Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/XDftX03kAT4   If you’ve been turning your home or apartment into a nursery in hopes of purifying the air you breathe, don’t bother.   Engineers from Philadelphia’s Drexel University critically reviewed the past 30 years’ literature on this topic.   It turns out that the very toxins that plants would be clearing from the air, so-called volatile organic compounds or VOCs,...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/yz3F48H3Qpo   Immersion in 360 virtual reality scenes of the frozen Arctic helps those exposed to painful stimuli cope with both the acute and continuing pain.   Surgical investigators from London’s Imperial College report these findings from a preliminary study of 15 participants.   Acute pain was produced by a small electric shock.   Continuing pain at the same site w...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/vQXDHE0Xdj0   The most pleasurable, emotion-evoking music contains unpredictable yet somehow expected chords and riffs that trigger primitive pleasure centers in our brains.   This from a German study of over 1000 chords taken from 745 pop songs and presented to nearly 80 subjects.     Each chord was computer rated for its uncertainty attributes and by the participants...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/LGnGfHSQUdg   Children without siblings are nearly 5 times more likely to demonstrate unhealthy eating patterns compared with those having brothers and sisters.   University of Oklahoma nutritionists reviewed food consumption diaries from 67 families to determine a Healthy Eating Index for each.   Healthy eating habits are not diminished by time away from home in daycar...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/X6LuNJS8iP0   A just published study from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie-Mellon University disproves the urban myth that boys surpass girls in mastery of mathematics or math-based science.   The psychologists studied 104 children 3 to 8 years of age .   Using MRI, the researchers determined the subjects’ math brain function while observing a video about counting and addition.  ...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ea4aQpMgii8   We think of those with the anorexia eating disorder as skinny, undernourished teens and 20 somethings.   The latest research from UC-San Francisco shows that anorexics may have normal body weights, be overweight or obese.   They can also suffer profound metabolic disturbances that may be fatal.   Such patients suffer from so-called Atypical Anorexia.   The...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/og0ojToxMBs   Children with good self-discipline as preteens and adolescents are significantly more likely to be successful young adults either as students or in a satisfying job.   Psychologists at UC-Davis draw this conclusion from their longitudinal study of 674 youths.   The teens were assessed every 2 years from ages 10 through 16 with a final analysis at 19.   Tho...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/un_WL6Tg3xI   Just four hours of weekly exercise, any exercise, will reduce your chances of a depression episode by 17% even if you are genetically predisposed.   Harvard researchers now publish this result after studying 8,000 participants in a Boston database for whom they calculated a depression risk score based on family history and mood assessment by questionnaire....

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/h0W41ZdUB7c   Nutrition research at the University of Minnesota and Oxford University shows that a predominance of healthy foods in your diet has a very positive effect on your carbon footprint as well as on your weight, blood pressure, and lipid profile.   The researchers conclude that fruits, vegetable, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and olive oil drive both health and...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/jwQbczEC6CU   A Danish study just published in the British Medical Journal shows that cardiac patients who describe themselves as lonely are 3 times more likely to die from any cause.   Lonely men were 40% more likely to experience a repeat cardiac illness within one year after an initial event.   The researchers studied more than 13,400 subjects with coronary disease,...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/GRUEGIZLBAQ   A preliminary Johns Hopkins study shows that a person using a legal hemp product for its CBD content can test positive for the tiny amounts of the illegal THC and flunk a drug test.   Two of 6 study participants who only puffed cannabis from hemp ONCE did fail.   This cannabis that triggered positive tests contained 10.5% CBD and 0.39% THC.   Participants...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/0vBz4BMqjhc   If you’re older than 50 and younger than 75, you need colon cancer screening using an immunochemical stool test for blood traces every 2 years OR a colonoscopy every 10 years.   The American College of Physicians now makes straight-forward recommendations that smooth out confusing guidelines from other groups including the American Cancer Society.   This s...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/QI7ziMDZsi0   Any amount of running reduces your chances of death due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and a variety of other causes.   Australian investigators draw these conclusions from their meta-analysis of 14 studies and over 232,000 participants.   Compared with those who did no running at all, those who did enjoyed a 30% reduced risk of cardiovascular death, a...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/SN1ALsZ2Uzs   Competitive electronic gamers risk eye, neck and back, wrist, and hand overuse disorders.   E-Sports medicine investigators at the New York Institute of Technology review current knowledge about the risks.   Esport athletes practice upwards of 10 hours a day.   Their eyes and hands make more than 10 moves a second.     Some 56% of gamers develop blurry vis...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/E0aK-eRGVF4   A large British study now proves the “old wives tale” that certain weather, specifically damp, windy days with low barometric pressure, can trigger more joint pain.   The increased risk is only 20%, but if it’s your body.........   The University of Manchester epidemiologists studied nearly 2700 subjects who reported their pain levels via smartphone app.  ...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/tB4CDjCeoqE   A just published Harvard study shows that a natural measles infection eliminates up to 50% of your bodies immunity to other nasty viruses but also to pathogenic bacteria.   In the aftermath, you must reform this protective shield if you survive long enough to do so.   The measles virus triggers immune amnesia by destroying up to 73% of your anti-microbial...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/nnjT1Pjw2KQ   Anti-immigrant government pronouncements prevent our Latino friends and neighbors from seeking timely healthcare and endanger all of us.   This from A UCLA study of nearly 1700 emergency room patients over an 18 month period.   Latino immigrant residents without documentation were 5 times more likely than those with papers to delay seeking emergency medica...

