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WOR Blogs - Dr. Ronald Hoffman

Mother's Day Weekend Activities

Hope you all had a great Mothers’ Day weekend. Had guests out to my East End beach house, including two generations of mothers. I managed to get my kayak in the bay for its maiden voyage of 2008. The water’s still a little cold, but kayaks are a great way to get out on the water and get a little exercise at the same time. I own three: a super-fast and light composite racer, a tandem for kayaking with a partner, and a sit-on-top which is great for those hot summer days when you don’t mind getting splashed. Sunday, my new neoprene and nylon skirt kept me dry even though the water was a little choppy.

I also managed a quick 4 mile run before my show on Saturday, and on Sunday, I took my inaugural 2008 bike ride with Iron Man triathlete David Cowan, son of Health Talk producer Laurie Cowan, and occasional guest on Health Talk. David, who is training for the Lake Placid Iron Man this July, was kind enough to dog his pace so that I could keep up on our 30 mile ride down Dune Road. That is until the final leg when, with a tail-wind behind us, he broke away effortlessly as I struggled to keep up. With David two hundred yards ahead of me, I looked at the bicycle speedometer and I realized I was clocking 33 mph on a downhill descent—little good did it do me!

Speaking of Iron Man, saw the Robert Downey Jr. movie of that name, and it was an enjoyable action pic, haven’t had so much fun with an action hero since I was a kid standing by the comic book rack in the market while my mom was shopping! Even the ladies enjoyed it.

Cultural Notes, Part 2
An aerial view of the USS Nimitz

I'm reading an awesome history of the Pacific Campaign in World War II—"Retribution" by Max Hastings. Through detailed historic vignettes he describes the boredom and terror of life for a seaman on an aircraft carrier, the misery of Marines slogging through the swamps of Leyte, the deadly Russian Roulette of air combat over coral atolls, and the nuttiness of some of the leading military figures of both sides. He also explains the inexorable logic behind deployment of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Finally, the best reality show of the year was "Carrier" on PBS. I watched fascinated through multiple hour-long episodes as the "cinema verite" cameras rolled on scenes of enormous sacrifice and pathos of the armed service men and women who serve on the carrier Nimitz. Some of these are kids of mere 17 or 18, most with terribly disadvantaged backgrounds. For most, the military is an incredible growth experience. Executive Producer was Mel Gibson

New York Cultural Sampler

Some people think that I see patients 24/7, with brief pauses for sleep and exercise. Not so. I enjoy a diverse menu of stimulating activities, and here’re some of my recent ones: I just saw "Cry Baby", the new John Waters musical on Broadway. I found it decidedly unpleasant. What a waste of marvelous theatrical resources: dancers, orchestra, stagecraft to the max, but the whole thing was steeped in cynicism and the worst stereotypes, sacrificed on the altar of Low Camp. Moral: Aren’t we clever now looking back from our so-sophisticated 2008 vantage point on the stupid antics of all those fools in the 50’s?
This is progress? I don’t get it . . .

GREAT new Annie Proulx short story in the May 5 edition of the New Yorker Magazine. You’ll remember she’s the author of "Brokeback Mountain," which originally appeared as a short story in the New Yorker. Whatever you may have thought of Hollywood’s portrayal of gay cowboys, her latest story, "Them Old Cowboy Songs" is a minimalist masterpiece of Old West story-telling, bleak as the frontier, and hetero. She’s totally nailed the cowboy idiom—Wow! One of my best recent museum experiences: Cai Guo-Qiang, "I Want to Believe" at the Guggenheim Museum, only through May 28. I have rarely seen an artist with such a comprehensive vision and a commitment to unbridled creativity. He does everything from massive outdoor pyrotechnic displays, to huge abstract canvasses, to sculpture, to big conceptual pieces.
The entire Guggenheim is filled with his paintings, videos of his explosive displays, leaping wolf packs, massive sculptures, neon-lit cars cascading from the ceiling.

Go!

Swimming with the Sharks in Orlando.
Recently, I had a little extra down-time while attending the Spring Conference of the American College for Advancement in Medicine. The hotel was adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando. So I decided to book the Sharks Deep Dive experience.

It was very well organized. There are only two participants per dive. First, we met with a very well-informed marine biologist who told us all about sharks and their behavior. Then we donned wetsuits and took a golf cart to the shark tank, which is visible to patrons in the Shark Lounge. The picture shows me ready to be lowered into the shark tank. They put a helmet over your head which feeds compressed air to you during the dive. Essentially you are underwater, but your head is dry, and you can communicate with the handlers above with a mike and earpiece.

