TIPS

1)  Blood Pressure Ranges and Their Meaning
     A)  Under 140/90 = Upper limit of normal
     B)  Under 135/85 = Preferred
     C)  Under 120/80 = Optimal  

             UPPER NUMBER = SYSTOLIC = MOST IMPORTANT
             LOWER NUMBER = DIASTOLIC = LESS IMPORTANT

           If you have consistently high blood pressure readings, DO NOT
   ignore the situation.  Instead, see your personal physician in order
   to evaluate whether or not your condition needs to be treated.

2)  Office Visits
          Who should I see for my care when I go to my medical office:
     A)  The physician.  If you are required to see another individual
          (physician assistant or nurse practitioner etc.) you are receiving
           inferior   care.  Find another physician. 

3)  Vitamin C
              Years ago Nobel laureate Linus Pauling proposed that large amounts
    of Vitamin C could prevent and / or ameliorate the symptoms and
    shorten the course of the common cold.  Current scientific
    knowledge disputes this claim and advocates that Vitamin C, either in
    tablet form or as orange juice, not be used to treat the common
    cold because it is ineffective.

4)  Kidney Stones
           The majority of kidney stones (renal calculi) are composed of
   calcium oxalate.  Common knowledge is that dietary calcium should
   be restricted in order to decrease stone formation.
            This approach, however, is incorrect.  The real problem is with
   dietary oxalate.  Calcium in the diet should be increased and the oxalate
   in the diet should be decreased.  The extra calcium in the
   gastrointestinal tract will combine with  the dietary oxalate to form
   insoluble calcium oxalate which will be elimated in the feces
   and, consequently, the oxalate will not be available in the urine for
   stone formation.
           If you are a calcium-oxalate stone-former, please consult your
​   personal physician for more details.