The First Step Toward Rationed Care?

Columnist George Will first sounded the alarm on January 28. As he reported, the stimulus legislation now approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama “create(s) a council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. This is about medicine but not about healing the economy. The CER would identify (this is language from the draft report… Continue reading The First Step Toward Rationed Care?

Institute of Medicine Has Announced the Next Vit D Food and Nutrition Board. Guess Who is Left Out?

Vitamin D has been called the “buzz” vitamin of 2008. It’s early 2009 and current medical research demonstrating the benefits of optimal vitamin D supplementation is still coming in. Vitamin D has now been found to help diminish age-related mental decline, and vitamin D deficiency is linked to erythropoietic protoporphyria photosensitivity, a metabolic disorder characterized… Continue reading Institute of Medicine Has Announced the Next Vit D Food and Nutrition Board. Guess Who is Left Out?

FDA Petition Calls for Changes in Diabetes Drug Labeling

On December 18, a petition was filed with the FDA by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. It asks the FDA to require that diabetic medications in the thiazolidinedione class of drugs like Avandia include labeling that states a low-fat vegan diet has been shown to be as effective or more effective than medications taken… Continue reading FDA Petition Calls for Changes in Diabetes Drug Labeling

The Science of Prevention

A recent Wall Street Journal article told the story of a group of 600 volunteers at Emory University who underwent an exhaustive predictive health assessment in order to prescribe lifestyle changes. Emory plans to use the data to help identify areas for intervention, assigning half the participants to health coaches to determine their effectiveness. While… Continue reading The Science of Prevention

Johns Hopkins Clinicians Declare the Current RDA Guidelines Inadequate to Correct Vit D Deficiencies

According to an article in the current issue of Journal of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University researchers have termed the current RDA guidelines inadequate to correct the widely prevalent vitamin D deficiency in children suffering from cystic fibrosis. In their attempts to restore normal vitamin D levels, their trials used the recommended 50,000 IU of vitamin… Continue reading Johns Hopkins Clinicians Declare the Current RDA Guidelines Inadequate to Correct Vit D Deficiencies

The Government’s New Exercise Guidelines — It Is More Important than You May Think

How active you are may be the most important indicator of your good health. In a world where health is defined by your cholesterol reading, your blood sugar level, your blood pressure, or your adherence to early detection screening, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that activity affects your function in innumerable… Continue reading The Government’s New Exercise Guidelines — It Is More Important than You May Think