Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/jBofMI-f1Kw A long, healthy life with continued mobility depends on healthy, toned muscles, and many turn to weight lifting to achieve that goal.  Turns out, though, that not all types of weight lifting exercises do the trick. A study presented just last week at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology shows muscle power rather than muscle strength is the important skill to develop.  Muscle strength is the mere ability to lift or move a given weight while muscle power is that ability plus the capability of moving the weight quickly and efficiently. Brazilian researchers studied more than 3800 non-athletic persons 41-85 years of age.  Using a rowing exercise test, they determined the maximal muscle power in watts per kg that each subject could exert.   Then each subject was observed over time for health issues.  During the average 6.5 year followup period, those with better than average muscle power had the best survival.  Those with below average muscle power were 5 to 10 t

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/6TU_86VpCwU The turn of the century has not been good for kids choking on and swallowing foreign bodies.  Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System just published in the journal Pediatrics shows that twice as many kids are choking on and swallowing foreign bodies now compared with 20 years ago. A majority of ingestions involved infants and toddlers 1 to 3 years of age.  The most frequent objects ingested were coins at 62%, then toys at 7%, jewelry at 7%, and batteries also at 7%.  Almost 90% of the batteries ingested were the button batteries, and these are the most dangerous type of foreign body ingestion since the batteries can leak caustic chemicals that damage gastrointestinal or respiratory lining tissues. Preventing these potential tragedies is easy: Store items such as spare change, batteries, high powered magnets, and medicines out of sight and out of reach.   Don’t disable child-proof packaging. Follow age recommendations when buying toys, and use the chok

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/RjgMACy-N8U Should you eat fruit with toast or eggs and ham for your first meal of the day if you’re a type 2 diabetic.  The answer comes from the University of British Columbia, and the eggs win hands down. Researchers there studied 23 adults with non-insulin dependent diabetes and randomly fed them a meal plan that contained identical numbers of calories and differed only in the content of the breakfasts.  One plan had the higher fat and protein egg breakfast and the other the typical breakfast with the majority of calories from carbohydrates.  The lunches and dinners were the same.  The study had a crossover design in which each subject experienced each meal plan.  Their blood glucose levels were continuously monitored throughout the day. When the subjects were fed the higher fat and lower carb egg breakfast versus the higher carb cereal, fruit, and toast breakfast, they experienced a significantly lower sugar peak mid-morning after the meal.   Additional benefits of the protein a

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/P7jQ9uSWZbAThis is Health News You Should Use, the latest medical discoveries and some commonsense advice that you can use in a practical way to keep yourself and your family healthy.     Here are this weeks stories: Baby Sleeper-Rockers Kill Phone App Relaxes PTSD Victims Flossing Helps Prevent Dementia Medical Applications For Cannabis Teen Screen Time May Not Be Harmful Gluten-Free Restaurant Food Isn’t US Clinical Guidelines Lead To Costly Care Reading To Babies Gives Them A Million Word Jump By Kindergarten The Sugar Rush Is A Myth Improve Your Mood In 12 Short Minutes Drug Abuse Triggers Strokes In Younger Persons E-Cigs May Cause Seizures Pregnant Women’s Commuting Harms Babies Parents Favor Age Limits For Tackle Football Walnuts May Help Fight Breast Cancer TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS: Give Kids A Say In Family And School Charitable Giving   For more information#you’ll find all the references for the stories and a copy of show notes on my website at: https://www.drhowardsmith.com/a

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/u65P0vJGT3Q Children as young as four can learn the principles of responsible philanthropy, and they are more than willing participants in the decision-making process. This is the finding from a study at Britain’s University of Kent. A group of 150 children aged 4 to 8 years were presented information about a series of charitable causes worthy of their donations.  They delved into the details about the needs of each, and they were each provided with a sum of 100 pounds to donate to one or more charities. The children of all ages demonstrated remarkable understanding of detail and wisdom in their choices.  Most donations went to the poor and homeless (28%), assisting wildlife (26%), and helping needy children (27%).  Fewer funds went to medical research (12%) and international charities (7%) as it was more difficult for the kids to understand and relate to these causes. A key parenting principle is given children a role in decision-making for themselves and for their families.  You pr

