Health Politics. Politics affects health, hospital management, physicians and patients in a big way. Dr. David Samadi will explore major national and global health political issues and debates affecting the patient outcome. Learn what you need to know and get Dr. Samadi's take.
New Year’s is quickly approaching and everyone knows what that means. New Year resolutions that are hastily made and quickly abandoned. It is estimated that only 8% of Americans successfully achieve their New Year resolutions. As we say every year, this year could be different. Here are some helpful tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolution:
Read MoreNew Year’s is quickly approaching
· This means New Year resolutions that are made and quickly abandoned
· Estimated that only 8% of Americans successfully achieve their New Year resolutions
· Make sure this year is different
Read MoreA new study finds obesity rates of many US states are actually higher than previously thought. The research is based on doctors’ measurements of peoples’ height and weight. Previous reports were based on people’s own report. The problem is not that people underestimate their weight, but they overestimate their height. Previous reports said most states have rates under 30%, and no states have a rate over 40%.
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Losing weight and keeping it off is a struggle for many people out there. More often than not, people who have lost weight tend to gain it back rather than keep it off. But why is this? What in our nature makes it easier to gain the weight back than keep it off? Recent research has sought to find out what happens after weight loss that leads to weight re-gain. What scientists found was that this weight regain is actually a survival mechanism from our days as hunter gatherers. So when we lose weight our body see this as a threat to survival and starts of circulated hormones which affect our appetite. This leads to over-eating and weight regain.
Read MoreTransplant tourism has become increasingly popular. This type of tourism is not your regular type of tourism, but the type that involves traveling to another country where people can buy an organ such as a kidney on the black market. Those who opt for transplant tourism are often people who have been on wait lists to receive an organ for quite some time and have become desperate and tired of waiting. According to federal government statistics, the average waiting time for a kidney transplant is about four years.
Read MoreWeight loss is a struggle for many people, and although we know that consistent diet and exercise works, it can be a long hard road to a healthy weight. For those who are obese or morbidly obese, that is a BMI of 27 or higher, your physician may prescribe a weight loss pill to help you reach a healthy weight. At first glance, this might seem like a godsend, but may not be promoting the right attitude towards proper diet and exercise.
The reality is, a pill will never be able to replace the biological and psychological effect the right diet and exercise has on us. Many people don’t pay close attention to their diet and focus very little energy on real physical activity. Keeping nutrition aside, exercise has a profound effect on the body, even in just 20 minutes. Exercise has many benefits far beyond weight control. Being active can improve your sleep cycle, strengthen your bones, improve sex life, boost immune system, elevate cognitive function and focus as well as actually fight chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. A pill cannot do this for you.
Some underlying conditions may affect your journey to weight loss, or may make it harder for you to be active enough to have an impact. For these special cases, or to boost the weight loss effects of diet and exercise, doctors may prescribe weight loss drugs. The most common prescription weight loss drugs are orlistat, Belviq, Contrave, Saxenda, phentermine, and Qsymia. There are a lot of factors that go into the prescription of these drugs like medical history, allergies, and other drug interactions. People need to understand that it is not a “quick fix” to a new and healthy them. Pills may be a positive solution for those who are physically unable to exercise. But that is a small group overall. In short, a diet pill will never be able to substitute for the effects of physical exercise and clean eating.
Exercise recommendations state that adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that only 1 in 5 people meet these guidelines. Clearly prevention is a major problem in America. The hope is that physicians, whether they are prescribing weight loss drugs or not, are also emphasizing the need for a good diet and exercise plan. This will help those struggling to manage their weight form positive daily patterns that they can follow long term. The good news is that running, jogging or even walking outside for 20 minutes improves your health in a ton of ways, helping keep you healthy and stave off chronic diseases. Diet pills under the supervision of a doctor might offer a quick fix to jumpstart your weight loss journey, but they should not be looked at as the overall solution in changing your life.
In the last ten years, marijuana use among American adults has doubled. According to surveys, it has risen to almost 10 percent, or more than 22 million mostly recreational users. Researchers say this trend reflects increasingly tolerant views about the drug. Other studies have shown more adults think marijuana should be legalized. There are now four states which permit recreational use of marijuana: Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
The study was from a comparison of health surveys from 2001-02 and 2012-13 sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The study involved almost 80,000 adults 18 and older who were interviewed about various health-related behaviors. The results showed that almost one in three people who were reportedly using marijuana showed signs of marijuana dependence or abuse. This is a slight reduction compared to ten years ago. The results were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
The study participants were asked whether they had used marijuana in the past year, and about signs of abuse. Those include trying but unable to reduce heavy use, and continued use despite knowing it may be damaging health or causing depression or anxiety. This is a problem affecting about 6.8 million adults. Use increased among all ages but was most common in adults 18 to 29.
