Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/3DAXea20sSU

Natural sunlight triggers normal fat cell metabolism.  Experimental biologists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital just published a study that explores how light performs this trick in mammals like rats and yes humans.

Fat cells contain light sensitive proteins called opsins.  Light reaches fat cells through our skin, activates opsins that release fatty acids from white fat cells,  and the fatty acids serve as fuel for brown fat cells to produce heat.  If this process fails to occur, disordered fat metabolism can lead to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Indoor lighting won’t work, so spend time in sunlight.  UV blocking lotions won’t stop the good stuff so do use them to prevent skin cancer. 

Nayak et al., 2020, Cell Reports 30, 672–686 January 21, 2020 a 2019 The Authors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.12.043

#sunlight #fat #heat #heartdisease #stroke #diabetes

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/3DAXea20sSU

Natural sunlight triggers normal fat cell metabolism.  Experimental biologists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital just published a study that explores how light performs this trick in mammals like rats and yes humans.

Fat cells contain light sensitive proteins called opsins.  Light reaches fat cells through our skin, activates opsins that release fatty acids from white fat cells,  and the fatty acids serve as fuel for brown fat cells to produce heat.  If this process fails to occur, disordered fat metabolism can lead to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Indoor lighting won’t work, so spend time in sunlight.  UV blocking lotions won’t stop the good stuff so do use them to prevent skin cancer. 

Nayak et al., 2020, Cell Reports 30, 672–686 January 21, 2020 a 2019 The Authors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.12.043

#sunlight #fat #heat #heartdisease #stroke #diabetes

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/c-JpAiLh5aw

Skiers turning in the best performances were the least likely to have blood pressure problems.  Swedish investigators compared the cardiovascular health of nearly 207,000 long-distance skiers with over a half million age and gender-matched individuals from the general population.

When the numbers were crunched, skiers were 41% less likely than non-skiers to have significantly elevated blood pressure.  The top 20% speedy skiers had a 59% lower risk of high blood pressure while the slowest 20% only enjoyed a 22% lower risk.  The benefits were the same for women and men.

Brisk aerobic leg exercise opens up your blood vessels and drops the pressures in your arteries.

Kasper Andersen et al. Long-Distance Skiing and Incidence of Hypertension: A Cohort Study of 206,889 Participants in a Long-Distance Cross-Country Skiing Event, Circulation (2020). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042208

#skiing #hypertension #aerobics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/c-JpAiLh5aw

Skiers turning in the best performances were the least likely to have blood pressure problems.  Swedish investigators compared the cardiovascular health of nearly 207,000 long-distance skiers with over a half million age and gender-matched individuals from the general population.

When the numbers were crunched, skiers were 41% less likely than non-skiers to have significantly elevated blood pressure.  The top 20% speedy skiers had a 59% lower risk of high blood pressure while the slowest 20% only enjoyed a 22% lower risk.  The benefits were the same for women and men.

Brisk aerobic leg exercise opens up your blood vessels and drops the pressures in your arteries.

Kasper Andersen et al. Long-Distance Skiing and Incidence of Hypertension: A Cohort Study of 206,889 Participants in a Long-Distance Cross-Country Skiing Event, Circulation (2020). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042208

#skiing #hypertension #aerobics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zGDZFppkjVo

Listening to high tempo music takes the pain out of exercise and boosts the value of lower intensity sessions.  Italian exercise physiologists report their experiences with 19 active women engaging in treadmill walking or weightlifting .

Listening to faster paced music reduces perceived exertion 50% more for walking than for weightlifting.  The effect is greater the faster the music tempo.  The music also accelerates the subjects’ heart rates suggesting that tunes enhance the aerobic benefits of even low exertion exercise.

No matter what type of exercise you prefer, music will make it more pleasant.  We now know that boppin’ to a faster beat will actually burn more calories and make you more fit.

