Candy Sagon

Biography: Candy Sagon writes about health topics for AARP. She previously was a reporter with the Washington Post and has written numerous articles on food, health and nutrition for national magazines.

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Candy Sagon 'sPosts

Salt Shake-Up: Low-Salt Push May Be Unhealthy

Posted on 05/17/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthFor years we’ve been told to slash our sodium consumption to protect against strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. But now an influential committee says there’s no scientific evidence that a very low-salt diet cuts the risk of heart disease. In fact, the new Institute of Medicine report says that cutting sodium to 1,500 milligrams (mg) daily — the current government recommendation for older adults (ages 51 and up), African Americans and those with diabetes, high blood pressure and …

Why Angelina Jolie Chose a Preventive Mastectomy

Posted on 05/14/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Entertainment | Personal HealthMovie star Angelina Jolie, told she was at high risk for breast cancer, underwent a preventive double mastectomy, but a prominent cancer geneticist tells AARP the actress should also consider removing her ovaries to reduce her risk of deadly ovarian cancer. Jolie, 37, revealed in a moving essay in the New York Times today that her own mother died of ovarian cancer at 56, which is why Jolie got genetic testing that revealed she has the BRCA1 gene mutation. This …

Does Your Doctor Prescribe Too Many Risky Drugs?

Posted on 05/13/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthMedicare’s popular prescription drug program, Part D, covers more than 35 million people and a billion prescriptions annually, but Medicare has never monitored which doctors may be overprescribing medications that are risky for older adults — namely, drugs that are disorienting, addictive or harmful. The investigative journalism group ProPublica, together with the Washington Post, has now launched a database called Prescriber Checkup, which allows users to search doctors’ names and see which ones are frequently prescribing potentially dangerous drugs, such …

Could Your iPad Disrupt Your Heart Device?

Posted on 05/13/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthIf you like to lie on the couch — or in bed — with your iPad propped on your chest, you could be putting yourself at risk if you also have an implanted heart device. That’s what a super-smart 14-year-old discovered in a preliminary study of 26 patients age 50 or older with heart devices, such as an implanted cardioverter defibrillator for protecting against arrhythmia. High school freshman Gianna Chien of Stockton, Calif., did the research with some assistance from …

Christie’s Weight-Loss Plan: Will a Lap-Band Work?

Posted on 05/9/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthNew Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie, notorious for both his blunt comments and hefty weight, said this week that turning 50 was a wake-up call for him and the reason he opted for surgery to try and slim down. He said it was his desire to stay healthy for his four kids — not plans for a future presidential campaign –that made him decide to undergo gastric-band surgery in February, he told the New York Post. This is his latest strategy …

Prostate Gene Test Could Save Men From Surgery

Posted on 05/9/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthFor men who undergo a biopsy for a prostate tumor, the big question has been whether to wait and see if the cancer grows slowly, or to treat it immediately with a regimen that could cause incontinence or impotence. What made the decision difficult is that there’s been no good way to tell which kind of cancer a man might have — slow-growing or aggressive — but a new gene-analysis test introduced this week may make the decision clearer. The …