Have I Been A Good Teacher?

Over the past year I’ve covered many medical topics in this column. Let’s see how much you’ve learned. A quiz helps to keep the brain in shape for the coming year.

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# 1- Studies show that the more time teenagers spend watching sexually explicit TV increases the risk of pregnancy before age 20. # 2 - Zona Plus is a hand-held device that fights hypertension without pills. # 3 – Experts say that even if you eat junk food there’s no need for regular colon irrigation with herbal supplements to cleanse the bowel. # 4 – The American Heart Association recommends that those with a faulty heart valve no longer require antibiotics before dental procedures. # 5 – A wallet full of cash and credit cards in a man’s back pocket can cause sufficient pressure to injure the sciatic nerve and send sharp pain down the leg. # 6 – Leg pain that occurs on long walks is due to atherosclerosis. This symptom may indicate that coronary arteries are narrowed and result in heart attack. # 7- C. difficile is a serious hospital intestinal infection caused by antibiotics resulting in 40 bowel movements daily. It can be cured in 96 percent of cases by giving the patient a fecal enema using another person’s feces. # 8 – Testicular cancer is the number one malignancy in young males. # 9 – A Harvard study showed no correlation between egg consumption and the risk of heart disease. Naturegg Omega Pro eggs are produced by chickens fed an all natural flax-based diet with a small amount of fish oil, alfalfa and corn. This provides an abundant source of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. The eggs have also been fortified with the carotenoid lutein, which is believed to decrease the risk of macula degeneration, a common cause of blindness. # 10 – Lions have sex every 20 minutes during mating season and rarely exercise except when they hunt. # 11- Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, died from the complications of a chest cold after ignoring his doctor’s advice. # 12 – Iron deficiency anemia can be caused by sleeping with bed bugs night after night. # 13- Low Intensity Laser Therapy can make lame horses run again. It’s also helpful to those suffering from arthritis involving the hip, knee and spine. Many doctors are not aware that this treatment can also heal diabetic ulcers quicker than conventional medical treatment. # 14 – Today, there’s much talk about bone loss, but little about sarcopenia, a loss of muscle strength starting at around 45 years of age. This problem increases one percent a year so by age 65 some people have lost half their muscle. Working out and weight lifting is the best way to prevent sarcopenia. # 15 – King Henry VIII developed gout by drinking too much wine. Today, others develop this disease due to 1,700 calory lunches at fast food outlets. Or by eating too many foods such as red meat, and poultry containing purine that produce large amounts of uric acid. Now studies show that genetics also plays a major role in causing gout. # 16 – Boerhaaven’s Syndrome is named after a Grand Admiral of the Dutch navy who was noted for being able to consume huge amounts of food and alcohol. Forceful vomiting following one of these episodes ruptured his esophagus (food pipe) and he was dead 24 hours later. # 17 – Finger nails are sensitive to acute illness which can cause horizontal depressions in the nail called Beau’s lines. # 18 – If North Americans would stop popping pills for every little ache and pain there would be fewer people destroying their kidneys and less need for kidney dialysis. # 19 – Autopsies show that 50 percent of men by age 70 have microscopic cancer cells present in the prostate gland. But most men will die of other problems long before these cells cause trouble. # 20 – Several world studies show that, during the coming holiday season, if you use alcohol moderately you will live longer than teetotalers and those who drink excessively. The Answer – All these statements are true. Now, a safe and happy holiday.