I’m guessing that I am not the first person to stumble across a stray pill – whether it’s in the bottom of the purse, on the bathroom floor, or maybe in a pill bottle where you tossed together all your meds for a trip. Certainly it can be alarming if you find a stray pill in your house- whether you are worried about your pet accidentally eating it or wondering if your teen/spouse/roommate is using a new medication. Today I simply want to share that if YOU find one of these strays somewhere and want to know what it is, … Read more
Go Purple – Help End Alzheimer’s Disease!
The heart remembers…Today, September 21, 2012, is Alzheimer’s Action Day– so put on your PURPLE and help to raise awareness for this devastating disease. Over 35 MILLION people worldwide and 5.4 MILLION Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). $200 BILLION will be spent in the US alone this year caring for people suffering with AD. This disease slowly invaded my amazing mother’s brain, creeping along for over a decade, steadily pulling her away from our family. As we don our purple today, we stand together with every other family who has helplessly witnessed this “long goodbye”. I hope … Read more
New Study Offers Hope for Alzheimer Prevention
A glimmer of hope shines in the devastating world of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), as this week a study published in the Archives of Neurology journal reveals that a class of blood pressure medications (Angiotensin Receptor Blockers, known as ARBs) may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Although the mechanism of Alzheimer’s is not fully understood, we do know that abnormal deposits of amyloid (a protein) occur early in brain as an early stage in the disease process. This new study, the Impact of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers on Alzheimer Disease Neuropathology in a Large Brain Autopsy Series, looked post-humously at … Read more
It’s BACK – the Cursed Halloween Candy
Yes, we’ve just got our kids starting to settle into their school routine, and yet what has already appeared in the grocery stores? That’s right- Halloween Candy. I swear this is the start of the fall fattening project…
Don’t get me wrong, I love Halloween! I adore seeing all the kids in costumes and frankly, I pull out a witch or Mrs. Incredible costume for myself each year. But here is the catch- candy to the max on one night per year is no big deal (brush & floss those teeth afterwards, of course.) Unfortunately, what happens in many … Read more
Breaking News: Fish Oil Supplements “Out”?
Today the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study about the Association Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and the Risk of Major Cardiovascular Disease Events. The popular media has picked this up and many headlines are focusing on removing these fish oil supplements from your medicine cabinet- is that the take-home message? Maybe not…
There are a few separate issues to discuss. First of all, note that the reason there was a study to begin with is that it has long been established that populations with primarily fatty fish-based diets have lower rates of heart disease. … Read more
Was it Food Poisoning or a “Stomach Flu”?
All this talk about fruits and vegetables reminds me of…food poisoning. In the recent past, we’ve had several outbreaks of food borne illnesses that have caught our attention- first the E-Coli in hamburgers, then the Salmonella outbreaks from eating tuna (or perhaps from handling small turtles), and let’s not forget the Listeria-infected cantaloupes! As such, I thought it would be helpful to go over some facts about food poisoning.
First of all, you are unlikely to know if your last bout of intense stomach upset was the result of food poisoning rather than a “stomach virus”, unless there was a … Read more
Doctor, How Do YOU Stay Thin? My Not-So-Secret Revealed…
But Dr. Grimes, YOU don’t have to worry about YOUR weight- you’re tiny! You don’t know what it is like to struggle with your weight.”
Every time I hear this from a patient, I am not sure if I should laugh or cry. While yes, there are some people out there who seem to be able to eat whatever they want and never exercise, and yet stay thin, healthy, gorgeous, rich and let’s throw in perfect in every way (ha!), MOST people who appear healthy make very conscious choices to keep themselves there. As my close friends can attest, I … Read more
What’s YOUR Blood Pressure?
Today the Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) released their report “Vital Signs: Awareness and Treatment of Uncontrolled Hypertension Among Adults- United States, 2003-2010), and what did they find?
- 30.4% of American Adults have high blood pressure – over 66.9 MILLION of us!!!
- 14.1 million people HAVE high blood pressure, but do not KNOW it
- Of those that have high blood pressure, over HALF are NOT CONTROLLED.
- 5.7 million people KNOW they have HBP but don’t take medicine
- Of the 35.8 million people who have UNCONTROLLED high blood pressure, the VAST MAJORITY (89.4%) have a usual source
What About the HCG Diet?
If I had a penny – okay, maybe a dollar – for everyone who asked me about the HCG diet, I’d be ready for retirement! Locally here in Austin, we had a couple people within our medical community do the HCG diet and lose a dramatic amount of weight, which fueled the fire. In my practice, I have had multiple patients try (outside my advice) different versions of the diet- some shots, some sublingual, some pills- and though all lost weight quickly, virtually all regained it in the same time span. Reading the medical literature to find some evidence-basis … Read more
Scary Mosquitoes & West Nile Virus
Bzzz….swat! The mosquitoes are particularly annoying this time of year, and now we have more to worry about than an itchy red arm- the West Nile Virus (WNV) is spiking again. In fact, the 1118 cases of human West Nile viral infection that have been reported to the CDC in 2012 mark the highest number of cases since the recognition of this disease back in 1999. Unfortunately for my neck of the woods, over 75% of the cases have occurred in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Dakota, including 41 deaths. That’s the bad news. The good news is that … Read more