2 Docs Talk: The podcast about healthcare, the science of medicine and everything in between.

Both of us, Kendall and Amy, have dogs named Goose. This was purely coincidental, and we are as surprised by that fact as anyone. It's a little uncanny how much they resemble one another, too. If you'd like to see the Geese, we've added their pictures over at 2DocsTalk.com. These two certainly live the life of Riley, but they aren't the only canines who have it so good.

We are a country of pet lovers. We spend over $60 billion annually on food, vet bills, toys, and silly extravagances for our animal companions. We love them, and can't imagine life without them. But did you know your pet can make you sick - and the other way around? 

Today we discuss zoonotic infections - those infections that are spread from animal to human. Rabies, toxoplasmosis, and leptospirosis are a few diseases that fall into this category. We'll talk about how they are spread and treated, and give some tips on how to prevent the.

We'll also talk about how we can make our pets sick, too. It's a fun show!

Resources:

The Thanksgiving Effect

The CDC on pets and salmonella

CDC info on rabies 

Over the last couple of decades, the conversation surrounding hormone replacement therapy and menopause has been confusing. Does it work? Is it safe? What about alternative therapies? it's hard to sort out conflicting information coming from various sources. In this episode we discuss:

• The recent history of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
• HRT for symptom relief
• HRT, endometrial hyperplasia, and uterine cancer
• HRT and cardiovascular disease
• HRT and breast cancer
• Bioidentical hormones
• And more.

Resources

The Bitch is Back

Study of Women's Health Across the Naiton (SWAN)

The Women's Health Initiative

Because individuals with high cholesterol levels often develop

But it can't be said often enough that correlation does not

In this episode we talk about the status of treating cholesterol

Take a listen and see what you think.

Resources:

For decades we've been told that our high fat diet is making us obese and killing us with heart disease. But here's the deal. The concept of a lowfat diet, exemplified in the Mediterranean Diet, is based on faulty science. 

In this episode, we discuss how the high fat hypothesis became accepted science and public policy, without any good research to back it up. We also talk about the various kinds of fats that are out there and what we think is the biggest culprit in our obesity problems.

Resources:

The Big Fat Surprise

PREDIMED Study

Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease

Evidence from randomised controlled trials did not support the introduction of dietary fat guidelines in 1977 and 1983: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Profiling Food Consumption in America

Stem cell research, regenerative medicine, or whatever you want to call it, was a real hot button issue for a while. The policitics around it have cooled somewhat, but controversy remains even if the media isn't reporting on it.

What have we learned from stem cell research, what advances have been made, and can we really trust it? 

We get in to all this and more on this week's episode.

Resources:

 ISCCR Draft Guidelines for Stem Cell Science Translation

A nice summary of where the FDA got involved with Stem Cell therapy and who many of the players are

One of the latest technological advances in food production is the introduction of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, to the food supply. They have the potential to offer many benefits including increased productivity, pest and herbicide resistance, longer shelf life, and the list goes on.

But many are concerned that this relatively new technology isn't safe - for health, the environment or the economy. We dig into the evidence surrounding GMOs in this episode. We might even share an opinion or two.

Resources:

Primer on the retracted study that indicated GMOs caused tumors

How GMOs are tested for safety

All you have to do is take a quick drive around town to see that low testosterone clinics are all the rage. A little math will tell you why. Males make up around 50 percent of the population, and their testosterone declines, naturally, at a rate of 1 percent per year after age 30. If that decline merits treatment, it's no wonder those clinics are everywhere.

But, does it merit treatment?

Is testosterone replacement safe?

Is it even effective?

We dig into those questions on this episode of 2 Docs Talk.

Resources

JAMA: Effects of Testosterone on Subclinical Atherosclerosis

Testosterone Reduces Cardiovascular Risk

Testosterone Increases Cardiovascular Risk

FDA Drug Safety Communication on Testosterone

In this episode, we dig into the terms being bandied about by politicians this year. Medicare for all, single-payer, socialized medicine. What do they all mean? Are they all the same or are there differences between these systems. 

And what would we do, today, to start making healthcare work a little better?

Resources:

Per Capita Health Spending by Country

Gallup Poll on Healthcare Satisfaction by Country

As we've produced more episodes, we've continues to see our listening audience grow. We appreciate the listeners, the comments, the emails, and the sharing of our little show. Since new listeners are showing up each week, we thought we'd re-run our intro episode so everyone knows where we're coming from and what we're all about.

If you've paid any attention to the news in the last year you've heard about the trials of businesses such as Blue Bell Ice Cream and Chipotle. The outbreaks of food borne illnesses from these and other establishments have cause disease, death, and no small amount of economic hardship. 

Why is it that these issues feel like they are happening more frequently? And more importantly, what can we do to keep ourselves healthy, if anything?

On this episode of 2 Docs Talk, we dig into the facts about food borne illness.

Resources:

A great list of facts about raw vs. pasteurized milk, with an excellent list of references at the end.

States that permit the sale of raw milk in retail stores include:

Arizona,California, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania. South Carolina, Utah, Washington, New Hampshire

States that allow the sale of raw milk on the farm include:

Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Wisconsin, Mississippi

**Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Rhode Island restrict sales to goat milk, with Kentucky and Rhode Island requiring a prescription from a physician.

Five states allow for the sale of raw milk at farmers’ markets or through other avenues:

Colorado, South Dakota, Missouri, Vermont, Oregon

We referred to a couple of previous podcasts in this episode. If you haven't already listened to these, there is some good info in them:

Is Gluten Free the Answer?

Bugs and Drugs