Most women will experience hot flashes when going through the menopause. In the USA, the term hot flashes is used to describe this phenomenon whereas in the UK the term hot flushes is used. Both mean the same thing. Hot flashes are also known as vasomotor symptoms. The term ‘vasomotor’ refers to the vasomotor center in […]
Bad Breath (Halitosis) – 13 Questions and Answers About Bad Breath
Bad breath, also called halitosis, is a widespread condition that can affect people of any age. Indeed, about 30% of people may have bad breath. It has been reported that Americans spend up to 3 billion dollars a year on gum, mints and breath fresheners, in most cases in order to improve their breath (1). […]
22 Causes of Cough – Understanding Acute and Chronic Cough in Adults
Coughing is a reflex action where the air is rapidly expelled from the lungs to clear excessive secretions, fluids, or foreign material from the airway. Therefore, cough is an important respiratory defense mechanism. However, coughing may also be a symptom of an underlying disease. Apart from the discomfort of coughing itself, excessive coughing can cause multisystem problems. For […]
Lyme Disease – 15 Questions and Answers About Causes, Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment
In the early fall of 1975, two mothers from Old Lyme, Connecticut, desperately sought medical help because of a mysterious outbreak of a strange, unexplainable disease. Both children and adults were affected, and arthritis appeared to be the most prominent symptom. It was soon discovered that many patients also reported a skin lesion with an […]
10 Everyday Things That May Trigger Migraines
Migraine is characterized by recurrent attacks of headache. The pain is often described as throbbing, and there may be a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. Migraines are commonly accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound (1). The exact cause of migraines is unknown, but they’re believed to be the […]
Melatonin – 15 Questions and Answers About Melatonin and Sleep
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and circadian rhythms in humans. Circadian rhythm describes the sleep/wake cycle, a biological clock that runs in our brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness. It explains why we may feel energized or sleepy at around the same time each day. We all know that sleep is crucial […]
10 Important Symptoms of Depression
Major depression affects more than 16 million American adults each year (1). It can occur to anyone, at any age. And, importantly, depression is not a personal weakness but a severe medical illness. Of course, we all have times when our mood is low. Gloom, heartache, melancholy, woe, desolation. These are all parts of life’s […]
Exploring the “Lore of Nutrition”
For the last few days, my Kindle has been my closest companion. “What are you reading”? my wife asked. “I’m reading Lore of Nutrition.” “Ooh, I was sure it was a thriller or one of your crime stories.” In fact, she was right. Although Lore of Nutrition is a book about nutrition, it reads like […]
10 Important Causes of Tremor – Shaky Hands and Other Types of Tremor Explained
Tremor is defined as an unintentional, rhythmic, oscillatory muscle contraction causing shaking movements of one or more parts of the body. It can affect the hands, head, face, jaw, lips, torso, and legs. Sometimes the voice may be affected as well. Hand tremor is the most common form. Tremor is a normal physiologic phenomenon. Most […]
19 Important Causes of Fatigue – Tiredness and Chronic Fatigue Explained
“Fatigue is here, in my body, in my legs and eyes. That is what gets you in the end. Faith is only a word, embroidered.” ― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale. Fatigue or tiredness is a common medical complaint that may seriously affect people’s quality of life. However, despite many possible underlying causes, a specific medical disorder is […]
Testosterone Levels, Low Testosterone Symptoms, and Testosterone Replacement Therapy
Most men want to live to a ripe old age. But this could come at a price. We may have to depart with masculinity and vigor. Manliness may become a myth. But, what if there was a simple way to retain the strength and hardiness of the 20s? Well, I guess most of us would […]
The Fate of the PURE Study – Fat and Carbohydrate Intake Revisited
Most experts agree that diet is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and many other chronic noncommunicable disorders. Hence, defining and implementing a healthy diet is a matter of great public health interest. However, although there is substantial agreement on many issues, such as the importance of fruits and vegetables, several matters are still […]
Muscular Strength and Longevity – The Role of Strength Training
In 1953, British researchers discovered that drivers of London’s double-decker buses were more likely to suffer a deadly heart attack than the more physically active conductors (1). Another study published five years later found that the risk of heart attack was higher among government clerks than postmen (2). These studies laid the foundation for the hypothesis […]
25 Important Causes of Stomach Pain – Understanding Abdominal Pain
Stomach pain, also known as abdominal pain, is caused by a variety of conditions most of whom are innocent or benign. However, sometimes, abdominal pain may be due to a severe disorder needing immediate intervention. The abdomen is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and the pelvis. Other common names used to describe […]
The CANTOS Trial – Is Targeting Inflammation the Solution to Heart Disease?
The recently published results of the long awaited CANTOS trial may forever change our approach to the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease (1). Inescapably, there is now proof that targeting inflammation, in this case by a drug, significantly improves outcome for certain very high-risk patients. But, as so often in clinical research, things […]