Social life impacts health, happiness
You and I are social animals. Our two-legged and four-legged friends are also “social” creatures. They are usually in pairs or in herds. Like us, humans, these animals apparently also…
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Cardiac Surgery
Part II – Conclusion Last week, we took our readers on a journey back to the year 1628, almost 400 years ago, when blood circulation, as we know it today,…
Pre-AI era
As the world ushers in the age of Artificial Intelligence, allow me to take you back in time to revisit some of the great moments in medical science, which made…
Risks for major ills
Except for infectious, congenital diseases, and rarer maladies, the most common major illnesses today are caused by four main risk factors, for which I have coined the acronym: TABA, the Filipino word…
Super sex libido
Women on high doses of testosterone get back their sex drive, and then some. Many of them describe themselves to be “resurrected and on fire,” with new, extremely enhanced libido, craving for…
COVID confusion
Since COVID-19 was first discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and the first case in the United States was reported by the CDC on January 20, 2020, in Washington…
TCE and Parkinson’s
About 90,000 individuals are diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in the United States each year. In the Philippines, thousands of new cases are detected annually, with a prevalence of around…
Sweeteners and brain decline
An 8-year study among individuals 35 and older revealed a link between sugar substitutes and brain health. Those using artificial sweeteners showed a 62 percent faster decline in overall thinking…
Sex During Pregnancy
Today, we are answering sensitive questions about sex during pregnancy emailed to us by our readers over the years. We strongly believe that a frank discussion of any medical issue,…
“Liquid Candy”: Unhealthy
In previous columns, we wrote that soft drinks (which I call “liquid candy”), cola or uncola, diet or regular, or in any other form, are, by and large, unhealthy, especially…
COVID-19 vax confusion
In the United States, the new changes in the policies for COVID-19 vaccines brought on by Health Secretary Robert J. Kennedy, Jr., have created misunderstanding and confusion among the American people and even…
Air Travel: Medical Tips
Common problems among air travelers More than 17.5 million Americans traveled by air during the Labor Day weekend. Worldwide, the average number of people flying is about 13.2 million a day, or around 4.8…
Liver pills: A scam
Protecting the public from misinformation, fraud, and all forms of scams is one of the reasons I write this column. Inspiring people to live a healthy lifestyle has been my…
“Brain-eating” amoeba
A 12-year-old died on July 18, 2025, from a rare brain-eating amoeba after swimming in Lake Murray in South Carolina, near a Columbia reservoir. The infection was caused by Naegleria fowleri amoeba,…
Marijuana and cancer
The toxicity of marijuana (leaves and flowers of Cannabis) has been dangerously underestimated, especially its association with cancer. This false “innocence” is now being challenged by new studies. Recent findings…
7,000 steps to health
Following various phone and smartwatch apps (Fitbits, fitness trackers, etc.), people have been focusing on taking 10,000 steps a day. New studies showed that all we need is 7,000 steps…
Rural Health Outreach
Dr. Eustaquio (Boy) Abay, a retired Mayo-trained Fil-Am neurosurgeon in Wichita, Kansas, together with Philippine Secretary of Health, Teodoro Javier Herbosa, other medical and civic leaders in the Philippines, and…
Cancer in the young!
My wife, Farida, a retired Pediatrician, sent me the alarming medical paper entitled “Why are colorectal, other GI cancers, on the rise in younger people?” The obvious first question is…
Poisons in our homes
Most cancers, in general, are caused by the body’s repeated exposure to harmful chemicals in our environment. These include tobacco, alcohol, and all dangerous ingredients in common household cleansing agents,…
Sex among seniors
Senior couples may be in the winter of their lives, but the heat of the summer could still be lingering inside them, many thinking intimacy is no longer possible. Medical…
A-Fib and stroke
THE most common sustained heart irregularity is atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), where the atria (upper chambers of the heart} beat rapidly and quiver, instead of beating normally. This causes the ventricles…
Beans in Spain
DURING our recent 13-day cruise in Madeira (Portugal), and Bilbao (Spain, where a Guggenheim Museum is), and the autonomous Canary Islands of Tenerife and Lanzarote (Spain), via the Port in…
Queries from readers
CAN tubal ligation be reversed? Ligation of the fallopian tubes, performed for birth control, can be reversed to allow pregnancy to take place, depending on how long a segment of…
Measles can kill
THE current measles outbreak has targeted North Dakota, having its first case since 2011. The count went up to 1001 on May 9, 2025, more than 3 times in all…
Universal vaccine!
MAN’S ingenuity and cleverness are once again making a quantum leap for the betterment of mankind. And progress promotes even greater and more wonderful progress. The United States National Institute…
CT: Cancer risk
CT (Computerized Tomography), also referred to as CAT scan, one of the most valuable discoveries for diagnosis, was invented by British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield in 1967. This life-saving tool is…
Mood-changing food
FOOD we eat can lift our mood and support our mental health. Eating chocolates or our favorite sweets induces the secretion of happy hormones in us. Those hormones include endorphins,…
Berberine for diabetes
A NEW study shows that Berberine ursodeoxycholate is a potential effective treatment supplement option for persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), with significant reductions in A12C and fasting glucose…
The ‘ionizer’ fraud
AS far as health is concerned, the majority, if not all of us, want the best health minus the sacrifices needed to achieve it effectively and safely. We want to…
Stem cell scam
HEALTH and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly considering reducing regulations on stem cell therapy, which experts fear would lead to “potential flourishing of questionable stem cell…