No More Prostate Cancer Screening? Another Major Blow to Black Men’s Health

On Monday 5/21/12 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group of medical experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine, advised that physicians no longer offer routine screening for prostate cancer with the PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test. Previous guidelines had stated that most men should undergo screening for prostate cancer with the PSA blood test beginning at age 50 or much earlier if they’re at high risk for prostate cancer.

The task force’s reasoning for recommending against routine PSA screening in men without symptoms was that routine screening often lead to the over-diagnosis of prostate cancer and unnecessary treatment that can leave men impotent and incontinent. The task force concluded screening may only help one man in every 1,000 to avoid dying from prostate cancer; whereas up to five in 1,000 men will die within a month of prostate cancer surgery, the panel said, and between 10 and 70 per 1,000 men will suffer lifelong adverse effects, such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and bowel dysfunction.

So how does this new recommendation relate to black men’s health? About 242,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in Americans this year, and about 28,000 will die from it, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Prostate cancer is the fourth most common cause of death in black men. Here are a few more unfortunate facts about prostate cancer in black men:

• The worldwide incidence of prostate cancer is higher among American black men than any other male group.
• Black men in America continue to have the highest incidence rate of prostate cancer in the world — 180.6 per 100,000 population.
• Between 1996 and 2000 in the United States, the death rate of prostate cancer among black men was more than double that of white men.
• Among black men, 19 percent — nearly one in five — will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and five percent of those will die from this disease.
• African-American men with an immediate family member who had prostate cancer have a one in three chance of developing the disease. Their risk rises to 83 percent with two immediate family members having the disease, and skyrockets to 97 percent if they have three immediate family members who developed prostate cancer.

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Is Alcohol Really Healthy for You?

In the Bible, the Apostle, Paul, recommended that Timothy drink wine for his stomach’s sake and for his continuous ailments (1 Timothy 5:23). Recent studies in the United States found that a drink of almost any type of alcohol can lower death rates by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Are there Other Sources of Protein Other Than Meat?

The other sources of protein not from animal sources are beans, soy, and nuts. By consuming these alternative sources of protein is how people can live healthy lives as vegetarians; although I think having some high quality meat in the diet is natural. In addition, to get enough protein from non-animal sources will likely result in simultaneous intake of excessive amounts of carbohydrates which are plentiful in these alternative protein sources.

In the bean category, go for high protein content and low starchy beans such as quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), and minimize green beans and large starchy beans such as lima, kidney, and great northern if you’re eating beans as a source of protein.

When it comes to soy products, go with tempeh [pronounced tem-pey] over tufu and other “mock meats.” Tempeh is a fermented whole soybean product which retains a higher content of undamaged protein, dietary fiber, and intact vitamins, and actually pretty tasty. Tufu and “mock meats” are heavily processed with poor quality proteins, added sodium, chemicals, and starchy fillers.

As for nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, cashews, and cedar nuts are consider the healthiest and dense in protein. Generally avoid or minimize peanuts; although they have an almost equal amount of protein as the other nuts they’re considered less nutritious and associated with more food allergies.

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Can Poor Nutrition Ruin the Sex in Your Relationship?

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Prevent diseases such heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer by getting the proper screening test at the right time!

Click to View Women’s and Men’s Health Screening Tests

 

How to Enjoy Holiday Parties and Not Feel Guilty About Indulging

From now until New Year’s, you will be tempted and titillated to taste the bountiful treats of pastries, drinks, and lavish meals put before you at parties, family gatherings, and other social events. So how do you come up with a plan to indulge during the holidays but not regret your mischievous oral delights?

1. Prepare for the party. The best way to prepare to indulge yourself at a party, but not overdo it, is to never go to a party hungry or thirsty.

• Be sure to drink plenty of water before you attend an event. This will help you handle whatever alcohol you may consume, and staying well hydrated will boost your metabolism by up to 3% to handle the extra calories.
• In addition, have a small meal that is well balanced with green leafy veggies, good fats, good protein, and complex carbs several hours before the event. This will allow you to indulge at the party but not succumb to gluttony.

1. Practice the new exercise called “Push-Aways.” This means to enjoy the food while at the party but “push-away” from the table before overeating.

• A lot of us eat, not because we’re hungry, but because someone puts another dish before us. Just “push-a-way” slowly from the table …

1. Stay true to portion control. Decide before you attend an event that you’re going to eat only one-quarter, one-half, or two-thirds of what you’re served – no matter what! That is, of course, unless you’re served a whole gallon of ice cream.

• For example, decide to yourself before the event that you’re going to enjoy the heck out of a single slice of pie – but no more!

1. Savor the food and drinks. Eat every piece of delectable goodness and drink each enticing beverage slowly and purposefully. Take the time to feel the richness of the food and drink in your mouth before swallowing.

• By practicing this method, you will allow your brain a chance to notice that you are full and avoid overeating. Sometimes we eat so fast that our brain can’t keep up and let us know when the body is replenished.

1. Stay the same weight. Trying to lose weight around the holidays is hard and sometimes impossible; so weigh yourself today, and make this your goal: “I may not lose any weight during this time, but I will not gain any weight over the holidays.”

• There is only one way not to gain any weight over the holidays if you’re indulging in new food adventures – you must adjust your calorie intake.
• For example, if you know you’re going to go to a party in the evening and you plan to have a few drinks, you should adjust your calorie intake during the day by not drinking those two sodas and having water instead.
• Another example is if you know you’re going to a dinner party later in the evening, don’t overdo it at lunch.
• Finally, if you know you may consume an extra 500 calories, for example, at a holiday party, then add this to your workout regimen so you burn an extra 500 calories before the event. It’s just that simple; think about calories in and calories out.

