Michael Carlston, M.D. – Family Practice & Complementary Medicine
homeopathy . nutrition . herbs . sports medicine
I am disturbed by a recent study of advanced breast cancer among young women. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association February 27, the study tracked breast cancer rates from 1976 to 2009. Over those 34 years, the incidence of metastatic breast cancer increased by 1.37 cases in 100,000 women. That is a […]
We are supposed to make mistakes so that we learn. Sometimes medical authorities, especially those who issue official guidelines, are remarkably intellectually dull. A current example is the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation not to take vitamin D and calcium to prevent bone fractures. If they were correct, if this were based upon […]
The results of a recent trial were disappointing to some but I think that disappointment is unwarranted. Subjects were given 1000 iu of D3 daily. This dose did not reduce their body weight. That would have been nice for those wanting to lose weight. However, the subjects did significantly lower body fat and abdominal fat, […]
Long-time readers of this newsletter are aware of my skepticism regarding the flu vaccine. At the same time, headlines shouting about the looming flutastrophe can’t fail to grab my attention. The other day I walked past one of the televisions at my gym, and a graphic about hospitals turning away flu victims caught my eye. […]
If you have been reading my thoughts for some time, you know that I am not a big advocate of mammograms. I really wish they would do the job they are supposed to do, but they just don’t. Another study appeared recently, documenting the unpleasant consequences of well-intentioned mammographic screening. It is not the […]
A large new study of adolescents in the Minneapolis area surprised and excited the study authors and a writer for the New York Times. They found that many of the girls and over 1/3 of the boys were doing things (changing eating patterns, exercising, taking protein drinks or using steroids) to improve their body composition. […]
A recent article in the NY Times caught my eye. I couldn’t have agreed more, and also less. Titled “Let’s (Not) Get Physicals”, it was a reflection on the problems with conventional routine physical exams. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/sunday-review/lets-not-get-physicals.html?pagewanted=all The time-honored tradition has been for a thoughtful patient to see her/his doctor for an annual exam. The article […]
As you are probably aware, and I have written about previously, the US is in the midst of a whooping cough epidemic. With a “business-as-usual” bias, a number of agencies, individuals within the medical community and representatives of major media outlets have blamed “ignorant and irresponsible” parents choosing not to vaccinate their children as the […]
The Foods You Choose Can Help You Lose, Or Not Many people think that Americans are obsessed with celebrity, politics or some sport. Yes, we are, but our chief obsession is not on that list. Americans are truly obsessed with weight, especially losing it. One reason exercise is so important for those losing weight and […]
A study was just published with exclamatory headlines warning about vitamin D and calcium raising the risk of kidney stones. They studied the blood and urine of 163 healthy, postmenopausal women for a year. Investigators gave the women from 0-4,800 iu of vitamin D and raised their calcium to 1,200 – 1,400 mg/day. 1/3 of […]