Dr. Howard Smith Reports

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Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/NSuMJlOl42A

You’ll make poor choices and turn in awful intellectual performances on an empty stomach.  Psychologists at Scotland’s University of Dundee put 50 participants to the test either 2 hours after eating or following a 10 hour fast.

Test results revealed that hunger triggers impatience, impulsivity, and a need for immediate gratification .  The well-fed were willing to wait over a month for a substantial reward while the hungry could only manage 3 days.

If you want and need consistent mental performance, start with a good breakfast and eat regularly.  The researchers add, of course, that you shouldn’t food shop when you’re hungry.

Jordan Skrynka, Benjamin T. Vincent. Hunger increases delay discounting of food and non-food rewards. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2019; DOI: 10.3758/s13423-019-01655-0

#Hunger #impulsivity #impatience

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/JI5Z-3IfCwo

Regularly consuming green, oolong, or black tea at least 4 times weekly will improve your brain’s regional synchrony and your thinking skills.  A collaborative study recently published in the journal Aging looked at MRI brain imaging and neuropsychological test results as a function of tea drinking.

The imaging studies showed that regular tea drinkers had more efficient connections between various regions of their brains.  This speeds transfer of information and triggers enhanced performance on cognitive tests.

If you want to stay on the top of your intellectual game, tea makes an excellent beverage.  Previous studies have also shown that it improves your mood, reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, and reduces your risk of age-related cognitive deterioration by some 50%.

Junhua Li, Rafael Romero-Garcia, John Suckling, Lei Feng. Habitual tea drinking modulates brain efficiency: evidence from brain connectivity evaluation. Aging, 2019; 11 (11): 3876 DOI: 10.18632/aging.102023

#Tea #brain #thinking #dementia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/xidm260T2Qc

Overdoing your training for an endurance sport can leave you mentally fatigued.  A French investigation, just published in the journal Current Biology, studied 37 thirty something male athletes during a 9 week training program.

Over-training led to feelings of mental exhaustion but also increased impulsivity with a preference for immediate rather than gratification.  Brain imaging tests confirmed that the altered decision-making was due to diminished prefrontal cortical activation.

This study once again emphasizes that our bodies work best when we moderate our activities.  If you are forced to overindulge, know that you shouldn’t be making any momentous decisions afterwards.

Blain et al. Neuro-computational impact of physical training overload on economic decision-making. Current Biology, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.054

#Endurancetraining #exercise #exhaustion, decisionmaking

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/QetW5Xs_9Uk

Our cells and bodies work on internal biological clocks which are lubricated for better efficiency by good old fashioned stress.  University of Minnesota biologists now report  this phenomenon in the journal Neuron.

Using a mouse model and tissue cultures of cells, the scientists unraveled the complex blend of signaling proteins that control the clock. They found that stress accelerates the speed of signal processing and improves the robust nature of cellular biologic clocks.

The bottom line is that some stress may well be good for you.  It literally keeps your system on its toes and speeds your reaction time.

Salil Saurav Pathak, Dong Liu, Tianbao Li, Nuria de Zavalia, Lei Zhu, Jin Li, Ramanujam Karthikeyan, Tommy Alain, Andrew C. Liu, Kai-Florian Storch, Randal J. Kaufman, Victor X. Jin, Shimon Amir, Nahum Sonenberg, Ruifeng Cao. The eIF2α Kinase GCN2 Modulates Period and Rhythmicity of the Circadian Clock by Translational Control of Atf4. Neuron, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.08.007

#Biologicalclocks #stress

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Cx1EWDS3Cok

Most women are counseled to try a vaginal delivery following a previous Caesarian section (VBAC).  The latest evidence from the University of Oxford questions the wisdom of that recommendation.

More than 74,000 Scottish births over a 13 year period show that a VBAC is associated with a 7 fold higher risk of a uterine rupture, a 3 fold  higher risk of surgical injury, and a two-fold higher risk of sepsis and blood transfusion.  There is also a greater risk of stillbirth, a NICU admission, and a need for neonatal resuscitation.

If you’ve had a C-section and your OB is recommending a vaginal delivery, question carefully whether that choice is right for you.

