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Harvard Health Letter: September 2009

Articles in this issue:

His and hers heart disease

Mounting evidence makes a case for a gender-based approach to heart disease.

It's often been said that matters of the heart affect men and women differently. However, medical research isn't focusing on who hails from Mars and who from Venus, but on gender distinctions in earthly anatomy and physiology and their influence on heart disease.

This is a change from the first decades of clinical research in cardiology, which all but excluded women, although the lessons learned brought advances in prevention and treatment that have benefited both sexes. It's hard to blame medical researchers for overlooking women: maleness long ...

Counting every step you take

Walking is the simplest form of exercise, and using a pedometer is a good way to get yourself to do it.

Almost everyone needs to get more exercise, and walking more may  be the easiest way to do it. You don't need lessons. Equipment? A good pair of shoes is about all that's required. Arthritic knees and hips certainly make it harder, but not impossible if you start gradually and wear shoes with plenty of cushioning. Official exercise guidelines say adults should get two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity exercise a week, and walking at a pace of 3 mph — ...

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Whiplash

The harm may occur just before the neck jerks back and forward.

You're waiting at a stoplight when it changes from red to green. You hesitate and then, out of the blue, crunch! — you feel the impact of a car colliding with yours from behind. Your head jerks back, and then snaps forward. It's whiplash.

In technical terms, whiplash refers to the sudden transfer of energy that causes the structures of your neck to abruptly straighten and bend beyond their normal range of motion, potentially resulting in an injury. A car accident is the most common scenario, but ...

By the way, doctor: Cinnamon as treatment for diabetes?

I've heard that you can treat diabetes by taking an extract from cinnamon. I suspect this is snake oil, but is there anything to it?

By the way, doctor: Should I have seen a doctor sooner for a dog bite?

Recently, my dog bit me on the hand. When I showed up at my doctor's office several days later, he told me I had waited too long. Should I have gone to the doctor sooner?

Did you know?

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