DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 72-year-old male in good health who was told this week that my eyes have shown the beginning of glaucoma. There is no change in my 20/20 vision yet. In 2014, I had cataract surgery in both eyes. Is there any evidence that AREDS 2 vitamins (special eye vitamins) will do anything to moderate the effects of glaucoma? -- R.C.
This year nearly 250,000 patients will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 130,000 will die from it. In SD, 660 people will be diagnosed and over 400 will die from the disease.
Q: Will eating a plantbased diet do anything for my prostate or my sexual health? -- Jay S., San Francisco A: We know that a plant-based diet (which avoids highly processed carbs and added sugars and syrups) is great for your cardiovascular system, brain and immune health. All of that contributes to resistance to infection and helps prevent inflammation, heart disease, cancers, erectile dysfunction and more.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 64. I started taking statins to lower my cholesterol about two years ago. My cholesterol level sometimes went over 200, and after seesawing results, my doctor advised that I was unable to maintain a low cholesterol by diet alone and prescribed a statin. I took 10 mg of atorvastatin. I noticed I started having very detailed and vivid nightmares. (I would rather be awake than be in these nightmares.) The doctor changed me to 5 mg of rosuvastatin. The doctor says my results are very good (cholesterol is 140). I am still having nightmares, but not as frequent as before. I also am having memory issues (e.g., could not remember the names of close colleagues from only two years ago). I recently saw an article that suggested there may be a link between dementia and use of statins.
Hays First United Methodist Church, 305 W. Seventh, is accepting donations for its annual “Mitten Tree” project through Sunday, Nov.
Q: My doctor insists that I should get more sleep, but if it feels OK to sleep for just about five hours a night, isn’t that what my body naturally needs? I am 53 and in pretty good health. -- Steve R., White Plains, New York
Dear Amy: I met my husband when I was a part-time sex worker and he was a client. We’ve been happily married for 30 years (I found a new career when we started dating).
Dear Readers, The days of not even whispering the word Christmas until after the pumpkin pie was served are long gone. Cornucopias, pumpkins and other Thanksgiving décor may be front and center now, but Christmas trees and twinkly lights replaced Trick-Or-Treater’s glow sticks in store aisles long before October 31st. The mingling of celebrations rubs some traditionalists the wrong way but their resistance often dissipates when faced by good cheer. Or their naysaying is simply overrun by logistics, the game of TWISTER we all must play these days just dealing with “life” , let alone celebrate a holiday.
Dear Amy: I am the grandmother of two wonderful kids - a 7-yearold girl and 3-year-old boy. My son-in-law has been overly critical of my granddaughter since she was four, and now is starting to treat the younger child the same.
Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.! Join Dementia expert and attorney, Randy Clinkscales for a FREE dementia workshop going over essential information on Thursday, December 1st, in person at the Hays Public Library from 2-3 p.m.