You’ve heard calcium can help trim away the pounds. Is it true?

You may have heard the latest diet buzz that calcium can help you lose weight. Should you be popping more calcium pills?

A Study in the Year 2000
It started about a decade ago. Hang Shi and colleagues from the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville found that low-fat calcium may help reduce body fat. Co-author Michael Zemel called the findings “shocking.” In his past studies, he found that calcium stored in fat cells played a crucial role in regulating how fat is stored and broken down by the body.

In Shi’s study, one group was given calcium supplements, and others were fed “medium” and “high” amounts of low-fat dry milk. Body fat storage was markedly reduced by all three high-calcium diets, but calcium from dairy products produced the best results.
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Extinct: 2012. RIP Routine PSA Screening.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force has just issued their final recommendation on the PSA (prostate) screening test…

Their conclusion?

A recommendation against routine PSA exams for men of any age.

What they’ve found is that only one out of every 1000 men would benefit from this type of exam and the treatment recommended after elevated numbers are found.

The one of the reasons why they’ve come to this conclusion is because most prostate cancer is diagnosed for older men who are more likely to die from other illnesses before they do of prostate cancer.

Here are some other stats that are similar: Read the rest of this entry »

Fascinated by natural healing methods, Dr. Connealy added an acupuncturist
to her team back when it was unheard of to have
an acupuncturist in a medical office.

I started out as part of a team in a large office near the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, in the early 90s. The facility was beautiful. South Coast Plaza is probably the most famous shopping center in the world, and our facility had doctors, acupuncturists, exercise rehabilitation—everything a patient could want!

From there, I branched out on my own. My first official, stand-alone practice was in a tiny, rented time-share room paid for with money I borrowed from another doctor. We grew slowly at first, but we got busier.

When I first started practicing medicine, it was on a fee-per-service basis; doctors sent their bills to the insurance company and got paid. In the early 90s, however, the medical industry was transformed with the creation of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs). These two innovations occurred at the same time as an economic downturn.
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“Doctor Schmoctor, are you sure alpaca poo is good for my lungs?”

A woman and her friend approached me this weekend at the Longevity Now Conference…

We chatted for a few minutes and she politely asked if I would answer a question for her.

It started with, “I’m so confused…”

I didn’t need to hear much more, but I knew what was going to follow.

“So many experts say so many things, I don’t know who’s right.”

She seemed a little more exasperated than some of the other people who approached me over the weekend so far, so I dug a little deeper.

“I’m told this quite a lot, what’s going on?” I asked. Read the rest of this entry »

You know they’re bad for you, but do you know how bad?

We often like to classify healthy foods, super foods, not-so-healthy foods, and unhealthy foods, but in today’s health-obsessed culture, it can all get a little confusing. Today, we’re going straight for the jugular.

What are the seven worst things you can swallow down your gullet, as far as your health is concerned? We’re not saying don’t ever eat them—just be aware of the potential damage. Here are seven baddies best left off your grocery list from now on.
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