As cigarette smoking rates fall, more people are smoking tobacco from hookahs–communal pipes that enable users to draw tobacco smoke through water. A new meta-analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that hookah smokers are inhaling a large load of toxicants.

Study Finds Hookah Delivers 25 Times More Tar Than A Cigarette

Q.  How accurate are the calorie counts on nutrition facts labels? What about the nutrition information at restaurants? Is anyone checking them for accuracy?

A.  Consumers are often surprised–and dismayed–to learn that the information on nutrition facts labels is not nearly as accurate or reliable as they imagined.   Part of this is built into the system.   The FDA allows manufacturers and packagers a surprisingly wide margin of error–the information can be off  by 20% in either direction and still be in compliance.   For example, if the nutrition facts label says that a food contains 300 calories, it may actually contain anywhere from 240 to 360 calories.And, of course, sometimes the labels are out of compliance.  Although it would technically be up to the FDA (in the case of packaged foods) and the states (in the case of restaurants) to enforce the laws, you can imagine that the budget for spot-checking the accuracy of this information is fairly small.  When errors come to light, it’s usually due to independent investigations.READ MORE

Bone Density Program George Kessler DO PC,

As people reach old age, osteoporosis is a major determining factor in quality of life. In Healing Moves, Dr. Mitchell and Carol Krucoff write, “Age-related declines in muscle and bone mass … can lead to frailty and fracture — the primary reason older adults wind up in nursing homes.” If you don’t want to spend your later years resting in a nursing home, losing your independence and draining your or your family’s financial resources, you need to do something to remain independent. According to numerous studies and aging manuals, that “something” is strength training, an activity known to increase bone mass and thus decrease the possibility of osteoporosis.
Postmenopausal women are especially prone to osteoporosis because they lack estrogen. Most women know this and begin to take calcium supplements to ward off the debilitating disease. Calcium supplements are important, but according to Kathy Keeton’s book, Longevity, they are not enough. Not only does your body need magnesium and other nutrients to assimilate calcium into your bones

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