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/IvZRlvtWJ-o Walnuts can suppress the expression of genes in breast cancers.  In so doing, the nuts may be able stop breast cancer from growing locally and and spreading. Oncologist researchers from Marshall University just published a study in the journal Nutrition Research that conclusively demonstrates in both women with breast cancer and in a mouse model injected with human breast cancer cells that consuming walnuts daily throws a logjam into the tumor cells’ metabolism.  The human subjects ate 2 ounces of walnuts for 2-3 weeks between their diagnostic biopsies and definitive surgery.  The mice consumed an equivalent amount. The results show that walnuts affect the expression of some 456 breast cancer cell genes that in turn inhibit cell proliferation, reduce cell vitality, and promote cell destruction.  Studies are now underway enrolling larger groups of patients to prove that walnuts and their anti-oxidative prowess can indeed stop breast cancers in their tracks and prevent thei

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/KpcGVJYjk-g The majority of American parents believe that young children should not be playing tackle football.  A study recently published in the journal Pediatrics tabulated the results of a nationwide survey. Over 1000 parents completed the survey.  Sixty-one percent definitely favored restrictions and another 24% were leaning toward bans on tackling for younger children for a total of 85% considering restrictions. Meanwhile, on the political front, a 6 states have proposed bills to regulate tackle football for children under the age of 12.  Bills have been filed in New York, Illinois, California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.  So far none of them have passed into law, and the bills in California and Illinois have been withdrawn.  The New York and Maryland bills were defeated. Finally, consider these two facts.  ONE. The sad cases of adolescent athletes and multiple studies show that head injuries produce lasting and in some cases progressive damage to the brain, partic

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/pk5wJguNNLw Pregnant women with long work commutes may are more likely to experience a slow fetal growth rate and to deliver a low birth weight baby.  Health economists at Lehigh University drew this conclusion from New Jersey birth records and information about the lengths of the  associated maternal commutes. Each 10 miles of commuting distance over a 50 mile threshold increased the probability of intrauterine growth restriction by 43% and the probability of a low birth weight infant by 14%.  The increased risk was calculated using control mothers with a 10 mile or less commute.   So women commuting 80 miles a day would have a 42% higher risk of giving birth to a low birth weight infant. The researchers found that the adverse affects on the fetus occur due to commute-induced chronic maternal stress and, of even more importance, less prenatal care due to limited time.   Many of the women with long commutes had delayed prenatal care or none at all. This information suggests that preg

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/iasDGPN5naM The FDA has just issued a special warning that some e-cigarette users have developed seizures.  Nicotine toxicity can lower a persons seizure threshold. Seizures have previously only been reported in cases of accidental e-cigarette liquid ingestion.  Now case reports are coming in where seizures are occurring in those vaping for the first time but also in more experienced users.  Convulsions may occur after only a few puffs but may also be delayed up to one day. If you or someone you know has experienced a seizure in association with e-cigarette use, report the details immediately to both your doctor and to the FDA through their safety reporting portal: safetyreporting.hhs.gov.  https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/NewsEvents/ucm635133.htm #Vaping #ecigarettes #seizure #nicotine

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/nu3KJdwFFJw Nearly 20% of fatal strokes occurring in younger persons are due to illicit drug use and abuse.  This is the conclusion of a new study from Australia’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Center. The investigators studied 279 persons aged 15 to 44 years who died of stroke.  The most frequent drug implicated was methamphetamine.  None of the stroke victims were taking the typical psychostimulants prescribed for attention deficits. Notable was the fact that the levels of circulating methamphetamine in the stroke victims were less than half of that found in those dying from methamphetamine overdoses indicating that even lower doses of methamphetamine may be deadly by triggering a hyper-metabolic state and intracranial bleeding. Psychostimulant drug use, both legal and illicit, is on the rise, and about 76 million people are now using them.  Given this fact, it is not surprising that the only group in which the incidence of stroke is markedly increasing is the 25 to 44 year ol

