Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is unclean by a dead armadillo. -- A horrible misquote of Numbers 5:2
Leprosy, now also called Hansen’s disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, a cousin of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Leprosy causes a rash and nerve damage that causes skin numbness. Before the age of antibiotics patients were isolated in...More Than Half of Americans Take Dietary Supplements
Did you know that the Centers for Disease Control has something called the National Nutrition Monitoring System? And apparently it’s a good thing too, since who else would monitor the nation’s nutrition?
This week the intrepid bunch at the National Nutrition Monitoring System released a report detailing how many of us use dietary supplements and which ones we use. (The link to the report is below, but be warned. It’s not scintillating.) The report’s major finding is that for the first time over...
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New Study on Estrogen Yields Confusion but Same Recommendations
This week a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed new results about estrogen use and generated major media hubbub. (See the links below for some of the media coverage, the article and an accompanying editorial.) To understand the kerfuffle it helps to review how our understanding of estrogen replacement therapy has evolved.
A generation ago, based largely on intuition and on epidemiologic studies, we were convinced that long term estrogen replacement therap...
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Eat Right for Your Belt Size, Not Your Blood Type
Every couple of months I get asked this same question.
“Doc, what’s my blood type?”
I load my “why you don’t need to know your blood type” speech from my cerebrum and press replay, trying to add a little spontaneous variation for authenticity.
“Actually, I’ve never checked it.”
“I thought you check everything.”
“Nobody checks everything. There are thousands of different available blood tests. Most of them would be completely useless to you.”
“Well doc, could you check my blood type?”
“I’m...
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