Dr. Howard Smith Reports

  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...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/SCgKVBviePU   There’s an epidemic of concussions among college students, and surprisingly most victims are not the football, rugby, and lacrosse players.   A new study from the University of Colorado at Boulder shows that the   $   highest concussion rates occur in non-athletes and in women.   Non-athletes were 57% more likely than athletes to sustain concussions and...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/Ge7ktfyeQJ0   Accumulations of belly fat and love handles are associated with a reduction in our problem-solving powers.   This from an Iowa State University study of more than 4400 middle-aged men and women.   The researchers measured both belly and waist fat as well as lean muscle mass.   Participants with belly fat accumulations were the worst problem solvers follo...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/LKuMWAYkpEc   If you hope that a 23andMe test will predict health, don’t waste your money.   The largest meta-analysis of genetic testing, completed by the University of Alberta, shows that garden-variety mutations make only a 5 to 10% contribution to most disease.   These mutations, so called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, have a negligible impact on cancer...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/wPMaVIrDLvM   Pink artificial sweetener, once wrongfully accused of triggering bladder cancer, may ironically help create new cancer chemotherapy drugs.   Data just published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry shows that saccharin prevents cancer cells from surviving in tumors’ typical low oxygen conditions.   Saccharin blocks the activity of tumor-specific carboni...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/OHxcJZNPSx8   Children reading digital books that provide animated feedback recall more of what they read.   Educational psychologists at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University studied ninety 3 to 5 year olds comparing their comprehension of material read from board books, static digital books and animated digital books.   When a book’s illustrations move in response...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/MvRPC47OMgE   If you’re pregnant and work two night shifts in any given week, you significantly increase your chances of suffering a miscarriage.   Danish occupational medicine specialists reviewed the data from nearly 23,000 pregnant women a for a study recently published online.   The data revealed that, after the 8th week of pregnancy, women who worked two or more...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/bXBHj2hjj-M   Do you cringe at the thought of looking down from bridge or tall building, going up in a balloon, or parasailing?   Are you afraid of falling even if you are only up on a chair?   Some caution makes sense, but if you have a pathologic fear that limits your life choices then you probably suffer from acrophobia or the extreme, irrational phobia about heigh...

  xvid https://youtu.be/vV1J4sIPyy0   Paying creatives for every idea they churn out led to optimal results.   The alternatives, paying for idea quality or offering no motivational reward at all, fell flat according to studies by business school researchers at The University of Texas-Austin and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.   Their data also demonstrated the most interesting finding...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/VLC_LDRCHwI   If you’re overweight and suffering from migraine headaches, dropping those extra pounds will literally take a load off your mind.   This conclusion comes from a new study by Italy’s University of Padova recently presented to the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.   Researchers there conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies covering more 473 migraine...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/wGewmy9_u90   A green light over the salad bar and a red light over the burgers and fries triggers healthier and environmentally more responsible food choices.   Experimental psychologists at London’s Queen Mary University set up a lunchtime canteen and studied the choices of over 400 subjects.   They conducted two experiments.   In the first, one group of subjects sa...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/uttUY1yfe9Q   Playing organized team sports grows the hippocampus, the brain’s emotion and memory center, while reducing the incidence of adult depression.   This is the finding by neuroscientists at the Washington University-St. Louis.     They studied a nationwide sample over over 4000 children 9 to 11 years of age using questionnaires to determine their participati...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/OxOPYMo9fdk   The knee takes a beating in many athletic contests, and anterior cruciate ligament repair is a frequent operative event in the world of sports medicine.   During recovery, though, there tends to be a loss of muscle mass and bone density despite good rehabilitation therapy.   Orthopedic surgeons at Houston’s Methodist Hospital report to the American Ortho...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/rU2V0Knw6ZE   Pregnant women will suffer colds and may get the flu despite receiving the flu vaccines.   When that occurs, the babies they are carrying are more likely to develop excessive neural sensitivity.   That in turn leads to agitation for infants and toddlers and attention deficits and even serious psychosis such as schizophrenia later in life.   A study by Un...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/o7vWyfz-n7w   Sit-stand desks, so-called SSDs, are no miracle.   This conclusion stems from a University of Pittsburgh meta-analysis of some 53 studies.   The Pitt bioengineers conclude that these convertible desks do drive less sitting, can improve back pain issues, may make their users somewhat more comfortable, and can lower your blood pressure a bit.   They will n...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/yPUzPyQOAVw   Ninety percent of the most popular prescription medications in the US contain one or more ingredients that may make you sick.   Now, I’m not talking about the main or so-called active ingredient but rather about the inactive ingredients that are added to pills, capsules, and liquids to improve shelf life, absorption, and taste.   A study just released by...