Harvard Health Blog

A symposium on complementary and alternative medicine put on by Massachusetts General Hospital’s Mood and Anxiety Disorders Institute indicates that a handful of so-called natural supplements may be worth trying against depression and other mood disorders. The symposium focused on several for which there is good evidence. These include omega-3 fats, St. John’s wort, maca root, and valerian. Just because these remedies come from plants and animals doesn’t automatically mean they are safe. Herbal remedies have unwanted side effects and can interact with medications just like antidepressants and other drugs do. Talk with your doctor before trying any alternative approach, especially if you take any medications.

More than 18,000 clinical trials are underway right now in the United States, covering nearly every aspect of health and disease. Harvard Heart Letter editor P.J. Skerrett describes his experience as a volunteer in a clinical trial called TINSAL-T2D at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

Johns Hopkins researchers found that 40% of hospital Web sites promote robot-assisted surgery, even though little evidence shows it’s better than conventional methods.

The findings were presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting in May 2011.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as runner’s knee, makes it painful to walk up and down stairs, get out of the car, and, of course, run. It happens when the kneecap doesn’t run smoothly up and down its track—a groove called the trochlea. Although anyone can get patellofemoral pain syndrome, it is more common in women than men—especially in mid-life women who’ve been running for many years. Strengthening the quadriceps (thigh) muscles and stretching the iliotibial band, connective tissue that runs from the knee to the hip, can help, as can cutting back on exercises or movements that put repetitive force on the knees.

With much fanfare, the USDA launched MyPlate, a replacement for the outdated and much-maligned Food Pyramid. The colorful quarters of the plate–green for vegetables, red for fruits, orange for grains, and purple for protein–are aimed at nudging Americans away from meals dominated by meat and starch and towards meals made up mostly of plant-based foods. It offers information on portion sizes and sends the message that a balanced meal should be at least half vegetables and fruits. But it ignores important issues like what are the healthiest choices for grains, protein, and fat. Nor does it counsel Americans to avoid the sugary baked goods, breakfast cereals, and drinks, and the salty processed foods and snacks, that make up a big chunk of the average American’s daily caloric intake. In spite of its shortcomings, MyPlate is better than the old pyramids–may they rest in peace. But whether MyPlate will help stem Americans’ frightful eating habits is anyone’s guess.

The back and forth about whether or not cell phones cause brain cancer is likely to go on for a while. Until the issue gets settled, there are some things that folks who like to reduce their risks (even ones that may never pan out to be substantial risks) can do to minimize the amount of energy their cell phone wafts into their heads. These include holding your phone an inch away from your ear, using a Bluetooth or wired headset, using the phone’s speakerphone feature, and choosing a phone that transmits at a lower power level.

An expert panel assembled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) met last week to assess what, if any, cancer threat cell phones pose to the 5 billion or so people who use them. After reviewing hundreds of studies, the IARC panel concluded that cell phone use may be connected to two types of brain cancer, glioma and acoustic neuroma. But the evidence on which the panel based its conclusion is weak or, as the IARC called it, “limited.” The move puts cell phones in the IARC’s Group 2B category of cancer-causing agents. Things in Group 2B are “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” Other denizens of this group include coffee, pickled vegetables, bracken ferns, and talcum powder. Harvard Health editor P.J. Skerrett is more worried being rammed by someone talking on his or her cell phone while driving than about getting brain cancer from a phone. For more cautious souls, the FDA offers suggestions for reducing your exposure to energy from a cell phone.

Two volunteers testing the new “Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating” may have come to the end of the plan, but both are just beginning their independent journeys to a lifetime of healthy eating. Helen Hoart and Tonya Phillips talk about the goals they set for themselves, whether they achieved them, and their dietary plans for the future.

Nutritionist Sheila Wolfson spoke about healthful eating for men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at the Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition’s 14th annual symposium in May 2011. A good diet, she said, can boost energy and improve quality of life.

For the first time, a study measures the impact of prostate cancer treatment on the quality of life of gay men.

