ArcaMax

A survey found that 88% of Americans lack sufficient vitamin E, 44% don't get enough calcium, and vitamins D, A and C, as well as magnesium, are also lacking in folks' diets. No wonder that around $71 billion was spent on dietary supplements in the U.S. last year. But you can have too much of a good thing -- and many people who drink vitamin ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a woman in my late 60s with a family history that includes an older brother who had a heart attack at a young age. My total cholesterol has hovered around 200 mg/dL for many years, but my HDL and LDL numbers are good.

A few years ago, I had a highly elevated level of lipoprotein(a), about 164 nmol/L. My doctor prescribed ...Read more

There may be "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" according to Paul Simon, but "40 Ways to Dodge Dementia" (per chapter 13 in my book "The Great Age Reboot") is a lot better for your heart, brain -- and every other part of your body.

Last year, the Lancet Commission identified 12 of these 40 ways that reduce the risk of dementia by up to 45%. (Better ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a friend who lives in Paraguay and had been diagnosed with chikungunya. It has been extremely painful for her for several years. Her doctor prescribed 90 mg of etoricoxib daily and a shot of duodecadron once a month.

I've never heard of chikungunya, and the medical care she is getting seems sketchy. I wish there was a ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My grandson has just been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I'm wondering which new therapies are out there for consideration in treating this. Are there any new discoveries involving gene-altering, pancreas transplants or something else? I am willing to join any study group that is looking at this or any other group that helps ...Read more

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects around 1 million Americans, with 90,000 new cases diagnosed annually. And while you can live for 10 to 30 years with the condition, its impact on quality of life is far-reaching, affecting cognition and mobility, and making you vulnerable to life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia. (It's hard on caregivers,...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 52-year-old woman who was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia in October 2024. I went through a cardiac workup for pain in my left arm and found this out.

My cardiologist put me on a statin (rosuvastatin), baby aspirin and telmisartan. Then, for my cholesterol, I was put on Repatha injections twice a month as ...Read more

The Delta Rhythm Boys sang "Hip bone connected to the thigh bone, thigh bone connected to the knee bone," and on and on. We can, unfortunately, sing the same kind of tune about obesity and cancer.

Obesity now claims more than 100 million adults and almost 15 million kids in this country and is connected to adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, ...Read more

Human activities like coal burning and gold mining can cause mercury pollution in the air, which eventually settles into water, where it is absorbed into the food chain, resulting in the risk of mercury poisoning in apex predators like bluefin tuna -- and people who eat tuna.

Mercury poisoning can cause birth defects, particularly ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My family doctor said to stay away from multivitamins because they contain metal contaminants. Is this true, and is it good advice? -- J.K.

ANSWER: Your doctor is correct that many multivitamins have been shown to be contaminated with heavy metals. For example, in a recent article on prenatal vitamin and folic acid supplements...Read more

Vitamin D is really a hormone. That's why it helps protect bone strength, increases the calories that go into muscles versus fat, and has an impact on immune, endocrine, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular health. But that's not all. Vitamin D's do-good abilities just keep expanding.

A study in Alzheimer's & Dementia found that those who took ...Read more

As every oenophile knows, wines that convey hints of smoke or woodiness are generally the result of winemaking techniques, particularly oak aging. They are often appreciated.

But as wildfires become more frequent and intense in wine-growing regions, they don't just threaten the landscape, they change the nature of the grapes, which act like ...Read more

Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as full-fledged diabetes. It's estimated that one in three American adults has prediabetes. In the short term (three to five years), 25% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes. The lifetime risk is 50% to 70%. ...Read more

In May, surgeons at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, collaborated to perform the world's first human bladder transplant. Currently, when a bladder fails or needs to be removed, doctors create a "neobladder" using a portion of the patient's intestine, or they reroute urine to drain into a bag ...Read more