resistance to antibiotics and this compromises their [ READ MORE ]
So you waited until the last minute to prepare for that mid-term exam and now you have to cram. Just know, pulling an all-nighter hours before the test might cost you that ‘A’. A study by Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a neurologist at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a postdoctoral fellow in sleep medicine at Harvard [ READ MORE ]
You grab a slab of bacon for breakfast. For lunch: a slice of pepperoni pizza. And then a New York strip steak for dinner or perhaps a chunk of veal. And so it goes day after day, meals chock full of beef, pork and lamb. Diets so heavily laden with red meats coupled with some extra, unwanted [ READ MORE ]
So often my patients describe their concerns about prescriptions for antibiotics they have received prior to dental procedures. This misguided practice has been ongoing for decades; insisting that individuals with minor heart abnormalities take powerful antibiotics with the mistaken belief that this practice would prove helpful in reducing their risk for infective endocarditis. The following statement [ READ MORE ]
Downing a cola often seems as American as mom, apple pie and baseball. We drink them with a hotdog at lunch. We might even grab one in the middle of the day to quench thirst. And it’s not just a 12-ounce can. Often, we super-size it. But this popular carbonated beverage might just be threatening the [ READ MORE ]
The docu-movie “Supersize Me” aired in movie theaters in May 2004 1 If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it highly. One friend told me that her teenage daughter stopped eating fast foods after seeing it. Here’s a quick overview. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s foods for three meals a day for [ READ MORE ]
What is the impact on a woman’s use of cocaine, marijuana, cigarettes, or alcohol during pregnancy? It could cost the unborn child some brain development that persists into the child’s adolescent years. These findings are part of a study led by Children’s Hospital Boston neurologist Michael Rivkin. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, Rivkin and his [ READ MORE ]
It seems the allies in the battle against obesity in America just keep piling up. This latest finding is the result of a study by Kaiser Permanente which found that people in their 40s with large bellies were at greater risk of dementia when they reached their 70s. The study, published in the March issue of [ READ MORE ]
Along with acne, peer pressure, and raging hormones, we noaw add to the growing list of anxieties for teenage boys an issue that was once associated primarily with girls – eating disorders. It seems teenage boys these days are battling issues of physical image as much as their female counterparts, a concern that researchers from Wesleyan [ READ MORE ]
Scientists believe free radicals contribute to the aging process. It’s a fact of life we age, every second, of everyday. And although we can’t stop the aging process, we can take steps to improve our health as we age. Certain known causes of free radical damage such as smoking or sun exposure can have negative [ READ MORE ]