Dr. W. Gifford-Jones

LATEST STORIES BY DR. W. GIFFORD-JONES

GIFFORD-JONES: U.S. anti-abortion laws a flashback on hypocrisy and injustice

Abortion became legal in Canada in 1969. I faced a dilemma. I had written a book titled “On Being a Woman; The Modern Woman’s Guide to Gynecology.” It supported a woman’s right to control her own body, including the right to abortion. So I had two choices when doctors started referring patients to me for this procedure. I could change my mind about abortion to avoid censure. Or I could follow my own conscience. Thus, legal abortions became a part of my surgical practice. I entered what I described in my biography “The Bastille years of my life.” They were difficult times.

June 1, 2019 Diet & Fitness

Protesters hold signs as they rally in support of Planned Parenthood and pro-choice and to protest a state decision that would effectively halt abortions by revoking the centre's license to perform the procedure, near the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri, May 30, 2019. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

GIFFORD-JONES: Let the bracelet decide this dilemma

This week’s column is a friendly challenge to doctors, members of parliament, senators, lawyers, and readers. The challenge is to inform me why a simple approach to medical assistance in dying (MAID) would not be fair to all Canadians and also apply to those in the U.S. The solution is, “Let the bracelet decide.”

May 25, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: The link between cancer and obesity

What decreases the risk of cancer? A colonoscopy detects polyps before they become malignant. Also, a rapid response to unusual bleeding, a cough that lasts a few weeks, or a suspicious mole. But a report funded by The Canadian Cancer Society now links excess weight to the development of several types of cancer.

May 18, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: Your gut needs some friends

Napoleon Bonaparte once required a soldier for a dangerous mission. The story goes that he ordered several soldiers to face a firing squad. He then chose the one who showed no tendency to move his bowels. Fear has a major effect on the large intestine. So it, and other factors, are often responsible for what’s called the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). But friendly gut bacteria (probiotics) play a role in easing terrifying and embarrassing occasions when nature calls. Especially when there’s no bathroom in sight.

May 11, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: Can coffee help protect against Alzheimer’s Disease?

I receive a lot of questionable mail. One says I can invest one thousand dollars and make an easy million. Another, that a simple lifestyle change will cure anything that ails me. Still, another arrived that I initially believed to be rubbish – until I read on. It’s a report from The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, and it states that researchers from the University of South Florida claim that coffee could decrease the risk of this mind-robbing disease. But is this possible? Or just another hoax?

May 4, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: Death and the Stupidity Factor

What’s a great medical tragedy? It’s being diagnosed with a disease for which there is no cure. Possibly an even greater tragedy is dying from what’s been called the “Stupidity Factor.” These cases occur because patients ignore symptoms which indicate cancer may be present. But due to either fear or the hope it won’t happen again, they do nothing, thereby signing their own death warrant.

April 27, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: Be careful what you put in the brown paper bag

Sir William Osler, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University remarked, “The one thing that separates man from animals is man’s desire to take pills.” Now, a report from the University of California says 30 million North Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 95% don’t know they have it. They suffer from what I’ve labelled “Pillitis.”

April 20, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: Fighting insomnia without drugs or doctors

Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Are you counting sheep and getting nowhere? Today, for many people, a good night’s sleep is an elusive dream. Now, a report from The Harvard Medical School says that anxiety and stress often cause insomnia. And it’s refreshing to read that its solution doesn’t involve doctors or drugs.

April 13, 2019 Health

GIFFORD-JONES: Eating nuts for good health

How would you like to decrease the chance of life-threatening diseases such as diabetes and heart attack? Also lower blood cholesterol at the same time without the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs)? If you don’t have a peanut allergy, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report that eating peanuts every day is not a nutty idea.

April 6, 2019 Diet & Fitness

GIFFORD-JONES: Shocking figures about falling

Getting older is a very dangerous disease. As we all get older, we’re likely to die from one of the big killers: heart failure, stroke, or cancer. But there’s another threat, falling down! It’s been said, “Never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey.” Sounds easy, but the figures of elderly falls would make the dead sit up and take notice.

March 30, 2019 Diet & Fitness