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/_EiQgYiu9d0 Since we just learned that sugar will not sweeten your mood, we look to psychologists from the Iowa State University to provide an alternative to a Hershey bar or a glass of sangria.  They just published a study in the Journal of Happiness Studies that suggests a very good alternative. The researchers had groups of college students test 3 potentially mood-elevating techniques as they walked around campus eyeballing passersby for 12 minute sessions.  A loving-kindness group made wishes to themselves that the people they saw would be happy.  A second interconnectedness group looked at others and tried to imaging how they might be interconnected in some way.  The third group made downward social comparisons thinking how much better off they were than those they saw.  A control group merely looked at the passersby objectively noting what they were wearing. Twelve minutes of thinking kind thoughts about people had a therapeutic effect, even on those with narcissistic tendencie

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/ZNIoRMpE1Po Does sugar really turbocharge you and improve your mood?  A study by British and German psychologists just published in Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews says absolutely not. The researchers performed a meta-analysis of 31 studies covering nearly 1300 adults.  The investigations looked at how the quantity and type of sugar ingested affected alertness, fatigue, mood, anger, and depression. When the numbers were crunched, the conclusions reached were: Sugar does not elevate your mood. Sugar makes most people less alert. Sugar makes you more tired and fatigued. So if you are looking for a way to energize yourself in order to complete that project, thesis, term paper, or your review for that exam, forget about sugaring up.  Instead, you might try that cocoa-caffeine cocktail I described awhile back. Konstantinos Mantantzis, Friederike Schlaghecken, Sandra I. Sünram-Lea, Elizabeth A. Maylor. Sugar Rush or Sugar Crash? A Meta-Analysis of Carbohydrate Effects on Mood. Neuros

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/CXEY8458XWQ Kids whose parents read 5 books a day to them enter school with exposure to 1.4 million more words more than those children who parents did not read to them.  Even reading one book a day to your child will give them almost 300,000 more words as they begin kindergarten. This data comes from Ohio State’s Center For Early Childhood Research and Policy.  With the info that board books contain about 140 words and picture books an average of 228 words, they calculated that kids never read to would be exposed to 4662 words, those read to 1-2 times a week 63,570 words, 3-5 times a week 169,520 words, one book a day 296,660 words, and 5 books a day 1,483,300 words. The researchers emphasize that these extra words translate into faster development of better reading skills.  They also add that the words in books tend to be more complex than conversational words, especially since our society’s verbal discourse has begun to deteriorate into a chain of “likes” and run-on sentences. Rea

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/5GktQvHI9Lc It’s no secret that the USA has the most expensive healthcare in the world, but a new commentary by clinicians at Cornell and the University of Texas-San Antonio suggests our specialty-driven clinical practice guidelines may be at fault.  This perspective comes from a panel of doctors who have practiced in other wealthy countries before coming to the US to live.   When they moved to the US, they were surprised to find that the recommendations for bowel cancer screening here differed so radically from those in their native countries.  Then, they looked at the panels making the recommendations.   In the US, the American College of Gastroenterology panel, composed entirely of, guess who, gastroenterologists, universally recommends colonoscopies.  In Europe, the European Society of Medical Oncology panel with six medical oncologists, one gastrointestinal surgeon, and no gastroenterologists states that colonoscopy has a limited role and recommends stool biochemical screening i

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/tVWdIgOWwEs So you have celiac disease, the most severe form of gluten sensitivity, and exposure to the wheat protein can make you terribly sick.  You avoid any wheat products at home, and you carefully choose restaurants that certify their food to be gluten-free.  Just how good is their certification. Not very good say studies just published by gastroenterologists at Columbia med school and the NY Presbyterian Hospital.  Their data comes from users of the Nima Gluten Sensor that diners can use to self-test food labeled as gluten free.  In a review of more than 5600 tests by some 800 users over 18 months, gluten was detected in 53% of gluten-free pizza, 51% of gluten-free. pasta, 27% of breakfasts, 29% of lunches, and 34% of dinners. Here’s the catch: the device is extremely sensitive detecting gluten levels as low as 5 to 10 parts per million (ppm).  In the US, food certified as gluten-free can contain up to 20 ppm, and less than that may not be clinically significant. Still, the da

