Increased Weight is Associated with Heartburn

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), in which acid from the stomach rises into the esophagus causing heartburn, is a very common and uncomfortable problem. A connection between GERD and increased weight has long been suspected. This recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine makes a fascinating connection between being overweight and having symptoms of GERD in women. The study looked at o...
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Many Americans Unaware They Have Diabetes

A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control highlights how common type II diabetes is among American adults. The study is summarized in this NIH news release. 6.5% of American adults have diabetes. Even more alarming is that a third of them don't know they have it. Type II diabetes has serious potential consequences, and its high prevalence makes it a common cause of disabi...
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Gastric Banding is a Reasonable Treatment Option for Obesity

Obesity is a serious problem in America and in my practice. Obesity predisposes to type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It also increases stress on joints and worsens arthritis. Nevertheless, losing weight for most patients is very difficult. Dietary modification and exercise have been the most proven weight loss techniques, but many patients can not adhere to a strict exercise and diet regimen. More recently, surgical treatments for weight loss have offered an alternati...
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Homocysteine: A Risk Factor Worth Ignoring

Last month's New England Journal of Medicine has a great lesson about how we should think about risk factors. It's been long known that homocysteine is a risk factor for heart disease. That means that, when looking at large numbers of people, those with high levels of homocysteine have more heart attacks on average than those with low levels. Too frequently, we confuse a risk factor with a cause, and we jump to the conclusion that homocysteine causes heart attack. A risk factor, howeve...
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American Death Rate Drops Sharply

The National Center for Health Statistics released the statistics on the number of deaths in 2004. The results document the biggest drop in the American death rate in almost 70 years. The findings are summarized in this AP article.
The center said drops in the death rates for heart disease, cancer and stroke accounted for most of the decline. "We were surprised by the sharpness of the decrea...
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Coenzyme Q10 — Some Good News about a Supplement

The recent clinical studies about dietary supplements have been largely negative, important reminders that most supplements can't deliver on the expectations that patients have for them. Given this bleak background, I wanted to share with you some good news about Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). The Medical Letter, one of the best unbiased sources of reviews of medical studies, reviewed CoQ10 in last week's issue. Since the article is available on...
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A Single Episode of Exercise Can Improve Your Mood

This Washington Post article reviews a recent study in which depressed patients were randomized to either rest quietly for 30 minutes or to walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes at 60 to 70 percent of their maximum heart rate.  The people who exercised reported higher scores of well-being afterwards. This post-exercise sense of accomplishment and vigor is familiar to anyone who does c...
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