While acai is currently a prominent figure in the health food industry, it may not be the most effective weight loss tool. Acai, for those of you that do not know, is a berry which is native to Brazil. It is high in antioxidants and fatty acids, and for these reasons is considered to be a super food as well as an alternative medicine. From a nutritional standpoint, acai is said to contain more antioxidants than both blueberries and grapes. (more…)

I wrote previously that pharmaceutical industry influence should be removed from physician continuing medical education courses.

The American Psychiatric Association is taking that recommendation to heart, announcing that it will end industry-sponsored seminars at its annual meeting.

Good for them.

But, I’d be interested to see how many of these professional organizations can survive the funding cut. For instance, (more…)

JAMA forcefully responded to the recent allegations of a small university professor going behind their back to mainstream media outlets.

As MedPage Today reports, JAMA sought to preempt any form of criticism, saying, “The person bringing the allegation will be specifically informed that he/she should not reveal this information to third parties or the media while the investigation is under way.”

I’m not sure how enforceable that (more…)

Meth addiction is a serious problem in the United States, and finding the proper meth addiction help is often left to friends, family members, or loved ones of the meth addict. As a person that cares deeply for a meth addict, trying to find the right meth addiction help can be daunting if you do not know what you are doing. There are some specific things that one should keep in mind while trying to get a meth addict help. The most important (more…)

Do most surgeons think mid-level providers can replace primary care physicians?

That much was implied during recent testimony by the American College of Surgeons’ John Preskitt, who said, “With trauma care and surgical emergencies, there are no good substitutes or physician extenders for a well-trained general surgeon or surgical specialist.”

The ACP’s Bob Doherty took that to mean that there were good substitutes for primary (more…)

I’ve often said that forgiving medical school loans, often exceeding $140,000, can help more students choose primary care.

Students at Harvard Medical School were the lucky recipients of an offer by an anonymous donor, offering $60,000 to students who entered, and completed, a primary care residency.

Salary is one consideration that students have when choosing a specialty. The other is lifestyle. As they train, they observe (more…)

New numbers have recently come out, highlighting how low the adoption rate is for electronic medical records in hospitals.

As reported by MedPage Today, the study from the NEJM found that only 1.5 percent of hospitals surveyed had comprehensive electronic medical record systems. That’s a piss-poor adoption rate, and far lower than the dismal numbers in small office practices.

The reasons cited are no surprise to regular readers (more…)

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder occurs in a small percentage of menstruating women, and is often confused with PMS. While PMS and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is similar in its symptoms, they are not the same condition. While the symptoms of PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder are very similar, the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder are more intense.

What are the symptoms and treatment of premenstrual (more…)

Converting to a vegetarian diet has many benefits. Whether you choose to eat a vegetarian diet for your personal health, or for the environment, the benefits are many. A vegetarian diet is not only a benefit to your own personal health, but to the world at large. This article will explore the top five reasons to eat a vegetarian diet.

Personal health – It is no mystery that eating a vegetarian (more…)

Ah, a perfect question for comparative effectiveness research.

Surgeon Jeffrey Parks takes a look at a study looking at breast MRIs during the pre-operative workup of patients with breast cancer.

Essentially, surgical outcomes were not improved, and worse, “leads to a higher rate of unnecessary mastectomy, and is extremely expensive (about $1600 a pop, out of pocket).”

Although there are specific cases where a breast (more…)