If you're already taking a statin, and taking Niaspan (extended release niacin) too, you can stop taking the Niaspan. That's the bottom line from an NIH trial http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2011/nhlbi-26.htm recently stopped because a group taking Zocor (simvastatin) plus extended release niacin group did worse than the group taking the Zocor alone. The trial was stopped 15 months early due to these unexpected results.e Despite the niacin doing its job of raising HDL and lowering triglycerides, the group on the...
AHRQ, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has a cool little tool to help remind your doctor or you of which preventive services there is evidence you should be getting. Go to this http://epss.ahrq.gov/ePSS/GetResults.do?method=search&new=true link on the AHRQ website, and put in your age, gender, and answer another couple of questions, in order to use this helpful tool.
A new study summarizing the results of previous clinical trials ("meta-analysis") of calcium supplementation found that those who were assigned to take calcium supplements were more likely to get heart attacks and strokes. The bottom line was an estimate that for every 1000 people taking them for 5 years, calcium supplements would prevent 28 fractures at the cost of 14 heart attacks and 10 strokes and 13 total deaths. The study examined calcium without Vitamin D. The few studies of Vitamin D supplements which looked...
A study from Taiwan published this week in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that use of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (including popular brand names such as Celexa, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Luvox), was associated with an increased risk of stroke (odds ratio 1.48).My initial reading of the abstract of this study (I have not yet gotten a chance to review the entire article) is that it did not take into account that well various confounders which may have affected a patient together...
Another study looking at the results of many different studies indicates that those who take Prilosec and Zantac have an increased risk of pneumonia. The authors take their data from randomized trials of these drugs, which means that the study takes into account appropriately that people prescribed these drugs have acid reflux, which in itself increases pneumonia. Purely observational studies looking at people who are taking or not taking these drugs suffer from the fact that they cannot separate gastro-esophageal...
A recent "meta-analysis" (an analysis of many studies) reviews data about diet to look at potassium intake in many studies done to prevent heart disease and stroke where diet was recorded. In these studies, people who ate more potassium had about a 20% lower risk of heart disease and stroke. While potassium is generally not harmful (unless you have kidney disease, in which case you must control its intake very carefully), in my opinion the meta-analysis did not examine sufficiently whether its findings could be...
From Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Agency for Health Care Research and Qualityhttp://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/cc/cc030111.htm
Whole Foods carries an expensive line of "Superfoods" such as packaged acai berries. My vuew is that these serve a seasonal role like any other dried fruit package for when we cannot get fresh fruits and vegetables. If you eat local fresh fruit you'll pay a lot less. for your nutrients and enjoy the experience of eating them more than if you buy these dessicated packages. Creating nutrient dense foods by removing water does not seem important unless we are in space and need to figure out a way to preserve things...
A recent study purports to show that diet soda is associated with more strokes and heart attacks. Before you give up your favorite drink, consider that this study is an "observational" study, not an experimental trial and many other things which people who drink diet soda do differently could have confused the results. So, by itself, this study is not enough to change your habits if you really love diet soda. Some of us have been avoiding diet soda for years because it seems to have so much unnatural stuff in it...
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