Kathryn E. Fitzpatrick, Jennifer J. Kurinczuk, Sohinee Bhattacharya, Maria A. Quigley. Planned mode of delivery after previous cesarean section and short-term maternal and perinatal outcomes: A population-based record linkage cohort study in Scotland. PLOS Medicine, 2019; 16 (9): e1002913 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002913

#Csection #VBAC #vaginaldelivery

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/T4cdm4mMfgE

Deadly head and neck melanoma has increased by 51% for children and younger adults over the past 20 years.  St. Louis University oncologists raise this warning after reviewing nearly 12,500  confirmed melanoma cases documented in American and Canadian cancer registries.

Once predominately a cancer of older patients, it is now popping up increasingly often in children, adolescents, and  young adults.  White males 15 to 39 years of age are the prime targets.

We must teach out children from a young age to protect their skins.  Global warming will lead to more time outdoors and a greater need for UV radiation protection.  Stock up on your favorite sunscreen.

Bray HN, Simpson MC, Zahirsha ZS, et al. Head and Neck Melanoma Incidence Trends in the Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Population of the United States and Canada, 1995-2014. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Published online October 03, 2019. doi:10.1001/gov/jobs

#melanoma #youngadults #sunburn

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/80u3lfBHQRk

When you dine socially, you consume 48% more food than when you eat alone.  This conclusion comes from a meta-analysis of some 42 studies of group versus solo food consumption just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

On the other hand, eating with a group of strangers did not increase food consumption. The investigators conjecture that many of us feel we must eat modestly when doing so with those we don’t know or wish to impress.

With the food fests of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas/Chanukah on the horizon, be aware of what you’re putting in your mouth.  Maybe it’s best to have more coming out of your mouth in the form of stimulating conversation than going into your gut.

Helen K Ruddock, Jeffrey M Brunstrom, Lenny R Vartanian, Suzanne Higgs. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the social facilitation of eating. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; 110 (4): 842 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz155

#Socialeating #overeating

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YAsWf2Xaeh0

Only half of pregnant women receive the recommended flu and whooping cough vaccines say the latest CDC statistics.  The flu is a terrible risk for a pregnant woman, and pertussis is the same for her newborn.

Pregnancy makes the flu more severe, and increases the risk for hospitalization by 2.5 times.  Every year, pertussis lands up to 700 babies under the age of 2 months in the hospital struggling for their lives.

Each pregnant woman should receive the flu and the DTaP vaccines during each pregnancy.  The immunity conferred by both vaccines is passed to the developing fetus, and it is the greatest gift any mother can give to her developing child.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/pdfs/mm6840e1-h.pdf?deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM10321

#Influenza #pertussis #pregnancy #infants

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YLtNdsKtk0Y

The CPSC and Polaris around the recall of Ranger, General Utility, Phoenix 200, and All-Terrain Vehicles.  These products each have throttle defects that may cause crash hazards.  If you own any of these vehicles, stop using them and contact your Polaris dealer to arrange a free inspection and repair.  You may reach Polaris by calling 1-800-765-2747.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Polaris-Recalls-Ranger-and-General-Utility-Vehicles-Due-to-Crash-Hazard-Recall-Alert

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Polaris-Recalls-Phoenix-200-All-Terrain-Vehicles-ATVs-Due-to-Crash-Hazard-Recall-Alert

#recall #polaris #offroadvehicles #throttledefect

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YLtNdsKtk0Y

The CPSC and Polaris around the recall of Ranger, General Utility, Phoenix 200, and All-Terrain Vehicles.  These products each have throttle defects that may cause crash hazards.  If you own any of these vehicles, stop using them and contact your Polaris dealer to arrange a free inspection and repair.  You may reach Polaris by calling 1-800-765-2747.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Polaris-Recalls-Ranger-and-General-Utility-Vehicles-Due-to-Crash-Hazard-Recall-Alert

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Polaris-Recalls-Phoenix-200-All-Terrain-Vehicles-ATVs-Due-to-Crash-Hazard-Recall-Alert

#recall #polaris #offroadvehicles #throttledefect