Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/d8WD8kCnbms

C’mon get happy by biting off a few squares of bittersweet chocolate.  A British study just published in the journal Depression and Anxiety makes that delicious suggestion.

The study looked at more than 13,600 Americans and analyzed their chocolate consumption and their likelihood of reporting depressive feelings.  Individuals who reported eating any dark chocolate were 70% less likely to report feeling down.  Even those who ate an abundance of milk chocolate benefitted.

The next time you anticipate a “downer derby” or find yourself in the midst of one, pull out those dark chocolate bars and enjoy.

Sarah E. Jackson, Lee Smith, Joseph Firth, Igor Grabovac, Pinar Soysal, Ai Koyanagi, Liang Hu, Brendon Stubbs, Jacopo Demurtas, Nicola Veronese, Xiangzhu Zhu, Lin Yang. Is there a relationship between chocolate consumption and symptoms of depression? A cross‐sectional survey of 13,626 US adults. Depression and Anxiety, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/da.22950

#Darkchocolate #depression #happiness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/d8WD8kCnbms

C’mon get happy by biting off a few squares of bittersweet chocolate.  A British study just published in the journal Depression and Anxiety makes that delicious suggestion.

The study looked at more than 13,600 Americans and analyzed their chocolate consumption and their likelihood of reporting depressive feelings.  Individuals who reported eating any dark chocolate were 70% less likely to report feeling down.  Even those who ate an abundance of milk chocolate benefitted.

The next time you anticipate a “downer derby” or find yourself in the midst of one, pull out those dark chocolate bars and enjoy.

Sarah E. Jackson, Lee Smith, Joseph Firth, Igor Grabovac, Pinar Soysal, Ai Koyanagi, Liang Hu, Brendon Stubbs, Jacopo Demurtas, Nicola Veronese, Xiangzhu Zhu, Lin Yang. Is there a relationship between chocolate consumption and symptoms of depression? A cross‐sectional survey of 13,626 US adults. Depression and Anxiety, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/da.22950

#Darkchocolate #depression #happiness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/l1TYL1paUUk

Gentlemen...listen up!  The more mushrooms you eat the better, and enjoying them 3 times a week or more will drop your prostate cancer risk at least 17%.  

Japanese epidemiologists studied about 36,500 men 40-79 years of age who are in the Miyagi (no relation to Mr. Miyagi of Cobra Kai fame) and Ohsaki Cohorts,  They followed the men for 13 years.

Those eating mushrooms twice a week saw an 8% benefit demonstrating a dose response effect.  The researchers did not capture info about the mushroom species eaten.  Although the mechanism of this protective effect is not yet known, you can still take advantage by eating ‘shrooms often.

Shu Zhang, Yumi Sugawara, Shiuan Chen, Robert B. Beelman, Tsuyoshi Tsuduki, Yasutake Tomata, Sanae Matsuyama, Ichiro Tsuji. Mushroom consumption and incident risk of prostate cancer in Japan: A pooled analysis of the Miyagi Cohort Study and the Ohsaki Cohort Study. International Journal of Cancer, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32591

#Mushrooms #prostatecancer

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/l1TYL1paUUk

Gentlemen...listen up!  The more mushrooms you eat the better, and enjoying them 3 times a week or more will drop your prostate cancer risk at least 17%.  

Japanese epidemiologists studied about 36,500 men 40-79 years of age who are in the Miyagi (no relation to Mr. Miyagi of Cobra Kai fame) and Ohsaki Cohorts,  They followed the men for 13 years.

Those eating mushrooms twice a week saw an 8% benefit demonstrating a dose response effect.  The researchers did not capture info about the mushroom species eaten.  Although the mechanism of this protective effect is not yet known, you can still take advantage by eating ‘shrooms often.

