W. Gifford-Jones, MD and Diana Gifford-Jones

Why The Bear Had The Last Laugh

How much vitamin A are you taking? Not sure? If so, it’s prudent to know more about this important vitamin. A report from Tuft’s University shows that those who take too much of this vitamin will get more than they bargained for. That’s why the bear had the last laugh over arctic hunters.

Using the Marshmallow Test to Predict Jail Time

When was the last time you said, “Let’s roast some marshmallows”? Since I’m not sweet sixteen it was a lot of moons ago for me. Now, a report from Stanford University shows marshmallows are good for more than enjoying them around a fire. It seems how you handle a marshmallow can tell how you handle other things later in life. In fact, it may even decide if you end up in jail.

Vitamin C and Lysine Powder Help Prevent Heart Attack

Why is heart attack the number one killer in this country? 99 percent of doctors say it’s due to atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) and that cholesterol lowering drugs are the primary way to treat it. But I say it’s because cardiologists have closed minds and are ignoring facts that could save thousands of North Americans from coronary attack.

What You Should Know About Toilet Seats and Pigs

Was Mother right when she advised to never sit on a public toilet seat? Vancouver believed it had solved this “pottie” fear by installing automated toilets. But they proved we still need to teach humans to behave as well as pigs.

Male Circumcision : What Would Newborns Say?

Why are so many male circumcisions still performed when we all agree that female circumcision is a barbarous act? Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics says the benefits of male circumcision outweigh the risks. But, if newborns had a say in the matter, they would use the following reasons to shout a big “NO” to this mutilating procedure, unless religious or cultural reasons require it.

Water Fluoridation Affects Children’s IQ

Why, in 1974, didn’t authorities learn from this terrible tragedy? A three-year-old Brooklyn boy, during his first dental checkup, had fluoride paste applied to his teeth. He was then handed a glass of water, but the hygienist failed to inform him to swish the solution around in his mouth, and then spit it out. Instead, he drank the water, and a few hours later he was dead from fluoride poisoning. Fluoride is an acute toxin with a rating higher than lead.

PGX Fights Constipation, Cholesterol and Obesity

W. C. Fields, the comedian with the bulbous, red alcoholic nose, when asked if he would like a glass of water, always replied, “Water is for flowing under bridges”. But Fields didn’t know about “The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet”, or PGX.

Natural Ways To Prevent And Treat Bone Loss

A reader asks, “Is it necessary to take drugs to prevent broken bones, or are there natural ways to treat this problem? A test shows I have osteopenia and I’m afraid this will lead to osteoporosis (brittle bones)”.

Neo40: Is It A Miracle Supplement?

Several months ago I reported on a unique drug, Neo40, which has now been approved by Health Canada. To find out more about Neo40, now available in health food stores, I interviewed Dr. Nathan Bryan, Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Texas Health Center in Houston and creator of the formula.

This Fall, Think About Lyme Disease

Do you believe you must be in an infected area to get Lyme disease? If you do, think again. A 10 year study reports that you can catch this malady in your own backyard. And since spring and fall are prime times for this disease, being forewarned is forearmed. Particularly since a bite of the deer tick can have far-reaching health consequences.

What I Learned From Sitting in a Bar

Where do I get ideas for this column? It’s usually from long hours of reading medical reports, talking to researchers, searching the net and various sources. It’s tedious and tiring. But this week I got lucky. I was having a drink at my favourite watering hole when a friend said to me, “You should write about a problem I know that kills people. It also makes them ill and they don’t realize the cause of their poor health”. He then told me some tragic stories.

The Mortality Rate is Staggering for Lung Cancer

My patients always give me the wrong answer when I ask them, “What cancer kills women more than any other malignancy?” Most say, “Breast cancer”. But lung cancer kills more women than breast and colon/rectal cancer combined. But there’s hope for both sexes.

Dental X-Rays Linked To Meningiomas

What should you do the next time the dentist tells you he or she is going to take full dental X-rays? A new study shows that just as porcupines make love very, very carefully you should also take care to limit the amount of radiation exposure during your lifetime, particularly the amount your children receive.

How To Burn More Calories To Lose Weight

Have you ever wondered why some people eat whatever they want, never say no to desserts, rarely if ever exercise, and never appear to gain weight? On the other hand, you do all the right things and keep putting on pounds.

“I Did Not Expect To Live In Diapers”

What should men do if the doctor says, “You have prostate cancer”? This is a difficult question to answer because doctors cannot agree on the right treatment. Now, a report in The New England Journal of Medicine challenges the benefits of surgery. Its basic message to doctors is to follow the first principle of medicine, “First, do no harm”.

What Does North America Offer Immigrants?

For years, citizens of the United States have enthusiastically welcomed millions of immigrants to their country. But what do they offer them as they sail or fly past the Statue of Liberty? They claim their country provides Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. But what do immigrants actually receive after arrival in the U.S? And would it have been wiser for them to have stayed in their own country?

Sorry, But What We Told You Is Wrong

Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, once remarked, “To every question there is a clear, concise, coherent answer that is wrong”. In medicine there are also many questions, and all too often the answers from experts are found years later to be wrong, sometimes with devastating consequences.

What You Don’t Know About Genetic Testing

It’s been said that “all would be well if there were no ‘buts’”. Unfortunately, in genetics there are many “buts” and unwary traps for unsuspecting medical consumers. So if you have the choice to receive genetic testing, be sure you know these pros and cons.

A Sick Brain and a Great Naval Disaster

It was June 27, 1942, during World War II and Russia was in desperate need of tanks, planes, ammunition, food and other war necessities. The Soviet army was involved in a fearsome battle against Hitler’s panzer divisions that were advancing deeper and deeper into Russian territory and winning on all fronts. It appeared that without supplies the future course of World War II in the east was in doubt. And no one knew that a dreadful naval decision was about to be made to further the conquests of Nazi Germany.

It’s Like Being Trapped under Water

A man sentenced to death by the King was granted a reprieve of one year. He discovered that the King was a lover of horses and promised that within a year he would teach the King’s horse to fly. His friends laughed at him. But the man explained, “Within a year the King may die, or the horse may die, or I may die. Besides, who knows? The King’s horse may learn to fly”. I recently told this story of hope to a friend who was becoming increasingly incapacitated by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease with no known cure.