Smooth sailing — and safe driving — after cataract surgery
Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Cleopatra and her crew, floating down the Nile on her royal barge from Aswan to Khartoum, had to watch out for the six cataracts that could damage their craft and send them into the roiling waters. To this day, these sometimes-shallow, sometimes-rocky stretches of white water between Egypt and Sudan cause terrible accidents.
Cataracts that cloud the lens in your eye badly enough to interfere with you cruising down the highway can be the cause of bad accidents too, according to a study in JAMA Ophthalmology. Luckily, the researchers found that getting a cataract removed significantly reduces your risk of being a danger to yourself or others while you’re navigating your vehicle through traffic.
Researchers tracked 559,546 patients 65 years and older who underwent cataract surgery and found that traffic accident rates fell 9 percent postsurgery. (In that group there were 2.34 crashes per 1,000 patients annually before surgery and 2.14 crashes per 1,000 patients afterward.) Having that many fewer crashes prevents injury to drivers as well as passengers and folks in other vehicles, and saves millions of dollars in health care costs and billions of stress-related moments.
Is your world looking a little less sharp? A simple eye exam can tell if you have a cataract; the lensreplacement procedure itself is usually swift (10 minutes) and effective. For a simple procedure when you have no other relevant health problems, the complication rate is below 2 percent getting lower all the time.
Once you have the procedure done, you’ll be ready to cruise the Nile — and your hometown highway — safely.
Telling hidden trans fats to get lost!
“Lost in Translation” is a 2003 Sofia Coppola film about a once-was movie star (Bill Murray) who lost his twinkle, until he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) in a hotel in Tokyo. Their friendship is powerful and disruptive, and it’s hard to know exactly where it will lead them.
Fortunately, you know exactly where the result of “lost trans fats” will lead you: away from a major cause of heart attack, stroke and maybe brain dysfunction and cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration has banned these hydrogenated oils from foods — sort of. They did say that what’s already been manufactured with trans fats may be sold to consumers, and they extended the date for some food companies to find a substitute that preserves texture, taste and shelf life. So it seems like a trans-fat-free grocery store would be complete by 2020. Right?
Not so fast. Turns out trans fats are present naturally in some foods — notably, beef, pork, lamb, butter, and milk, all animal proteins that also are loaded with highly inflammatory, heart-clogging saturated fat.
How do they get there? Bacteria in animals’ stomachs hydrogenate the fatty oils that they consume through their feed. One study found that eating lots of natural or artificial trans fats (that comes to just under 4 percent of your daily calorie intake) is equally likely to up your risk for heart disease.
So if you want trans fats to get lost for good, KO red meats and dairy from your diet. Then, bodywide inflammation and increased risk of chronic diseases (and wrinkles!) is what you’ll lose in your transition!
New insights into preventing Type 2 diabetes; how to change doctors and stay safe
Question:
I know people who have developed Type 2 diabetes who aren’t particularly overweight or sedentary. Does that mean anyone can get it? What can I do to make sure I don’t develop it? — Gracie R., Roanoke, Virginia
Answer: That’s a great question — and there’s new research that’s helping to provide answers.
Type 2 diabetes starts either with the inability to use insulin properly or when your body doesn’t produce enough of it to regulate your blood sugar levels — even when it produces more insulin than normal. That can happen because of inflammation, changes in the gut biome and even exposure to antibiotics. Genetics may make you vulnerable, as do lifestyle choices, such as eating high-fat, overprocessed foods; being sedentary; and not getting enough good-quality sleep.
But the latest research shows that air pollution, which triggers bodywide inflammation and reduces insulin production, is also a risk factor, and it contributed to around 3.2 million new diabetes cases globally in 2016. Another recent study found that women who work more than 45 hours a week are 63 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than women who work 30-40 hours weekly. This probably is related to a chronic stress response that amps up inflammation, disrupts sleep and causes unhealthy eating schedules and choices.
Your best moves to avoid Type 2?
■ Get 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep nightly.
■ Maintain a healthy eating schedule, which includes seven to nine servings of produce daily.
■ Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily and try not to exercise in highly polluted air.
■ Install air filters at home.
■ If you work long hours and can’t curtail them, find time for daily meditation and physical activity to dispel stress and improve sleep quality.
So, there’s a lot that contributes to developing the disease and a lot you can do to avoid it. Don’t forget Dr. Mike’s tip: “Drinking four cups of coffee over the course of a day will reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes by 50 percent!”
Q: I need to change several of my doctors because I changed jobs and my old doctors don’t take my new health insurance. What am I supposed to do? — William C., Wooster, Ohio
A: It’s a problem with today’s U.S. health care system, and no one seems to have an answer. A new, major British study that reviewed outcomes in 22 countries with different health care systems has found that staying with the same doctor(s) for a long period of time leads to better health and longevity and is better for the docs, too. But don’t worry, even though that was the conclusion, if you become your own best patient advocate, you will emerge from this change in doctors as a healthier you. Here’s how to do it:
No. 1: Specialization is increasing, so your GP’s job is offering important baseline health monitoring (annual physicals, vaccinations) and giving you referrals to specialists like cardiologists and orthopedic surgeons. The key is to have your medical records available to your new GP, and all your GP’s records available to any specialists, so they will know if you have health issues that affect their care of you. Your task: Have every doc give you both a digital and printed copy of your records; review them, and correct any mistakes. And make sure the doctors are communicating your records to one another digitally; it’s the best way to protect yourself from medical oversights when you change docs.
No. 2: The British research study mentioned that patients who stay with their docs for long periods of time had what they termed a “greater adherence to medical advice.” In other words, folks who move around from doc to doc are less likely to follow their doc’s advice. So act like a member of the care team from the start: Be an engaged patient, ask questions, be polite to the staff, show you care about quality care and you’ll get it. The You Docs, Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, are the authors of“YOU: Losing Weight.”Want more? See “The Dr. Oz Show” on weekdays at 4 p.m. on WPBFChannel 25. Have a question? Go to www.RealAge.com.