Yes, high levels of cholesterol in the blood increase the risk of heart disease. Yet some people manage to elude heart attacks even when their numbers are high. It could be that the way your body oxidises cholesterol in the blood may point to susceptibility to heart disease. At the University of Southern California in [...]
For many, if not most, men and women, a program of diet, exercise and stress control will bring cholesterol levels under control. But some of us need additional help. The body makes its own cholesterol in the liver and, to a much lesser extent, in the intestine. But some of us make too much, and [...]
If the cough is due to asthma, it is treated appropriately with medications, depending on the nature and extent of the symptoms and the age of the child. The commonest cough, the one that follows a cold, does not need any specific treatment. Antibiotics are not indicated in the great majority of these children because [...]
Genetics is a highly complicated field. If you have a family history of a particular disorder, it is wise to consult someone experienced in genetic counselling, who can explain the details to you. A geneticist or paediatrician can also advise you about the likelihood of any of your children inheriting the problem. If you have [...]
“Why does he have this fetish for doing it doggy-style? He wants to get on me from behind. It’s all he ever wants to do. Why is it such a thing with him?” ANSWER: A rule of super marital sex is no problem is just with him or with her. It will help if we [...]
Ionising radiation is harmful to all human cells — both normal and cancerous. You will remember that, because cancer cells are simply a ‘disobedient’ form of our own body cells, there is no type of treatment that can kill them without harming some of our normal cells. Radiation treatment is no exception to this rule. [...]
The doctor may combine drugs which act on different areas, increasing the dose of each of one until side affects appear, then adding another drug and increasing that the same way. Some patients may respond to the first drug used and be hardy enough not to suffer ill-effects, and others may seem to suffer every [...]
Most of the substances are salicylates or their derivatives. Dr Feingold listed 13 groups of additives which contain more than 2500 different chemicals. One of the most common is called tartrazine and is a yellow dye. It is a salicylate and related to aspirin and is also known by a variety of other names or [...]
Endometriosis begins with a retrograde flushing of endometrial tissue that backs up into the fallopian tubes and then sprays into the abdominal cavity. The endometrial cells can then implant themselves on any organ—ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, bowel—and grow with each monthly cycle. One would guess that the endometrial tissue somehow gravitates toward its source, the [...]
Before using a corticosteroid preparation, two important factors must be considered. The first and foremost is the diagnosis. It is most important that the diagnosis be correct, as while cortisone may suit one skin condition, it may have an adverse reaction on some very similar condition. Any confusion in this regard could have drastic consequences. [...]