DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My wife and I eat two or three eggs a week. We have heard that eggs are not good for your cholesterol. What do you say? We love eggs. I boil mine, and she scrambles hers. Which is better? – Anon.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Is a diet of eggs every morning for a 13-year-old boy detrimental to his health? – L.T.

ANSWER: When the medical world woke up to the potential hazards of cholesterol, it waged an all-out war on it. That started many years ago, when cholesterol information was not great. At that time, the medical community set a low daily limit on cholesterol to protect people from artery hardening, heart attacks and strokes. Since those early days, information has been obtained that clears much of cholesterol foods (not blood cholesterol) from the accusations made against them. Cholesterol foods don’t raise blood cholesterol all that much; saturated fats do.

A large study of 120,000 men and women who ate an egg every day found no association between such egg eating and heart disease. Another study in 2007, made by the New Jersey School of Medicine and Dentistry, failed to discover any link between the frequency of egg eating and heart disease. Canada and the United Kingdom put no upper limit on the safe amount of daily cholesterol.

The egg is a nutritional bonanza and, even at today’s prices, a true bargain. It supplies protein; vitamins A, D and E; some B vitamins; iron; zinc; lutein; and zeaxanthin. The latter two promote eye health. The number of calories in one egg is only 75.

You can’t fry eggs in a pool of butter without raising the calorie count and fat consumption. Scrambling and boiling are both good preparation methods. Frying is OK if you don’t use tons of butter or other fat.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Is dementia the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease? I have always thought that dementia affects only the mind, and Alzheimer’s the mind and body. – M.B.

ANSWER: “Dementia” is an all-encompassing word that indicates a decline in mental functions – memory, reasoning, comprehension, alertness and learning. Alzheimer’s accounts for the greatest number of dementia cases, but there are many other dementing illnesses: multiple small strokes, Lewy body disease, Binswanger’s disease, boxer’s brain, Pick’s disease, Huntington’s disease and others.

Formerly, dementia was called senility.

The booklet on Alzheimer’s disease presents this heartbreaking illness in greater depth. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue – No 903, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: As a student in occupational therapy school, I want to thank you for promoting the profession. Your readers may be interested in learning more about this area of health care by checking out the American Occupational Therapy Association Website at www.AOTA.org.

ANSWER: Occupational therapists get far too little recognition for their contributions in returning sick people to a fulfilling life. I’ll plug them every chance I have. Youngsters not knowing what they want to do in life might want to consider this occupation as one that makes great contributions to the public.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have literature on a special tea that makes you lose as much as 16 pounds in four weeks by drinking two cups a day. Is this possible? – E.S.

ANSWER: Things that sound too good to be true usually aren’t true. I don’t have specific knowledge of the product, but I have some serious doubts.

I’m a skeptic at heart.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What is MRSA? My brother has it. He has an ear infection. – M.B.

ANSWER: MRSA, pronounced “mersa,” stands for methicillin-resistant Staph aureus. Staph is a common bacterium. When penicillin first appeared – and that wasn’t so long ago – it could kill all staph germs. Staph learned how to survive it, so methicillin was devised; it could kill the penicillin-resistant staph germs. Staph have learned how to evade methicillin. We now have methicillin-resistant staph, a formidable foe but one against which there still are a few, strong, effective drugs. If this cycle continues, however, we’ll be out of useful drugs. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a huge problem. The best way to prevent the continual pattern of resistance is not to use antibiotics for things that don’t respond to them, like viral infections. Antibiotic overuse fosters bacterial resistance. Don’t ask for antibiotics for a cold.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I take two medicines for gout and have done so since I was 22. Since then, I have never had a repeat attack of gout.

What is the normal blood reading for uric acid? – D.D.

ANSWER: Gout attacks occur when blood uric acid rises. Uric acid is a byproduct of daily cell turnover. Normal blood uric acid for a man is 3.5 to 7.2 mg/dL (0.31 to0.42 mmol/L) and for a woman, 2.6 to 6.0 (0.15 to 0.35). High uric acid levels drive this substance into joints, where it forms crystals that lead to great joint pain. Medicines for gout either stop the body’s production of it or increase its elimination into the urine. You’re taking both kinds of gout medicine.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com

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