Zorba Paster on Your Health :: Listen

#1 Seymour, WI Fat Fluctuation
[Caller wonders why he eats tons of junk food, but still has lost 23 pounds in 1 month! Z says it could be diabetes, and that this is not normal at all. Z recommends checking with his doc and getting some blood tests done.]

#2 Knoxville, TN Cholesterol Cures
[Suzanne wants to know if she can use red yeast rice to lower her cholesterol instead of the staten she is taking. Z does not recommend going off of staten! As for statens, he says if the cheapest (Lipitor) work, use them. He also says that red yeast rice was found to be tainted with a cholesterol medication, but there may be evidence that even without the taint it could help. He does not recommend using it, but advises Suzanne to go to consumerlabs.org to investigate what type they recommend.

Topic Japan = Healthiest Nation
Z and T discuss how heart attacks are more likely to occur in the winter, regardless of the temperature. This is according to a study presented for the American Heart Association. Deaths from heart-related complications were higher in the winter everywhere, regardless of the climate.

#3 Buffalo, NY First-Cold Pressed the Best?
[Caller wants to know why “first cold pressed” olive oil is supposed to be the best? Z says it’s about taste – not nutrients.].

E-mail Hot Soles (Stump the Doc)
Don in River Falls, WI needs a solution to his hot feet. Z says it could be caused by diabetes or that it could be tied to peripheral neuropathy issue. Z says we will put a list of things that could be causing hot feet on our website.

#4 El Paso, TX Toilet Seat Tiff
The caller is in an argument with his girlfriend over whether or not lining a toilet seat helps prevent against disease. Z says you can’t catch STDs from toilet seats, and that they’re actually not that dirty in the first place. Purell can help if you’re concerned, but no brand of special toilet seat liner is better than another – and they really don’t do anything in the first place.

#5 Oklahoma City, OK Sick Librarian
Marina writes in complaining that her dreams are too active! Z says this is called “parasomnias". Lipitor can cause it. Gabbapentin can help it. Sleep hygiene can help with it. Z says we will put up link to sleep hygiene tips.

E-mail Gold Ring for Styes (Listener Tip)
Teresa in Wichita, KS says rubbing a gold ring against her styles helps. Z says that this is because of the pressure that massages out the puss, and that any substance would likely work.

TOPIC: Wandering Mind= Accelerated Aging?
Z and T discuss the latest study from the University of California published in Clinical Psychological Science that found that those who reported wandering minds tended to have shorter telomeres ( a powerful biomarker of aging). Though “wandering” is subjective, it may be related to happiness and how it’s related to mind wandering.

#6 Milwaukee, WI Smoking and Pregnancy
Caller wants to know how long she has to go off cigarettes before she can get pregnant. Z says that the only restriction is that she cannot smoke while pregnant. Otherwise, there’s no wait. The problem is really how long it will actually take her to quit. Caller also a recovering alcoholic – so that’s a problem.

Mythbuster: Sunless Sunburn
T asks Z if your eyes can be burned even when it’s cloudy. Yes!, Z say, they can! UV rays come through clouds.

#7 Spokane, WA Arborist with Tendonitis
Caller is suffering from longest bout of tendonitis in his life – it won’t go away. He’s an arborist and uses physically straining tools. Z recommends 2 Aleve twice a day for 6 weeks – then slowly waning off of them. Z also advises that the caller try to mix up his routine and not do the same movements in the same order all of the time. His pain is caused by overuse.

E-mail Wrong about Rose
T reads an e-mail from Joe in Franklin, WI who corrects Z’s mistake in attributing the quote “A rose is a rose” to Edna St. Vincent Millay, when it was really Gertrude Stein’s.

1/05/2013 (Chicken Lettuce Cups with Hoisin Sauce)