Now, we all know what Viagra is and what it does. Did you know that the use of Viagra among men aged 18 to 45 increased three-fold in the first 5 years that the drug was on the market? Gosh, it seems a lot of the younger guys just can’t get it up. Is that really the case? Do these younger guys really suffer from erectile dysfunction? Well, part of the problem may be just that, and then part of the problem may be because of its use as a recreational drug. Viagra seems to be all the rage. Who can go one day without seeing on erectile dysfunction advertisement on the TV or in newsprint perhaps 10 or more times a day. Health care experts regard the trend as both a concern for public health and health care economics. Worldwide, more than a billion of the little blue pills have been dispensed since Viagra was first approved for sale in the US. Man, that’s a lot of woodys!

Swedish doctors have reported that a cream made from human breast milk can drastically reduce or even eliminate those nasty, ugly, stubborn common little warts some of us get. The active ingredient in the breast milk, human alpha-lactalbumin, forces the wart cell to self destruct by accumulating in each cell’s nucleus and interfering with it’s control process. Damn clever those Swedes, eh?

Why is this little tidbit of news so interesting? Well, the results may extend well beyond wart treatment because the same class of viruses that cause those growths are also responsible for cervical cancer, genital warts, and some types of skin cancer. The Swedish team leader who discovered this connection, Lotta Gustafsson—no, really, it’s her name, I’m not kidding—well, they found that 3 weeks of daily treatment with alpha-lactalbumin and oleic acid reduced the size of the warts by 75% or more in all 20 volunteers. After 2 years of study, all the warts disappeared in the volunteer subjects.

What’s the latest fat-melting fad? Well, it’s called Mesotherapy or "hope in a needle." I kid you not! This half-century fad was originated by the French. It involves hundreds of injections and is touted as an alternative to liposuction. I say you’d look like a human pin cushion if you can stand that many injections. And what is in the needle injection you say? It is a cocktail of plant extracts, vitamins, and medications (such as a drug for treating asthma). This mixture is supposed to stimulate fat cells to shed fat. Ok, you following me? Why do they call it mesotherapy? Well, because the injections go under the skin and are absorbed by the mesodermal or middle layer. Then, you’re supposed to shed weight the same way you do when you diet and exercise, excreting fat and waste. Believe me, it’s a lot less painful to exercise and diet then to be stuck hundreds of times with a needle.

This fad started back in France in 1952 and has long been popular with the European rich and famous. It never really caught on in the US until now. New clinics are springing up everywhere. This procedure is not cheap. Each session costs an average of about $500, with 10-15 sessions recommended. OK, you do the math. For the cost of a yearly membership or even hiring a personal trainer for a year, you are miles and mucho dollars ahead.

A good friend of mine in Mississippi sent me an article I find kind of funny and shocking. Seems as though the fat activists are protesting the diet industry. They are unashamed of their size, fed up with fat jokes, and angry at the national obsession with dieting. They think there is a war on fat people. Well, maybe there is and maybe there’s not. People who eat way too much and exercise way too little, or not at all, don’t have their act together. There has to be some common sense dialog among people who are overweight. Rather than fight the dieting industry why not get to know what it’s all about. I understand that some people can be overweight all their lives and not end up with diabetes, heart disease, or hypertension. But nearly two-thirds of America’s adults and half of our children are overweight. That’s just not healthy folks. Have you ever sat next to an overweight person on a long, long flight and you felt squeezed and uncomfortable because they are too big for their seat? It’s a very touchy issue, I know, but one that has to be addressed. Lives will be cut short and insurance premiums will go sky high if we don’t do something about America’s weight problem. OK, folks, here’s an honest way of telling yourself if you’re overweight: stand in front of a mirror—naked. Are you happy at what you see? If not, then change it.

And here is a timely bit of news that the people mentioned in the above paragraph could use. We know that high carbohydrate diets may increase the waistline, but did you also know that new research suggests that they might raise the risk of breast cancer? A study of Mexican women shows those who ate a lot of carbohydrates were more than twice as likely to get breast cancer than those who ate less starch and sugar.

Scientists think carbs may increase cancer risk by rapidly raising sugar in the blood, which prompts a surge of insulin to be secreted. This causes cells to divide and leads to higher levels of estrogen in the blood, both of which can encourage cancer. Better rethink your diet!