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Our basic premise is that your body is amazing. You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do. In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the quality and length of your life.

This month’s YOUR Do-Over Tips are about preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

1. Q) My 89-year-old mother passed away after having Alzheimer’s for about seven years. I’m 59 and scared I’m going to develop it and so will my kids. Is there anything we can do to reduce our risk? Karen B., Stillwater, OK

1. A) We’re sorry for your loss, but there’s good news about avoiding Alzheimer’s. True, early onset Alzheimer’s seems to be familial; if a parent has the gene associated with early-onset (when symptoms appear before age 50), a child has a 50/50 chance of developing Alzheimer’s. But your mom had late onset (after age 65) cognitive dysfunction, maybe Alzheimer’s. Most late onset cognitive dysfunction is a combination of vascular dementia (not enough blood flow), brain inflammation, and other factors. Researchers have not found a specific gene associated with Alzheimer’s disease in a very high percentage of cases and think it arises from a combination of factors.

A new study in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry has identified nine risky conditions for Alzheimer’s (all modifiable—great news!) and several ways to protect yourself from developing the disease (great news, again!).

The modifiable risk factors are:

• obesity;
• current smoking (in this study they saw the risk in people of Asian descent—we feel pretty sure it applies to most folks);
• carotid artery narrowing (that’s plaque in arteries on each side of your neck leading to the brain);
• type 2 diabetes (again, in people of Asian descent—though it would seem possible that this inflammatory condition ups everyone’s risk);
• low educational attainment;
• high levels of homocysteine (that’s a marker of inflammation);
• depression;
• high blood pressure; and
• frailty

Fortunately, we know getting 30-60 minutes of physical activity a day and 30 minutes of strength building exercise 2-3 days a week, ditching the Five Food Felons (assiduously avoiding foods with added sugars, syrups, simple carbs, trans fats, and saturated fats), sleeping 7-8 hours a night, de-stressing with routine meditation every morning and night, and enjoying friends and family can help banish those brain-bashing risk factors.

If you and your kids embrace smart nutrition, physical activity, and stress reduction, don’t smoke, and follow your doctor’s recommendations regarding managing your blood pressure, then you’ll be following the blueprint for brain health and a long and happy life.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to send questions—to youdocs@gmail.com, and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

 NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice.

This article is of the opinion of its author.

Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week). The YOU docs have tow newly revised books: The patron saint “book” of this column YOU Staying Young—revised and YOU: The Owner’s Manual…revised —yes a revision of the book that started Dr Oz to being Dr Oz. These makes great gifts—so do YOU: ON a Diet and YOU: The Owner’s Manual for teens. And, the new book by Dr Mike Roizen: This is YOUR Do-Over

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.radioMD.com Saturdays from 5-7 p.m. He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including: YOU Staying Young.

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing. You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do. In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the quality and length of your life.

Here are our choices for the three most important medical stories of 2015 in regards to helping you stay young…

1. Try A Periodic Fast. In a new study from the University of Southern California, researchers tested a super-short periodic fast diet strategy that offers the potential benefits of both continual calorie reduction and fasting—without giving up much when it comes to food. Mice ate low-calorie diets for five days twice a month for several months. Humans ate a low-calorie, healthy diet for just five days a month for three months. The results? Mice on the eating plan had less cancer, lost more heart-threatening abdominal fat, developed stronger immunity, and displayed sharper thinking skills than those who chowed down as usual. They also lived longer. Levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)—a compound that can fuel the growth of cancer cells—decreased. Your fellow humans saw improvements in markers linked to a lower risk for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

This new “fast-mimicking diet” that combines a five-day low-cal plan followed by regular eating (an essential important component of the diet) seems to be an effective way to flip on healthy switches throughout your body—and you never miss a meal. In lab studies, the researchers observed the low-cal portion of the plan prompts the death of aging cells throughout the body, and that may increase cells’ resistance to stress. Then, eating normal-size meals again prompts an increase in the number of stem cells—the cells that help repair and rebuild tissue throughout the body.

