Discover the Science of Health
Question: Is whole wheat considered a whole grain? As I understand it, foods with a low glycemic index are supposed to leave you feeling fuller, take longer to digest, and have health benefits. I thought whole grains were supposed to do those things too, but I’ve also read on the Internet that there’s no difference between wheat flour and white flour. What’s the truth?
Statins, including Pfizer Inc.’s Lipitor, are among the most prescribed drug in the world, and are currently routinely taken by millions of Americans. They are indicated for people with high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol, and have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke in this population. Yet the FDA has just issued new warnings concerning potential side effects: elevated blood sugar, which is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, and cognitive impairment such as memory loss. The warnings will not be affixed to the outside of the bottle, but will be included in the package insert that comes with all prescription medications.
Question: I had my cholesterol checked, and I got four numbers back. Which one is most important, and what do the numbers mean with regard to my health?
Image credit: Focus on cholesterol via ShutterstockFat has a bad reputation, both in food and on the body. It’s certainly true that the U.S. has a problem with body fat; according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight, and fully one-third of adults fall into the more serious “obese” category [1]. Still, appropriate amounts of body fat serve valuable roles. These include helping to maintain the immune system and nervous system, protecting body organs and padding areas where the skeleton would otherwise put pressure directly on the skin (such as the soles of the feet).
Too much body fat, however, is associated with a number of negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and apnea.
Patients at a high risk for a second stroke who received intensive medical treatment had fewer strokes and deaths than patients who received a brain stent in addition to the medical treatment, a large nationwide clinical trial has shown. The investigators published the results in the online first edition of the New England Journal of Medicine [1]. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the trial. The medical regimen included daily blood-thinning medications and aggressive control of blood pressure and cholesterol.
New enrollment in the study was stopped in April because early data showed significantly more strokes and deaths occurred among the stented patients at the 30-day mark compared to the group who received the medical management alone.
