Learn to manage your triglyceride levels to avoid having a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

What are methamphetamine's risks?

Methamphetamine is a stimulant that can be snorted, smoked, or injected. It is less expensive and possibly more addictive than cocaine or heroin. It first became popular as a recreational drug in the 1960s, and acquired many street names, including meth, crystal, speed, ice, and crank. Methamphetamine use reached epidemic proportions in Japan as early as a decade after World War II, and it is still Japan's most popular illicit drug. In the United States, methamphetamine use burgeoned in Hawaii and quickly spread to the West Coast. It is now a countrywide problem, not at all limited to big cities. The highest rates of abuse are found in rural Idaho, Utah, and Iowa.

About 1 in 25 Americans has tried methamphetamine, and the reasons for its popularity are obvious: It boosts energy, induces euphoria, and suppresses appetite. In one study of methamphetamine use in Iowa, women used it to escape their troubles, cope with family problems, improve concentration, increase strength, and lose weight.

Constipation from pain medication – such as opioids – is a common problem

Prescription opioids provide pain relief, but constipation from pain medication is an all too common side effect.

As we age, pain and pain control become an important issue. Many of the conditions that cause pain disproportionately affect people starting at about age 65. In some surveys, half of respondents ages 60 and older have said that they suffer from chronic pain. About 70% of cancer deaths occur in people ages 65 and older, so cancer pain is frequently the older person's problem.

Grapefruit can mean danger when combined with some popular drugs used for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice are healthful, providing enough vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and other nutrients to earn the American Heart Association's "heart-check" mark. That's the good news. The bad news is that grapefruit juice can interact with dozens of medications, sometimes dangerously.

Doctors are not sure which of the hundreds of chemicals in grapefruit are responsible. The leading candidate is furanocoumarin. It is also found in Seville (sour) oranges and tangelos; although these fruits have not been studied in detail, the guidelines for grapefruit should apply to them as well.

Safety of over-the-counter sleeping pills

Many people wonder about over-the-counter (OTC) medications like Tylenol PM that combine a pain reliever and a sleep aid. These pills help many get to sleep, but is it a good idea to keep on taking them?

The sleep-inducing ingredient in Tylenol PM is diphenhydramine, an antihistamine. People take antihistamines for hay fever or cold symptoms, but doctors have known for a long time that they also make people drowsy. Other nighttime pain relievers (Alka-Seltzer PM, Excedrin PM) contain diphenhydramine, and it's the only active ingredient in OTC sleeping pills like Sominex and Simply Sleep. Sominex and the allergy-relief version of Benadryl have exactly the same active ingredient: 25 milligrams of diphenhydramine.

Possible suicide risk in children treated with SSRI's

No one wants his or her child to be unhappy, let alone clinically depressed. So when a diagnosis of childhood depression surfaces parents may be tempted to go along with a doctor's suggestion or even ask the doctor for a prescription of antidepressants for the child. But what is supposed to help may actually end up causing harm.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning of a possible suicide risk in children and adolescents treated with a certain class of antidepressants that includes Prozac and Paxil. The available data from clinical trials suggest selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be associated with an increase in suicidal behaviors and attempts shortly after the start of treatment. Although Prozac is the only SSRI known to have a benefit in children and approved for such use by the FDA, other drugs in this class may be prescribed "off-label" at a physician's discretion.

The lure of cheaper prescription drugs is driving many Americans to Canada or other countries. By either a bus trip north or Internet and mail-order pharmacies, an estimated one million Americans are finding ways to reduce their medical costs. Prices for prescription drugs in Canada can be less than half as much as the cost in the U.S. , so it's not just penny-pinchers interested in this trend. Even a few states and cities are looking into purchasing drugs across the border for their employees to help relieve their budget woes. Springfield , Mass.w, already has such a program in place.

Canadian drugs prices are so much lower due to government price controls. But taking advantage of our thrifty neighbors to the north is actually illegal, according to a law against importing prescription drugs. For the most part, customs agents have let this transgression by individuals slip by them without notice. Some lawmakers and states, under pressure from their constituents, are pushing to have the law rewritten to allow Americans to buy cheaper drugs out of the country. For now, though, the current administration has no plans to allow this. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has even gone so far as to say they would consider legal action if cities and states defy the ban. With the help of a federal judge, the FDA recently shut down a pharmacy chain that imported Canadian prescription drugs.

Surprising factors influence urine color and odor including food and medication

Many things can alter the look and smell of your urine. When should you be concerned?

Nearly six and a half cups — that's how much urine the average person produces a day, usually in four to eight trips to the toilet. The ritual is so routine that most of us pay little attention to our urine — that is, unless it happens to look or smell different than usual.

Over-the-counter medications may be neither safe nor effective if they aren't used properly.

 Image: Jupiterimages/Thinkstock

More than one-third of Americans regularly use nonprescription drugs to treat a number of ailments—pain, fever, cold and allergy symptoms, heartburn, and insomnia, to name a few. The manufacturers of the medications sold on drugstore shelves have demonstrated to the FDA that their products are safe and effective. And using them can spare you the money and time spent making a health care visit and filling a prescription.

But these medications are being used by groups of people who weren't likely to have been included in the clinical trials that furnished evidence of their safety and efficacy, says Dr. Sonia Hernandez-Diaz, professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "FDA approval for prescription drugs is based on clinical trials of people who have specific conditions. When the same drugs are released over the counter [OTC], anyone can take them. It's also harder to trace the side effects because people aren't being monitored, and it's more difficult for the FDA to recall a drug once it's OTC."