by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

An article in the most recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine attempts to discover what it takes to keep weight off after losing it. The participants lost an average of 8 to 10 percent of their original body weight after a year but gained back 5 percent by year two even while trying to stick with the same regimen. That is, all but one group, who kept all of their weight off.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

I hope you enjoy our video. We have worked long and hard to create and edit this. My managing editor, Leigh Ann Hubbard, and director of photography, Gary Otte, have done most of the work.

After going through the experience myself, I wanted to give people a feeling of what it is really like. I put the test off for a while because I thought I would miss a day’s work before and after and be exhausted due to lack of sleep that night. That just was not the case at all. Sure, there are a lot of wires, but they are bunched up out of the way. It was really worth it for me.

Has anyone else experienced a sleep lab?

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Attempting to keep up with all the latest medical advice can be daunting. Just when you think you’re doing everything right, you discover news reporting just the opposite.

“Don’t drink tap water–too many contaminates!”

“Don’t drink bottled water–plastic containers can leach out chemicals!”

Is coffee good or bad? What’s the best diet? “Get checked for moles, diabetes, colon cancer” … fill in the blank. Some people just get frustrated and want to give up, thinking, what’s the use? Well, this blog’s for you.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Today, I am excited to introduce a new video series from the American College of Physicians that highlights research findings from their journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, along with other pertinent medical news.

For each video we add (including this one), I will make comments here on the blog.

This week, the video explains a recent study on prehypertension–and finds that many develop the problem at a young age.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The FDA has ruled out the Texas distribution center as a source of the Salmonella outbreak.  The source is thought to be Jalapeno peppers from Mexico.  They say it is ok to eat U.S. grown peppers.

I am not sure how you know they are grown in U.S. unless you trust who is selling them.  We’ll see

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The name of the report is the American Medical Association “Expert Committee Recommendations on the Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Obesity.” Do you want fries with that? If ever an acronym was needed …

It has good ideas, but the question is: How do we get people to put them into practice? I have a feeling answers are in the works.

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I’ve asked ob-gyn Susan Warhus, M.D., one of our editorial-board members, to comment on whether women should still be doing breast exams, and she’s kindly obliged. She’s author of Fertility Demystified, Countdown to Baby and Darn Good Advice—Pregnancy.
—James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

One of my managing editor’s Twitter friends, “autismfamily,” asked a very relevant question after reading yesterday’s blog: With knowledge from recent publicized studies, should women still do breast self-exams?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Over-the-counter lidocaine gel, a topical anesthetic (numbs up your skin) applied to the breasts and chest about an hour before a mammogram reduce discomfort and pain, according to a study published online at Radiology.

Some women won’t get a mammogram due to this discomfort. The breast has to be somewhat compressed in order for the test to be effective. This study showed that lidocaine gel be worth a try.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

My unscientific, personal observation is that every woman eventually has a bladder infection that starts Friday afternoon after their regular doctor has closed.

Well, that may be an exaggeration, but the women who do have the burning, frequent and urgent urination, certainly don’t want to wait until Monday for relief so they come to the minor emergency clinic, where I occasionally work on weekends.

But is there anything you can you do at home? Does cranberry juice help? What if you’re a man with these symptoms?

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