The Daily HIT

Perhaps the major impediment to passing health care reform is the assumption on the part of the majority who currently are insured, that they will face no adverse consequences if no legislation is passed. This article in today’s New York Times makes a compelling case that such an opinion is profoundly mistaken. “People think if [...]

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I have a personal interest here, since a very close relative of mine (who has Type II diabetes) was prescribed this drug, Avandia, a fewyears ago. Her doctor told her it was an excellent new medication. She responded that she didn’t trust new medications as much as she trusted older ones, whose side effects were [...]

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Dr. Neal Barnard has a high-quality, evidence-based summary of soy research on Huffington Post.  It’s readable, referenced and answers all the questions you might have. Here’s the breast cancer section: Women who include soy products in their routines are less likely to develop breast cancer, compared with other women. In January 2008, researchers at the [...]

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This is a first: For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada will include chiropractic care inside the Olympic Village Polyclinic, a multi-disciplinary facility that offers comprehensive health care and medical services. While doctors of chiropractic (D.C.s) have historically been included on the Olympic medical [...]

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Perhaps nothing should surprise us anymore, but an NIH institute partnering with Coca-Cola, one of the world’s major purveyors of junk food is really beyond the pale. The liquid candy manufacturer recently made headlines with its sponsorship arrangement with the American Academy of Family Physicians, part of its wide-ranging effort to “healthwash” its reputation. From [...]

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This has great potential for long-term benefit. Obesity, and particularly childhood obesity (because it leads to adult obesity) is central to our nation’s health problems. It is linked to higher risk of just about every disease you hope to avoid — high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, stroke, gallstones and cancer. In [...]

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This adds to the growing list of studies highlighting the crucial role of vitamin D in skeletal health. Elderly men with low serum levels of vitamin D are at increased risk for developing hip osteoarthritis, a prospective cohort study found.  Men whose levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin (OH)D were between 15.1 to 30 ng/mL had twice the likelihood of [...]

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The pancreas is an organ central to processing sugar. Therefore, this is not a shocking report. Nonetheless, it’s one more reason to eliminate (or at least cut back on) sugary drinks in favor of fruit juice, water, or even tea and coffee. Chinese men and women living in Singapore who drank two or more soft [...]

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A new study in the American Journal of Cardiology reports on a clinical trial using the Ornish program, a combination of a low-fat, plant-based diet, exercise and stress management that has been shown in many rigorous research trials to reverse the arterial plaqueing central to cardiovascular disease. From a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine press release: A low-fat vegetarian [...]

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