The bottom line here is to enjoy yourself during the holidays by “tasting” a lot of food that you normally would not eat, but don’t become your own worst Cookie Monster, or Cake Monster, or Pie Monster, or whatever, which you will surely regret in the new year.

Peace, love, and long living from your doctor in the family,

Dr. Jeff Brown

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Untreated Depression May Be the Real Reason Someone You Know Still Smokes

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Frank Talk About HIV/AIDS with Black Men

HIV/AIDS is increasingly an epidemic in the black community. African Americans account for a whopping 50% of all those living with HIV today, 45% of those newly infected each year and about half of all deaths.

If black America were its own country, it would rank 105th in the world for life expectancy, behind places like Algeria, the Dominican Republic and Sri Lanka (the US as a whole is 49th).

It is past time to have some FRANK talk about HIV in the black community! So watch this video below and join in on the discussion…

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Depression Explained

Causes and Triggers of Clinical Depression
There are many causes or triggers for clinical depression. Some common causes are:

• Life stresses
• Losses
• Learned behaviors
• Genetics (just runs in your family)

Whatever the cause or trigger is for clinical depression, the end result is the same. In clinical depression, the brain has low levels of certain neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals made by nerves. The most common neurotransmitters that are too low in clinical depression are serotonin (ser-raton-in) and norepinephrine (nor-epi-nef-rin). Nerve cells use neurotransmitters to communicate with each other. Without these neurotransmitters nerve cells cannot communicate and do their job.

Some of the nerve cells in your brain are responsible for keeping your emotions stable and they need normal levels of neurotransmitters to do this. Remember, in clinical depression the neurotransmitter levels are too low. As a result, the nerve cells in the brain that are responsible for keeping emotions stable are not able to do their job.

Therefore, your emotions cannot be kept stable and remain low or depressed. Think about it, it is impossible to truly feel good or normal when your emotions are depressed because your brain cannot do its job.

By looking at the list of the common causes of depression, you will probably notice that only one is totally out of your control. If depression runs in your family, there is nothing you can do about that. But life stresses, losses, and learned behaviors, although all are realities of life, must be dealt with properly before they lead to clinical depression.

It’s important to understand that there are some common diseases that can cause depression as a secondary effect. Here are the most common:

• Hypothyroid (low thyroid) or hyperthyroid (high thyroid) diseases
• Organic brain diseases—like brain damage
• Diabetes
• Certain vitamin deficiencies: Vitamin B12, niacin
• Medication side effects
• Alcohol abuse

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Five Common Health Issues That Can Ruin Your Marriage or Any Relationship If Ignored

by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD

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African American Women Die from Breast Cancer Twice that of Whites??

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Lower Vitamin D Levels in African-Americans May Up Heart Disease Risks

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Good Sources of Protein

 

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Personal Medical History Record, Do You Need One?

The command “Know Thy Health” is not one of the Ten Commandments, but it should be. Most people likely know their car’s history better than their own health history. Why is it that we keep track of the details about certain things in our lives, such as our cars and investments, but we often have no clue about the details of our most precious asset, our health?

Maybe some of us believe that it’s someone else’s job. Or maybe some of us don’t keep track of the details of our health because we don’t understand the importance of doing so, or we don’t know how. The best way that I can explain why I think some people don’t do a better job keeping up with the details about their health is with the use of an analogy about driving an automatic transmission car versus a manual transmission car. For most people their health early in life is like driving an automatic transmission car where no work has to be done changing gears, but as we grow older and/or encounter health problems we go from driving an automatic transmission car to driving a manual transmission car. Some people simply do not want to acknowledge this change in their health, and instead of learning how to properly drive a stick shift (manual transmission) they continue to putt-putt along until things ultimately breakdown. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is the more you keep track of your health history details the healthier you’ll be. It is the first step in becoming an empowered proactive patient.

According to Bill Thomas, M.D., a geriatric medicine and eldercare expert and AARP visting scholar, “Keeping a personal medical history is one of the most important steps people can take to improve the safety and quality of the health care they receive. Nowadays, patients are partners with their doctors, and things work best when both partners are involved with the task of keeping accurate records,” he says. “A personal medical record can be a real lifesaver.”

So what is the best, simplest, and quickest way to keep track of your health history? At the end of this blog, you’ll find a link to a sample letter to request your health information from your health care providers. This information along with what you can recall about your personal and family’s health history can be used to create your own personal medical history record. Yes, creating and maintaining your own personal medical history record is the answer to keeping up with your health history and maintaining good health.

Your personal medical history record will act as your own medical chart. It will not only be your guide to staying healthy, but also your most important tool for managing whatever health problems you may have. It will provide critical information about you to your health care providers. And guess what? By creating and maintaining a health record, it can speak for you if you’re unable to talk due to a health problem or if you just feel uncomfortable expressing the details about your health. That’s right, just hand over your personal medical history record to a doctor or other health care professional and they’ll have everything they need to take good care of you. One major complaint that doctors have about patients is that patients usually give too much unnecessary information when they try to describe their health problems and health history. Your health record will help you avoid this common mistake and increase the chances that your doctor will make the right diagnosis. The right diagnosis could save your life!