2. Test Your Grip Strength with Dr. Roizen’s Nutty Rice Bucket Challenge to Find Out How Long and Well You’ll Live. Don’t ignore your hands. Building grip strength in midlife protects you from inability to do activities of daily life, like dressing, and mobility problems later on and keeps you active longer. Several small studies over the last few decades indicate that your grip strength predicts your risk of disability and even death. This year, a large 17 country 142,000 person study found that your grip strength really does predict if you will live long and prosper. It is not obvious why your grip strength is such a good predictor of disability and death, but it is even a better predictor than your overall muscle mass, your blood pressure, your LDL cholesterol levels, etc. Go to NuttyRiceBucket.org to find a fun (and even entertaining) method using this rice bucket that can help predict if your biological age is older or younger than your calendar age. It’s also a method used by pole vaulters, rock climbers, and even defensive linemen in the NFL to strengthen their grip. Remember, no cheating, but beating 15 seconds will mean you may be much younger than you think.

3. EAT DMB (Not dumb, but eating this may really make you smarter, and keep you younger much longer). A heart-threatening substance produced by bacteria inside your gut to chow down on foods like red meat and pork called TMAO can be a menace to your body by stimulating it to plug arteries with more and more plaque (and it might also help cancers thrive, and kill brain cells, too). Now we know how to stop it. Brand new studies from the Cleveland Clinic (where Dr. Mike is Chief Wellness Officer) have uncovered a “Superman” compound that thwarts TMAO. And you can start using it today—deliciously—to lower your risk for heart attack, stroke, even kidney problems and wrinkles. This protector is called DMB, but it’s far from dumb.

Found in some extra-virgin olive oils and red wines, DMB stops bacteria in your digestive system from turning choline, l-carnitine, and lecithin from food into the compound that becomes TMAO. In lab studies, DMB stopped gut bugs from making this “pre TMAO.” That means the liver couldn’t convert it into TMAO. With less TMAO in the bloodstream, atherosclerosis—the build-up of fatty, gunky plaque in artery walls—slowed down and even went into reverse. Wow! Meanwhile, back in the digestive system, there was a decrease in TMA-producing gut bugs. Double whammy! It doesn’t take many of these unfriendly bugs to cause problems in your arteries, so the fewer the better.

TMAO seems to matter as much or more than cholesterol in regards to heart and brain health. A study measured TMAO in more than 4,000 men and women, and those with the highest levels were 2 ½ times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next three years than those with the lowest levels. Interestingly, the risk was high regardless of whether their levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol were high or low. Where did this TMAO come from? In related studies, people who ate two hard-boiled eggs or an 8-ounce sirloin steak saw blood levels of TMAO soar. TMAO traps cholesterol inside gunky, foamy cells that burrow into artery walls. Normally, some of this cholesterol is sucked out and whisked away by friendly HDL cholesterol. But dastardly TMAO shuts down that clean-up operation, inviting more and more cholesterol to pile in.

You don’t have to become a vegan to reduce TMAO levels, but it helps. It appears TMAO levels won’t increase if you eat less than four ounces of red meat, eight ounces of lean pork, or two egg yolks per week (not all of ‘em, but any combo of them). Fish is a better entrée, but limit servings of tilapia, cod, and Chilean sea bass—the samples of these tested contained more TMAO than other seafood.

Go for “EV” olive oil: There’s DMB in some cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oils—such as types produced in Spain, in some parts of Turkey and Greece, and California. You need 2-4 tablespoons a day; at 120 calories per tablespoon that could add up so be sure to use it instead of other fats and make other calorie adjustments as needed. Store olive oil away from light in a tightly-capped brown bottle to preserve DMB. Grape seed oil, balsamic vinegar, and red wine may also be good sources.

Now combine the grip strength strengthening of the Nutty Rice Bucket with the periodic reduced calorie diet, and eating DMB, and you just may be 50 years younger than your calendar age at age 95. Not Bad. Now you see why I think these are the three best medical breakthroughs for staying young in 2015….

Thanks for reading. Feel free to send questions—to youdocs@gmail.com, and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice. This article is of the opinion of its author. Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week). The YOU docs have tow newly revised books: The patron saint “book” of this column YOU Staying Young—revised and YOU: The Owner’s Manual…revised —yes a revision of the book that started Dr Oz to being Dr Oz. These makes great gifts—so do YOU: ON a Diet and YOU: The Owner’s Manual for teens. And, the new book by Dr Mike Roizen: This is YOUR Do-Over

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.radioMD.com Saturdays from 5-7 p.m. He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including: YOU Staying Young.

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing. You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do. In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the quality and length of your life.

You know that tobacco addiction ages you—your blood vessels and your immune system become older so you suffer disabilities earlier –18 years of disability before death on average—and die 10 years earlier. But addiction isn’t limited to just tobacco. Addiction is everyone’s problem – and it’s time to get real about our nation’s most urgent health crisis. One in three American households bear the burden of life-changing addictions, so you likely know someone who’s faced the fear and frustration that surrounds this disease. The ripples touch the lives of 85 million people, harming friends, family, and co-workers.

Right now, more than 17 million Americans are dependent on alcohol; 1.9 million on prescription pain killers; 855,000 have a dependence on cocaine, and more than a half-million are addicted to heroin. When University of Southern California researchers looked at 11 types of addiction, they concluded that half of those addicted to nicotine, alcohol, or drugs are dependent on more than one substance. Still more were also addicted to sex, gambling, or overspending as well.

Drug-related deaths have increased three to five-fold since 2001 according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) as more and more children, teens, and adults get hooked on alcohol, prescription pain killers, heroin, and other chemicals. A life is lost every minute. Yet, 90 percent of those who need treatment cannot get it.

Beyond the War on Drugs

Addiction is a reversible brain disease — not a moral failing. It’s a result of dysfunction deep within brain circuits involved with reward, motivation, and memory. While criminals should be punished, we agree with Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s recent remarks that “we simply cannot arrest our way out of this problem. We also have to address the root causes of addiction and focus on treatment.” Indiana has seen a tenfold increase in the number of deaths from heroin overdoses from 2005 to 2013 — as well as a rise in child abuse and neglect related to substance abuse. Now, that state, like Ohio and like many medical centers, is among the many who are looking for a new direction. People struggling with addiction need access to research-based treatment, but it’s often is too expensive, too far away, or has a waiting list that’s too long. You cannot break an addiction without your brain being busy with something else… your brain needs a new addiction like walking, or talking to a buddy, or both.

The reason breaking addictions poses such a biological test is that repeated and addictive behavior actually changes your brain circuitry. When you learn a behavior, neurons communicate with one another, telling you,

“This is how you do the task,” whatever it might be. New connections are made to enable you to add numbers, solve problems, translate foreign languages, serve a tennis ball, learn guitar chords—anything.

Two things happen when you’re learning that skill or action. One, the connections between those neurons strengthen. Use those neurons, and they become tough so that the once-difficult skill becomes easy. It’s why learning piano may be difficult at first, but then you practice and practice until the neighbors are so sick of hearing “Chopsticks” that playing the song becomes second nature. Your neurons know what to do and do it quickly. It’s an example of biological efficiency: you need energy at first to learn the behavior, but not so much once you know it.

Two, while those connections between neurons are strengthening, the ones you aren’t using are being whittled away. It’s the whole “Use it or lose it” maxim. Let’s say that you learned Spanish in elementary school but haven’t used a lick of it since. If you try to remember it when you’re fifty-five, you may sputter a few words or phrases, but you won’t recall much at all. Those neurons said essentially, “This bozo knows nada about Spanish, so why are we wasting our time firing off ‘uno, dos, tres, cuatro’ to one another? Forget about it. We’re outta here.” And in the process, you lose those connections; you lose that ability.

So, how does this apply to addictions and habits? When you’re addicted to drinking or cigarettes or Lucky Charms, it works the same way. The repeated behavior rewires your brain to perform that action like you do when you learn to play Beethoven’s Fifth. I eat, therefore I smoke. I talk on the phone, therefore I smoke. I have sex, therefore I smoke. You have created the brain circuitry to reinforce those unhealthy habits because your brain wants the temporary high that comes from them, no matter the damage that follows.

Therefore, the answer lies in the problem. We need to use that same circuitry to discover new habits that allow us to build new connections so that the destructive ones can be pruned. But here’s the thing: you can’t expect the cigarette or other addictive circuitry to whittle away by itself; you have to put something in its place. You have to find new circuitry boards to build so that your brain stops investing its energy in the connections that make you want to do the destructive behavior, like smoke. This is where the power of habit comes into play. As long as there are no adverse effects associated with that repeated habit, then you are going to rewire your brain away from the addiction and into a healthy habit.

