Preventive Medicine
November 30, 2014
Sore Feet
Aging feet have less padding and are more likely to become sore if you walk on hard surfaces. Highly resilient replacement shoe insoles can help substantially.
November 23, 2014
Comfortable Beds
Good beds make a good night's sleep. The essence is a firm underneath in the mattress with a soft and resilient top. That can be accomplished relatively inexpensively with certain mattresses and foam or polyester toppers. Getting a mattress that requires a mortgage is not necessary nor superior.
April 2, 2014
Mammography: More “Guidance” But No Clarity
New review of mammography in JAMA explores our lack of coherent or easily applied decision-making about the benefits and risks of the test and whether and when women should undergo screening mammograms
February 8, 2014
Hypertension Guidelines: Less Pressure to Treat?
Recent hypertension guidelines by the ACC/AHA substantially relax treatment standards. I explain why I disagree with the changes, as do various other professional groups. Here's the short story.
February 8, 2014
Osteoporosis Screening and Treatment
Hip and spine fractures caused by osteoporosis are serious. We can detect and treat osteoporosis safely and effectively. Here's a quick update.
January 8, 2014
Vitamins Do Not Prevent Cancer or Heart Disease
Last month the USPS Task Force released a comprehensive analysis of studies that looked at possible benefits of vitamins and vitamin/mineral combinations in reducing cancer and preventing heart disease. The report reiterated that they found no evidence that vitamins helped either class of disease.
January 7, 2014
Everyone Who’s Fat Eats Too Much
We all can use practical help to maintain our weight. Many of us need a sustained plan to attain a proper body weight and avoid the adverse health consequences of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease that frequently accompany overweight. Dr. Kanner's short slide show has been helpful to many of his patients since…
November 3, 2013
More Discouraging News on Herbal Supplements
BMC Medicine article on DNA barcoding of randomly chosen herbal products yields troubling results.
June 15, 2013
Advance Catastrophication Not Effective Clinical Approach
The sky is falling. My headache must be a brain tumor. Advance catastrophication raises a patient's anxiety and rarely is helpful. Doctors need to proceed thoroughly and calmly but still rationally protect against risk to the patient in a timely fashion.
June 5, 2013
Sensible Intake of Calcium and Vitamin D
Vitamin D and calcium are essential for bone health and normal bodily metabolism. Parts of the medical community got overly enthusiastic in the last decade and suggested unnecessarily and possibly harmfully large intake of both nutrients. Sensible daily intake from diet and supplements is 1000 mg calcium and 1000 IU of vitamin D for most…
April 29, 2013
The Sea (Salt) Around Us
How much salt should I eat? Why does salt matter? What foods contain the most salt? Can I do anything to reduce my salt intake while still having tasty food?
April 4, 2013
Chest CT Scans to Screen for Lung Cancer
Chest CT scans on an annual basis have been shown to find lung cancers in former long-term smokers early enough to reduce mortality by 20%. We should consider starting annual chest CTs for all current and former serious smokers.