So how do you get started? There are many ways you go about creating your own personal medical history record, but we’ve made it quick and easy for you. You can create a personal medical history by using the Health Power 101 Organizer. The Health Power 101 Organizer was created and designed to present your health information in a clear, organized, easy to use manner. You can learn more about the Health Power 101 Organizer at , and remember if you decide not to use our personal medical history record please use someone else’s or create your own; it’s just that important that you take charge of your health today!

Download Free Letter to request your medical records

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Do Women Really Need Annual Mammograms starting at Age 40??

Guidelines were published on 11/16/09 by the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force, a government-backed physician group, that said women 40 to 49 years of age no longer need to get annual mammograms, unless at high risk for breast cancer. The task force made these recommendations largely due to a study conducted by them which suggests that women who are at low risk for breast cancer are more likely to get false-positive tests that can lead to unnecessary biopsies and anxiety if starting mammograms before age 50.

The new guidelines have not been accepted by many health organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Both organizations strongly disagree with these new guidelines and are still recommending that women 40 to 49 get annual mammograms.

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among U.S. women, after lung cancer, killing 40,480 women in 2008, according to the task force report.

I too must strongly disagree with these new guidelines, and would continue to encourage women to start getting mammograms at the age of 40. About a year ago, I treated a thirty-five year old female patient who requested that her physician give her a prescription for a mammogram. The mammogram was positive for a breast mass, and the breast mass biopsy returned positive for invasive breast cancer. Just imagine if she had waited until age 45 or God forbid age 50!

Furthermore, I’m very concerned that these new guidelines will confused women by the conflicting advice from health experts. Due to these new guidelines, it’s more important than ever for women to talk about this issue with their health care provider, and to make very informed decisions about their breast health. A women’s life depends on it!

Jeffrey Brown, MD

 

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Goal Numbers for Good Health

Total Cholesterol	Less than 200
LDL (“Bad”) Cholesterol	Less than 160—for people who are low risk of heart disease Less than 130—for people who are medium risk for heart disease Less than 70-100— for people who are high risk for heart disease
HDL (“Good”) Cholesterol	50 or higher—in women 40 or higher—in men
Triglycerides	Less than 150
Blood Pressure	Less than 120/80—in people without diabetes Less than 130/80—in people with diabetes
Fasting Glucose (“sugar”)	Less than 100
Body Mass Index (BMI)	Less than 25
Waist Circumference	35 inches or less—for women 40 inches of less—for men
Exercise	Minimum of 30 minutes – most days of the week

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Can Snoring Kill You?

Some people who snore may have a health condition call obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or just sleep apnea for short. Often people take this condition for granted, but if you or a loved one has this condition that is not being treated it can cause very serious health problems.

Facts About Sleep Apnea

1. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a collapsing of the upper air passages during sleep, causing a blockage of air to the lungs.
2. The blockage of airflow to the lungs causes the oxygen in the blood to be too low and disrupted sleep.
3. The snoring in people with obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the air trying to squeeze through the narrowed or blocked airway.

Testing and treatment
Obstructive sleep apnea is easily diagnosed by undergoing a painless test called a polysomnography or simply a sleep study. This test is performed at night in a qualified sleep lab by a trained technician. The results of the sleep study are read by a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders.

The treatment goal in sleep apnea is to keep the airway open so that breathing does not stop during sleep. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most likely first treatment for obstructive sleep apnea in most people. CPAP is delivered by a machine while wearing a tight-fitting face mask.

Lifestyle changes that may relieve symptoms of sleep apnea in some people (in mild cases of sleep apnea):

1. Avoiding alcohol or sedatives at bedtime, which can make symptoms worse
2. Avoiding sleeping on the back may help with mild sleep apnea (some people have sewed a tennis ball in the back of a t-shirt to keep themselves off their back while sleeping)
3. Losing weight may decrease the number of apnea spells during the night

Again, if you or a loved one has a few of these symptoms, talk to your health provider about having this serious and debilitating condition diagnosed and treated. For more helpful information on obstructive sleep apnea, visit the National Sleep Foundation Web site at www.sleepfoundation.org.

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How to Quit Smoking

Cigarette smoking causes many health problems. I don’t believe that thereis a single person in America who does not know that smoking is bad for theirhealth. Simply put, I think there are very few people who are smoking because they truly want to smoke. For most people, I think that there are complexphysical and psychological reasons for them to continue to smoke despite theoverwhelming evidence of its dangers.We will now explore some deeper reasons why people continue to smokein spite of convincing evidence of health dangers and available methods of quitting.

The Hard Facts About Smoking

If you smoke, you have a good reason to worry about its effects on your health, the health of your loved ones, and the health of others. Cigarette smoking tops the list of major risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. In fact, almost one-fifth of deaths from heart disease are caused by smoking. Unfortunately, by smoking you could become one of more than 438,000 annual smoking-related deaths in the U.S. Smoking also harms thousands of nonsmokers exposed to cigarette smoke, including infants and children.

The need to smoke may be deeper than you think. Many studies have shown a strong relationship between smoking and depression. These studies suggest that people may smoke cigarettes to self-treat the blue feelings of depression. The nicotine found in cigarettes works in the brain in a similar way as some antidepressant medications do. In some people, the successful treatment of depression needs to happen at the same time they quit smoking, or even before they do. If you think depression may play a role in your smoking habits, I recommend that you speak to your health care provider about being evaluated for depression and treatment options.

Motivation and Help for Quitting

The fact is, it is never too late to quit. When you quit, you reduce your health risk tremendously. Here’s the great news:

• No matter how much or how long you’ve smoked,
• when you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease and stroke starts to drop.
• Believe it or not, in time your risk will be about the same as if you’d never smoked!

