The Medical Advisor

In decades past, a daily low-dose aspirin regimen was frequently recommended as a primary prevention strategy against heart disease. However, the evidence in support of it was rather weak, and kept getting weaker as time went on. I stopped recommending daily “baby aspirin” use for the prevention of heart disease over two decades ago, due to the growing evidence of harmful side effects. The primary justification for a daily aspirin regimen has been that it inhibits prostaglandin production, 1  thereby decreasing your blood’s ability to form dangerous clots. However, in more recent years, most public health authorities have reversed their stance on the practice of using aspirin for primary prevention. ‘Baby’ Aspirin No Longer Recommended as Primary Prevention The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reversed its position on daily low-dose aspirin as primary prevention for heart disease in 2014, 2  citing clearly established side effects — including dangerous brain and stomach bleed...

A special intervention program almost completely eliminated the number of suicides among those who attempted it at least once. The program was initiated in 2017 at Rambam Health Care Campus, in the northern district of Israel. The unique approach is meant to prevent repeated  suicide  attempts among those who end up in a hospital emergency room (ER). In the last five years, results show an almost 100 percent success rate. Since the program was implemented, out of 600 people who tried to commit suicide and wound up in the ER, 599 were prevented from ending their lives. In the same year that Rambam launched its program, 402 suicide cases were recorded in Israel, according to Ministry of Health (MoH) data: 305 were men and 97 women. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for boys aged 15–24, the third for girls at the same age and also for men aged 25–44. As for recorded suicide attempts in Israel between the years 2009–2019, there were 6,200 cases per year on average, with...

Eating fruits such as avocados, apples and berries may support your metabolic health, lowering your risk of Type 2 diabetes and supporting healthy blood pressure. At the core of the condition, Type 2 diabetes is a function of insulin resistance, which in turn is a diet-induced condition. Obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar are also signs of metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that raise your risk of diabetes. 1 Processed foods loaded with added sugars, processed grains and industrial processed omega-6 vegetable oils are the primary culprits that trigger insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and while cutting out toxic foods such as these is essential, adding in healthy foods, like certain fruits, can be beneficial. Optimizing your nutrition can help lower your insulin level, stabilize your glucose level and improve your overall energy. Fortunately, making small positive dietary changes, including eating more of certain healthy fruits, may help reduce yo...