category : Dr. Mixon's Longevity Journal

A new study links soft drinks and depression. Researchers followed almost 264,000 people for 10 years. The study demonstrated rather convincingly that people who drink more than four soft drinks per day have a 30% increase in their risk of becoming clinically depressed.

Interestingly, it’s not the sugar, since those who drank diet soda had a slightly higher risk of depression than those who drank the sugared versions. The sugar, of course, will make you fat, raise your cholesterol, and increase your risk of dementia. But there’s something else that’s present in both the diet and sugared versions that seems to increase your risk of developing a

We have known for years that exposure to x-rays increases the risk of cancer. Because America does more x-ray imaging than any other country on the planet, researchers have looked closely at the impact of medical x-ray studies on cancer incidence.

The best current estimates are that between two and 3% of all of the cancers in America are caused by medical imaging studies. According to the American Cancer Society, there were about 1.4 million new cancers diagnosed in the US last year. That means that last year alone, roughly 40,000 Americans got cancer due to their x-ray

Anyone who’s watched television these days has seen the ads touting testosterone as the cure for a man’s midlife blues, and as a way to enhance his romantic life. But here’s what they don’t tell you.

The vast majority of midlife men in America have too much fat on their midsection. Male abdominal fat contains an enzyme called aromatase that converts testosterone into estrogen. Failing to compensate for the increased estrogen production may result in that already-suffering midlife man suddenly discovering that he is in need of a bra. Filling a C-cup is not the goal of the typical low-testosterone man.

So before your doctor puts you on testosterone, make sure he carefully follows your estrogen level. If your ratio of free testosterone to estrogen is not at least 7 to 1 in favor of testosterone, you need to be taking an estrogen blocker.

A single daily glass of wine with dinner may rob you of the ability to read, drive, or even watch TV.

Age-related macular degeneration is a common condition in which the central 20/20 vision area of the eye degenerates over time. While peripheral vision is preserved, you permanently lose the ability to see details. A recent study of 21,000 people over a 12 year period, demonstrated that drinking as little as 1 ounce of alcohol, which is one 6 ounce glass of wine, one can of beer, or one shot of whiskey per day, increased the risk of macular degeneration and permanent damage to your vision by

Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in America. It is more common than rheumatoid arthritis. It has the capacity to completely destroy your joints and leave you severely disabled. It’s acute attacks are exquisitely painful, in fact, they are usually described as agonizing.

And yet, except when someone presents with an acute attack, the disease is often not taken seriously enough by either patients or their physicians. If you suffer from gout, make sure your doctor puts you on a daily medication designed to lower your uric acid level. You need to be taking this medication every day, even when you are not having an attack. Your uric acid levels should be carefully adjusted to the middle of a healthy person's range. A uric acid level in the high normal range is not acceptable for you.

You can effectively cure this disease, but you need to take control of your care.