There are many products that can help you quit. Several nicotine replacement systems are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help you quit smoking. All of these medications will more or less double your chances of quitting and quitting for good:

Certain people should avoid these medications and find other ways to quit. If you fit any of the following descriptions, talk to your healthcare provider before taking a nicotine-replacement medication:

• You are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
• You are a nursing mother
• You are under age eighteen
• You have a medical condition

Crucial Questions before You Quit*

Although the reasons to quit smoking are compelling, the decision to quit is not an easy one. Here are a few questions to think through before you try to stop smoking.

1. 1.   Why do you want to quit?
2. 2.   When you tried to quit in the past, what 2. helped and what didn’t?
3. 3.   What will be the most difficult situations for you after you quit? How do you plan to handle them?
4. 4.   Who can help you? Your family? Friends? Health care providers?
5. 5.   What pleasures do you get from smoking? What ways can you still get pleasure if you quit?

I also recommend that you ask your healthcare provider some questions before you quit.

1. What medication do you think would be best for me and how should I take it?
2. What should I do if I need more help?
3. How does smoking withdrawal feel?
4. Add your own questions to ask your health care provider here:

Five-Step Plan for Quitting

Step 1: Get Ready by Setting a Quit Date

• Perhaps your quit date can be on your birthday or anniversary. Mark it on your calendar.
• Give yourself at least a month to prepare.
• Pick a week to quit when your stress level is likely to be low.
• For a few days before quitting, each time you smoke, || write down the time of day, how you feel, and how important that cigarette is to you on a scale of one to five. This will give you an idea of when you smoke the most and how you feel during these times.
• Expect challenges and plan for them.
• Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked and what did not.

 

Step 2: Get Rid of Temptations and Reminders of Smoking

• By your quit date, get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and place of work.
• Throw away all matches and lighters.
• Change your routine. Use a different route to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place.
• Ask others not to smoke in your home.
• Once you quit, don’t smoke—NOT EVEN A PUFF!

Step 3: Get Medicine to Help You Quit

• Ask your health care provider about the medicines discussed in this chapter.

Step 4: Get Help Because Quitting Is Hard

• Tell your family, friends, and people you work with that you are going to quit and ask for their support. Support means cheering you on and not lecturing you to stop.
• Get together with other people who are trying to quit. You can get online or call a hotline (1-800-227-2345 for the American Cancer Society) to be in touch with other people. In many states, counseling is offered by telephone help-lines. Ask your health care provider for this information.

Step 5: Prepare for a Relapse or Difficult Situations

• Most relapses occur within the first three months after quitting. If you make it past three months, you’re virtually there.
• Try to distract yourself from urges to smoke. Talk to someone, go for a walk, or get busy with a task.
• Don’t give up if you give in to temptation and || smoke. Simply set a new date to get back on track.
• Minimize drinking alcohol and avoid being around smokers.
• Keep a positive attitude.
• Many smokers will gain weight when they quit, usually less than 10 pounds. Combat this by eating healthy and staying active.
• Remember, most people try several times before they quit for good.
• Usually people make two to three tries or more before finally being able to quit. DON’T STOP TRYING.

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Am I Having a Heart Attack?

Symptoms of a Heart Attack:

1. Chest Discomfort – Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest. It may last more than a few minutes or the discomfort can feel like one or more of the following:

• Pressure
• Squeezing
• Fullness
• Pain

1. Upper Body Discomfort – Symptoms of a heart attack can include pain or discomfort in one or more areas:

• One or both arms – typically the left arm but not always
• The back – chest pain radiating to the back
• Stomach
• Neck or jaw

1. Shortness of breath. May occur with or without chest discomfort. In particular, women may have no chest pain but have shortness of breath as their only symptom.

2. Other Symptoms:

• Breaking out in a cold sweat
• Nausea
• Lightheadedness

1. All of the Above Symptoms May Come and Go!

What to Do if You Have Symptoms of a Heart Attack?

1. Call 9-1-1 immediately – within 5 minutes!!! Treatment options that can save your life and minimize the damage to your heart work best if given within 1 hour of the start of warning signs.
2. Take one regular strength Aspirin (325mg) or four baby Aspirin (81 mg) – unless your doctor has informed that you shouldn’t take aspirin. Only do this AFTER you’ve call 911!
3. Remember, if you are having a heart attack, every minute you wait heart muscle is dying.

How can you take action NOW to lower your risk of having a heart attack?

• Stop  smoking — A smokers’ risk of developing coronary artery disease is 2–4 times that of nonsmokers. People who smoke cigars or pipes seem to have a higher risk of death from coronary artery disease (and possibly stroke) but their risk isn’t as great as cigarette smokers’. Exposure to other people’s smoke increases the risk of heart disease even for nonsmokers.
• Lower your high blood cholesterol – Do this through diet and exercise and take medicine if you need to.
• Address your high blood pressure — High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, causing the heart to thicken and become stiffer.
• Get more physical activity — An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for coronary artery disease. Regular, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity helps prevent heart disease. The more vigorous the activity, the greater your benefits. However, even moderate-intensity activities help if done regularly and long term.
• Control you weight — People who have excess body fat — especially if a lot of it is at the waist — are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even if they have no other risk factors. Excess weight increases the heart’s work.  By losing even as few as 10 pounds, you can lower your heart disease risk.
• Control your diabetes — Diabetes seriously increases your risk of developing coronary artery disease. Even when blood sugar (glucose) levels are under control, diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, but the risks are even greater if blood sugar is not well controlled. About three-quarters of people with diabetes die of some form of blood vessel or heart disease.
• Reduce your stress levels – The best way to reduce stress is to do something that you love, because while you’re doing it you wont be stress out about anything else. You must find a way.
• Don’t drink too much alcohol — Alcohol can raise blood pressure, cause heart failure and lead to stroke. The risk of heart disease in people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (an average of one drink for women or two drinks for men per day) is lower than in nondrinkers. It’s not recommended that nondrinkers start using alcohol or that drinkers increase the amount they drink.