Fancy Gift Wrapping Can Trigger Disappointment or Impress Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/3lZ6g4FQiJk   The holidays are ahead, and, if you want your friends and family to enjoy your gift, don’t overdo the wrapping.   Consumer psychologists at the University of Nevada compared the reactions of gift recipients to neatly or sloppily wrapped presents.   A beautiful, precise gift wrap for those you know o...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/XbRK74f4Hog   Short bursts of exertion to near maximum creates more cardiovascular fitness than the traditional continuous exercise in one-third less time.   A Japanese study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings followed 679 subjects over a 5 month period.   The interval training routine was walking at a pace 70% of the individuals maximal capacity for 3 minutes, then at 40%...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/KNGlHUOcAtU   Enjoying a daily avocado helps to keep your coronary arteries open by increasing antioxidants and lowering harmful LDL cholesterol .   Penn State nutritionists now publish this finding after   studying 45 overweight and obese subjects with elevated LDL cholesterol levels.     Adding avocado to a moderate fat diet right-sized the circulating LDL and LDL par...

Vidcast:   ttps://youtu.be/uwQjrBlO6DQ Constant noise will raise your risk of sustaining a severe stroke by 30%, while quiet, green space reduces that risk by 25%.   These conclusions come from a Spanish study of nearly 2800 stroke victims over a 10 year period.   Strokes kill 6.7 million worldwide annually. Reduce your chances of having one by keeping your weight, blood pressure, lipid levels in...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/xjgFV9pe82M   Obesity and overweight problems are more common in kids of all ages living close to convenience stores.   New York University researchers report these results online this week after reviewing data from 1 million school-aged New York City children.   Of those living within a half-block of a convenience store or bodega, some 20% were obese and 40% were overw...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/o_fpt8jt3ZQ   If you plan to use weed for significant psychological issues, think again!   It simply doesn't not help manage these problems.   A mammoth Australian meta-analysis just published in the The Lancet Psychiatry looked at 83 studies in which marijuana was used to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, psychosis,   and Tourette syndrome.   Weed did help with mi...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/6GAM_yWOM6s   Jon and his college pals were celebrating the end of exams with endless parasol-topped drinks at the Szechuan Star Restaurant.   His buddy Bill screams, “Jon....bet you can’t down this quart of soy sauce.   Jon wins the bet but nearly loses his life.   He starts to seize and becomes unresponsive.   At the ER, the anti-seizure medicines work but he is in a...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/rNQ3yz7Gdc4   Betty was rushing to dress for her New Year’s Eve date.   She picked up an earring, but her asthma suddenly flared.   After rushing to extract her inhaler from a handbag, she deeply inhaled her medicine.   She felt a throat scrape followed by a cough deeper than she usually experiences after medication inhalation.   Betty’s cough persisted and became blood...