Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/N7DsCNmHUro

By definition, a good Samaritan helps anyone in distress.  A new study from psychologists at Boston College and Harvard concludes we bestow more glory on those who help strangers than on those helping family members with one notable exception.

The researchers surveyed 1300 subjects and asked them to make make value judgments about the goodness of helpers in various scenarios.  The one situation where helping family scores higher than helping strangers is the case when you can only help one individual.  Then, blood is thicker than water.

Many studies prove that paying it forward help you as much as those you assist.  Doing good works reduces stress, diminishes anxiety, and lowers blood pressure. 

Ryan M. McManus, Max Kleiman-Weiner, Liane Young. What We Owe to Family: The Impact of Special Obligations on Moral Judgment. Psychological Science, 2020; 095679761990032 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619900321

#samaritan #stranger #family #payitforward

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/N7DsCNmHUro

By definition, a good Samaritan helps anyone in distress.  A new study from psychologists at Boston College and Harvard concludes we bestow more glory on those who help strangers than on those helping family members with one notable exception.

The researchers surveyed 1300 subjects and asked them to make make value judgments about the goodness of helpers in various scenarios.  The one situation where helping family scores higher than helping strangers is the case when you can only help one individual.  Then, blood is thicker than water.

Many studies prove that paying it forward help you as much as those you assist.  Doing good works reduces stress, diminishes anxiety, and lowers blood pressure. 

Ryan M. McManus, Max Kleiman-Weiner, Liane Young. What We Owe to Family: The Impact of Special Obligations on Moral Judgment. Psychological Science, 2020; 095679761990032 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619900321

#samaritan #stranger #family #payitforward

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lwVLUsXVm40

The celebratory bell ringing when a cancer patient finishes radiation, chemo, or immunotherapy fails to prompt good feelings but rather conjures flashbacks of physical and emotional pain..  Oncologists at USC now publish a study of 210 patients half of whom rang the bell.  All filled out an opinion survey to measure distress.

The bell ringers turned in worse distress scores immediately after therapy completion.  Three to four months later, their negative feelings were even worse.

Finishing treatment for cancer is a milestone, but cancer control is a marathon and not a sprint.  More treatment may be necessary but the goal is to be certain that your cancer isn’t life-threatening.

Patrick A. Williams, Jinxiang Hu, PhD†, Dongyun Yang, PhD‡, Shu Cao, PhD‡, Richard L. Jennelle, MD∗. The Cancer Bell: Too Much of a Good Thing?  Radiation Oncology..  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.06.012

#cancer #bell #chemotherapy #radiationtherapy #immunotherapy #PTSD

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lwVLUsXVm40

The celebratory bell ringing when a cancer patient finishes radiation, chemo, or immunotherapy fails to prompt good feelings but rather conjures flashbacks of physical and emotional pain..  Oncologists at USC now publish a study of 210 patients half of whom rang the bell.  All filled out an opinion survey to measure distress.

The bell ringers turned in worse distress scores immediately after therapy completion.  Three to four months later, their negative feelings were even worse.

Finishing treatment for cancer is a milestone, but cancer control is a marathon and not a sprint.  More treatment may be necessary but the goal is to be certain that your cancer isn’t life-threatening.

Patrick A. Williams, Jinxiang Hu, PhD†, Dongyun Yang, PhD‡, Shu Cao, PhD‡, Richard L. Jennelle, MD∗. The Cancer Bell: Too Much of a Good Thing?  Radiation Oncology..  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.06.012

#cancer #bell #chemotherapy #radiationtherapy #immunotherapy #PTSD

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/QLS_TMTgzPs

During a caloric restriction diet, the addition of extended sleep produced significantly greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction.  These conclusions from a Mexican study of 52 obese teens who were following a diet with their daily intake cut by 500 calories.

This study builds on one from the University of Chicago 6 years ago that underscored the value of extra sleep.  By adding an average of 96 extra minutes a night, the overweight participants reported a 14% decrease in general appetite and a 62% reduction in craving for unhealthy sweet and salty foods. 

If you’re working on your summer body, be sure to get at least 8 hours of ZZZs.

Carmen Moreno-Frías, Nicté Figueroa-Vega, Juan Manuel Malacara. Sleep Extension Increases the Effect of Caloric Restriction Over Body Weight and Improves the Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation in Adolescents With Obesity.  Journal of Adolescent Health.  DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.11.301

EsraTasalia, FlorianChapotota, KristenWroblewskib, DaleSchoellerc. The effects of extended bedtimes on sleep duration and food desire in overweight young adults: A home-based intervention.  Appetite.  Volume 80, 1 September 2014, Pages 220-224.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.05.021

#sleep #diet #weightloss #adolescents

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/U9Q5tWok52g

Middle-aged women and men consuming fermented soy in miso soup and natto enjoy a 10-11% lower risk of premature death compared with those who rarely eat these foods.  A Japanese study just published in the British Medical Journal reviewed the health records of nearly 93,000 men and women 45 to 74 years of age.