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10 Money-Saving Tips for Prescription Medication

Consider these additional tips to save money on your prescriptions. Most of these helpful suggestions will work for anyone—in other words, no need to qualify to make most of these tips work for you.

1. Talk to Your Doctor. Tell your doctor if paying for prescription medication is a problem. He or she may have free samples or can tell you about other resources available.
2. Stop Taking Redundant Medication. Talk to your doctor to see if you still need to take all of the medications you are taking. Stopping a medication that is no longer useful is better for your health. It also saves you money.
3. Buy Generic. The generic version of a medication is usually a lot cheaper. In 2004, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores reported that the average price of a generic prescription drug was $28.74, while the average price of a brand-name prescription drug was $96.01—that’s three times more expensive! Be sure to discuss this with your doctor to find out if a generic version of your medication is right for you.
4. State-Sponsored Drug Assistance Programs. Check to see whether you are eligible for drug assistance programs in your state. Go to NeedyMeds.com to see what programs your state has at http://www.needymeds.com/ state_programs.taf
5. Senior Citizen Discounts. If you are a senior, be sure to ask your pharmacy for any senior discounts available.
6. Organizational Discounts. If you belong to an organization (like AARP), be sure to ask your pharmacy for any discounts available.

Additional Resources for Saving Money
The Web sites listed here all offer valuable information to help you find ways to save money on your prescription medications.

1. www.crbestbuydrugs.org/ This site contains important information from Consumer Reports about saving money on prescription drugs.
2. www.needymeds.com This site lists information about state programs, discount drug cards, federal poverty guidelines, and patient assistance programs and also includes copies of the forms.
3. www.helpingpatients.org This site has resources for patient assistance programs run by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Written by: Jeffrey B Brown, MD. FACP

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A List of Free Health Care Resources

Click on this link to go to page of free health care resources list: http://www.jeffreybrownmd.com/free-health-care-resources

Most of the health resources provide free health-related information, education, and support. The majority of the contacts have toll-free numbers and click-able Web addresses.

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Can You Get Cancer from Drinking Soft Drinks?

A study conducted by scientists at UCLA found that pancreatic cancer cells grew faster when “fed” with fructose (a type of sugar) as compared to other forms of sugar. Fructose is a simple sugar found in vegetables and fruit. Most soft drinks are sweetened with this type of sugar which comes in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Between 1970 and 1990 consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in the U.S. rose 1,000 percent!

The researchers of this study also concluded that fructose would likely speed the growth of other types of cancers in the body as well. The bottom line is all forms of refined sugar (fructose, sucrose, and glucose) have very few health benefits and all if consumed in excess lead to a variety of health problems such as obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease and etc.

I know controlling your ‘sweet tooth’ is hard, but battling with some disease or even cancer as a result is much harder. So start today to begin to limit and ultimately eliminate refined sugars from your diet. But be sure to give yourself time – you didn’t developed your desire for sweets overnight nor should you expect it to go away overnight. A great place to start is to begin seriously cutting back on the number of soft drinks you drink a week, and if you can, eliminate all soft drinks from your diet which contain high-fructose corn syrup.

More food for thought: When the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey measured where most of our calories come from, they found that the category making up the largest percentage of our calorie intake (7.1 percent) was not a food at all; it was soda. Yes, not vegetables, nor chicken, nor fish, but soft drinks make up our largest food category!

So what does this mean? This means that if you’re a typical American consuming the typical amount of soft drinks per week, 7% of the calories you consume each day comes from drinking soda, and if you consume on average 2500 calories a day, 175 of those calories come from drinking soft drinks.

Now, here is where it gets interesting; if you were to cut soft drinks from your diet, the number of calories you consume each day would drop from 2,500 to 2,325. This seemingly small difference would equal a weight loss of 1.5 pounds per month or 9 pounds in 6 months!

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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Sample Letter Requesting Medical Records

People often find the thought of requesting medical records somewhat intimidating. If you do, try to remember that it’s your right to request and receive your own medical information.  All you have to do is ask for it, and I’ve provided a sample letter for you to copy to make the request even easier (see download link below).

Be sure to request health information from your primary care doctor and the specialists that you see the most, first. Remember, you are truly entitled to request your medical information. It’s your legal right.

Download Free Letter to request your medical records

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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Is Redundant Medication Costing You Money?

Redundant Medication

A very common problem in health care today is over-medication, or even redundant medication. Redundant medication means that a person is taking two or more drugs that have the same or similar effects. This situation is most commonly due to poor communication between the person’s multiple health care providers.

It is not your job to decide what medications you need or don’t need. But it is critical that you keep an updated list of all your medications and other things you may take (e.g., over-the-counter medications, diet pills, vitamins, and/or herbs). Maintaining an accurate list of all your medications and showing it to all your health care providers makes it easier for them to decide what you need to take. This list will help your doctor protect you from medication mix-ups. If you’re taking unnecessary medications, your doctor will be able to find them on your list. If he or she stops an unnecessary medication, it can reduce your risk of health problems. It can also save you hundreds or thousands of dollars each year.

