The People's Scientist

Today on The People's Scientist podcast I answer your questions on mental health and nutrition. When I polled my listeners on what topic they wanted to hear most about, it was about how nutrition and what we eat can be impacting our mood right now. Nutrition is very powerful because it is a way we can impact our health that is within our control. What we eat and what we drink can either be a slow...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I combine neuroscience and psychology and talk about the power of affect labelling or putting feelings into words. Surprisingly, this simple act may hold a lot of power in emotion regulation, communication, and negotiation. Emotional intelligence is a highly underrated and extremely important skill for everyone. In this episode, I discuss what is emotional...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I have the great privilege of interviewing Dr. David Putrino, a neuroscientist based out of Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. Dr. Putrino combines physical therapy, neuroscience, and technology to better people's lives. He goes into detail on some innovative technology he has created to assist individuals in their recovery after injuries or events. During this C...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I continue to give us some positive stimulus on ideas to promote our mental well-being during our quarantine time. I have received quite a few requests in the last year to cover the scientific evidence of heat therapy on mental health. Heat therapy includes: sauna use, hot yoga, hot bath, hot shower, and cold adapted showers. Heat therapy is a mild physiolo...

On today's episode of The People's Scientist podcast, I provide some scientific evidence on how art can be a therapy for mental health. Art can be a physical expression of our unspoken emotions and feelings. As a result, clinical trials show great benefit for creating art as a means to open up and release some negative emotions. I also provide some neurobiology on why viewing art can be enjoyable...

This week on The People's Scientist podcast, I provide some positive stimulus for us based on one of my passions in life, dance! I talk about the neuroscience of dance and how it is a highly underrated therapy for enhancing memory, cognition, mood, life satisfaction, interpersonal skills, and physical performance. I dive into how dance can change our neurobiology for the better. Tune in for all th...

On this week's episode of The People's Scientist podcast, I wanted to do a positive and light hearted episode during this time when we may be feeling stressed, anxious, and isolated during the COVID19 outbreak. So I provide some ideas on things we can do while stuck at home such as achieving our forgotten goals and also video games. The impact of video games on mental health has been controversial...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I was asked, "what are some brain healthy foods?" I first had to ask myself, what is brain healthy? I concluded that brain healthy meant, the normal homeostatic functioning of our brain and prevention of disease. So, when I dove into the scientific literature, the most scientific evidence supported the benefit of The Mediterranean Diet and a reduced risk of...

This week on The People's Scientist podcast, for episode 50, I have been asked by many of my listeners to cover the scientific facts on the outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19. So I am going to provide you straight facts coming from medical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The WHO, and The CDC website. Make sure to tune in to find out some important details on wh...

Happy One Year Anniversary to The People's Scientist podcast! On episode 49, I dive into the clinical data on the antioxidant polyphenol resveratrol. Resveratrol is found in grapes, peanuts, berries, and red wine. The amount of resveratrol in red wine ranges from 1.3 - 14.3 mg/L. The doses in clinical trials are much higher and range from 5-2000 mg/day. As a result, clinical trials provide purifie...

In light of Valentine's Day this past Friday, I felt it was fitting to do an episode dedicated to the "love neuropeptide". Oxytocin has been sensationalized a bit; however, there is evidence to support its role in promoting social behavior, bonding, trust, cooperation, and enhancing feelings of attractiveness toward one's partner. However, oxytocin may also enhance negative feelings such as envy,...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I continue the Vitamin Miniseries with a B Vitamin, Folate. Folate plays an essential role in cell division and growth. So as a result, the parts of our body that undergo rapid cell turnover are most effected with folate deficiency. So we may see deficiency symptoms on our tongue, mouth, have stomach issues, and abnormalities with our red blood cells (anemi...

