Harvard Health Letter articles from October 2006

Harvard Health Letter archives from October 2006

Added sweeteners.(americans eat lots of sweet food)
October 1, 2006... Are high-fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners fueling the American obesity epidemic? Americans have quite the sweet tooth. Our annual consumption of sweeteners has climbed sharply since 1980, peaking in the late 1990s. Sweetener intake...

Why not flaxseed oil?(omega 3 fatty acids)
October 1, 2006... There's no mercury to worry about, and it 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...

Going too low with blood pressure?(coronary heart disease)
October 1, 2006... Lowering diastolic pressure too much may be bad for people with coronary artery disease. They keep lowering the bar for blood pressure. Normal is now 120/80 or below, revised from the previous mark of 130/85. And we've come a long way from...

How to mend the heart but spare the mind.
October 1, 2006... Minimal manipulation of the heart and blood vessels may be the way to limit brain damage from coronary artery bypass. Fixing broken hearts is something that modern medicine does remarkably well. But another pretty important organ, the...

In brief; Take off that Band-Aid!(keeping wound covered doesnot affects its curing)
October 1, 2006... You're supposed to keep a wound covered and dry for a day or two. But an Australian study is rubbing some doubt into that wound-care supposition. Doctors in the Mackay area of Queensland enrolled about 850 skin surgery patients in their...

In brief; Split decision.(pill splitting to be made a regulation)
October 1, 2006... Cost-conscious patients have been splitting their pills for years. Although they officially object, pharmaceutical companies invite the practice with "flat pricing," which means a 20-mg pill costs the same as a 40-mg one. The math is easy:...

By the way, doctor; How can I break my nasal spray addiction?(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Q. The air in my apartment gets exceedingly dry during the winter. I started using a nasal decongestant containing oxymetazoline hydrochloride. Now I'm hooked. Even when it's not winter, I can't breathe at night without it. How can I break this...

By the way, doctor; Could Botox help my father, who has had a stroke?(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Q. My father had a massive stroke that left him paralyzed on one side. He's aware of all that's going on and can talk some, but he has severe spasticity in his left elbow, shoulder, and hand, along with muscle atrophy. Would Botox injections...