Archive for the "Medical News" Category

Food that Fights Breast Cancer, Part 2

What Do Red Wine and Peanut Butter Have in Common?

 

Hmm… red wine and peanut butter don’t even go together very well do they. But they both contain a compound called resveratrol that can help prevent breast cancer.

 

Dr. Eleanor Rogan, PhD, professor at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; and Chairwoman of the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health studied the effects of resveratrol on the development of breast cancer.

 

Since breast cancer develops in stages, finding a substance that blocks one of the stages … Read the rest

Healthy Diet Decreases Risk for Cataract Formation

It thrills me that even medical research now demonstrates the benefits of a healthy diet. Somehow doctors sometimes have a hard time believing common sense things about health until it’s “proven” through research.

 

So it’s such a delight to read the medical literature about the benefits of a healthy diet and how certain foods help specific disease processes.

 

For instance, researchers analyzed the dietary intake of women from 1994 to 1998 in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS) study which was a sub set of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). These women were 50 to 79 … Read the rest

Can Sleep Enhance Memory Power?

By guest author Dr. Steven Chang

When I reviewed for United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) last year, I enrolled at Kaplan Review Center. Aside from the fact that they have good books and useful resources, they also have good teachers who give valuable tips about exam preparation. I could never forget my behavioral science teacher who pointed out, that the secret to maximize memory inputs is simply to make sure that I should not deprive myself of sleep, despite the piles of books and review materials that I still have to read. I took that tip seriously from day … Read the rest

Chocolate Decreases the Death Rate from Heart Attacks and Stroke

Wouldn’t you just feel vindicated if you found out that eating chocolate is actually healthy?

One group of researchers found that eating chocolate lowered blood pressure and decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and stroke).

But watch out. Read this whole article before you make your decisions.

Every time one of these articles comes out a lot of folks jump on the bandwagon to promote chocolate. In fact a number of multilevel companies are touting the health benefits of eating chocolate. I have remained extremely skeptical.

Here’s the problem:

Dark chocolate which is the kind that has the … Read the rest

Sugary Drinks Increase Risk of Developing Diabetes

Amazingly two researchers discovered that for each additional 12-oz serving of sugar-sweetened beverage per day the risk of developing diabetes increased 25%.

Researchers Malik and Hu collected 11 large studies of people who had diabetes or metabolic syndrome. They then analyzed the results based on whether these folks reported drinking no sugar-sweetened drinks or drinking more than one or two per day.

How many people do you see swigging on 32 ounce sodas every day? No wonder diabetes is so rampant!

That makes drinking sugar-sweetened beverages equivalent to smoking which increases the risk of developing diabetes 30-40%.

Here’s the perspective … Read the rest