By Gabe Mirkin, M.D. North Americans almost never suffer from vitamin deficiencies, except for vitamin D, yet more than 50 percent of the population spends more than $30 billion each year for vitamin pills and other nutritional supplements that they do not need. Forty-five percent of those who take vitamin pills believe that they will…
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D. A study of 130,000 people from 49 countries shows that severely restricting salt may actually increase risk for heart attacks, strokes and death in both people with and without high blood pressure (The Lancet, May 20, 2016). The article recommends against severe salt restriction even in people who already have high…
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D. A new study from Yale University shows that certain bacteria in your colon may turn dietary fat into body fat (Nature, June 9, 2016;534:213-217). Studies from New York University showed that giving young baby mice penicillin, in doses similar to what farmers give livestock, changes their colon bacteria into the types…
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D. A recent study of more than 15,000 Brazilians showed that people who eat and drink full-fat dairy products such as whole milk, butter and yogurt, are less likely to develop Metabolic Syndrome that often leads to diabetes, heart attacks, and premature death (Journal of Nutrition, October 29, 2015). Low-fat dairy products,…
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D. Contestants on the television program The Biggest Loser dropped an average of 129 pounds, yet six years later, most have regained more than 70 percent of their lost weight, largely because dieting decreased their ability to burn calories. They now burn about 500 fewer calories each day than would be expected…
