Dr. Chet’s Health Memos
If it’s in the health news today, I’ll be writing about it as soon as I read the research, both old and new. With my email Health Memos, you’ll know more about making lifestyle choices that will help you get and keep good health. These free, concise updates on health are emailed to subscribers twice a week. Subscribe today and get a free MP3, in English or Spanish, of Dr. Chet’s Top Ten Tips—Small Changes for a Healthier Life.
Tattoos and Skin Cancer Research
The research question of the week is do people with tattoos have an increased risk of skin cancer? Let me tell you what I found.
In a study published in Lancet Oncology, researchers examined the medical literature for case studies on tattoos and skin cancers of various types (1). They found 50 cases; 16 of them were melanoma. That doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming number of skin cancer cases when you consider the 60 million or so people who have tattoos. The researchers concluded that at this point, the number of cases of skin cancer is more likely . . .
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Do Tattoos Increase Skin Cancer Risk?
The other day, out of the blue, Paula asked me a question: “Do you think people with tattoos have more undetected skin cancer?” You can’t help but notice that more and more people of all ages are getting elaborate tattoos, some covering extensive parts of their arms and legs—the areas most likely to get increased exposure to the sun. A section of black ink could mask a rapidly growing black mole, for instance, and skin cancer could go unnoticed for longer.
Move forward 10 hours. I was changing to work out at the gym, and the guy a . . .
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PPIs and Heart Attacks: The Bottom Line
Here’s why the Stanford Study on PPIs and heart attacks is not as concerning as the press release and the study itself suggested (1-2): it comes down to the data mining.
The data-mining algorithm obtained a lot of data in addition to PPIs, diagnosed acid reflux, and heart disease. It collected data on blood lipids, systolic blood pressure, and smoking status. What it did not do was collect the heights and weights to determine BMI from the medical records. The researchers acknowledged that they had no data on diabetes as well. Of all the information that could . . .
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PPIs and Heart Attacks: A Closer Look
Today we’ll take a closer look at the Stanford Study I talked about on Tuesday (1). Before I do, I have to say that I’m in awe of the sheer data that was examined in this study. The lead author, Nigam Shah PhD, is a pioneer in this type of data-mining technique. The research wouldn’t have been possible if Stanford did not begin using electronic medical records in 1994. The program did not only read the diagnoses and other variables but also physician notes. Think how complicated a program would be required to do that!
And . . .
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Acid Reflux or Heart Attacks?
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is what to do about acid reflux. By the time most people ask, it’s a serious issue and they should see their physician. In most cases, they will be prescribed a proton-pump inhibitor or PPI. One of the people who uses a PPI is Paula. When she saw the headline “Heartburn Drugs May Boost the Risk of Heart Attacks,” she asked me to check it out because she didn’t want to have to choose between those two problems. Because I’m a great husband and I’d like . . .
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Drinking Your Phytonutrients: The Bottom Line
To finish this series, I’ll briefly cover two recent research studies on coffee and tea, and then give you the bottom line and a recipe.
Research
Green Tea and Neuronal Mitochondria
The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells, and that includes brain cells. When they operate at peak activity, they provide our brains with the energy for learning and memory. The downside is that they produce many free radicals in the process, and if we don’t have antioxidants to quench those free radicals, it can cause a decline in mental function. Researchers have recently . . .
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Drinking Your Phytonutrients: I Love Coffee
I’ll say it again: I love coffee. I’ve been drinking it since my mother put coffee with a little sugar in my bottle when I was a baby; I guess she wanted me to stay awake. (Yes, that’s Ma and I in the photo; Paula’s feeling creative this week.)
In my lifetime, the health news has said coffee is both bad and good for you. Today it seems to be mostly on the plus side; there’s good reason for that and it appears the benefits are due to the phytonutrients and—surprise!—the caffeine.
Caffeine . . .
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Drinking Your Phytonutrients: Tea of Any Color
Summer is here and with it, iced tea seems to be a staple drink. It gave me the idea to do a series on the phytonutrients we can get from our beverages. Getting people to eat vegetables can take some time, but everyone wants a cool drink in the summer and hot drink in the winter. This week is all about tea, coffee, and the latest research on both.
Let’s begin with tea from the leaves of Camellia sinensis. Based on world-wide statistics, black tea is consumed by 72% of the population while 36% drink green tea. Obviously . . .
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The Dark-Chocolate Study: The Problems
After Thursday’s memo, you’ve got to be wondering what could be worse with the dark-chocolate study than its misleading conclusions. I’m going to examine the process the author explained in his faux study to show how that applies to many research studies from legitimate health research.
Not enough of the right expertise
There was no input from a nutrition expert that I could find. The author used a physician to do the study and collect the data. Even though the purpose of the study was to prove that eventually something will be statistically significant . . .
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Problems with the Dark-Chocolate Study
The journalist and his colleagues who perpetrated the dark chocolate and weight loss study I talked about Tuesday were out to prove a point: typical journalists, even the ones who specialize in health, don’t really understand the fundamentals of nutrition, weight loss, and fitness. They especially don’t understand statistics and how they’re misapplied even in legitimate studies. Nothing new there.
What I think they did show was that there are many news and information sources on the web that will publish anything provocative. Dark chocolate helping weight loss certainly fit that profile.
The author explained everything he . . .
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