Dr. Steve: Tuesday

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7:00am Segment Info:
There's been a lot of discussion in the press these days about Mitt Romney’s faith. But did you know that Mormon’s have a lower risk of heart disease? Doctors used to think it was because they don't smoke, but new research finds that fasting occasionally, something Mormon’s apparently do, can lower your risk of heart disease. They say people who fasted once a month were about 40 percent less likely to develop heart disease compared to those who do not fast.

Can fasting be dangerous?

For some people it can, so I don't recommend fasting without speaking to your doctor. Of course pregnant women should not fast, nor should people with heart rhythm problems or people with liver or kidney problem. Also, people with blood sugar problems definitely don't want to fast.

There's good news for people who take heart burn medicine.

Many people with gastroesophageal reflux or GERD. take a daily prescription of the popular heartburn drugs Prilosec or Nexium. There have been some concerns that these drugs can be dangerous for your heart. But now a new 3-month government study has concluded that the drugs are safe and they do not increase the risk of heart attack or heart related problems.

People take these medications for years, do we know what the long term safety of these drugs is?

I don't think they have 10 or 20-year data on these medications because they're relatively new. But so far there's no indication that they cause heart problems. There is however a lingering concern as to whether or not they increase the risk of hip fractures. An earlier study in 2006 found that people 50 and older who took Prilosec or Nexium had a 44 percent higher risk of hip fracture. The FDA is still looking into that.

8:00am Segment Info:

Meat lovers, listen up. If you eat a lot of red and processed meat you may be increasing your risk of cancer.

According to a new study from the national cancer institute that looked at nearly half a million people between the ages of 50 and 71, frequently eating red meat can increase the risk of bowel, liver, lung and esophageal cancer. And consuming large amounts of processed meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer and lung cancer.

Do we know which types of meat are the worst?

Since this was a survey type of study they didn't ask that question. So we don't know. We also don't know about different methods of preparation. For instance, was the food grilled on the barbecue? Or cooked in the oven? Also, most of the people in the study were white. So we can't say for sure that this applies to all races. The bottom line is you should probably try to limit your red meat and processed meat consumption.

In other news, new jersey finally made a decision on the flu shot.

That's right. Parents, if you live in New Jersey and your child goes to preschool or daycare.

They will soon be required to get an annual flu shot. A public health advisory panel voted yesterday to approve the mandatory shots despite opposition from numerous parents and children's rights advocates. The measure is expected to be approved by the state health commissioner in the next week, will make new jersey the first state in the country to make flu shots mandatory.

Did they vote on any other shots besides the flu shot?

They did. Three other new vaccines for school children were approved. One was a vaccine against pneumonia for preschoolers and two vaccines - one for meningitis and the other as booster for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus or DPT - for middle school students. The DPT shot is already routinely given in first grade. These measures should be signed by Dec. 18. The new vaccines would become mandatory on Sept. 1st, next year. Of course the flu shot can be given as late as December 2008.