Michael Carlston, M.D. – Family Practice & Complementary Medicine
homeopathy . nutrition . herbs . sports medicine
This seems to be the week of omega-3 oil publications. First there was a PATHETIC study whose authors claimed they had proved that O-3 supplements increase prostate cancer. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/07/09/jnci.djt174.abstract. A boat load of scientists responded in the harshest terms, suggesting the author was trying to get attention (“the work of a junior professor”) and wondering […]
Several years ago when I attended the first medical conference on vitamin D designed for clinicians, the limited data we had were very exciting. There was also many reasons to be skeptical and many were. It all sounded too good to be true they thought. Maybe higher vitamin D levels just told us who was […]
A controversial but prominent advocate of immunizations in the United States is now becoming a vocal critic of nutrition. In advance of his new book, which advertisements and reviews suggest is a diatribe against acupuncture, chiropractic, supplements, etc., he wrote an editorial for the New York Times espousing the harms of vitamin supplements. In the […]
I am fascinated by telomeres. Telomeres aren’t some sort of underwater television or talking mirrors. Telomeres are caps on the ends of your DNA, your genes. They shorten with age. Eventually they are gone and so are we. As they shorten we become more vulnerable to disease and generally poor health. With advancing age, our […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
If you read about vitamin supplements you must be confused. Actually, it would be hard not to be. Vitamins are, by definition, essential to health. Studies of hundreds of millions of people confirm that truth. However, a rash of recent studies have linked taking vitamin supplements to higher rates of a variety of diseases, especially […]