That’s the ultimate goal of peer-to-peer and professional treatment: Creating new brain circuits that support healthy habits as you let the old, addictive circuitry wither. It can be a long, painful process, but it’s the path to freedom. We can only get there by working as a team. Don’t intervene alone; get help; remember you are showing love by helping the addicted person live longer, and with less disability. All of us have a role.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to send questions—to youdocs@gmail.com, and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice. This article is of the opinion of its author. Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week). The YOU docs have tow newly revised books: The patron saint “book” of this column YOU Staying Young—revised and YOU: The Owner’s Manual…revised —yes a revision of the book that started Dr Oz to being Dr Oz. These makes great gifts—so do YOU: ON a Diet and YOU: The Owner’s Manual for teens. And, the new book by Dr Mike Roizen: This is YOUR Do-Over

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.radioMD.com Saturdays from 5-7 p.m. He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including: YOU Staying Young.

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing. You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do. In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the quality and length of your life.

This month, let’s talk about choices you make that may slow down your brain and choices that can help you stay sharp.

We’ve long known artery-clogging saturated and trans fats and inflammation-producing added sugars and syrups damage your cardiovascular and immune systems. Now it’s clear the sugar- and fat-laden diet of most North Americans slams the brakes on cognitive flexibility—that’s the ability to adapt to changing circumstance and think on your feet. And there’s more: The high-sugar/high-saturated fat diet also dims short- and long-term memory.

Why are added sugars and unhealthy fats so brain-dulling? The research shows they alter the way your gut bacteria communicate with your brain! Healthy, happy gut bacteria release compounds that act as neurotransmitters, stimulate sensory nerves, and enhance other biological functions. But they can’t run smoothly if there’s a lot of sugar and saturated fat disrupting their fuel lines. In lab-based research, it took just four weeks for saturated fat- and sugar-eating mice to become dim-witted.

So stay sharp. Avoid life-shortening sugars and fats in processed foods as well as saturated fats in red and processed meats. ‘Cause as Lloyd says to Harry in the 1994 movie Dumb and Dumber: “Life’s a fragile thing, Harr. One minute you’re chewin’ on a burger, and the next minute you’re dead meat.”

On to the great news… Researchers found two choices that help make you smarter, even if you cannot pronounce one of them…

For me, some words are always hard to pronounce… the Irish girl’s name Siobhan (Shivone) as in Siobhan Dervan, 4-time Irish National Road Race Champion; Worcestershire (worster-sheer) sauce, which left New Jersey chef Pasquale Sciarappa tongue-tied in a cooking video viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube; and the latest trendy pseudo-grain, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah).

But no matter how you say it, quinoa’s nutritional virtues are clear. Rutgers University researchers (and international partners) report that quinoa contains health-beneficial phytochemicals, including healthful amino acids, fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, (and say these next ones correctly) phytoecdysteroids, phenolics, and glycine betaine. Plus, they cite four clinical studies that indicate supplementing your diet with quinoa “exerts significant, positive effects on metabolic, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal health…”

• Protein: It’s got more than barley, oat, rice, and maize and delivers more than 180% of the daily recommended intake of 10 essential amino acids.
• Fiber: It’s 10% dietary fiber, and fiber boosts your digestive health, lowers lousy LDL cholesterol, and helps control your appetite.
• Healthy Fats: Quinoa delivers anti-inflammatory omega-3 and omega-6 in a good ratio.
• Vitamins and Minerals: You’ll get a good dose of A, Bs, C, and E. Plus more minerals, such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, than in rice or wheat.
• Odd Stuff: Contains phytoecdysteroids that may help build muscle; phenolics that have anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-obesity and cardio-protective effects; glycine betaine, an amino acid, helps manage diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Did you know Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was buried with a good supply of chocolate and red wine—along with snooker cues, pencils, and a power saw? Apparently, he knew chocolate and red wine are two healthful choices. (We’re not sure what to make of the other supplies!)

Red wine–in moderation –has long been touted as heart-friendly. Now, a vast new study in the journal Heart reveals that regularly enjoying chocolate is associated with a lower waist-to-hip ratio and a 23% lower risk of stroke. Plus, it helps cool inflammatory CRP proteins and reduces the risk for diabetes. And compared with folks in a study population who didn’t eat chocolate, higher chocolate intake was linked to a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular-associated death.

That’s because chocolate’s polyphenols help reduce your blood pressure, decreasing your risk for heart attack and stroke.