While under water, the cage trolleys slowly back and forth through the shark cage. The sharks pass by really close, curious, but not vicious, because, we were told, they were just fed. Nevertheless, they tell you not to stick your fingers through the steel bars on the shark cage. You stay underwater for a half hour—a unique experience. If you get a chance, book it, but be sure to reserve ahead of time.

Geeks and Glasses

Are people who wear glasses geeks?

Is the stereotype of the introverted, socially maladroit myope valid?

Well, full-disclosure here, folks: I’m one of them, and although I will admit to being sort of an egg-head, I don’t feel that makes me a nerd.

I now feel vindicated, as should millions of near-sighted individuals, by the results of a recent study. This may be the first study that compares the personalities of glasses-wearers to those of normal sighted individuals.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia administered personality tests to volunteers with and without myopia.

They found that, on average, near-sighted folks were actually more likely to be agreeable and open rather than closed and introverted.

Looks like those who bought into this old myth may have been a little short-sighted.

Poisoning the Well for Supplement Takers.

Once again the headline-writers were having a field day: "Vitamins Shorten Life," "Supplements Do More Harm than Good," and "Time to Ban Vitamins" were among the more lurid examples.

But what the newspaper didn’t tell you was that:

The "new" study was not new, but a rehash of previous studies cherry-picked to support the conclusion that antioxidants are dangerous.
The study was based on deaths among sick people, and did not address whether supplements could help healthy people stay well.
The "antioxidants" in question were synthetic, cheap forms of vitamin E and beta carotene that most complementary doctors like myself have stopped using.
The study includes research on vitamin A, which is NOT EVEN AN ANTIOXIDANT!

There are more problems with the antioxidant study, which I discuss extensively on my 4-17-07 & 4-20-08 podcasts. Visit www.worradionet.com to access these archives. More detailed critiques can also be found at the following link:

Cetrtain vitamins may shorten lifespan

Dr. Hoffman's 2008 Hip Update
Many listeners have been asking me: "How’s your hip doing?" As I commemorate my two-year anniversary of a calamitous hip fracture while training for the New York City Triathlon, I’m feeling great (catch my account of the healing process at my website by clicking here.

I’m now swimming, biking, and running at nearly the same intensity as I was pre-injury. Plus, I’ve added a component of specific strength and flexibility training with a personal trainer at the "Y" to fully restore my hip function.

Some of the credit is due, I’m certain, to my aggressive supplement program. For joint repair I’ve been taking thr following:

1-EPA/DHA four capsules daily

2-Borage oil two capsules daily

3-MSM 1000 two capsules daily

4-Flexnow two capsules daily (www.Flexnow.com)

5-Avosoy Complete four capsules daily (http://www.drtheos.com/)

6-Pycnogenol 100 mg two capsules daily.

email Dr. Hoffman

April 28th- Cutting Edge Health Information

Looking for cutting-edge health information? Here’s a resource I recently learned about and would like to share with you: www.supplementinfo.org Paste that URL into your browser and get updates on breaking stories about supplements, including a very comprehensive A to Z guide on vitamins, minerals, nutraceuticals and herbs.

The Dietary Supplement Information Bureau™ (DSIB™) was founded in 2001 to promote the responsible use of vitamins, minerals, herbs and specialty supplements. They want to empower consumers with the latest scientific information so they can make better supplement choices.

This month, for example, they report on research that shows that broccoli sprouts help protect against bladder cancer, a story I recently feature on Health Talk. Check out their new stories and blogs for the latest in nutritional science, I think you’ll find it worth your time.

Health Talk E-News

All poultry in Seoul killed after bird flu outbreak
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korean officials said Monday they have killed all poultry in Seoul, the capital, to curb the spread of bird flu following a new outbreak of the disease in the city....

Families make case for vaccine link to autism
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be rewarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link, government lawyers argued Monday on the first day of a hearing in federal court....

Study: Older brains don't benefit from painkillers
CHICAGO (AP) -- Results from a large government experiment are dimming hopes that two common painkillers can prevent Alzheimer's disease or slow mental decline in older people....

Nagging via text messages to help teens remember meds
WASHINGTON (AP) -- 4gt yr meds? Getting kids to remember their medicine may be a text message away. Cincinnati doctors are experimenting with texting to tackle a big problem: Tweens and teens too often do a lousy job of controlling chronic illnesses like asthma, diabetes or kidney disease....

Feds: Teen use of pot can lead to dependency, mental illness
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday....