Quick Tips – increasing mucus production
Two foods with a bad reputation for increasing mucus production are cow milk products and high fructose corn syrup. This increased mucus productivity occurs even in individuals not allergic to milk or corn.
Vitamin E really not a ‘bad guy,’ but choose wisely
Do you ever get confused over scientific advice about vitamins and supplements? Join the crowd.Vitamin E is probably a good example of good vitamins that have fallen into disfavor.Actually, vitamin E is still a very important vitamin and we should try to have replete dietary intakes of this vitamin. It turns out that the source of vitamin E is the confounding variable. Vitamin E in supplements is mostly alpha-tocophenol, which blocks the effects of gamma-tocophenol. The alpha-tocophenol vitamin E is…
Celiac disease control helps thyroid patients absorb meds
The American Journal of Medicine had an intriguing article about people with difficult-to-regulate thyroid disease. Researchers at the University of Vermont studied patients with hypothyroidism (low-functioning thyroid) who were on thyroid replacement therapy. In many people it is easy to dial in the proper thyroid hormone regimen, but in some this can be very difficult. When the Vermont researchers looked at this latter group they discovered a large number had previously undiagnosed celiac disease. Since celiac disease alters absorption of…
Dear Doc: Conference topics relate environment to children’s allergies, plus’ traffic cop Tregs’
Dr. Patrick Klemawesch had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) this month. This is the largest annual allergy conference — four days of lectures, seminars, and presentation of data from researchers and clinicians around the world. Some of the most interesting research presented came from the Cincinnati Allergy and Air Pollution Study. Many studies are currently looking at the effects of people’s surroundings on their development of allergies and…
Food choices vs. kids’ allergy/asthma:
The British Medical Journal recently published the results of a huge international study on allergy termed ISAAC (International Study of Allergies and Asthma in Children). The study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of dietary choices on asthma and allergy. The findings were rather startling. Basically, a healthy diet prevented problems and an unhealthy diet led to problems. There was a very strong preventive benefit from regular consumption of fruits and green vegetables. Both are a rich source of antioxidants…
Bird Flu Research
Maelstrom in scientific media prompts concernwith precipitous release of bird flu research Despite warnings from many medical and scientific groups, “New Scientist” recently published the article, “Five easy mutations to make bird flu a lethal pandemic.” Two different research groups have engineered the H5N1 virus which is highly communicable between ferrets (the most reliable animal surrogate for human flu). Should this avian virus “get loose,” it would probably kill 20 percent of the world’s population. Medical and scientific groups had…
Quick Tips – Pollen and dogs
Remember that if you open your windows, even briefly, during our clement spring days, it takes 24-36 hours of HVAC circulation to filter the air back to “indoor quality.” To reduce the tracking in of pollen on dog feet, have them dip their paws in a pan of water and dry them off as they return from their “potty sorties.”
Quick Tips – Pollen travelers
Tree pollen can travel hundreds, even thousands of miles in the air. This phenomenon adds to the protracted tree season here in Florida, as once our local trees have done their thing, we are buffeted by the pollen from northern climes.
Quick Tips – Pollen
During the spring the yellow green carpet of pollen is primarily from the pine and oak trees. The pine pollen is very large and easily seen, but it is the tiny oak pollen that stays airborne longer that causes most of the allergic misery.
These pits not cute dimples
No, preauricular pits are not the warm-up rooms for gladiators. They are actually the most common congenital abnormality involving the ear, occurring in one out of 200 Americans. The pits are small openings or dells in the skin just in front of the ear, slightly higher than the interior auditory canal (the normal ear hole). They tend to occur more on the right side of the head, but not in infrequently are bilateral. They do tend to run in families….