Dr. Howard Smith Reports

    Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/tak9_VV6Yuc   Pre-teens viewing healthy food prep on TV are nearly 3 times more likely to make healthy food choices for themselves.     A Dutch study focused on 125 participants 10 to 12 years of age who viewed a 10 minute TV clip before choosing a snack.   The snack choices included healthy apple and cucumber pieces versus unhealthy chips and min-pretzels   Those p...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/EAor3z2zmXE   Kindness to others can reduce your feelings of pain.   This the conclusion of Chinese experiments just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .   In one experiment, the needle jab to donate blood hurt less when volunteers were giving to earthquake victims rather than making a routine donation.   In another, subjects were exposed...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/_Usci1VDUaA   A large, multicenter study of   222 breastfeeding babies and their mother shows that insignificant amounts of most anti-seizure drugs pass from mom to babe through breast milk.   The one drug that did pass was lamotrigine marketed as Lamictal.   Nearly 50% of babies had undetectable levels of drug in their blood, and the remainder had insignificant quant...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/iMqDLWIj6Rk   Confining food consumption to 10 hours produces significant weight reduction, better overall health and sounder sleep.   Researchers at UC-SanDiego studied 19 unhealthy subjects with so-called metabolic syndrome before and after 3 months of time-restricted eating (TRE). Metabolic syndrome includes a number of issues including obesity, high blood pressure...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/qaShibFU3hU   Men and women under 45 who cut their levels of bad cholesterol by half have a 4 times lower risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.   This conclusion comes from an international collaborative study of   nearly 400,000 individuals published in The Lancet .   This population and computer-modeling study shows that the effect of lowering non-HDL choles...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/x96mfKzKFDo   Children given whole milk have a 39% lower risk of becoming overweight or obese.   Canadian researchers publishing in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition report this conclusion from their meta-analysis of 28 studies and nearly 21,000 children 1-8 years of age.   This finding flies in the face of current pediatric recommendations to switch from who...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ufXT9FHoXAs   Thinking of fathering a child or having problems doing just that.   A new Swedish study shows that only 2 weeks of healthy eating including a lots of sugar the second week might boost your odds.   The investigators checked sperm quality for 15 healthy young men before and at the end of two weeks of controlled healthy eating.   During the second week, the...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/10NdkjxKigc   If you rang in the New Year enjoying some weed and noticed ringing in your ear, so-called tinnitus, it isn’t a coincidence.   Ear researchers from Stanford now show that annoying tinnitus is associated with marijuana use.   The study looked at 2160 adults tabulating use of marijuana, alcohol, and more dangerous, addicting drugs.   Marijuana use, even onc...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/2rDWQ_5Cen8   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 alertne...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/CGVcV0EKQpw   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...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/VLMP7UqntR8   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 al...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/P3pgy7NLv9w   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 gastroenterologi...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/iRn033adAuY   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 sc...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/9XGgeCUMD6s   Medical marijuana now legal   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-prod...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ZuqDeXVraTM   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 Porphyromo...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/xZAKkqkiZlQ   Chugging those 6 packs and downing those jelly shots depresses the growth of the developing brain.   The skyrocketing alcohol consumption by teens and young adults may well be sapping the collective brainpower of our country.   Neuroscientists at the Oregon Health and Science University studied this phenomenon in 71 rhesus monkeys allowed to binge on alc...

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/LQaxn7d3DRs If you bicycle or walk home from work, go out of your way to use the side streets.  Urban scientists at England’s University of Surrey collaborated with colleagues in England, the Netherlands, and Brazil to measure air pollution during the morning and evening commutes.   The scientists studied black carbon levels in these 3 cities on both the most heavily traf...

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/UB_dx6o4wAA Every year, more bystanders are saving lives by applying CPR.  The latest Swedish study emphasizes that pushing on the chest alone without also breathing for the patient using either mouth-to-mouth or a breathing tube can save just as many lives.   The Swedes reviewed more than 30,000 cardiac arrest patients and showed that those lucky 68% that received CPR of...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/L4Y8tMLdeFA   The scoop on lies comes to us from a British study published earlier this month.   Investigators surveyed 194 men and women, average age 39, about the lies they tell and hear.   The results: Men consider themselves good liars twice as often as women. Liars lie face-to-face followed by texts, phone calls, email, and social media. A few liars are responsib...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/9dHxUTsaHmk   E-cigarettes create less lung and genetic damage than conventional cigarettes.   This according to an Ohio State study comparing 15 vapers with 16 cigarette smokers and 42 never smokers.   Participants’ lungs were evaluated by testing bronchial washings for inflammatory cells and chemical mediators as well as altered DNA.   The e-cig users showed evidenc...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/6bg_3Wlid2U   Common over-the-counter vitamins, iron, and other food supplements prevent cancer chemotherapy from saving womens’ lives.   A multi-center study just published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reviewed 1134 women receiving cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and paclitaxel for their advanced breast cancers.   The antioxidants Vitamins A, C, E, carotenoids,...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/uh1tXkoG61w   American health clubs may be contributing to a skin cancer epidemic among the Gen Ys and Zs.   The University of Connecticut now documents the availability of indoor tanning beds at 3 major health chains.   While self-standing indoor tanning salons that breed the deadly skin cancer melanoma are closing, this unhealthiest of practices is ironically spring...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/klhYpLoZGrs   Caffeine in any beverage can neutralize the effects of a diet too rich in fat and carbs.   Food scientists at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign now report this finding.   Rats on a 40% fat, 45% carb, and 15% protein diet for a month gained 16% fewer pounds and 22% less body fat if they drank the equivalent of 4 cups of coffee a day.   Cultured...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/_i9HO1iJSYE   Stepping on your bathroom scale daily is the Jedi mind trick that painlessly stops weight gain over the holidays and these inactive winter months.   This battle plan comes from nutritionists at The University of Georgia.   Their study began before Thanksgiving and ended mid-January.   It involved 111 adults half of whom weighed themselves on a WiFi-enabl...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/O8k52s6HoZs   Psychological counseling, known as cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT, neutralizes anxiety-induced cellula aging.   Neuropsychologists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute studied 46 clinically anxious but untreated subjects measuring the psychologic effects and cellular improvement after talk therapy.   Those completing the CBT enjoyed a 46% reduction of a...