Two volunteers testing the new “Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating” describe following Week 5 of the plan: Making sense of snacks. Both related the challenge of avoiding the bowl of M&Ms in the office. Tonya realized how many calories she got from snacking each day, while Helen made herself some simple rules, like planning her snacks and drinking water first if she thinks she’s hungry.

Study examines the post-surgical complications and safety of robotic prostatectomy among one group of surgeons.

One of the big health news stories of 2007 was a study showing that your friends influence your weight. A new study from Arizona State University suggests that this happens because people consciously and subconsciously change their habits to mirror those of their friends. Here’s an example: You’re at a restaurant with friends and the waiter brings over the dessert menu. Everyone else decides not to order anything, so you pass, too, even though you were dying for a piece of chocolate mousse cake. The study provides another motivation for making healthy diet choices—in addition to helping your weight, it could help your friends and family members weights, too.

Do you know how to protect yourself and your family during a zombie attack? If not, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can help. In addition to information on how to prepare for emergencies from anthrax to wildfires, the CDC Web site has added a page on dealing with a zombie apocalypse. […]

Two volunteers testing the new “Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating” describe following Week 4 of the plan: Make dinner a winner. Week 4 came at a tough time for Helen, since she had several business dinners. She describes how she navigated restaurant menus and big portions in ways that fit the 6-Week Plan. Tonya, who often eats out, made a week’s worth of dinners and discovered that eating at the table, instead of in front of the television, has its rewards.

Digoxin (Lanoxin), a drug long used to treat heart failure and heart rhythm abnormalities, may control prostate cancer.

On Friday, May 20, 2011, the Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition hosts its 14th annual prostate cancer symposium. Speakers will discuss a variety of topics, and editor Suzanne Rose will report live from the event.

A new study linking painkiller use by heart attack survivors to increased risk of heart attack or death generated some pretty scary headlines, like “NSAIDs following a heart attack greatly increase risk of a repeat heart attack” and “Painkillers risky for heart attack patients.” Although correct, they overstate the danger. Taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen, diclofenac, or Celebrex increased the chances of having a heart attack or dying from 3 to 4 per 10,000 people per year to 5 to 6 per 10,000 people per year. The results are in line with an American Heart Association recommendation to limit the use of NSAIDs if possible.

Many Americans are remarkably unaware and uninformed about arthritis, a disease that affects about one of every five U.S. adults. Arthritis runs under the public’s radar because it isn’t a killer like heart disease and cancer. Yet it can take a huge toll on the quality of life through the pain and problems it causes. Arthritis is often viewed as an inevitable part of growing old. But it isn’t—there are many things you can do to keep your joints healthy. If you do have joint pain, a new Special Health Report from Harvard Health Publishing called Arthritis: Keeping Your Joints Healthy, can help you manage your condition.

Helen and Tonya, two volunteers testing the new “Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating,” share their experiences from week three, which focuses on healthier lunches. Helen writes about trouble finding healthy lunch options at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike, and the importance of planning for lunch the day before. Tonya relied on salads, with one small break–a bit of fried calamari she purloined from a lunch buddy.

A new study challenges the conventional wisdom that heart-healthy omega-3 fats from fish, walnuts, and other sources are good for the prostate and that artery-damaging trans fats are bad for it. Suzanne Rose, editor of Harvard Health’s Annual Report on Prostate Diseases, explains.

Study finds that men with the highest blood levels of omega-3s were more likely to develop high-grade prostate cancer than those with the lowest levels, and that men with the highest blood levels of trans fat were less likely to develop the disease than those with the lowest.

Two volunteers testing the new “Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating” share their experiences from week two. Helen Hoart writes about her efforts to eat more mindfully and to have a healthy breakfast every day. Tonya Phillips regretted starting week two on Easter Sunday. She talks about her efforts to swap a breakfast bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for multi-grain toast and some fruit or toast and oatmeal with fruit, as well as getting more exercise by walking up and down the stairs at work.