Next 15 Columns

Your Heart Is Slowly Dying From Chronic Scurvy
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Why is research that could save countless lives unknown to Canadian and U.S. doctors?  This week, a report that Dr. Sydney Bush, an optometrist in Hull, England, has made an historic discovery. He claims that atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) can be reversed. And his research, which could save millions from heart attack, should have made headlines around the world.

It’s been said that the eye is the window to the heart. It’s the only part of the body through which doctors can see arteries and veins during an eye examination. This allows doctors to see changes in retinal vessels, the result of aging, hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. And it’s been believed for years that blockages in arteries due to cholesterol deposits could not be reversed.

Tortilla Chips To Lower Blood Cholesterol?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

What’s one of the most important rules in medicine today? It’s “Never take a drug if a natural and safer remedy provides the same relief”. Today millions of people are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent heart attack. But this therapy comes with a price. Some patients develop muscle cramps, liver and kidney problems and some have died. Good sense dictates that it’s prudent to first try other ways to lower blood cholesterol.

Linus Pauling, two-time Nobel Prize winner, says a high dose of vitamin C before breakfast is a smart way to start the day. How much you take depends on your tolerance of C. Too much may cause diarrhea. But most people can tolerate 2,000 milligrams (mg). Ascorbic acid powder (vitamin C) is the least expensive way to buy this vitamin. A flat teaspoon equals 5,000 mg and can be mixed with orange juice.

What Women and Husbands Don’t Know About Heart Attack
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

“Vive la Difference!” We all know what Maurice Chevalier was thinking when he uttered these words about boys and girls. But there’s a “difference” between the sexes that Chevalier wasn’t referring to and that few women or their husbands know.

When heart attack is mentioned, most of us invariably think of men. Now, a report from the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. shows that coronary attack can be an even more ominous event for women. And ignorance of the reason means the outcome can be more deadly.

2006: Make It The Belly Year
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

What’s your waist measurement? I’d bet you don’t know. So let’s start 2006 by putting a bit of old-fashioned horse sense back into medicine. As has been aptly said, “keep it simple, stupid (KISS). Moreover, this approach could save your life.

Neither doctors nor patients take the belly seriously. They forget that not all fat is created equal. As with real estate, “location, location, location” makes you healthy or wealthy. So if it’s increasingly difficult to see your feet, it’s time to get serious about your waistline.

Infection and The Nation’s Number one Killer
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

For centuries infection has been the number one killer. But several years ago it appeared that antibiotics and vaccines had largely eradicated this menace. Then unexpectedly the AIDS virus struck with a vengeance. Lately, to the surprise of everyone, scientists are now linking infection to, peptic ulcers, heart attack and cancer. So how can you protect yourself and your family from these problems?

In 1984 an Australian physician, Barry Marshall, decided to prove that his theory was right. He drank a bacteria laced concoction to show that it was bacteria, not stress, that caused peptic ulcers. Subsequent studies confirmed that most ulcers are infected with a bacterium called H. pylori. 

Should We Be Hooked On Fish?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Where would I go for one final meal? There’s no doubt it would be the Union Oyster House in Boston. Since my many years of studying surgery in the home of the Boston bean, I’ve loved fish. And we’ve all been told that eating fish is good for us. But is it? Lately we’ve been warned that fish now has mercury in it. So is it a case of being damned if you eat fish and damned if you don’t? Moreover, millions of pounds of fish are now “farmed”. So how do they compare with those swimming freely in lakes and oceans?

Osler’s “Defective Rubber” Kills Us
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

We all know that serious consequences can result when a tire blows. But today most people have little knowledge of human blow-outs. The fatal strokes that kill or paralyze people with little or no warning. Moreover, many people at high risk are not taking Aspirin that can often prevent this tragedy.

A recent survey showed that 50 percent of Canadians 35 and older were unable to describe a stroke. 48 percent could not identify a symptom of stroke, 19 percent did not know that high blood pressure was the most critical factor and only 36 percent would seek emergency help if they were experiencing symptoms. 

Why Cholesterol-Free Foods Can Be Dangerous
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Today the word “cholesterol” has become as familiar to Americans as motherhood and apple pie. But unlike these two it’s unloved and meant to be avoided. So if you’re a marketing whiz kid, would you try to increase sales with a red label stating your product is “cholesterol free”? Unfortunately, life is never so simple and there are several marketing conundrums for both promoters and unsuspecting consumers. And do cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) exchange one devil for another?