Shu Zhang, Yumi Sugawara, Shiuan Chen, Robert B. Beelman, Tsuyoshi Tsuduki, Yasutake Tomata, Sanae Matsuyama, Ichiro Tsuji. Mushroom consumption and incident risk of prostate cancer in Japan: A pooled analysis of the Miyagi Cohort Study and the Ohsaki Cohort Study. International Journal of Cancer, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32591

#Mushrooms #prostatecancer

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/VYcpbXexVsM

Each participant underwent pulmonary function tests and recorded their use of NSAIDs over the month before testing.  Air quality measurements during that month were added to the database.  Analysis showed that NSAID use, which turned out to be mostly aspirin, reduced the effects of air pollution on lung function by one-half. 

If you expect significant exposure to air pollution, you might try aspirin.  Better strategies are use of a mask or remaining in clean air.

Xu Gao, Brent Coull, Xihong Lin, Pantel Vokonas, Joel Schwartz, Andrea A Baccarelli. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Modify the Effect of Short-Term Air Pollution on Lung Function. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201905-1003LE

#Airpollution #NSAIDS #aspirin #lungfunction

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/VYcpbXexVsM

Each participant underwent pulmonary function tests and recorded their use of NSAIDs over the month before testing.  Air quality measurements during that month were added to the database.  Analysis showed that NSAID use, which turned out to be mostly aspirin, reduced the effects of air pollution on lung function by one-half. 

If you expect significant exposure to air pollution, you might try aspirin.  Better strategies are use of a mask or remaining in clean air.

Xu Gao, Brent Coull, Xihong Lin, Pantel Vokonas, Joel Schwartz, Andrea A Baccarelli. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Modify the Effect of Short-Term Air Pollution on Lung Function. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201905-1003LE

#Airpollution #NSAIDS #aspirin #lungfunction

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/mshoJ1qxdBU

The FDA and California Terra Garden Inc. are recalling Guan’s Seafood Mushrooms.  This product is contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.  This bacterium can cause a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in the very young, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised.  These mushrooms were distributed and sold in CA,  If you have this product, don’t consume it but rather return it to the place of purchase for a refund.  If you require more information, call California Terra Garden at 1-323-597-0346. 

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/california-terra-garden-inc-recalls-seafood-mushroom-because-possible-health-risk

#mushrooms #guans #listeria #recall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/mshoJ1qxdBU

The FDA and California Terra Garden Inc. are recalling Guan’s Seafood Mushrooms.  This product is contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.  This bacterium can cause a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in the very young, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised.  These mushrooms were distributed and sold in CA,  If you have this product, don’t consume it but rather return it to the place of purchase for a refund.  If you require more information, call California Terra Garden at 1-323-597-0346. 

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/california-terra-garden-inc-recalls-seafood-mushroom-because-possible-health-risk

#mushrooms #guans #listeria #recall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lgC8arAXWL4

The FDA and multiple companies including Concord Farms, Marquis Worldwide Specialty, and Rainfield Marketing Group announce the recall of their Korean-grown enoki mushrooms.  These mushrooms are contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.  This bacterium can create life-threatening disease.  Return this product to the point of purchase. For more information, contact Concord at 1-323-582-6000, Marquis at 1-626-810-6426 , and Rainfield at 1-323-825-2825.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/concord-farms-recalls-enoki-mushrooms-due-possible-health-risk

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/marquis-worldwide-specialty-inc-recalls-organic-enoki-mushroom-200g-because-possible-health-risk

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/rainfield-marketing-group-inc-vernon-ca-recalling-enoki-mushrooms-product-korea-because-it-has

#mushrooms #enoki #listeria #recall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lgC8arAXWL4

The FDA and multiple companies including Concord Farms, Marquis Worldwide Specialty, and Rainfield Marketing Group announce the recall of their Korean-grown enoki mushrooms.  These mushrooms are contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.  This bacterium can create life-threatening disease.  Return this product to the point of purchase. For more information, contact Concord at 1-323-582-6000, Marquis at 1-626-810-6426 , and Rainfield at 1-323-825-2825.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/concord-farms-recalls-enoki-mushrooms-due-possible-health-risk

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/marquis-worldwide-specialty-inc-recalls-organic-enoki-mushroom-200g-because-possible-health-risk

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/rainfield-marketing-group-inc-vernon-ca-recalling-enoki-mushrooms-product-korea-because-it-has

#mushrooms #enoki #listeria #recall