Recently a 14-year-old Maryland girl died after drinking 2 Monster Energy drinks in a 24-hour period. One 24 oz can has as much caffeine as seven 12 oz cans of regular soda. That means this girl took in 14 times the amount of caffeine in 2 cans of regular soda in 24 hours. It was … Read more
Last week, a patient, Ted, came in saying he had been experiencing a funny, metallic taste in his mouth for a while and was worried that it may be serious. I explained to him that there were a number of possible reasons for him having this taste in his mouth but we’d do a complete … Read more
Many of my patients love coffee as I do – the smell, the taste, the pick up it gives, but they frequently ask me if it’s bad for them and if they should cut down on the amount they drink. Perhaps you love your coffee too and are wondering the same thing. You’ll likely be as surprised as my patients are when I tell them that research has shown that several cups of coffee a day have some amazing health benefits! But like most good things, coffee also has a few drawbacks. Let me explain.
I do think there’s a time and place when energy drinks can be useful, especially during high exercise moments when you can become extremely dehydrated. But on the flipside these drinks pack in quite a lot of calories with their loaded high fructose corn syrup. Because of that, these drinks are definitely not something I’d put into the “everyday consumption” category. I also think there are better alternatives for a natural energy boost.
One of my patients good-naturedly teases me by calling me “Dr. Water” because I’m always stressing the importance of drinking enough water every day. It’s true, though. Drinking water is one of the best health boosting things you can do for yourself. It can relieve a lot of nagging symptoms and keep you alive! In … Read more
One of the most common complaints I hear from my patients involves painful muscle cramps and what to do about them. Likely, you’ve gotten your share of them too, especially if you’re active and exercise regularly. Sometimes they’re just a vague, achy “charley horse” or tightness and other times muscle cramps can be a deep, … Read more