The solution to the problem of redundant medications is simple. And it only requires you to keep an updated list of all your medications in one location.

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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Drug Allergy Versus Drug Intolerance: Why You Should Know the Difference

Drug Allergy Versus Drug Intolerance: Know the Difference

We all need to know the difference between a true drug allergy and drug intolerance. Being aware of the difference could save your life.

1. Drug intolerance means that your body reacts in a mild to moderate way to a medication. It is usually one of the side effects of the medication. For example, if you get a little nauseated after taking an antibiotic, it is likely due to a drug intolerance.
2. Drug allergy means that your body reacts severely to a medication. For example, if you developed a rash, shortness of breath, or tongue swelling after taking a medication, it was very likely due to a true drug allergy.

Ask your health care provider to help you figure out whether you have a true drug allergy to certain medications, or simply a drug intolerance. Be sure to do this. A life-saving medication may not be given to you because what is merely a drug intolerance has been recorded in your medical history as a true drug allergy.

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Orders?

Anytime you are in a hospital, nursing home, or other health care facility you can request a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order from your doctor. You can do this even if you have not completed a living will or a durable power of attorney for health care. Let’s examine a few facts about choosing DNR.

What It Means
Do not resuscitate means that if your heart stops or you stop breathing on your own the medical staff will not attempt to revive you with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), artificial breathing, chest compressions, or electrical heart shocks.

How to Arrange It
You have to request a DNR and your doctor must put it in writing. Most doctors will ask you about this when entering the hospital or health care facility.

What to Expect
Even if you refuse life-prolonging measures (do not resuscitate), the health care staff will do everything they can to get you well, except resorting to measures that prolong life.

Changing Your Mind
As long as you are mentally stable, you can change your request for DNR to do-everything-to-save-me by asking your doctor to remove the DNR order.

 

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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How to Find the Best Doctor for You

Taking care of your health is a life-long job. It is a job that is 100 percent your responsibility. But you must not overlook the importance of picking a smart, reliable, and caring health care team to give you guidance, insight, and support in meeting your health care needs. Your health care team will include a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner, specialists, pharmacists, and other health practitioners.

This article was written to give tips, strategies, and evaluation tools to help you build an all-star health care team.

Picking the Best Team Captain

Every great team needs a great leader. Your health care team captain will be your primary care doctor or nurse practitioner. She will be the person you go to see first when health problems arise. She will act as a wise dispatcher sending you to see the appropriate specialists if your health condition requires it. If you already have a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner that you are happy with, that’s great! If not, here are some suggestions for how to find one.

Where to Look
The “best” team captain for you may not be that Harvard or Johns Hopkins trained doctor in the community, especially if this person is too busy or unable to relate to you. The first step to take in your search for Dr. “Right” is to ask around. Ask friends, family members, co-workers, or anyone else for good referrals. Certainly if you know someone in the health care field, go after them first for referrals. Also consider using the Internet in your search. Try going to www.blackdoctor.org, www.familydoctor.org, www.healthfinder.gov, and a host of other Web sites on the Internet to help you find a potential doctor.

What to Find Out
Do some research on your own. Then, schedule a chat with your potential new primary care doctor. Look for answers to the following questions to convince yourself that he or she is the right health care provider and team captain for you.

1. Is she board-certified and licensed in my state? This is a simple question to ask the doctor directly or office manager. A board-certified doctor is a doctor who has passed exams in a certain medical specialty. If you have access to the Internet, go to the American Board of Medical Specialties at www.abms.org or call at 1-866-275-2267 to check for yourself if the doctor is board certified. To find out if your doctor is licensed to practice medicine in your state go www.docboard.org and click on your state medical licensing board.
2. Is this doctor accepting new patients? The best doctor in the world won’t do you any good if you have a medical need, but you can’t see the doctor for six months to a year. But if you have time to wait for that special doctor who comes highly recommended, be persistent. Call his or her office periodically to find out if the doctor can accept you as a patient. Persistence usually pays off!
3. How many days of the week does the doctor see patients? You want a doctor who at least sees patients three days a week. There are some great doctors who are very involved in important clinical research, management, and other professional activities. These non-patient-care responsibilities can unfortunately get in the way of you having access to them when you need to.
4. Where did the doctor go to medical school and residency? You want to find a doctor who went to an accredited medical school and residency program. Medical schools and residency programs have to meet certain academic standards to be an accredited program.
5. Is this doctor considering retirement or relocation soon? Ideally you want to find a doctor who’s going to be practicing in your area for a while so a long-term relationship can be established. Going through the trouble of finding a great doctor then having to go somewhere else in a few years can be very painful and unhealthy.
6. Does the doctor accept my health insurance? This is a simple and obvious question to ask. Clearly, you do not want to be stuck with a large bill just because someone at the front desk forgot to tell you that they do not accept your type of health insurance.
7. Is this doctor known for spending quality time to ensure that the patient understands his or her health problems? This question is so important. If your health care provider does not take the time to explain, in simple terms, your health problems to you, how can you help manage them? Remember the day-to-day care of most health problems is mostly the patient’s responsibility. So, you really need to get an understanding of what’s going on from your doctor.
8. Is this doctor able to relate to a person of my ethnic background? We all do not come from the same cultural background, share the same struggles, or interpret the world in the same way. Because of these differences, many misunderstandings can occur between two people who see and deal with the world differently. It is important to find a health care provider who understands who you are, where you are coming from, and how you express yourself.
9. Does this doctor speak my natural language? The importance of your health care provider being able to speak your primary language needs no explanation. Two people trying to work together on the same problem with a language barrier between them is usually non-productive.
10. Does this doctor see patients at my preferred hospital? Ask your doctor directly—or ask the office manager—at what hospitals does he or she have privileges to treat patients. After living in any city long enough, you will learn what hospitals you prefer, and what hospitals to avoid at all costs. Most doctors only see patients at certain hospitals, and if you end up in a hospital where your doctor does not have privileges to see patients, you will be on your own with a brand new doctor at your sickest moment.

