Every week, I get at least one phone call from a patient asking for an antibiotic prescription for a cold, a cough, a runny nose and other assorted respiratory and urinary symptoms. I have never complied with their requests.
“My other doctor did it all the time!”
“Sorry to hear.”
I recommend they come in not only to be examined, but to explain how harmful unnecessary antibiotics can be. Their indiscriminate use promotes the growth of resistant organisms. Worse, they compromise the immune-detoxification functions of our microbiome in the gut and liver. This may even increase the risk of cancer.[1]
Hugo Rodier, MD
MRI scans reveal screen time tied to white matter development in young children’s brains
“The New York Times (11/4, Klass) reports in “The Checkup” that research “using sophisticated brain scans found an association between screen use and the development of young children’s brains, especially in areas related to language development, reinforcing the messages about minimizing screen time for preschoolers.” In addition to diffusion tensor MRI scans on the children’s brains, “parents were asked about their children’s screen use, and the researchers used a composite score called a ScreenQ, which has been developed and validated over the past couple of years, following the current American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines, which are based on the best evidence we have to date.” CNN (11/4, Lamotte) reports the study of children aged three to five “found those who used screens more than the recommended one hour a day without parental involvement had lower levels of development in the brain’s white matter – an area key to the development of language, literacy and cognitive skills.” The Cincinnati Enquirer (11/4, Saker) reports, the study was published in JAMA Pediatrics “and follows a string of studies released this year on the effects of screen time on the youngest humans.”
Comment: the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children 2-5 years old limit exposure to TV, computers and video games to one hour a day. Good luck with that…
Statins may increase risk for skin infections
“The New York Times (11/4, Bakalar) reports researchers found that statins “may increase the risk for skin infections.” In a study, “statin users had about a 40 percent increased relative risk for staph infections, and that risk was similar in patients with or without diabetes.” Furthermore, “atorvastatin (brand name Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor) had the strongest associations with skin infections. The risk was greatest in the three months after starting the medicines, and declined with time, but was still significant at one year.” The findings were published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.”
Comment: statin drugs increase the risk of diabetes and stress the liver and the microbiome. These factors contribute to skin and systemic infections.
Trans Fats Tied to Increased Dementia Risk
Damian McNamara, Medscape, October 25, 2019
“Higher serum trans-fat levels have been associated with a significantly elevated risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), results of a large, longitudinal study show. Participants with the highest concentrations of serum elaidic acid, a major trans-fatty acid formed in the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, had a 53% increased risk of dementia. This group also had a 43% higher likelihood for developing AD compared with those with the lowest levels. “We found that higher serum elaidic acid levels were associated with greater risk of developing all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, after adjustment for traditional risk factors as well as dietary saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids intake,” principal investigator Toshiharu Ninomiya, MD, PhD, told Medscape Medical News.”
Comment: the brain is 80% fat (we all know people whose brains are 100% fat). If you want to maximize its function and structure, eat the right fats: fish, avocados, nuts.
Theme Park Thermal Camera Helps Spot Breast Cancer,
Allison Aulds, Medscape October 30, 2019.
“A woman says her family was playing with a thermal camera at a tourist attraction when she noticed something strange: a bright-colored patch on one of her breasts.Bal Gill, 41, says no one else using the heat-seeking device at Scotland’s Camera Obscura & World of Illusions seemed to have a hot spot on their chest, so she booked an appointment with her doctor. That’s when she was diagnosed with cancer.”
Comment: Switzerland has soured on mammograms because of the radiation involved. If you worry about that, consider a thermogram for breast cancer screening.
Measles can cause lasting damage to immune system
“The New York Times (10/31, Grady) reports “two new studies…found that even when patients recover, [measles] can inflict lasting harm on their immune systems.” The article says the studies were published in Science and Science Immunology. The Washington Post (10/31, Sun) reports the researchers found in the studies that measles can destroy “up to half of the existing antibodies that protect against other viruses and bacteria.” As a result, “people, especially children, who get measles become much more vulnerable to other germs that cause diseases such as pneumonia and influenza that they had previously been protected against.” NPR (10/31, Vaughn) reports the researchers refer to the effect as “immune amnesia.” STAT (10/31, Branswell) reports that in the study published in Science, researchers “showed that children infected with measles lost between 11% and 73% of their antibodies after infection.”
Comment: sure, but don’t let this scare you into taking the trivalent vaccine, the MMR. It is OK to immunize against Measles, but getting blasted with three vaccines at the same time has been shown to be detrimental. Doctors Wakefield and Hooker have been vindicated after getting blasted by the medical establishment for their work exposing the toxicity of the MMR. Since this is a controversial topic, it is best for you to do your own research on this issue. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s.
Stress disorders like PTSD could be tied to life-threatening infections
“Reuters (10/31, Rapaport) reports a recent study suggests that people “who have stress disorders like PTSD may be more vulnerable to potentially life-threatening infections, especially if they are diagnosed at younger ages or dealing with other psychiatric issues.” Researchers “examined data on 144,919 people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” and also “looked at data for 184,612 siblings of these subjects who didn’t have a stress disorder, along with more than 1.4 million unrelated individuals without these disorders.” The study was published in The BMJ.”
Comment: stress increases the output of immune-suppressing corticosteroids from the adrenal glands. When you get a cold or a cough, your body is trying to send you a message to slow down and/or take stock of your life: you are likely to be mired in some unsustainable situation.
Heavy soda consumption may be associated with increased likelihood of hip fracture after menopause
“Reuters (10/29, Rapaport) reports, “Older women who drink more soda may be more likely to suffer hip fractures than their counterparts who consume little to no soda,” researchers concluded after examining “data on soda consumption, bone health and fractures for more than 70,000 women who were 69 years old on average.” The findings were published online in the journal Menopause.”
Comment: the acidity of soda and its chemicals compromise mineral absorption in the gut.
