Harvard Health Letter articles from June 2007

Harvard Health Letter archives from June 2007

Meat in the hot seat.
June 1, 2007... Cooking meat at high temperatures produces cancer-causing chemicals, but grilling can be made safer. When we eat meat or fish, we're eating muscle tissue -- mainly muscle cells, some collagen that makes up connective tissue (the more...

A more D-manding diet.
June 1, 2007... Some experts say we should have a lot more vitamin D in our diets because it's protective against several diseases. Vitamin D has long been recognized as vital to bone health because the body needs the vitamin to absorb calcium. But...

Who needs to be taking aspirin for cardiovascular protection?
June 1, 2007... Studies conflict about the benefits for women. If you've had heart problems or doctors have found evidence of atherosclerosis in your arteries, the advice about aspirin is clear and gender-neutral: A daily dose will reduce your chances of...

Coated aspirin.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Still, given that very low doses of aspirin will make platelets less sticky -- effects are seen at 30 milligrams a day -- it's not clear that slower or less efficient absorption really matters very much. In May 2006, Cleveland Clinic...

The not-soy-good results.
June 1, 2007... Soy protein and isoflavones haven't held up well in clinical trials, but there's still a place for soy in our diets. Once the belle of the health-food ball, soy is looking a little forlorn these days. Claims that soy protein would protect...

In Brief; Tai chi gives immune system a boost.
June 1, 2007... Fighting off diseases is a young person's game. With age, our immune systems become less nimble and not quite as ruthless. The number of T cells drop. The B cells also start to wind down, making fewer antibodies that respond to outside...

In Brief; Cocoa beats tea.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Researchers in Germany conducted a meta-analysis comparing the effects cocoa products and tea had on blood pressure. It wasn't close: While cocoa significantly reduced blood pressure according to the five studies in the analysis, the five...

In Brief; Prescription fish oil.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... With all of the over-the-counter fish oil that's for sale, why is there a prescription product? The FDA approved Omacor in 2004 to be used in conjunction with diet for treatment of high triglyceride levels (500 mg/dL or more). Fish oil is famed...

By the way, doctor; Does grapefruit juice affect aspirin?
June 1, 2007... Q. I am 78, and for about 10 years, I have been taking an 81-mg aspirin every morning with a glass of grapefruit juice. I heard that it's not a good idea to drink grapefruit juice with some blood-thinning drugs. Is that true of aspirin too? ...

By the way, doctor; Should I worry about this irregular heartbeat?(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Q. At 86, I'm still competitively racing frostbite dinghies for about two hours once a week, but only in light winds. I've noticed that my usually regular heartbeat becomes irregular during the races and for hours afterward. It feels like a...