Healthy Living & Prevention
Are Bisphenol A (BPA) Plastic Products Safe?
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastics. It is frequently used in sports equipment, water bottles, medical devices, as a coating or lining in food and beverage cans, and in credit card receipts. It leaches out of plastic into liquids and foods, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found measurable amounts of BPA in the bodies of 93% of the U.S. population studied. While early concerns about BPA’s health effects were based primarily on animal studies and research on cells, there is increasing evidence from studies in humans that BPA can cause serious harm, such as increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and sexual dysfunction. Read More
Red Meat: The News is Not Good
Red meat has been found to increase cholesterol and risk of cardiovascular disease, but now new research is linking it to cancer and increased mortality. Read More
Recall of Device to Treat Irregular Heartbeats is Worrying Patients Who Have Them in Their Bodies
Defibrillators are medical devices that treat irregular heartbeats and can prevent sudden cardiac arrest. The 79,000 Americans who were implanted with the Riata or Riata ST Silicone implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads made by St. Jude Medical are left wondering what to do now that the FDA recalled the device in December 2011. This recall was announced a year after the company stopped their sales of the product. Read More
Statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) and the New Safety Warnings: What It Means for You
The FDA issued new safety warnings for statins in February 2012 about the increased risk for diabetes, memory loss and muscle pain, symptoms that we have been warning patients about for some time. Read More
Arsenic and Lead in our juice (and you thought poisoned apples were only in fairy tales!)
Learn how much arsenic has been found in common foods and drinks (too much!)–and what laws are in place to protect your family from this known carcinogen (not many!). Read More
Having Trouble Sleeping? Pills are not a Safe Solution
A compelling new study suggests that people who take sleeping pills are at an increased risk of dying or developing cancer within the next 2 and a half years. Read More
Rock-a-bye Baby, Chemicals and All: The health risks posed by crib mattresses
In recent years, the safety regulations for cribs have increased yet little attention has been given to the safety of crib mattresses. A new study finds that an alarming number of mattresses contain chemicals that may pose serious health risks for infants. Read More
Birth Control Pills: What You Need to Know
Understanding how birth control pills work and how the FDA determines whether they are safe and effective can help demystify the process of choosing the birth control pill that is right for you. Read More
Are Bayer’s Birth Control Pills too Risky?
YAZ, Yasmin, Beyaz, and other drospirenone hormonal birth control pills have been found to have an increased risk of serious blood clots. However, the FDA has not taken the pills off the market or demanded a black box warning. Read More
Laser Liposuction—Weight Loss Tool or Scam?
As American waistlines have expanded, the attraction of a quick weight loss fix has increased. Diet and exercise are the key to safe weight loss, but for many of us, the results are discouraging. As a result, liposuction is the third most commonly performed cosmetic procedure in the United States, after breast augmentation and nose reshaping. However, the procedure can result in severe though rare complications including infection, cardiac arrest, blood clots, excessive fluid loss, fluid accumulation, damage to the skin or nerves, seizures, bruising, swelling, and damage to vital organs. Plastic surgeons often present laser liposuction as a safer, effective alternative which works by inserting a laser beneath the skin and liquifying fat. But does it work and is it really safe? Read More