How can you get chocolate into your diet without falling for candy bars laced with sugar, palm oil, corn syrup, and artificial flavors and colors? We recommend having one ounce a day of 70% cacao dark chocolate after dinner (Dr. Mike grabs 3 Featherss 22 calorie chocolates a day– see http://bit.ly/11K18D6) or try unsweetened cocoa powder added to black beans seasoned with cinnamon and hot sauce. You can also grate it and sprinkle it over your morning oatmeal with unsweetened almond milk.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to send questions—to youdocs@gmail.com, and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice. This article is of the opinion of its author. Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week). The YOU docs have tow newly revised books: The patron saint “book” of this column YOU Staying Young—revised and YOU: The Owner’s Manual…revised —yes a revision of the book that started Dr Oz to being Dr Oz. These makes great gifts—so do YOU: ON a Diet and YOU: The Owner’s Manual for teens. And, the new book by Dr Mike Roizen: This is YOUR Do-Over

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.radioMD.com Saturdays from 5-7 p.m. He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including: YOU Staying Young.

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing. You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do. In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the quality and length of your life.

This month, we want to discuss a couple questions sent by readers of my new book, This is YOUR Do-Over: The Seven Secrets to Losing Weight, Living Longer, And Getting A Second Chance at the Life You Want (shameless plug—you can order it on Amazon). You can send us questions anytime to youdocs@gmail.com, just put “Question for Dr Mike Roizen to answer” in the subject line and I’ll try to get to it.

Q) How safe are antibiotics for kids under 6?   Jill in Atlanta.

A) Scientists from New York University Langone Medical Center have found that antibiotics (amoxicillin and a class of antibiotics called macrolides, in terms of their research) are linked to immune problems and alternations in bone development if more than two rounds are taken during childhood—especially between birth and age two. They also suggest that exposure to antibiotics early in life upsets a child’s gut bacteria balance and permanently reprograms the body’s metabolism, setting up a predisposition for obesity!

So, Jill, where does that leave you? You want to help your kids overcome ear infections and other childhood bacterial assaults, but you and your doctor need to discuss the risks and benefits of antibiotic prescriptions for your child. And when antibiotics are truly needed (hey, they’re life-savers!), you want to help your child restore his or her gut biome. Feed ‘em lots of fiber-rich veggies and 100% whole grains, probiotic foods (if your child can handle solids like these) such as sauerkraut, kimchii, yogurt, and kefir (try em…your kids will follow your lead) and, if your doc says okay, a low-dose lactobacillus probiotic. We believe the obesity epidemic may well turn out to be related to a combination of factors including more screen time, larger serving portions, and antibiotics in the food supply and their overuse during childhood!

Q2) My teenage son and now my daughter are hanging out in a Hookah club…and tell me the stuff is all filtered thru water so it is safe. I trust you—and even my kids read your columns. Tell me and them the truth. Are Hookah Parlors Safe? Jo Ann in Albany.

A) The use of hookahs – pipes that bubble tobacco smoke through water before you puff – doubled among middle- and high-schoolers in just one year. Now it’s on par with cigarette use among school-age kids. One possible factor fueling the crazy is the dangerous myth that these exotic pipes are harmless.

The truth: Hookahs are dangerous. Research shows they deliver 100 times more lung-clogging tar, four times more nicotine (tobacco’s most addictive chemical), and eleven times more heart-threatening carbon monoxide than one cigarette. Hookah-users are also exposed to high levels of carcinogens, including benzene and acrolein.

In one remarkable study, scientists convinced 55 hookah users to abstain for a week. They then analyzed their urine the morning after they spent one evening in the hookah bar of their choice. In this important real-world study, smokers’ nicotine levels increased 73-fold after their hookah night, and levels of cancer-causing compounds in their urine increased between 41 to 93%! But surveys show that teens and young adults, including college students, think hookahs and hookah parlors or bars are safe. They mistakenly believe that the water in these fancy pipes filters out the toxins in tobacco smoke. The truth is, these water pipes may make the smoke less irritating, but that just encourages users to smoke more!

Typically shared with several others, a hookah user sucks in the smoke through a mouthpiece and tube attached to a pipe. A session may last a half-hour to an hour or longer, leading to inhaling as much smoke as you’d get from up to 100 cigarettes (5 packs) in one session. The exposure to air from charcoal used to keep the tobacco burning also poses substantial health risks that cause chronic disease and disability.