Marijuana use was higher among teenagers. About 23 percent of high school students had used the drug in the past month in 2013. However, research shows that teen use has been somewhat stagnant during the past decade.
The results likely reflect mostly recreational use because most states didn’t have medical-marijuana laws during the years the surveys took place. The results show that people can use marijuana without harms, but there are risks. More research is needed to determine the causes of problematic use.
Every year, thousands of people end up in the emergency room as a result of using supplements for various purposes such as for an energy boost, to lose weight or build muscle mass.
Read MoreDid you know that Americans are spending more on healthcare than any other industrialized nation? While this may not be a surprise to all people, what is a surprise is that simultaneously Americans also have one of the lowest life expectancies.
Read MoreU.S. tobacco companies on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hoping to stop the agency from enforcing a directive on changes to a tobacco product’s labeling or quantity
Read MoreA new study suggests that when patients are hospitalized more than once in the same month. It may have more to do with their income or education levels than the quality of care they received.
According to the analysis of data from Medicare, patients 85 and older are more likely to return to the hospital within 30 days of being sent home than people a decade or two younger.
Patients also have higher odds of returning soon after discharge if they lack a high school diploma, have limited income and assets or have health benefits from Medicaid.
The White House isn't likely to wait long to challenge Wednesday's ruling allowing House Republicans to sue the Obama administration for spending federal funds on the Affordable Care Act's cost-sharing assistance.
Read MoreAn alarming new study released in England showed that an early cancer diagnosis depends on where you live, meaning the level of care you have direct access too. Some patients across the country were even shown to have an early diagnosis of the disease more than 4 times other patients. It also showed that insurance companies specifically have carried 25 times more scans for tumor detection. Why is this an issue? Let's explore.
Read MoreA U.S-backed panel of independent medical experts are not recommended a daily low-dose of aspirin for people between the ages of 50-59 at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. In addition to preventing heart attack and stroke, some people may also reduce their risk of colon cancer if they take aspirin for at least 10 years. This was stated by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. This recommendation is more narrow than the group's previous recommendation which segmented out the guidelines based on gender.
Read MoreAs a result to New York City's board of health, fast food chains and popular chain restaurants will not be required to have warning labels on restaurant foods that contain more than a day's worth of sodium which is currently at 2,300 mg. The American Heart Association is in full support for the new initiative because sodium is highly linked to high blood pressure and heart disease risk. It also causes bloating which means cutting down on sodium is one of the fastest ways to flatten the belly. 2300 mg might sound like a lot until you find out that one of those mini salt packages add up to a total of 189 mg of sodium.
Read MoreThe FDA is now taking action by issuing warnings to 5 distributors of pure powdered caffeine which is a potentially dangerous product, that's been tied to the deaths of two men. This action was followed up by an FDA alert in 2014 as a warning to all consumers regarding these products. It is nearly impossible to accurately measure pure powdered caffeine, according to the FDA. Consumers can mistakenly and easily consume a lethal amount of the powder. The amount is so small but even common kitchen serving utensils aren't accurate enough to measure the amount that should be in a single serving size.
Read MoreRepublicans in Congress are again demanding the government to cut all funding for Planned Parenthood which has been around for over a 100 years, providing women's health services. This latest uproar sparked after videos of officials from Planned Parenthood went record discussing compensation for providing fetal tissue from abortions. Other challenges the group is facing is with the Affordable Care Act. Formerly uninsured women are not less reliant on Planned Parenthood for access to birth control, abortions and other reproductive healthcare.
Read MoreAnthem will buy Cigna for about $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership and accelerating the industry's consolidation from five national players to three. The proposed acquisition, the health insurance industry's largest, comes three weeks after Aetna Inc agreed to buy Humana Inc for $37 billion. Health insurers are finding it tougher to raise prices following the roll-out of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, while grappling with soaring expenses of medications including cancer drugs that can cost each patient more than $100,000 a year.
Read MorePuerto Rico is beginning to face another budget cut to a highly-used Medicare program as well as an alarming shortage of Medicaid funds. The health care system is moving towards a crisis which could further undermine the island's gutted economy. The first sign of this crisis regarding the health care system was seriously in trouble when a large amount of doctors, a total of 3,000 in 5 years, began to leave the island for better positions, more money and less stress in the United States.
Read MoreLegionnaires’ disease has killed a total of 12 people in the South Bronx of New York ever since the outbreak began on July 10th. However, according to the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the outbreak is on the decline. He said there have been no new reported cases in a week. The most recent case of the illness was reported over a week ago. So far in New York, there have been a total of 113 cases of Legionnaires’ disease since July. And among those people who have been hospitalized, 76 had been released from the hospital since the beginning of this week.
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