Intelligent Medicine | The Best of High Tech Medicine and Alternative Modalities

“Active holistic therapy” for prostate cancer with diet and fish oil helps defer need for surgery, hormone blockade, radiation; Why 70 is the new 60; Long-term harmful effects of acid-blockers; Do memory supplements pass the blood-brain barrier? Fish oil, krill oil, olive oil for cardiovascular prevention; Paxlovid aggressively promoted but overprescribed for otherwise healthy patients. 

Nutritional Insights for a Healthy New Year: Breakfast Ideas and Metabolic Health: Nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses the importance of a protein and fat-rich breakfast to stabilize blood sugar levels. She emphasizes the metabolic benefits of avoiding carbohydrate-heavy meals in the morning and shares various breakfast ideas that are convenient and nutritious, such as protein shakes, cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and leftovers from previous meals. Leyla also highlights the impact of diet on menstrual health, citing studies showing how ketogenic diets can regulate menstrual cycles and treat conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Listeners are encouraged to adopt these dietary habits for better overall health and well-being in the new year.

Update on another supplement: MacaA book recommendation: "The Anxious Generation"A comment from a listener about Trump's nomination for Surgeon GeneralHasn't the vaccine/autism link been thoroughly debunked?How much Mitopure should I take to help increase muscle mass?

My husband's doctor is recommending a statin even though his lipid panel is great.  What say you?Anti-vaccine doctor wins bid to resume medical practice in Australia.Do I need to take vitamin D3 and K2 together? Can I take them at different times of day?My liver function tests are normal but my SMA test remains high.  What do I make of this?

Understanding Constipation: Carmen Fong, MD, FACS, author of “CONSTIPATION NATION: What to Know When You Can’t Go,” discusses the pressing issue of constipation. The conversation delves into the definition and causes of constipation, the importance of diet, hydration, and regular bowel habits, and misconceptions around the condition. Dr. Fong shares insights on natural remedies, modern treatments, and factors contributing to early-onset colorectal cancer. The episode also covers hemorrhoid treatments and new medical advances in constipation management. 

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Carmen Fong, MD, FACS, author of “CONSTIPATION NATION: What to Know When You Can’t Go.”

Headlines are sounding alarms over the widespread use of melatonin—especially as a sleep aid for young kids. Dr. Deanna Minich has authored a comprehensive review of melatonin, in which she likens it to vitamin D in its potential utility for a variety of ailments—not just for insomnia and jet lag, but also for metabolic syndrome and diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, brain disorders, autoimmune conditions, eye problems, tinnitus, PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, viral infections, and even ADHD and autism. Additionally, melatonin may confer anti-aging benefits. She affirms its overall safety, but cautions that some formulations are sketchy and may contain contaminants or vastly exceed or undershoot their claimed melatonin content. She discusses how modern life, with its ever-present artificial light, shift work, and travel across time zones may disrupt our circadian rhythms and put us in a state of darkness deprivation, with consequent melatonin depletion. For many conditions less is more, and use in children should be limited to special cases. Dr. Minich also emphasizes that lifestyle factors like properly timed light and darkness exposure, blue blocker glasses and screen apps, exercise and diet are cornerstones to optimal melatonin production, with melatonin supplements constituting only part of a holistic approach.

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Deanna Minich who authored a comprehensive review of melatonin.

Commemorating 38th year of Intelligent Medicine; A pricey prostate drug advertised on football games may extend life for mere months without promise of cure; You dutifully threw out your “toxic” black plastic spatulas—was it faulty math? Air pollution robs marathoners of record times—and may be responsible for deaths of millions; Indian man, declared dead, taken to hospital after awakening on funeral pyre. 

Doctors fleeing Medicare—leaving patients stranded; CEO murder heightens scrutiny of United Healthcare’s Medicare Advantage coding shenanigans; Can blood pressure spikes cause strokes? Does a calcium score of 20 call for a statin Rx? Treatments for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS); New “improved” tea bags release millions of plastic microparticles; The surprising trigger of a bout of hives.