690 Health News Update

Losing weight is hard work, as anyone who has tried it knows. Diet experts have been debating the pros and cons of counting calories, reducing fat or cutting carbs. A new Israeli study compares the health effects of the Mediterranean diet to a low-fat (Dr. Ornish-type) diet and a low-carb (Dr. Atkins-type) diet. You may be surprised by the outcome. Statin-type drugs are effective at lowering cholesterol and helping prevent heart disease. But some people report severe muscle pain and weakness as a side effect. A British team used sophisticated genome analysis to find a gene variant that greatly increases the risk of this bad reaction. As children come home from camp and prepare to go back to school, parents are tearing their hair out over lice. Dr. Alan Greene has an interesting approach. Explore the stories behind the health headlines. Guests: Eric Westman, MD, MHS, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Center, Duke University Medical Center; Vice-President of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. The photo is of Dr. Westman. Rory Collins, MD, British Heart Foundation Professor Epidemiology, University of Oxford Alan Greene, MD, founder of www.DrGreene.com, president of Hi-Ethics (Health Internet Ethics) and Clinical Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. His books include From First Kicks to First Steps and Raising Baby Green.