Harvard Health Letter articles from July 2007

Harvard Health Letter archives from July 2007

In search of the safe suntan.
July 1, 2007... Getting a tan is bad for you, but having one might be protective -- if no UV light were involved. For years, the official word on tanning has been...don't. Health organizations have driven home the message that even if we think a suntan...

In Brief; Blood pressure checks at the barbershop.
July 1, 2007... Black Americans have one of the highest rates of high blood pressure in the world. The consequences are devastating: premature death and disability from heart attacks, stroke, and, especially, kidney disease. Health officials have used...

In Brief; Mint conditions.(effect on health)
July 1, 2007... Candy and ice cream come to mind. Some of us, dating ourselves, may start singing a little bit of "Peppermint Twist," the 1962 hit song by Joey Dee and the Starliters: "Well, they've got a new dance and it goes like this..." But peppermint...

Hormone therapy: The risk-benefit tightrope.(Women's Health Initiative)
July 1, 2007... Women must balance heart disease protection and breast cancer risk. It was a shock several years ago when results from a large, government-funded study called the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) showed that postmenopausal women who took...

Duct tape, warts and all.
July 1, 2007... Duct tape brings out our inventive, slightly kooky side. People use it to make everything from wallets to fake roses. In a brief ramble around the Internet, we stumbled on a Web site running a contest for the best prom outfit made out of the...

An update on the "old man's friend".(pneumonia)
July 1, 2007... The flu and pneumococcal vaccines provide some protection against it, but pneumonia is still a major cause of death. Pneumonia is inflammation deep inside the lungs caused by some kind of infection. As a result of the infection and the...

More on niacin: No flush, no good.
July 1, 2007... Several readers wrote in wanting to know more about why we don't recommend no-flush niacin products. A little bit of background will help us explain. The term niacin comes from nicotinic acid vitamin, but it's used to refer to both...

By the way, doctor; Must I take aspirin?
July 1, 2007... Q. I am a 56-year-old woman with a 20-year history of ulcerative colitis. I also happen to be diabetic. My new doctor has been pushing aspirin therapy. His philosophy is that no one ever died from a flare-up of ulcerative colitis but plenty of...