Originally published May, 2019. Revised April, 2021; March, 2022, March, 2026 There’s a good chance you take at least one prescription medication or dietary supplement. Almost three-quarters of us do, and 20% of us take five or more. The older we get, the more likely we are to have health problems. And medications are the mainstay of treatment for chronic health problems like heart disease and diabetes. That’s because so
A colleague of mine recently published a video on Facebook that took me by surprise. Dr. Steve Jensen, the owner Jensen’s Community Pharmacies in Dexter and Saline, Michigan, learned about a ‘new” nonprescription product for heartburn. But it’s not really new – it’s been around for a very long time. Read on to find out why it’s not well known here in the US, how it works, and its risks and
What medications should be tapered rather than abruptly stopped? If you’ve stopped a prescription medicine in the past, you may have wondered if it was okay to stop abruptly. It’s always a good question to ask. There are many prescription medications that should be tapered slowly to avoid uncomfortable or even life-threatening consequences. With prescription medications, your doctor or pharmacist is in a great position to guide you. Or check
Have you seen articles or ads about the wonders of creatine supplementation for older adults? Wondering if you should try it? A reader asked me about creatine recently, so I looked into the research. What I learned was quite interesting. Creatine is a compound that our bodies need to build muscle. We get some of it from animal protein in our diet and some from our body’s manufacturing processes. Though
Until the early 2000’s, hormones were used pretty routinely to treat women with uncomfortable menopausal symptoms. Then a study by the Women’s Health Initiative changed everything. It seemed to show that the risks of hormone replacement far outweighed the benefit. So for the past two decades or so, doctors have discouraged the use of hormones. But a reanalysis of the research results found that some conclusions didn’t apply to women