Archive for April, 2007

Celebrity Medications

Do you trust a medication more if a celebrity endorses it through advertising?

Should the celebrity be held accountable for all claims about the drug, even those not made in his ad?

The latest controversy concerns Dr. Robert Jarvik, who designed the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. He stars in print and TV ads for Pfizer’s popular anti-cholesterol drug, Lipitor.

Dr. Jarvik has been subpoenaed in a lawsuit by several labor unions.

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Weight Loss Surgery: How To Predict Your Risk Of Death

Duke University surgeon Eric DeMaria, MD, has developed a 5-step scoring system to predict your risk of dying from weight loss surgery.

A new study of over 4400 bariatric surgery patients supports his system.

To determine your score, the doctors add up the number of risk factors you have:

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Lower Your Cholesterol With Pizza?

Sounds good, but how does it taste? And does it really work?

In another example of functional foods — which are foods that provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition — The Heart Healthy Road Pizza may soon roll out to your grocer’s shelves or your local pizzeria.

If they agree to distribute this new product.

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Wednesday Weigh-In #11

I stayed the same this week. Still 2 pounds to go.

That doesn’t surprise me because I’m getting close to my target weight.

So how’d you do this week?

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If Diets Don’t Work, Then How Do You Lose Weight?

The headline du jour on all the diet news stories is: “Diets Don’t Work.”

Instead, they say you should eat less and exercise more.

Huh? Isn’t that a diet?

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High Blood Pressure: Is It All In Your Head?

New research suggests the heart isn’t responsible for high blood pressure. The brain is.

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Critters Invaded My Office

If you’re a regular reader, you probably noticed that my blog entries disappeared after Wednesday last week.

Well, as the title says, critters invaded my office.

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Wednesday Weigh-In #10

I lost 1 pound this week. 2 to go.

There’s not much to say here. Slow and steady wins the race.

How’d you do?

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The Virginia Tech Tragedy

My heart goes out to the families and friends of all those young men and women who were killed or wounded on the Virginia Tech campus today.

I also wish to express my sympathy to the Virginia Tech students who survived physically, but had their feelings of safety and security shattered today… perhaps for all time.

These young students — kids, actually — shouldn’t have to contend with such horror and sorrow.

To each of you who was touched by today’s tragedy, I’m sorry for your loss.

Focus On Weight Loss Success: Restore The Balance

I believe that our current obsession with “healthy eating” is unhealthy.

I also believe it’s the reason so many people have trouble losing weight and keeping it off.

Here’s why:

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