January 8th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Tips
2 Comments »
Washington DC boasts some of the longest escalators in the world.
I’m not sure who decided to build all these extra long escalators
(maybe an escalator manufacturer had some political friends?) but the
very longest one is at a subway station in Bethesda. One evening my
husband and I happened to be getting off at that subway stop to see a
play and were curious to experience this marvel of human engineering.
As we rounded the corner to the beginning of the escalator, we
encountered a very long line of people. I wondered what they had all
lined up for in a dingy subway station – surely no one was giving out
free country club memberships. As my cogs and wheels turned, I realized
that there was one tiny elevator at the very front of the line. As I
inspected the escalator more closely I realized that the stairs were
not moving. Ugh.
I looked at my husband, I looked at the elevator
line, I remembered my weight loss group, and I hiked up my coat and
began the very long journey to the top of the stairs.
Of course,
when it was time to return home after the play the escalator jubilantly
moved us from the top of the stairs to the depths of the subway
station. Murphy’s Law – it was working for the descending phase of the
climb.
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight, please
share your small victories here or join a couple of hundred people trying to do the same. Have you resisted
temptation or gone the extra mile to lose weight and get in shape? I’d
love to hear about it!This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
January 5th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
No Comments »
Welcome to 2008’s first edition of Revolution Rounds, my biweekly round up of the best Revolution Health expert blog posts. Not surprisingly, there’s a decidedly New Year’s theme in this collection of posts. If you’re looking to stick to a New Year’s resolution, be sure to check out the Revolution Health groups section of the site. Whether you’d like to lose weight, quit smoking, or improve your relationships – there’s a group of like minded souls out there resolving to do the same!
Health tips
Dr.
Stacy has 20 New Year’s resolutions for kids. She has even organized them
by age group for you.
New
Year’s resolutions are more likely to succeed if you follow this advice. Mira Kirshenbaum has some great tips for adults.
Would
you like to lose weight effortlessly? Sandra
Foschi suggests that good sleep habits can contribute to
weight loss.
Reading
the right blog could save your life. Dr. HJ Lenz describes how one woman
learned about certain treatment options from his colorectal cancer blog, and it
changed her life.
Would
you like to stop snoring? Dr. Steve Poceta
has some excellent tips.
The best treatment for autism may not be a drug, but human caring.
Robin Morris discusses the findings of some recent research.
Do
you struggle with jet lag? Dr. Vivian Dickerson has some suggestions for
reducing your symptoms.
Pedometers
can encourage increased exercise. Dr. Jim Herndon suggests that a pedometer
might be an excellent addition to your weight loss resolution!
In
case you need another good reason to quit smoking: Dr. Mark Perloe reminds
us that smoking a pack a day can increase the risk of erectile dysfunction by
40%.
Think
you know how to insert eye drops? Think again. Dr. Jackie Griffiths has
some special advice for those of you who need eye drops regularly.
Did you know?
San
Francisco’s mayor has proposed a soda tax. Dr. Jim Hill explains that this
money is unlikely to put a dent in the obesity epidemic.
In
some cultures childhood epilepsy is treated by burning the feet with hot coals.
Dr. Jide Williams describes this horrific practice in rural Africa.
Snowblower
injuries are still quite common even though manufacturers have been working for
over 30 years to make the machines safer. Dr. Jim Herndon explains.
It
is possible to create embryos for the purpose of treating certain diseases, not
strictly for procreation. Dr. Mark Perloe discusses some of the ethical
dilemmas associated with stem cells.
Fitness
is more important than fatness. Dr. Vivian Dickerson explains.
Excess
weight in childhood is linked to adult heart disease. Dr. Jim Hill suggests
that fitness and weight control should begin early to promote good health in
adulthood.
Many
physicians need to work on their empathy. Dr. Mike Rabow explains that
younger physicians may be more empathic than older ones.
Your
emotional state can dramatically affect your physical health. Dr. Joe Scherger discusses this mind-body connection.
Demanding
parents may cause their childrens’ teachers to burn out. Dr. Stacy Stryer
describes this unfortunate phenomenon.
Skim
milk consumption may be linked to prostate cancer. Dr. Julie Silver raises
the question of whether or not skim and low fat milk are over-rated in their
health benefits.
You
don’t need both eyes to have good depth perception. Dr. Jackie Griffiths,
Revolution Health’s ophthalmologist, explains.
Newer
isn’t automatically better. Dr. Mike Glode bemoans the fact that we have
the tendency to rush after the latest medical technology without stopping to
analyze the cost benefit ratio.
Personal Stories
One
woman had an unpleasant surprise on her 40th birthday: a massive
stroke with left hemi-neglect! Dr. Olajide Williams describes the event
with poetic language.
Laughter
is the best medicine. Dr. Stacy Stryer describes how she puts this axiom
into practice in her family.
Dr.
Julie Silver was prompted by her daughter to become one of Charlie’s angels.
You’ll have to read the post to get the reference.
Vitamin
hawkers exaggerate their product’s benefits without recourse. Dr. Mike
Glode describes one interesting example of this phenomenon.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
January 3rd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in News
4 Comments »
A colleague of mine asked me what I thought about the recent New York Times article correlating household clutter with weight gain. It’s an interesting connection, so I thought I’d blog about it.
