Published December 4, 2009

Which is more deadly — high cholesterol or low vitamin D levels?

You’ve undoubtedly heard that high cholesterol can be deadly. However, I’ve told my readers for years that it isn’t how high your cholesterol level is. It’s how well your body handles that cholesterol. So I’m not nearly as concerned about your cholesterol levels as most doctors.

In fact, there’s another risk factor that’s far more critical for your health and longevity. That’s vitamin D. Two important studies came out recently that showed why a vitamin D deficiency is far more deadly than high cholesterol.

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Published December 3, 2009

What you must avoid in your next hospital stay

You may have heard that the most common place to catch a nasty infection is the hospital. That makes sense, as there are so many sick people there. But did you know the hospital staff may be part of the cause? It’s true. A recent study found that something the hospital staff regularly gives their patients increases the patients’ risk for pneumonia by 30%. Fortunately, it’s really easy to avoid the infection.

In a new study, researchers looked at every patient admitted into a large, state-of-the-art academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Published December 2, 2009

How to recover from surgery faster —
and avoid many complications

Did you know that if you ever undergo elective surgery, there’s something you can do that will make recovery a whole lot easier? All you have to do is load up on certain nutrients before going to the hospital. In fact, a new study shows that taking certain antioxidants can do more than dramatically improve your outcome. It can help you avoid potential complications.

In the study, the researchers gave surgery patients three different nutrients. They gave them 1,000 mg of vitamin C, 1,000 IU of alpha-tocopherol (three times a day), and 200 mcg day of intravenous selenium. Then they followed the trauma victims for complications. Here’s what they found:

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