Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CskV2RTpk5P/ University of Colorado kidney specialist Dr. Richard Johnson has studied this phenomenon and give us the blueprint for understanding how it works.  Lots of salt and little water, and sometimes caffeine rich soda, dehydrates our bodies.  That dehydration, in turn, stimulates the production of the sugar fructose from the carbs and starches we eat.  T...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CskU-3VPkzV/ The two professional societies whose members recommend and perform bariatric surgery now announce their first modifications in the indications for such surgery in more than 30 years.  The 1991 recommendations from The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disor...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CskT_ApMnRh/ Strokes don’t occur often in young adults, but having Type A blood increases your risk of having a debilitating early onset stroke 16% while having type O blood reduces that risk by 12%.  Epidemiologists at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine draw these conclusions from their meta-analysis of 16,927 stroke victims who participated in 48...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsTAqHVMtQA/ A WBZ Radio caller asks Dr. Smith about her “clicking” knee joints. https://centenoschultz.com/symptom/knee-clicking/ #knee #clicking #cartilage #meniscus #kneecap #patella #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS_qKEMkbk/ Dr. Smith and Peggy Keating, Duke University exercise physiologist speak with a WBZ Radio caller about using exercise to help manager depression. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495 #depression #exercise #aerobics #endorphins #anxiety #wbznewsradio 

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS-sHIPGFj/ We all must screen for colon cancer.   New data suggests that  you might be able to use a simple chemical test at home to replace that nasty bowel prep followed by either colonoscopy under anesthesia or a CT scan.   A meta-analysis by Indiana University of some 31 studies testing more than 120,000 persons shows that the so called FIT test, the fec...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS-sHIPGFj/ The strains of holding down a job and maintaining social relationships increases a woman’s risk of developing heart disease by 21%.  Public health scientists at Philadelphia’s Drexel University report this and other conclusions following their study of 80,825 postmenopausal women over nearly a quarter century. Relationship stress including a spous...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS80wipVCf/ Thiazide blood pressure drugs including hydrochlorthazide can bump up the risk of deadly skin cancer by 60%.  This the conclusion from a University of Toronto study comparing 302,634 adults on hypertensive medications and 605, 268 unmedicated matched controls.  Increasing doses of thiazide medications were associated with increasing incidence of m...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS7-_oryhv/ Women with heart attack symptoms are significantly less likely than men to receive timely therapy.  This the conclusion of an NYU study just presented at the American College of Cardiology’s spring scientific sessions. Though women with chest pain arrived at the ED as quickly as men, they were less likely to be triaged as first priority emergencie...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS7IwFJATL/ Young women consuming more than two servings a day of sugar-sweetened drinks more than double their risk (2.2) of bowel cancer.  Public health researchers at St. Louis’ Washington University issue this warning after comparing the dietary records of 95,464 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study. The cancer risk escalates 16% for every extr...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS4QMwNlT_/ You’ve no doubt heard that pomegranates are chock full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and those cancer-killing antioxidants.  A Scottish study now adds appetite-suppression to the pomegranate’s beneficial powers. Twenty-eight subjects with a mean age of 35 years were randomized to receive a 3 week priming course of pomegranate extract or a placebo....

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS3dsoLn9g/ Daily exposure to blue light each morning significantly improves Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms.  University of Arizona psychiatrists report these findings following their study of 82 PTSD sufferers. All study participants committed to a daily 30 minute light treatment continued over a 6 week period.  The treatment group of 43 were expose...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS2k_HvOL9/ One commonly prescribed, non-narcotic cough medicine is a danger to any family with children under 10.  That drug is benzonatate, previously marketed as Tessalon and Zonatuss, and now sold as the generic.  The drug is indicated for cough suppression in those 10 years or over.   The FDA is now warning all parents and their pediatricians that the ca...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsS1sHQPfWn/ Consuming more than 20% of your daily calories by wolfing down quarter-pounders, pizza, and donuts risks depositing enough fat in your liver to damage it, stop it from its vital detoxification role, and eventually triggering the need for a liver transplant. University of Southern California investigators studied liver fat measurements and dietary...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAvZaTMcPR/ Dr. Smith and WBZ Newsradio anchor Susan Rest discuss the general confusion about sunscreens and SPF (sun protection factor) numbers. https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/sun-care/spf.htm #sunburn #sunscreen #spf #sunprotectionfactor #melanoma #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAtJCNNsK5/ A WBZ Radio caller with a history of coronary artery disease and a coronary artery bypass graft wonders if only the coronary arteries are affected by cholesterol. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11918-cholesterol-high-cholesterol-diseases #heartattack #stroke #cholesterol #coronaryarterydisease #carotidarterydisease #highbloodpressu...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAr8tALFwt/ Dr. Smith speaks with a caller about the necessity for completing a given antibiotic course.  They also discuss rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-the-full-course-of-antibiotics-full-of-baloney-2017081712253 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2102074 #antibiotics #rheumaticfever #rheumatich...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsArEFWMb3y/ 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 a...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAqDrZPfuO/ Runny, stuffy noses may become more welcome since cold viruses have the unexpected benefit of preventing the flu.  Yale laboratory medicine researchers tabulated 3 years of clinical data from some 13,000 patients. Their data show that rhinovirus-infected cells present closed doors to the influenza viruses for about 5 days.  When cold viruses enter...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsApMRHMHe0/ The FDA now issues a warning that the nasal decongestant Benzedrex and its generic propylhexedrine may cause cardiovascular and psychiatric complications which could be fatal. The agent is marketed in a nasal inhalation device to be used for the common cold and nasal allergies.  The proper dosage is 2 inhalations per nostril every 2 hours for adul...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAoSpCrSUR/ Working 55 hours a week or more following a heart attack drives a 67% higher risk of another coronary event including unstable anginal pain, another non-fatal heart attack, or a deadly MI.  Canadian investigators followed 967 first heart attack victims after their return to work. The risk of another often deadly cardiac event was proportional to t...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAnbDhMTRO/ Daily smokers of electronic cigarettes are more than twice as likely as those who never smoked e-cigarettes to report erectile dysfunction or ED.  Epidemiologists at NYU report this finding after analyzing data on 45,971 adults 18 years and older. In the study group, 13,711 males provided information about any problems with ED as well as informati...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAmXlWLMRh/ Teens with higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids have longer attention spans and reduced impulsivity.  Spanish epidemiologists measured the levels of fish-based DHA and plant-based ALA score in the red blood cells of 332 teens with a mean age of nearly 14 years. Their data revealed that those with the highest levels of DHA scored best on tests of a...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAldFvNxtA/ Bariatic surgery for obese individuals with non-alcoholic liver disease cuts their risk of heart attacks and strokes by nearly 50%.  Ohio State University informatics researchers along with gastroenterologists and surgeons completed a cohort study of 86,964 morbidly obese persons. Compared with those who were treated medically, bariatric surgical...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsAkRM2JJdb/ Fifteen minutes of structured yoga added to a half-hour aerobic exercise program more effectively tones your cardiovascular system than 15 minutes of stretching added to vigorous exercise.  Researchers at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute demonstrated this phenomenon  in 60 individuals with high blood pressure over a 3 month period. Those with yo...