Staying Healthy Archive

Vitamin D's primary function is to help the body absorb calcium, though it may also protect against prostate cancer and other diseases. Many people do not get enough from sunlight, its natural source, and should get the needed amount via a supplement.

People who never smoked may have a different form of the disease that responds better to a new generation of targeted medications.

"Did he smoke?"

That's often the first response to news that someone has lung cancer. It's an understandable reaction: We've been reading and hearing about the link between smoking and lung cancer ever since the 1964 Surgeon General's report. Cancer epidemiologists estimate that 85%–90% of those who die from lung cancer in the United States were smokers.

Q: A friend recently recommended that I take the herb ginkgo biloba to protect against getting dementia. Is it effective, and is it safe?

A: The first thing you should consider is that the FDA doesn't regulate the manufacture of any herbal remedy, so the purity and potency of the ginkgo biloba you buy hasn't been checked.

There's no mercury to worry about, and flaxseed oil  does contain omega-3 fats...but not the best kind.

Troll the medical literature, and you'll come up with study after study showing that fish and fish oil are good for us, especially for our hearts but maybe also for our moods and immune systems. Various epidemiologic investigations have found that people who eat fish regularly are less likely to have heart attacks, suffer strokes, or die from sudden cardiac arrest. The definition of "regularly" varies, but it usually means at least a couple of times a week, although eating fish even once a month has been shown to make a difference.

Fish, and especially fish oil, have also been the subject of dozens of randomized clinical trials, most involving people with existing heart conditions. In large amounts (several grams a day), fish oil has been shown to nudge various cardiac risk factors ("good" HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure) in the right direction.

For many men, vaccinations are kids' stuff. Indeed, most immunizations are designed for children, and most new vaccines are headed for pediatric offices and clinics; the newly approved rotavirus vaccine, which will prevent many cases of childhood diarrhea, is an example. But infections strike people of all ages, and immunizations are important for adults, too.

Aside from travelers and people with special needs and vulnerabilities, healthy adults have had only three vaccines to keep track of: For everyone over 50, a flu shot every fall; for everyone at age 65, a pneumococcal pneumonia shot; and for all of us, a tetanus-diphtheria (Td) booster every 10 years. But two new vaccines have joined the list.

Don't perform the Heimlich maneuver on a person who is choking but can still speak.

Each year, 3,000–4,000 Americans die from choking, or pulmonary aspiration — about the same as the number who die by drowning. Choking happens mainly during meals, and meat is the chief culprit. But food and small objects aren't the only causes. Swelling from a severe allergic reaction — or in an unconscious person, the tongue — can prevent air from flowing into the lungs.

A number of conditions can rob you of your equilibrium. But you can often get it back with activity and exercise.

You probably have a pretty good idea of your health status. You may be able to reel off your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and maybe even your body mass index. But have you had your balance checked lately?

If you enjoy butter on your baked potato, toast, or pasta, you've probably felt a pang of guilt when putting that golden pat on your plate. Or worse, you may feel conflicted and confused as to whether you should stick with butter or switch to margarine or another spread.

Although a staple of the American diet, butter came under a great deal of scrutiny when its high levels of saturated fat were associated with increased heart disease risk. Many people accepted the demise of butter in stride, ruing the loss of its savory flavor but agreeing that its effect on the heart might be too high a price to pay. They dutifully switched to margarine, as researchers and nutritionists suggested. Then the hazards of margarine came to light. The older margarines had high levels of trans fats that packed a double whammy for heart disease by raising levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and lowering levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Many people felt betrayed or duped.