The study also revealed that natto, a common breakfast food in Japan, reduced deadly cardiovascular disease 24% in men and 21% in women.  Tofu or non-fermented soy ingestion did not show either longevity or heart disease benefits.

The investigators speculate that these non-fermented soy benefits are due to isoflavones, fiber, and potassium. 

Katagiri Ryoko, Sawada Norie, Goto Atsushi, Yamaji Taiki, Iwasaki Motoki, Noda Mitsuhiko et al. Association of soy and fermented soy product intake with total and cause specific mortality: prospective cohort study BMJ 2020; 368 :m34.  doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m34 

#soy #miso #natto #longevity #heartdisease

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wskxVsnbwwk

A world-wide survey conducted in 40 nations reveals that 71% of women would prefer larger or smaller breasts.  A total of 18,541 women with an average age of 34 years were surveyed in this collaborative study coordinated at Britain’s Anglia Ruskin University.

The counts show that 48% want larger breasts and 23% want smaller breasts.  The breast size ideals are quite similar around the world.  Dissatisfaction with size tends to decrease with age.

The worrisome finding from the research is that those dissatisfied with their breasts are less likely to conduct breast self-exams to look for early cancer. 

By the way, only 35% of men are satisfied with their sizes.

Viren Swami, Ulrich S. Tran, David Barron, etal. The Breast Size Satisfaction Survey (BSSS): Breast size dissatisfaction and its antecedents and outcomes in women from 40 nations. Body Image, 2020; 32: 199 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.01.006

https://www.livescience.com/40192-penis-shame-guys-heads.html

#breasts #size #breastselfexams

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/QLS_TMTgzPs

During a caloric restriction diet, the addition of extended sleep produced significantly greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction.  These conclusions from a Mexican study of 52 obese teens who were following a diet with their daily intake cut by 500 calories.

This study builds on one from the University of Chicago 6 years ago that underscored the value of extra sleep.  By adding an average of 96 extra minutes a night, the overweight participants reported a 14% decrease in general appetite and a 62% reduction in craving for unhealthy sweet and salty foods. 

If you’re working on your summer body, be sure to get at least 8 hours of ZZZs.

Carmen Moreno-Frías, Nicté Figueroa-Vega, Juan Manuel Malacara. Sleep Extension Increases the Effect of Caloric Restriction Over Body Weight and Improves the Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation in Adolescents With Obesity.  Journal of Adolescent Health.  DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.11.301

EsraTasalia, FlorianChapotota, KristenWroblewskib, DaleSchoellerc. The effects of extended bedtimes on sleep duration and food desire in overweight young adults: A home-based intervention.  Appetite.  Volume 80, 1 September 2014, Pages 220-224.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.05.021

#sleep #diet #weightloss #adolescents

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/U9Q5tWok52g

Middle-aged women and men consuming fermented soy in miso soup and natto enjoy a 10-11% lower risk of premature death compared with those who rarely eat these foods.  A Japanese study just published in the British Medical Journal reviewed the health records of nearly 93,000 men and women 45 to 74 years of age.

The study also revealed that natto, a common breakfast food in Japan, reduced deadly cardiovascular disease 24% in men and 21% in women.  Tofu or non-fermented soy ingestion did not show either longevity or heart disease benefits.

The investigators speculate that these non-fermented soy benefits are due to isoflavones, fiber, and potassium. 

Katagiri Ryoko, Sawada Norie, Goto Atsushi, Yamaji Taiki, Iwasaki Motoki, Noda Mitsuhiko et al. Association of soy and fermented soy product intake with total and cause specific mortality: prospective cohort study BMJ 2020; 368 :m34.  doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m34 

#soy #miso #natto #longevity #heartdisease

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wskxVsnbwwk

A world-wide survey conducted in 40 nations reveals that 71% of women would prefer larger or smaller breasts.  A total of 18,541 women with an average age of 34 years were surveyed in this collaborative study coordinated at Britain’s Anglia Ruskin University.

The counts show that 48% want larger breasts and 23% want smaller breasts.  The breast size ideals are quite similar around the world.  Dissatisfaction with size tends to decrease with age.

The worrisome finding from the research is that those dissatisfied with their breasts are less likely to conduct breast self-exams to look for early cancer. 

By the way, only 35% of men are satisfied with their sizes.

Viren Swami, Ulrich S. Tran, David Barron, etal. The Breast Size Satisfaction Survey (BSSS): Breast size dissatisfaction and its antecedents and outcomes in women from 40 nations. Body Image, 2020; 32: 199 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.01.006

https://www.livescience.com/40192-penis-shame-guys-heads.html

#breasts #size #breastselfexams