Also, find out from your primary care doctor, in advance, who will be following you if you need to be in the hospital. A relatively new trend in health care is for some primary care doctors to not follow their patients when they need to be hospitalized. Instead, a hospitalist treats the patient and communicates with the patient’s primary care doctor during the hospital stay. A hospitalist is a physician who practices in the hospital and usually does not have a private practice. The care that hospitalists provide in the hospital can be good because they are very experienced in treating acute illness. But of course, he or she will likely be a doctor that you have never met before.

Tools for Choosing a Physician
Sometimes, just knowing how to do something or knowing the right questions to ask is not enough. We often need tools to go along with our know-how. Download the tools below (Q&A List: Choosing a Health Care Provider, Post New Doctor Visit Quiz, Doctor’s Visit Worksheet) to help sort out all the details that you’ll gather on your search for the best doctor. 

Download Free Doctor Search Tools

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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Protect Your Rights as a Patient with Advance Directives

You have the right to choose what kind of health care you want—to determine what happens to you if you’re sick and unable to communicate. In addition, you have the right to determine what should happen to your body parts after you leave this world. These decisions can be made by completing something called advance medical directives.

In short, advance medical directives tell your loved ones what to do. They’re legal documents that allow you to give directions for your future medical care. There are two general types of advance directives: a living will and a durable power of attorney. It is important to know that these advance directives apply only to your medical care. They do not apply to your financial affairs. Please note that the information here is general. Because laws and regulations vary from state to state and are subject to change, the information in this chapter cannot take the place of legal counsel.

Living Will
A living will explains your wishes. This document is a set of written instructions that explain your wishes for the medical treatments you do want and don’t want if you become unable to speak for yourself. It’s important to understand that a living will is limited. It only becomes effective if you are terminally ill or in an irreversible coma and are unable to communicate. A living will specifically outlines your wishes if you find yourself in this type of condition.

Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney for health care puts someone else in charge. This document lets you name a person (an “agent” or “proxy”) to make your medical decisions if you’re unable to do so. This document may also be called a “health care proxy.” A durable power of attorney as opposed to a living will can apply whenever you are unable to communicate your own medical decisions, due to any illness or injury. In addition, your agent or proxy who knows your concerns can respond to situations that a document cannot address.

You Need Both
Every adult should prepare advance directives—both a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. Basically, advance directives help protect your rights in the event that you’re unable to state your wishes. They give specific directions for your medical care by letting the medical staff know what medical procedures you would or would not want.

Tragically, an accident or illness can take away a person’s ability to make health care decisions. The trouble is that decisions still have to be made. If you cannot make those decisions, someone else will. As unfortunate as the Terri Schiavo case was, it taught us all a valuable lesson. In this case, the federal government intervened in a private medical matter because there were no clear directives. What became clear was the necessity of completing advanced directives—even if you are young.

Please consider taking steps to control these decisions now, so that they will reflect your own wishes in the future. Do so by preparing both a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care.It is important to note that you will still receive high quality care, even if you refuse life-prolonging measures within your advance directives. Even if you decide to refuse measures that will prolong your life (contained in ado not resuscitate order), the healthcare staff will do everything they canto get you well, except resorting to measures that prolong life, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), respirators, feeding tubes, and dialysis.

You can print out, for free, advance directives specific to your state at www.caringinfo.org or call at 1-800-658-8898.

Advance Medical Directives Tips
Here are some brief, easy-to-reference tips for advance medical directives.

• Plan to review your directives if moving to a new state.
• Sort out your feelings and beliefs. Make sure your advance directives reflect the values you live by (what’s most important to you)—for example, the way you feel about death, dying, pain, and suffering, as well as your moral and religious beliefs.
• Talk about these issues with people who matter to you the most: your spouse or partner, family members, friends, clergy, and heath care provider(s).
• Choose your proxy (agent) carefully. Be sure that he or she is totally committed to carrying out your wishes. Also consider naming a backup proxy in case your first pick is unable or unwilling to carry out your
  wishes.
• Change your proxy (agent) if you need to. Consider naming an alternative proxy in case your proxy moves, becomes ill, or dies.
• Get your directives reviewed before signing. Before you sign your advance directives, ask your proxy and health care provider to review your documents with you.
• Be sure to have your forms witnessed or notarized if required by your state.
• Keep the original forms in a safe, easy-to-reach place (such as your Health Power 101 Organizer). Give copies to your proxy, health care provider, hospital, nursing home, or anyone else who might be called in an emergency.
• Plan for an emergency. Keep a card in your wallet stating that you have advance directives and where they are located. (Your advance directives are included on your Wallet Health ID Card™.)
• Change your directives, if you need to. Be aware that you have the right to change your advance directives at any time, even if you’re in the hospital, as long as you have the capacity to understand your health condition and the consequences of your choices and able to express your wishes. If you do change them or revoke them, be sure to destroy the old copies and tell your doctor and anyone else who has a copy of your advance directives.
• Review your directives every five years so that they always reflect what you want.
• Always travel with your directives. Your advance directives will likely be valid in other state.
  

