Another Reason To Love Your Coffee

At one time it was thought that coffee was was not a healthy drink. This has been disproved for some time. In fact there is more information that drinking coffee may be a healthy habit. For example a recent study of 42,000 healthy Germans  found that there was not an increased risk of heart attacks or strokes caused by drinking coffee. What's more the investigators also found that people who consumed at least three cups of regular or decaffeinated coffee a day were 25% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank little or no coffee.

Enjoy your drink of coffee.

Is The Hype About Turmeric Too Good To Be True?

Be wary if something sounds too good to be true. This is a truism that we have heard since childhood. It now seems to be true for turmeric which has been hyped as a super food.

Turmeric is made from the ground dried roots of the Curcuma longa plant, native to India, and it is the main component of curry powder. It is slightly peppery, mustardy and gives foods a vibrant yellow orange color.

Circumin has an array of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-cancer activities.  This is well and good, but these properties are being over hyped. In fact a small fortune has been spent on marketing promotions including outrageous claims that turmeric is one of nature's greatest gifts to mankind.

There has been a good deal of research on curcumin, but most studies have been small and poorly designed. In fact many studies have been funded by the manufacturers themselves. We take issue with so called scientific studies that are self promoting and frequently run without a control group.
There is some new research that is promising, but for now we recommend caution before you commit to the regular use of turmeric.

Another Reason To Get The Flu Vaccine

Here is another reason to get the flu vaccine. A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded that the flu vaccine significantly lowered the risk for strokes, heart failure, pneumonia and influenza for people with type 2 diabetes.

The study also concluded that people who were vaccinated were 24% less likely to die from any cause. These conclusions were based upon the analysis of the medical records of 125,000 people with Type 2 diabetes.

Have you had your flu vaccine this year?

Timing May Be The Secret Of Your Success

Are you about to make a big decision? If you are, there is new evidence that suggests that timing is important  A  study from Utrecht University in the Netherlands found that test subjects who were hungry were more likely to make better decisions than those who were well fed.

This contradicts conventional wisdom that being in emotional or physical duress, as in being hungry, causes people to make hasty, irrational decisions. The study from the Netherlands deserves  consideration.

Do you have any opinion about this? Timing may be the secret of your success.

A Statin Drug May Save Your Life

There are some unpleasant side effects from statin drugs. The most common is muscle aching, occasionally weakness or even pain. Most people who take a statin do not develop these symptoms, but if you are at risk for having a heart attack  and are not taking a statin drug you should talk to your physician. The reason is that the statins may really help to keep you alive.

There have been many large studies published in the medical literature that substantiate the value of statins, but our attention was drawn to a recent study of 12,705 patients who were at risk for a heart attack. It was found that those on statins were 24% less  likely to have a heart attack than those taking a placebo. This is not like Vegas. It is one time when the odds are in your favor.

Here Is Another Reason To Use Nexium Sparingly

Prolonged use of drugs to treat heartburn, ulcers and acid reflux may lead to serious kidney damage, including kidney failure. This was the message of a groundbreaking study performed at Washington University. This study investigated the long term complications from the use of proton pump inhibitors.

More than 15 million Americans have prescriptions for this type of drug. The medications are sold under the brand names of  Prevacid, Prilosec, Nexium and Protonix. In general these medications have been considered to be safe for long term use. The most frequent complication has been bone fractures, but there is new evidence that proton pump inhibitors may have adverse effects on your heart, digestion and even on your mental status.

The authors of the study stated that larger clinical studies are needed to determine the rate of kidney failure in patients on long term proton pump inhibitors. Never the less, the evidence is convincing that a problem does exist. At this time they urge caution when using any of these medications long term and suggest that everyone explore the possibility of using a different type of drug for their symptoms..

Good News For Drinkers

When it comes to alcohol a little bit goes a long way. This was the good news according to a large study of 700,000 people. The results demonstrated that light to moderate  consumption of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

It is not clear why this is so. It also appears that heavier alcohol consumption was not beneficial.

Here is another reason to enjoy your nightly drink. Just remember to limit it to only one drink.