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/CbOcuLIEkkw The debate continues!  The latest multi-country study of nearly 18,000 kids in England, Ireland, and the US analyzed the effect of screen time on adolescent well-being.  When the data were tabulated, no negative effects could be found. The University of Oxford investigators looked at the duration of screen time and its proximity to bedtime.  They scrutinized the impact of time with digital devices on adolescent overall well-being, self-esteem, psychosocial functioning, mood, and frank depressive symptoms. Using best practice methodological and statistical techniques, the conclusion is that screen time is not harmful to teens.  Even this conclusion does not invalidate the universal advice that moderation is always the best policy.  Overwhelming numbers of screen time hours rob children of other opportunities in the real world, and they limit vital time for physical activity.  Amy Orben, Andrew K. Przybylski. Screens, Teens, and Psychological Well-Being: Evidence From Three

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/C3A3taMtQIg Medical marijuana now legalized in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and many of you probably have questions about its uses.  I came cross this excellent article published this week in the British Medical Journal, and I want to pass it on.    The article reviews the available types of medicinal but also non-medicinal cannabis products and by-products, both natural and synthetic.  It reviews how these products may be helpful or harmful to you and for which illnesses they may be effective. Just to give you a taste of the information, one table lists detailed information about the prescription medicinal products including the natural derivatives Sativex, Epidiolex, Bedrocan, Tilray, the synthetics Dronabinol, Nabilone, and the non-medicinals CBD oil, White Widow, and Spice.  Another table reviews the evidence for effectiveness of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. If you have an in

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/MCs-vrn_2io Keeping your gums healthy may help you maintain a sharp mind as well as a full set of teeth throughout your life.  A study from the University of Louisville’s dental school shows that a bacterium that frequently causes gingivitis and periodontitis can travel to your brain and help to trigger your mental decline. The nasty bug in question is Porphyromonas gingivalis.  The researchers demonstrated the genetic fingerprints of the bacterium and its characteristic toxin in the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients.  In a parallel mouse experiment, they showed that migration of this bacterium from gum to brain can be halted with agents that block the bacterium’s toxins.   When this blockage is successful, the rodents fail to develop mental deterioration. The investigators start that studies are now underway to test such blocking drugs in Alzheimer’s patients to see if their disease progression may be stopped or slowed.  Even before such a drug is available, you can help yours

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/GF0b2eu17dM Young people and adults with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder suffer from flashback-induced anxiety attacks that send the entire body into orbit.  Controlling the breathing rate using an electronic device helps those with PTSD relax, suppress anxiety, and better manage their symptoms. Clinical researchers from Atlanta’s Emory University reported their success with just such a gadget to the American Physiological Society’s spring meeting this week.  A stand-alone device called the RESPeRATE was used in a group of subjects with verified PTSD, and control subjects were given sham devices to use.  The working device produces tones to help the user pace the breathing to ever slower rates while the sham device maintained a normal rate of 14 breaths per minute. The PSTD subjects with most severe symptoms showed significant improvements in their heart rates, blood pressures, and sympathetic nervous system activity when they used the device.  This translates into relief from the eff

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/6n6RFpV2k1w Babies are dying in these infant rocker-sleepers when they roll over or twist their airways and suffocate.  The death count is a reported 32 infants, but that count likely under estimates the number.   The device all over the news is the Fisher-Price Rock ’n Play Sleeper but amazon.com alone lists more than 40 similar products made by Fisher-Price, a division of Mattel Toys, but also Graco, 4Moms, Ingenuity, Disney, Tiny Love, Bright Start, Born Free, and more.  Any of these devices that cuddle a baby in an inclined or even a level position can be deadly for an infant capable of twisting and turning. Infants should sleep flat in a crib devoid of any blankets, bumpers, pillows, or loose sheets.  If you are a parent, grandparent, nanny, sitter, or daycare staff member, do not put an infant into one of these sleeper-rocker devices.   Efforts by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Consumer Reports are now underway to have them recalled.  That all takes time, and you need t