Do you ever find yourself falling into a slump of being inactive, eating unhealthy, feeling unmotivated, and temporarily have feelings of depression? Well the root of all of this is the dopamine brain reward pathway. This pathway is activated by physical activity and regulates our feelings of motivation and ability to pursue our goals. Physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, weight gain, obesity, a...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast I dive into the scientific evidence on the neurobiology of taste and how taste sends signals to our brain to guide our actions to consume or avoid certain foods and drinks to ensure our survival. In particular, I focus on how sweet taste is reinforcing and activates our reward/pleasure brain regions. In contrast, high concentrations of bitter tastants can re...

On this week's episode of The People's Scientist podcast, I continue the Vitamin Miniseries and cover vitamin B5 (AKA: Pantothenic Acid). This obscure vitamin is less characterized versus other vitamins. We understand the importance of this vitamin in studies where vitamin B5 was eliminated from the diet of individuals. Vitamin B5 is important for mental health, energy, gastrointestinal health, sk...

As cold and flu season are upon us, I felt it was timely to do an episode on one of the most popular supplements taken for cold and flu, Echinacea. Echinacea is a flower native to North America and has been touted for its immune boosting properties. Many cell culture, animal, and clinical studies have been conducted to see if Echinacea extracts can induce the immune system and reduce the onset or...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I cover a timely topic for those of us that want to instill some New Year's resolutions. I cover some neuroscience and psychology behind how habits are formed. I discuss certain brain regions, neurotransmitters, and many examples. Using this knowledge, I provide some tips on how to more successfully instill new habits and how to eliminate unhealthful old ha...

Today on The People's Scientist podcast, I provide a recap of the wide array of topics covered in the year 2019. I have covered topics on neuroscience, nutrition, and advances in medical technology. I provide some highlights to the top 5 most listened to episodes on The People's Scientist podcast, and some scientific updates since the episode launch. Make sure to follow me on social media for some...

This week on The People's Scientist podcast, Dr. Dennis Charney and I discuss some scientific evidence on ketamine as a rapidly acting anti-depressant in individuals living with treatment resistant major depression. Intravenous low doses of ketamine may have lasting anti-depressants effects of on average up to 19 days at a time. Ketamine may also reduce craving and rates of relapse in individuals...

In today's episode of The People's Scientist podcast, we are doing things a little bit differently, as I interview a guest scientist, Dr. Dennis Charney, on the topic of resilience, AKA the ability to bounce back. Dr. Charney is a physician, scientist, and the Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Charney is an expert on the science of resilience and mental toughness. H...

In episode 38, I cover the scientific evidence on the vitamin B3, niacin. Niacin's discovery has a rich history as it took scientists decades to prove that the epidemic of Pellagra was caused by niacin deficiency. Today, niacin is being investigated for its effects on longevity and successful aging. Niacin is converted into the essential signaling molecule NAD+. High dose niacin supplementation ha...

In today's episode we dive into the function of estrogen and progesterone which go far beyond just female reproduction. A great amount of evidence is coming out on the neuroprotective effects of estrogen following an acute brain injury such as concussion or a stroke. Evidence also suggests that estrogen can induce fear memory extinction and reduces fear memory recall which can have important impli...

This week on The People's Scientist podcast, I share with you an update on the first approved clinical trial using CRISPR gene editing in North America for cancer therapy. This clinical trial aims to recruit 18 patients living with cancer to test the safety and efficacy of CRISPR gene editing the patients' T-cells to seek out and kills their own cancer cells. Follow me on social media to see the p...

In episode 3 of our Vitamin Miniseries we discuss the scientific evidence on Riboflavin. I share with you signs and symptoms of a riboflavin deficiency, who is at risk for a riboflavin deficiency, the function of riboflavin in our body, and the highest food sources of riboflavin. Follow me on social media to see the main papers I discuss in each episode: IG: Dr. SCaligiuri FB: ThePeoplesScientist...

In today's episode of the People's Scientist podcast, we cover some scientific evidence of cold therapies such as whole body cryotherapy and cold adapted showers on measures of oxidative stress, inflammation, and mood. The clinical evidence supports that cold therapy may have benefits for athletes, those living with inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and depr...