I think that clutter is probably a reflection of person’s emotional state, personality type, and upbringing. Some people seem to be more orderly by nature, others don’t focus on neatness as much. Some of us were trained to make our bed every morning, a few had a parent or nanny to do that. And still others have been “whipped into shape” by their spouse. Overall I think most of us prefer some degree of order over chaos, and given the choice would like to keep a fairly orderly home.
Now, what’s interesting to me is the emotional component in all this. We each have a certain level of baseline neatness, and we stray from that when we feel anxious, depressed, or exhausted. Think about what your house looks like now – is it at your natural baseline of orderliness? If not, are you more anxious, depressed, or tired than usual? I bet there’s a connection.
Many people gain weight when they’re anxious, depressed, or sleep deprived. So in a way, household messiness can be a marker for emotional distress. And it’s the emotional distress that fuels the weight problems. When a person is ready to lose weight, they’re probably motivated because they’ve managed to rise above their emotional concerns to achieve their goal.
So my point is this: take a look at your home to get a sense for how you’re doing emotionally. Are you anxious or depressed about something? Are you having relationship problems? Are you having difficulty sleeping?
Revolution Health has expert-led groups available to help you understand your emotions and how they influence your behavior. I think you will really benefit from getting into a discussion group and sharing your stories with others like you.
Here are some examples of groups that you can join right now (click to join):
Relationship Help – Mira Kirshenbaum, Counselor
Sleep Better – Steve Poceta, MD, Neurologist
Take Charge of Your Life – Ned Hallowell, MD, Psychiatrist
Lose Weight – Val Jones, MD, Rehabilitation Medicine
A Fit Family– Stacy Stryer, MD, Pediatrician
De-stress – Brad Jacobs, MD, Internal Medicine
Quit Smoking – Joe Scherger, MD, Family Medicine
Walk Your Way Thin – Jim Hill, PhD, Psychology
Maintain Your Weight – Chris Newport, Personal Trainer
Eat Right– Sandra Foschi, Nutritionist and Physical Therapist
Why not join a group? They may really help you to look and feel your very best this New Year. Not too many websites will offer this for free as Revolution Health does.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
December 27th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in News
2 Comments »
A hat tip to KevinMD’s guest blogger, JoshMD for this great link. The British Medical Journal offers a short historical analysis of 7 common medical myths, sometimes perpetuated by physicians themselves:
- People should drink at least eight glasses of water a day
- We use only 10% of our brains
- Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
- Shaving hair causes it to grow back faster, darker, or coarser
- Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
- Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy
- Mobile phones create considerable electromagnetic interference in hospitals.
To find out why each of these commonly held beliefs are either untrue or unsubstantiated, check out the original journal article. It’s a lot of fun.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
December 27th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in Book Reviews
No Comments »
This is my final post in a series inspired by Dr. Barker Bausell’s recent book, “Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Complementary and Alternative Medicine.” Since I began this series, the New York Times has published a rave review of Bausell’s book, which only further confirms the importance of Bausell’s contributions.
Although Bausell’s main thesis is that there are currently no large, randomized controlled trials (published in leading medical journals) demonstrating the effect of any CAM therapy beyond placebo, I have chosen to highlight some of his thinking about research methodology as it applies to the medical literature in general.
So far I have explained why most research (if not carefully designed) will lead to a false positive result. This inherent bias is responsible for many of the illusionary treatment benefits that we hear about so commonly through the media (whether they’re reporting about CAM or Western medicine), because it is their job to relay information in an entertaining way more so than an accurate manner (i.e. good science makes bad television).Then I explained a three step process for determining the trustworthiness of health news and research. We can remember these steps with a simple mnemonic: C-P-R.
The C stands for credibility– in other words, “consider the source” – is the research published in a top tier medical journal with a scientifically rigorous review process?
The P stands for plausibility– is the proposed finding consistent with known principles of physics, chemistry, and physiology or would accepting the result require us to suspend belief in everything we’ve learned about science to date?
And finally we arrive at R – reproducibility. If the research study were repeated, would similar results be obtained?
This third and final pillar of trustworthy science is a simple, but sometimes forgotten, principle. If there is a true cause and effect relationship observed by the researcher, then surely that cause and effect can be demonstrated again and again under the same conditions. Touching a hot stove burner always results in a burned hand. No matter how frequently you test this causal relationship, the result will be similar.
Sometimes conflicting results are obtained by repeating a study. When this happens, the reader should be careful in interpreting the conclusions – there may be a flaw in the study design, or it may be that the conclusions drawn were inaccurate. There could have been a false positive result, or no appreciable effect of the treatment under consideration, therefore leaving the results to chance. Flipping a coin gives you heads one minute and tails the next. Yet a person unfamiliar with coins could conclude (after one flip) that it has a head on both sides. In the end, therefore, one can be more confident in a study’s result if it is born out by other studies.
And so as we conclude this series, I hope that you now feel well equipped to perform CPR (credibility, plausibility, reproducibility checks) on health news. A little healthy skepticism can protect your brain from all the mixed health messages that barrage us each day. At the very least, now you’ll appreciate why most health news reports include an expert quote stating something to the effect of “it’s too early to know for sure if these findings are relevant.” That statement may be the most trustworthy of the entire report.
***
Next up: Shannon Brownlee’s book “Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker And Poorer.” Shannon and I corresponded about this book two years ago, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it has turned out. Once I’ve finished it I’ll give you my thoughts here in this blog.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
