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Is It Safe to Take Red Yeast Rice for High Chole…
Statisticians have shown that people with elevated levels of LDL cholesterol are more likely to develop clogged arteries and coronary artery disease (Heart, Lung & Circulation, March 2018). If sen…
Diet and Exercise Can Help You Manage Diabetes
Being told you have a chronic health problem like type 2 diabetes can be frightening. It often triggers a cascade of prescriptions intended to manage diabetes and keep blood sugar under control. Using…
How Can You Lower Blood Pressure Naturally?
Everyone loves pills. Doctors love to prescribe medicine. Patients love to swallow drugs. We are a pill-taking society. But all medications come with pros and cons. That is true of anti-hypertensive d…
Can You Overcome Allergies with Xlear?
Every year as allergy season arrives, people who suffer from allergies look for solutions. Antihistamines such as cetirizine (Zyrtec), fexofenadine (Allegra), levocetirizine (Xyzal) or loratadine (Cla…
COVID-19 Cases Among Children Are a Significant …
There is a common belief that children are less susceptible to COVID-19. Young people do seem less vulnerable to serious consequences of the infection compared to older adults. But that doesn’t mean…
Ketogenic Diet Helps Control Seizures
About 30 percent of children with epilepsy do not respond well to available medication. However, children with drug-resistant epilepsy sometimes benefit from dietary therapies such as a ketogenic diet…
Is Coffee Really Bad for You?
Health professionals just can’t seem to make up their minds about coffee. Is it good or really bad for you? They have been arguing about the pros and cons of coffee drinking for at least half a cent…
Does Funding of FDA with User Fees Damage Object…
The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to be completely objective. It regulates both America’s food supply and all its medications. Did you know that the pharmaceutical industry provides subst…
Beware Coffee and Cipro and Other Drug Interacti…
Most of us have learned how much coffee we can handle before getting into trouble with jitters, insomnia or heart palpitations. But some drugs may interact with caffeine to give us more of a java jolt…
Can You Lower Your Cholesterol with Bergamot?
How do you control your cholesterol? Many people take a statin medication such as atorvastatin or simvastatin to keep their blood fats within normal range. On the other hand, you might prefer a more…
Will Vitamin D Supplements Really Protect You fr…
Avoiding colds and flu is challenging. Physicians will tell you that vaccination is the only protection against influenza. Frequent hand washing is the other standard recommendation. Unfortunately, im…
Is Dupixent a Super Solution for Bad Eczema?
Most people with eczema find it intensely frustrating. They itch, and their skin is often red with swollen patches. Medications may help soothe the irritation, but most patients don't know why they su…
Could Toenail Fungus Be Bacterial Infection? Neo…
We have been writing about toenail fungus for over 30 years. That’s because fungal infections of the nails are both common and hard to treat. They require patience and persistence. Home remedies are…
Eating Prunes Can Reduce Inflammation and Improv…
In the 1970s the California Prune Advisory Board promoted its product as the “FUNNY FRUIT.” These days, prunes are advertised as dried plums. Researchers at Penn State investigated how eating prun…
Show 1328: Teaching Old Drugs New Tricks
Our interview this week is all about repurposing medications. Hundreds of rare diseases don’t have effective treatments. Even some common conditions lack approved therapies. The research to develop …
What’s the Connection Between Viral Infections…
Drug companies, the Alzheimer’s Association and the FDA have placed almost all their chips on the beta-amyloid theory of Alzheimer’s disease. Billions have been spent on anti-amyloid drugs such as…
Life Expectancy Drops Dramatically Due to COVID …
The US mortality data on death rates during 2021 were recently finalized and the results are disappointing, to say the least. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (Dec. 2022), life e…
How Can You Keep Your Brain Healthy?
Are there ways to keep your brain healthy as well as your body? A study from the UK shows physical activity that's part of daily life can make a big difference. Short Bursts of Vigorous Activity Benef…
Are Older Patients More Likely to Suffer Adverse…
Older people seem to be especially vulnerable to adverse drug reactions. That’s the conclusion from a long-running study of 15 general practices in Ireland (British Journal of General Practice, Jan.…
Coping with Anxiety During Really Stressful Time…
If you aren’t a wee bit anxious, you have either been living in a cave for the last few years or you pay zero attention to the news. An awful lot of your friends, neighbors and family members have b…
How to Use Capsaicin Ointment to Ease Pain
Chronic pain has a devastating impact on your quality of life. Often, though, the medicines you would take to relieve pain can trigger dangerous side effects over the long term. Several readers report…
Can Lithium in Water Supply Prevent Dementia?