Dr. Khhursheed Jeejeebhoy, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, reported in The Medical Post that consumers don’t realize that many cholesterol-free foods contain large amounts of sugar and trans-fatty acids.

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet: A Diet for All Ages
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

What is the most prudent diet to follow today? Some swear it’s the Atkin’s high protein diet. Others believe the low fat Ornish diet is the answer. And I’ve often stressed that a high fiber diet promotes health. But what about The Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

A report from Tufts University in Boston has an entirely new twist on nutrition and health. It claims that if we can decrease inflammation in our body we can also decrease the progression of disease.

Rx : Take This Polypill Once A Year!!
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

“Damn it, why didn’t I think of it. Maybe I could have won the Nobel Prize.” This thought occurred to me several years ago while reading a newspaper while having a beer in a English pub. Professors Nicholas Wald and Malcolm Law of the University of London announced they were working on a Polypill aimed to cut heart disease by 80 percent.

The Polypill was to contain Aspirin to prevent blood clots, a cholesterol-lowering drug, folic acid to fight atherosclerosis and an anti-hypertension medication. Researchers claimed that popping one daily would have a greater impact on preventing heart disease in the western world than any other treatment. I ordered another beer and knew this was the start of the Polypill generation.

Will President’s Clinton’s Physicians Prescribe Coenzyme Q-10?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

I would have given my right arm to be at the press conference following President Clinton’s Heart surgery. Why? Because I knew that the journalists would ask the same old question. How would the bypass operation affect Clinton’s longevity? I also knew his doctors would tell journalists that he would be on cholesterol-lowering drugs for the rest of his life. And I knew that hell would freeze over before anyone asked, “Will the President also be given coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10) to protect against the adverse effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs)?”

President Clinton And Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Former President Clinton has joined 400,000 Americans who required coronary bypass surgery in the last year. Clinton had high blood cholesterol and took cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). But these drugs, along with superb medical care, neither prevented nor cured his disease. And nothing was said of the risk of taking CLDs?

Today it’s like attacking motherhood to question the value of CLDs. But there are scientists who believe it’s a myth that cholesterol is the major risk factor for heart disease. They say there’s blind addiction to these drugs and occasionally serious side effects. But with billions of dollars at stake studies questioning the benefits of CLD tend to be buried.

Grandchildren, The Long Visit Can Be Lethal
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

“Would you like to look after the grandchildren for us?” is an often heard request these days. Sometimes it’s a request for a few hours of baby-sitting to allow parents a quiet evening on their own. But today with both parents working, caring for grandchildren can result in months or years of reliving earlier days. Some grandparents thrive on this routine. But a report in the American Journal of Public Health shows that caring for grandkids can trigger more than a headache. It can also cause increased risk of heart attack.

Dr Sunmin Lee, of Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, studied 544,412 registered nurses ages 41 to 71 between 1992 and 1996 who cared for grandchildren at least nine hours a week. He reports that this resulted in a 55 per cent increased risk of heart attack. 

The Triple A Disease That Can Kill
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

A healthy 60 year old man played two sets of tennis and later in the day developed low back pain. He surmised he had simply strained his back. But by evening he experienced severe abdominal pain, lost consciousness and was dead on arrival at the hospital.

A 50 year old woman complained of chest pain after a heavy dinner and believed it was just heartburn. But when pain increased she paid a visit to the hospital emergency. Doctors there suspected coronary attack, but blood tests and an electrocardiogram were normal. Doctors then concluded that the pain was the result of severe indigestion and prescribed Pepcid and a painkiller. But as the patient was leaving the hospital she collapsed and became unconscious. In this case she was at least in the right place at the right time and an emergency operation saved her life.

Should You Fly Over That Big Gaping Hole?
 By Dr. Gifford Jones

A picture is often worth a thousand words. One recently caught my eye. The picture shows a small plane circling a huge active volcano. A passenger says, “Let’s take a closer look at the volcanic crater”. The pilot replies, “We can’t, it’s not worth the risk”. And a recent report similarly questions whether the mass consumption of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) is worth the risk.

Dr. Jim Wright is Director of The Therapeutic Initiative. It’s a British Columbia organization that aids doctors in evaluating drugs. It concluded that cholesterol-lowering drugs may be doing more harm than good in the attempt o prevent heart attack. 

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