ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: Ten to 15 years ago, I had to constantly clear my throat and it was driving me and everybody around me nuts. You had written a column about chronic throat-clearing. In the article, you talked about how after all the serious things had been eliminated there was an expensive test to check out the throat or you could just ...Read more

Back in 1979, I designed a two-week habit-changing program that could be followed pre-operatively to make your RealAge 10 years younger than your calendar age and improve pre -- and post-surgical experiences. Now it's being expanded and is proving (once again) to be tremendously beneficial.

That's great news for the folks undergoing the 40-50 ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I see screening tests advertised often. For $160 I can get screened for conditions that might cause stroke, heart disease, aneurysms, etc. My partner and I are in our early and mid-60s. Should we get these done? -- K.S.

ANSWER: Sometimes, screening tests make a great deal of sense; other times, they don't. It all depends on ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was recently at the American Red Cross to donate blood and was given interesting material on the need for Black blood donors for sickle cell anemia patients. The booklet described how antigens work in red blood cells to improve patients' health. I didn't know until then that race can make a difference for blood donors with ...Read more

Every year, about 100 million Americans get a sunburn -- and it's often associated with doing outdoor activities (as opposed to intentionally trying to get a tan), binge drinking and using sunless tanning products (your skin is "tanned" and you don't notice the burn that's happening). If that happens year after year, you're at a hugely increased...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read in your column and elsewhere that vitamin supplements have no realized benefit. I've mostly read about how it doesn't hurt, but there is no evidence that they help. Does this include fish oil (omega-3) supplements? I also take an iron supplement. Both of these had a net positive impact on my blood work. Could you expound...Read more

Wouldn't it be wonderful if around age 18 you could have a blood test that accurately predicted which chronic diseases you would get 10 to 60 years later? And what if docs then could put in a fix that prevented you from getting those conditions? That now may be possible for at least one disease.

Around 1 million Americans contend with Crohn's ...Read more

According to the Global Burden of Disease, approximately 746,000 people died by suicide worldwide in 2021. That's a grim number but also encouraging, as it reflects an ongoing downward trend, from almost 15 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to nine per 100,000 in 2021.

While the overall suicide mortality rate has decreased over the last three ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 74-year-old woman who was diagnosed with open angle glaucoma several years ago. My ophthalmologist has directed me to use Simbrinza three times a day in my right eye and Lumigan in both eyes at bedtime. I have been doing this for over a year. Both my eyes are always red. My right eyelid is very red and swollen, and it ...Read more

Fiber is a carbohydrate the body cannot digest or absorb. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel that slows digestion and can help lower cholesterol and blood sugar. It's in good supply in avocados, carrots, apples, oats, bananas, barley and citrus fruits. Insoluble fiber, in bran, 100% whole-wheat flour, nuts, beans, cauliflower, ...Read more

TV or not TV (or more aptly, "to screen or not to screen"), that is the question. Americans average more than seven hours a day of screen time on internet-connected devices, and TV time varies between less than two hours a day for teens and over four hours daily for seniors. But wherever you focus your attention, too much sitting around looking ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: With the resurgence of measles because of declining vaccination rates, should we be wary of the same happening with smallpox (which was also thought to have been eradicated)? And as an aside, is my ancient smallpox vaccination of 1952 still protecting me? What about my equally ancient (circa 1962) polio vaccine? -- C.C.

ANSWER...Read more

If you're a fan of croissants, buttery, grilled cheese sandwiches, and creamy, dairy-soaked mashed potatoes, it might be time to give up butter and other over-the-top dairy fats for better health. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine looked at 30 years' worth of data on 200,000 folks and concluded that substituting canola, olive and ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have HIV and pulmonary hypertension. I was part of a research study, and a scan found blockages of about 50% in my carotid arteries. I've never had any symptoms or a stroke. Do I need to have surgery? -- V.P.

ANSWER: In general, screening for blockages in the carotid arteries that provide blood flow to the brain is not ...Read more

If case you were sick and missed it, March 30 was National Doctors' Day.

WalletHub, a personal finance company, took note by reporting on the best and worst states for practicing medicine, based on metrics such as average annual wage, number of hospitals per capita and quality of the public health system.

The top 10 in descending order were ...Read more

A new study suggests that coffee drinkers who limit their consumption to the morning have a lower risk of dying of heart disease and a lower overall mortality risk than those who drink coffee throughout the day.

"Research so far suggests that drinking coffee doesn't raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, and it seems to lower the risk of ...Read more