The chances are good that you are exposed to some lithium almost every day of your life. That's because this natural element is plentiful in nature. It is found in rocks and soil all over the earth. T…
How Dangerous Are High Vitamin B12 Levels?
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) wasn't fully described until 1956. It is essential for the development of red blood cells. It is also critical for the brain. Myelin, the fatty sheath that surrounds neurons, d…
Doctors Should Stop Prescribing Fluvoxamine for …
Back in 2021, we wrote about a drug that has flown below the radar: fluvoxamine for COVID. Investigators in Brazil had conducted a randomized controlled trial that included nearly 1500 people with COV…
Lisinopril and Angioedema: A Life-Threatening Si…
Lisinopril is the most frequently prescribed blood pressure pill in the United States. At last count, about 20 million Americans take this ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor daily. It works…
What Supplements Could Help Ease IBS Symptoms?
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a frustrating diagnosis. Doctors describe it as a "functional" GI disorder, meaning that they can't find any physiological reason for the patient's suffering. None…
Could You Benefit from Over-the-Counter Hearing …
The FDA hopes to revolutionize the hearing aid marketplace. Its new rules will allow over-the-counter hearing aids to be sold directly to consumers. Manufacturers will likely sell the devices online w…
Show 1327: What Have We Learned About Long COVID…
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it seemed there were only two outcomes from an infection. Either you died (as far too many people did) or you survived and moved on. Now, physicians, researchers and …
Good News About This Year’s Flu Season!
Have You had the flu this year? I didn’t think so. Most people have avoided the H3N2 type-A influenza strain that has been circulating since October. By the way, that’s early! Normally the flu doe…
What Is the Best Treatment for BPPV?
Vertigo is a terrible feeling. The world spins around you and you may feel unsteady or nauseated. While there are many possible causes of vertigo, the most common is a condition called benign paroxysm…
Are You Especially Vulnerable to Long COVID?
Long COVID is creating confusion within the medical community. Some researchers are struggling to define which symptoms may persist long after the initial infection. Others are trying to find out whic…
Are You Fed Up with Prescription Drug Ads?
Drug companies used to focus their marketing strategies exclusively on doctors. They spent millions on sales representatives who traveled the country chatting up physicians and handing out free sample…
Why Don’t Vitamin D Supplements Work as Ex…
If you are taking big doses of vitamin D in the hopes that it will ward off all sorts of health problems, you may be disappointed. Most research has not demonstrated that taking high doses of vitamin …
Can Soap Chips in Your Socks Ease Leg Cramps?
Leg cramps can be terribly painful. Athletes exercising in hot weather do all they can to avoid them, including sipping pickle juice. But ordinary mortals can get them, too, during daytime activities …
What Are the Health Benefits of Coffee and Choco…
Americans have a puritanical streak. This way of thinking suggests that if something hurts or tastes bad, it must be good for you. Conversely, if it tastes good, you might conclude it's bad for you. T…
Black Pepper Boosts Turmeric’s Benefits
Scientists have been studying the yellow spice turmeric and its primary component curcumin for more than two decades. They have found evidence that it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer…
Want an Ingenious Solution for Blepharitis?
Blepharitis is the technical term for inflamed eyelids. There are many potential causes of symptoms such as redness, itching and swelling of the eyelid, so an eye care specialist should make the diagn…
How Well Does the New Weight Loss Medicine Work?
The "new" weight-loss drug Wegovy (pronounced wee-GOH’-vee) has been making headlines for the last several months. That's because of the social-media buzz that people like Elon Musk lost weight whil…
Why Don’t Doctors Prescribe Vitamin C for …
Pain gets everyone's attention. Whether it's a stubbed toe or a headache, heartburn or arthritis, pain signals that something has gone wrong. With appropriate treatment, most of these conditions are m…
Stopping Zolpidem (Ambien) for Insomnia Can Be C…
Tens of millions of Americans have a hard time getting a good night’s sleep. They are caught in a terrible double bind. On one hand, they know that their health may suffer if they don't get enough s…