Category Archives: Uncategorized

November 2, 2015 · 12:55 AM

Is Macular Degeneration Avoidable?

Remember...peanuts aren't nuts, they're legumes

Remember…peanuts aren’t nuts, they’re legumes

I saw an optometrist earlier this year for a new eyeglass prescription and mentioned that age-related macular degeneration (ARMD or AMD) runs in my family. ARMD is the leading cause of adult blindness in the West. Thank God, I don’t have it….yet.

The optometrist suggested I start taking eye vitamins to help prevent ARMD. Popular eye vitamin preparations in Arizona are Ocuvite and I-Caps. He said a multivitamin like Centrum might be just as effective.

UpToDate.com, a source I trust, says that supplements for prevention probably don’t work and are not recommended. Which means Centrum would be just as effective: i.e., none of them work.

Instead, UpToDate recommends regular exercise, not smoking, and relatively high consumption of leafy green vegetables, fruits, fish and nuts. Although they didn’t mention it by name, the traditional Mediterranean diet provides all of those.

On the other hand, if you already have macular degeneration (wet or dry), UpToDate recommends these supplements (probably based on the AREDS-2 study):

  • vitamin C 500 mg/day
  • vitamin E 400 mg/day
  • lutein 10 mg/day
  • zeaxanthin 1 mg/day
  • zinc 80 mg/day (as zinc oxide)
  • copper 2 mg/day (as cupric oxide)

A reasonable alternative for non-smokers and never-smokers is the standard AREDS formula. It’s the same as above except it substitutes beta carotene for lutein or zeaxanthin. You can buy both formulations over-the-counter in the U.S. pre-mixed so you don’t have to swallow a handful of pills, just one.

The last time I checked the supermarket price, Bausch and Lomb’s AREDS-2 formula was about $10/month.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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September 13, 2015 · 4:21 AM

How To Find a Church

Let’s say you’re not happy with the ideology of your current church or you quit going to church years ago and are thinking about returning. Do you want a liberal or a conservative church? How would you find a church where you fit in?

One starting point would be to review a neat graphic put together by Tobin Grant. (Sorry, non-Americans, this is mostly about American churches. But there are data points for atheists and agnostics, too.)

Based on surveys of churchgoers, Mr. Grant classifies churches by where they stand on size of government and “protection of morality.” I’m not saying this is the best way to choose a church; it’s one way to get started.

Happy hunting!

Steve Parker, M.D.

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April 6, 2015 · 3:06 AM

Our Latest Kitchen Gadget: A Vitamix

Our first creation with the Vitamix

Our first creation with the Vitamix

 

I call it a mixer; my wife calls it a food processor. My wife had been thinking about getting a contraption like this for months. She got excited and bit the bullet when she saw a live demonstration at Costco last year.

Almost immediately out of the box, my wife threw in a couple handfuls of ice, couple handfuls of frozen strawberries, and one and a half bananas. I thought this would be a fruit smoothie, but with the very thick consistency, “Italian ice” might be a better term.

One of our goals is to sneak more fiber, vegetables, and fruit into our kids diets. (Shhhh….don’t tell!)

It's a little noisy, but easily bearable

It’s a bit noisy, but easily bearable

$500 (USD) at Costco, so not cheap. It seems well-made and has a good SEVEN-year warranty!

$500 (USD) at Costco, so not cheap. It seems well-made and has a good SEVEN-year warranty!

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December 24, 2014 · 4:25 PM

Merry Christmas!

Credit: Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock.com

Credit: Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock.com

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November 11, 2014 · 2:02 AM

New Podcast Episode Features Professional Low-Carb Diet Proponents

Jimmy Moore posted an interview with Dr. Troy Stapleton and Franziska Spritzler, R.D. They both advocate carbohydrate-restricted diets for management of blood sugars in diabetes. Dr. Stapleton, by the way, has type 1 diabetes; I’ve written about him before. Franziska is available for consultation either by phone, Skype, or in person.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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October 12, 2014 · 5:09 AM

Dining Out and Obesity: Related?

No need to dine out if you have one of the four "Low-Carbing Among Friends" cookbooks

No need to dine out if you have one of the four “Low-Carbing Among Friends” cookbooks

The U.S. trend of increasing overweight and obesity started about 1970. I wonder if eating away from home is related to the trend. I found a USDA report with pertinent data from 1977 to 1995. It also has interesting info on snacking and total calories consumed. Some quotes:

“We define home and away-from-home foods based on where the foods are obtained, not where they are eaten. Food at home consists of foods purchased at a retail store, such as a grocery store, a convenience store, or a supermarket. Food away from home consists of foods obtained at various places other than retail stores (mainly food-service establishments).”

***

“Over the past two decades, the number of meals consumed has remained fairly stable at 2.6 to 2.7 per day. However, snacking has increased, from less than once a day in 1987-88 to 1.6 times per day in 1995. The increased popularity in dining out is evident as the proportion of meals away from home increased from 16 percent in 1977-78 to 29 percent in 1995, and the proportion of snacks away from home rose from 17 percent in 1977-78 to 22 percent in 1995. Overall, eating occasions (meals and snacks) away from home increased by more than two-thirds over the past two decades, from 16 percent of all eating occasions in 1977-78 to 27 percent in 1995.”