Common Terms Used in Advance Directives
As you consider preparing an advance directive or as you try to work with your loved one, it’s helpful to have an understanding of the terms frequently used in these documents.

Here they are:

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Procedures to restore stopped breathing and heartbeat: artificial breathing, chest compressions, and electrical heart shocks.
• Coma. A sleep-like state from which a person cannot be awakened.
• Do not resuscitate (DNR) order. An order signed by a physician to prevent CPR from being performed.
• Irreversible brain damage or disease. Permanent changes that affect a person’s ability to think and communicate.
• Life-prolonging measures. Any treatment or procedure to extend life, including artificial nutrition/hydration, respirators/ventilators (machines to keep patients breathing) and dialysis (a special procedure that uses a machine to clean the blood when the kidneys are not working properly).
• Palliative care. Measures to relieve pain and suffering, but not to cure.
• Persistent vegetative state. A permanent coma.
• Terminal illness/terminal condition. A condition in which the patient is expected to die within six to twelve months.
  

Written by Jeffrey B. Brown, MD, FACP

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Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before Starting a New Medication

Let’s review a set of questions that you should ask before taking a new medicine. Don’t forget to ask these questions about the medications you currently take as well.

Critical Questions for Your Health Care Provider

Ask these questions of your health care provider before taking a new
medicine:

1. What is the name of this medication—both brand and generic names?
   
2. Is a generic (low cost) version of this medication available? (A generic version of a brand-name drug is not always available or recommended for everyone. Discuss if a generic drug is right for you with your health care provider or pharmacist.)
   
3. When should I expect the medication to begin to work? How will I know if it is working?
   
4. What are the possible side effects?
   
5. Is this medication safe with reduced kidney or liver function? (Ask this question if you have one of these conditions.)
   
6. Can the medication interfere with other medication I’m taking?
   
7. Which foods or drinks should I avoid? (including alcohol or caffeine)
   
8. Which activities should I avoid (driving, operating machinery, etc.)?
   
9. What should I do if I miss a dose?
   
10. How much water is needed when the instructions say “take with water”?
    
11. Can I crush a tablet or capsule into my food?
    
12. Can I split the pill into smaller doses?
    
13. Can I get a refill? If so, when? (Make sure that you have enough medicine to last until the next visit.)

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Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer?

Can long-term cell phone use cause adverse health effects and even brain cancer?

The research is split if long-term cell phone use causes adverse health effects or not. Some studies done found no correlation between cell phone use and brain tumors, but yet others have suggested that people who use a cell phone for at least an hour each day over a 10 year period are at an increased risk of developing brain tumors on the side of head used to talk on the phone.

The central issue of concern about long-term cell phone use is the form of radiation that’s produced when a cell phone communicates with its base station. Cell phones work via emitting a radio frequency (RF) – which is a low-frequency form of radiation. This same type of radiation is used in microwave ovens and AM/FM radios. Most of the cell phone’s radio frequency is emitted from the cell phone’s antenna as it transmits back to its base station.

“There is cause for concern,” said Dr. Henry Lai, a professor of bioengineering at the ..University.. of ..Washington.. in ….Seattle…., who has been studying the effects of cell phone radiation on humans since 1980. “But to prove that cell phones cause cancer or other health problems will take more work. At this point the biological research suggests that long term use can have some adverse health effects, with brain cancer being one of those effects.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet issued a warning against using cell phones long-term, but the agency recommends “minimizing any potential risk by using hands-free devices and keeping cell phone talk to minimum.”

The Federal Communications Commission requires cell phone manufacturers to report the relative amount of RF absorbed into the head by any given cell phone. This number is also called the specific absorption rate (SAR). You can find out how to check your phone’s SAR by clicking here.

I’m certainly not advocating trashing your cell phones because they are amazingly useful devices. But I am saying you should get educated about their potential to harm. Also consider severely limiting the use of cell phones in children as their skulls are thinner than adults and their brains are still developing. Point of fact, the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), a governmental body in the home of the largest cell phone maker in the world (Nokia), is urging parents to restrict cell phone use for children and suggesting that parents encourage kids to text rather than talk.

The bottom line is that more studies need to be performed to confirm or deny that long-term cell phone use can cause health problems such as brain cancer. The take-home message for the average person is that we don’t know yet and since we don’t have all the answers yet, don’t take the risk. Limit use of cell phones as much as possible, and always try to use hands-free device like a BlueTooth.

By Dr. Jeffrey Brown

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Herbal Treatment of Hot Flashes?

If you are experiencing hot flashes that are significant enough to impact your day-to-day activities and you want to take an herbal approach to treatment, there are a few options. But this is a tough one because no one thing works well for everyone. Essentially if you want to go strictly herbal, try consuming estrogenic foods and herbs (foods and herbs thought to contain a high amount of natural estrogens).

Food and herbs to consider trying:

• Pomegranate; it’s high in phytoestrogens
• Black beans and flaxseeds. They are also high in phytoestrogens, and
• also consider Black Cohosh which is an herb sold as a dietary supplement that is thought to help with hot flashes.

Triggers of hot flashes to avoid:

• Try to avoid spicy foods and hot beverages like hot soups and coffee because they can trigger an attack.
• Some also believe that red wine may trigger an attack.
• Smoking. Women who smoke are more likely to get hot flashes
• Physical inactivity. If you don’t exercise, you’re more likely to have hot flashes during menopause.

As always, hope this information helps, but it should not take the place health advice from your primary health care provider.

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