The manufacturing and marketing of hookah tobacco (and the charcoal) is currently not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That leaves the door open to sales of flavored hookah tobaccos — also called shisha, narghile and hubble-bubble — that are especially attractive to young users. We hope more states and communities close legal loopholes that allow hookah bars, lounges, and cafes to open their doors to young kids. Until that happens, here’s what you should know about this dangerous new craze…

Hookahs can hook your teen or tween on tobacco for life. A recent Dartmouth College School of Medicine survey of 1,050 young smokers, age 15 to 23, found that within two years, 39% who had smoked a hookah had “graduated” to cigarettes. Those early smokers are more likely to get hooked and have a harder time quitting.

Share a pipe and you’re swapping disease-causing germs. Sharing saliva means sharing herpes or the flu. Health groups warn that hookahs may even spread hepatitis, tuberculosis, and even some more serious viruses like MERS if you are unlucky enough to share a pipe with an infected individual!

Hookah smoke contains an alarming variety of harmful chemicals. Yes, hookah smoking is an old tradition dating back at least 600 years. But so does the falsehood that they’re a healthy way to smoke. There’s nothing healthy or natural about it. We mentioned a bunch of the risks already. Others toxins in the smoke include heavy metals, formaldehyde, and a nasty radioactive compound called “Po.” Short for polonium-210, this radioactive stuff concentrates in the delicate airways of the lungs and can course its way throughout the body, causing genetic damage, and premature aging. Not healthy!

Thanks for reading. Feel free to send questions—to youdocs@gmail.com, and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice.

This article is of the opinion of its author.

Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week). The YOU docs have tow newly revised books: The patron saint “book” of this column YOU Staying Young—revised and YOU: The Owner’s Manual…revised —yes a revision of the book that started Dr Oz to being Dr Oz. These makes great gifts—so do YOU: ON a Diet and YOU: The Owner’s Manual for teens. And, the new book by Dr Mike Roizen: This is YOUR Do-Over

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.radioMD.com Saturdays from 5-7 p.m. He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including: YOU Staying Young.

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing.  You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do.  In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the quality and length of your life.

This month, we want to discuss a question sent by a reader of my new book, This is YOUR Do-Over: The Seven Secrets to Losing Weight, Living Longer, And Getting A Second Chance at the Life You Want (shameless plug—you can order it at Amazon.)  You can send us questions anytime to youdocs@gmail.com, just put the words “Question for Dr. Mike Roizen to answer” in the subject line and I’ll try to get to it.

Q) Why Are People in Developed Countries Developing More Cancer and What Can I Do To Prevent Cancer in Myself?

A) The average North American eats over 130 pounds (~59 kg) of added sugars and syrups annually and consumes more than 60 pounds (~27 kg) of saturated fat-laden red meat. Plus, the average American household has more television sets than people! No wonder 70% of North Americans are overweight or obese and cancer is the second leading cause of death. A massive new study published in JAMA Oncology online really brings that last point home!

It reveals that 62% of tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer cases worldwide happen in developed countries, as do 78% of leukemia cases and 63% of breast cancer, 77% of stomach cancer, 86% of liver cancer, 85% of cervical cancer, 84% of esophageal cancer cases.

Clearly, a convenience-driven lifestyle that leads one to be overweight and inactive isn’t doing you any favors.

At least half of all cancers can be avoided if you maintain a healthy weight, get regular physical activity, and (of course) don’t smoke.  One study followed 500,000 Americans for over a decade and found adopting just those three cancer-fighting strategies reduced their risk for colon cancer by up to 48%.

It may be possible to cut your risk for cancer by up to 80-90% if you also manage stressful events more effectively, eat no added sugars or foods with saturated or trans fats, don’t drink excessive amounts of alcohol, get appropriate cancer screenings, and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke. (These were the findings of the Swedish Men’s study and the Nurse’s Health study in the United States.)

And if you’ve been making smart lifestyle choices and you are diagnosed with cancer (it can happen to even the most conscientious person), your chances for a good outcome skyrocket.

So, don’t let the phrase “developed countries” mean that’s where folks develop cancer! Instead, develop a plan to make your lifestyle a cancer fighter and follow it.

Young Dr. Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)