***

“Average caloric intake declined from 1,876 calories per person per day in 1977-78 to 1,807 calories per person per day in 1987-88, then rose steadily to 2,043 calories per person per day in 1995.”

***

“These numbers suggest that, when eating out, people either eat more or eat higher-calorie foods or both.”

Parker here. I’m well aware that these data points don’t prove that increased eating-out, increased snacking,  and increased total calorie consumption have caused our overweight and obesity problem. But they sure make you wonder, don’t they? None of these factors was on a recent list of potential causes of obesity.

If accurate, the increased calories alone could be the cause. Fast-food and other restaurants do all they possibly can to satisfy your cravings and earn your repeat business.

If you struggle with overweight, why not cut down on snacking and eating meals away from home?

Steve Parker, M.D.

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July 30, 2014 · 4:07 AM

Does Skipping Breakfast Affect Weight Loss?

It didn’t in this 16-week study. I don’t know what they ate nor how many calories. 

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July 20, 2014 · 5:24 PM

Recipe: Eggs, Bacon, and Honeydew Melon

 

Bacon, eggs, black coffee, and Cholula hot sauce. A caveman wouldn't recognized any of this except for eggs.
Bacon, eggs, black coffee, and Cholula hot sauce

If you follow nutrition science literature, you’ll see periodic references to “processed meats” like bacon contributing to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or premature death. I think the associations are pretty weak. Health-conscious cautious people aren’t going to go hog-wild on processed meats. I don’t. We may never have a definitive science-based resolution of the issue.

If you want to control the degree of processing in your bacon, make your own. The recipe at the link includes pink salt (sodium nitrite), maple syrup, and dark brown sugar. Many other recipes are available. My understanding is that sodium nitrite is a preservative and gives bacon meat that pink color. (Does it contribute to flavor?) If you’re not storing your bacon for a long time, you may not need the pink salt.

In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed three strips of bacon with my eggs recently. Mine was the Kirkland brand from Costco was $3.80/pound (USD). Two slices provide 80 calories (uncooked) and zero grams of carb although, if I recall correctly, it was honey-cured bacon.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

3 strips of bacon, standard thin slices

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup raw honeydew melon, cubed

Instructions:

Fry the bacon over medium or medium-high heat. If there’s too much grease leftover in the pan after cooking, poor out what you don’t want, for later use or drizzle over your dog’s dry kibble food. Leave a little grease in the pan so your eggs don’t stick. Then fry your eggs over medium heat. Enjoy with raw honeydew, which will cleanse your palate after eating bacon.

You can pay a lot more than $3.80 a pound for bacon
You can pay a lot more than $3.80 a pound for bacon

Servings: One

Nutritional Analysis per Serving: (from FitDay.com)

63 % fat

10 % carbohydrate

26 % protein

319 calories

9 carb grams

1 fiber grams

8 digestible carb grams

845 mg sodium

423 mg potassium

Prominent features: high in B12, riboflavin, selenium, protein, pantothenic acid, and phosphorus. Although this is low in calories, it’s adequately satiating because of the rich protein and fat content. The calorie count will be higher by 50 if you eat all the bacon grease.

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July 20, 2014 · 4:23 PM

How To Put Out a Grease Fire

Of all the things I cook, bacon is the most likely to end up causing a grease fire. Imagine pouring excess bacon grease out of the frying pan and a little grease dribbles onto the outside of the pan. You set the pan back down on a hot burner, then the excitement starts.

How do you put out a grease fire? I knew water wouldn’t do the trick; my first thought was pour salt on it. That’s wrong! About.com says to simply smother it by putting a metal lid on the pan and turn off the heat. If you can’t find the fitted lid, use a cookie sheet. Fire won’t burn without a supply of oxygen. You could pour baking soda on the fire, but it takes a lot. Wikihow has more info on putting out a grease fire, mentioning a dry chemical fire extinguisher as a last resort if you’re going to handle the fire yourself. Think safety first.

Grease fire? Put a lid on it and turn off heat. If that fails, try a LOT of baking soda. Or fire extinguisher.

Grease fire? Put a lid on it and turn off heat. If that fails, try a LOT of baking soda. Or fire extinguisher.

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July 11, 2014 · 8:26 PM

Metformin Works Twice as Well in Blacks as Whites

Diabetes Self-Management has some of the details.

The implication is that the genetically determined physiology of black diabetics is different from whites. There could be other explanations, admittedly.

Here’s why I bring this to your attention. You don’t see me review many scientific articles involving mice, rats, pigs, or rabbits. I take care of human patients. I suspect there are too many genetic differences between us and them that clinically pertinent studies are rare. If you read my blogs carefully, you’ll also note I often hesitate to generalize clinical study results from one ethnic group to others. The different black/white responses to metformin validates my approach.

Type 2 diabetes in whites and blacks may not be the same disease, and it could be different in Asians, Australian aborigines, and North American Native Americans.

You may also be starting to understand why there’s so much confusion about which diabetic drugs are the best. We have 12 different classes of drugs now; what’s best for me may not be best for you.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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