Another Reason to Enjoy Coffee!

Okay, before my patients have a HEART ATTACK, please note that I did not say a fully leaded cup of joe! Caffeine STILL causes headaches, fatigue, insomnia, heart burn, bladder irritation and breast tenderness, BUT...

A new study shows that men with high coffee use (6 or more cups per day) have a decreased chance of getting prostate cancer- specifically in this study of 48,000 health professionals, a 20% lower risk overall of developing prostate cancer, plus a 60% lower risk of developing advanced (lethal) prostate cancer. Happily, even those who averaged a more reasonable 1-3 cups of coffee per day had a 30% lower risk of the severe prostate cancer. For the record, it made NO DIFFERENCE whether or not the coffee was DECAF or regular.

Right now, 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer during their lives, with the average age at diagnosis being 71. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and the second leading cause of cancer death. As such, we are always looking for something that might prevent it! We know that diets high in lycopene (from TOMATOES) may help and that overly high calcium intake may increase risk. Other supplements or dietary modification may have an effect, but the jury is still out.

BOTTOM LINE: Men, if you are already a coffee drinker, enjoy a cup or two of decaf coffee each day with the knowledge that you may be reducing your risk of serious prostate cancer!

And yes, Eddie, apparently there is a Santa Claus...

A Step (or Pedal) in the Right Direction!

Good news! Americans are slowly but surely getting MORE mobile. Research studies utilizing national household travel surveys from the last decade reveal that we walked on average 9 miles more than we did back in 2001. We also biked about 5 miles more. I'm pleased to see that 8% are walking 30 minutes per day- that's my "magic number" for daily exercise, because 30 minutes of getting your heart rate up each day will give your heart, brain and body a boost. In fact, 30 minutes of daily exercise helps improve your mood as much as a low dose of an antidepressant!

I find it interesting that 75% of walking trips and 50% of biking trips in 2009 were purely a mode of transportation (to the store, school, see friends, etc.) rather than for the pleasure or intent of exercise. The wonderful part is that you get the same benefits of exercise, regardless of your intent when you are in motion. With gas prices going up through the roof, I hope we will see a continued trend that bicycling will be used in place of cars for short travel distances.

Why not take a step in the right direction and make a commitment to walk or bike to at least one nearby destination instead of driving? Perhaps your family could walk to a neighborhood yogurt shop or diner, or you could bike to the grocery store for those one or two forgotten items.

BOTTOM LINE: Congrats, America, we're starting to move MORE- keep it up! And please...WEAR HELMETS & visible clothing!

Alcohol and Arthritis- Cheers!

Okay, after a week of discouraging one habit, I thought I'd start of Thanksgiving week with an interesting study about alcohol. As opposed to nicotine, which we know is NEVER beneficial, there is absolutely medical evidence that small amounts of alcohol can be beneficial for different aspects of our health. Now, the key words here are SMALL AMOUNT and BENEFICIAL. When we pour our own glass of wine, for example, chances are that it may not be that small 4oz glass that doctors recommend...
The new study I'd like to mention today is from the journal Rheumatology, and is entitled "Alcohol consumption is inversely associated with risk and severity of rheumatoid arthritis."There were around 900 patients with rheumatic arthritis (RA) in the study, along with around 1000 people without RA. Basically, with trying to account for other variables such as gender and age, those patients with RA who consumed more alcohol reported less severe symptoms of their arthritis.
Why is this? We're not sure, but possibly because of the role that alcohol plays in suppressing the immune system (and RA is basically a result of the body's immune system over-reacting.) Evidence already supports that small amounts of alcohol decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes via similar anti-inflammatory and anti-blood clotting effects.
Keep in mind that this study is not suggesting people with RA need to drink heavily, but simply that patients who report drinking alcohol fewer than 10 days per month reported more pain.
BOTTOM LINE We can now add reduction in the severity of rheumatic arthritis to the list of potential benefits of consuming SMALL amounts of alcohol.