Frontiers in Psychology (2020): https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00074/full

#exercise #pain #music #aerobics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zGDZFppkjVo

Listening to high tempo music takes the pain out of exercise and boosts the value of lower intensity sessions.  Italian exercise physiologists report their experiences with 19 active women engaging in treadmill walking or weightlifting .

Listening to faster paced music reduces perceived exertion 50% more for walking than for weightlifting.  The effect is greater the faster the music tempo.  The music also accelerates the subjects’ heart rates suggesting that tunes enhance the aerobic benefits of even low exertion exercise.

No matter what type of exercise you prefer, music will make it more pleasant.  We now know that boppin’ to a faster beat will actually burn more calories and make you more fit.

Frontiers in Psychology (2020): https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00074/full

#exercise #pain #music #aerobics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/4vmYHwJ21dc

Smelling roses while studying and again while sleeping improves student outcomes.  Psychologists at Germany’s University of Freiberg studied 54 6th grade students.

The experimental students were exposed to rose-scented incense while learning vocabulary, sleeping, and taking a quiz on the subject the next day.  The control group had no scent exposures.  The rose-y kids demonstrated 30% better test results and improved memory.

Students of all ages in school or not could benefit from the pleasant fragrances of rose incense.  A pack of 100 sticks sells for about $10 online or buy two dozen roses for $20 on the street.  A potential problem:  you might turn out to be allergic to the scent.

Franziska Neumann et al, How odor cues help to optimize learning during sleep in a real life-setting, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-57613-7

#roses #learning #memory #rose incense

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/4vmYHwJ21dc

Smelling roses while studying and again while sleeping improves student outcomes.  Psychologists at Germany’s University of Freiberg studied 54 6th grade students.

The experimental students were exposed to rose-scented incense while learning vocabulary, sleeping, and taking a quiz on the subject the next day.  The control group had no scent exposures.  The rose-y kids demonstrated 30% better test results and improved memory.

Students of all ages in school or not could benefit from the pleasant fragrances of rose incense.  A pack of 100 sticks sells for about $10 online or buy two dozen roses for $20 on the street.  A potential problem:  you might turn out to be allergic to the scent.

Franziska Neumann et al, How odor cues help to optimize learning during sleep in a real life-setting, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-57613-7

#roses #learning #memory #rose incense

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/NkvA7GZpqBA

Waiting until age 50 to screen for bowel cancer is too late.  Tulane University researchers reviewed data from 92 million Americans looking at the incidence of colon cancer for each one year age group from 30 to 60 years.

There is a 46% increase in cancer incidence between ages 49 and 50 indicating that these additional cancers had a delayed diagnosis.  Confirming this situation, 92% of these extra cancers are invasive requiring radical surgery and chemotherapy,

The US Preventive Services Task Force continues to recommend waiting for screening until 50.  The American Cancer Society now says 45, and this study supports screening at that younger age. 

Abualkhair WH, Zhou M, Ahnen D, Yu Q, Wu X, Karlitz JJ. Trends in Incidence of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in the United States Among Those Approaching Screening Age. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(1):e1920407. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.20407

#coloncancer #screening #cancercoloncancer, screening

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/NkvA7GZpqBA

Waiting until age 50 to screen for bowel cancer is too late.  Tulane University researchers reviewed data from 92 million Americans looking at the incidence of colon cancer for each one year age group from 30 to 60 years.

There is a 46% increase in cancer incidence between ages 49 and 50 indicating that these additional cancers had a delayed diagnosis.  Confirming this situation, 92% of these extra cancers are invasive requiring radical surgery and chemotherapy,

The US Preventive Services Task Force continues to recommend waiting for screening until 50.  The American Cancer Society now says 45, and this study supports screening at that younger age. 

Abualkhair WH, Zhou M, Ahnen D, Yu Q, Wu X, Karlitz JJ. Trends in Incidence of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer in the United States Among Those Approaching Screening Age. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(1):e1920407. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.20407

#coloncancer #screening #cancercoloncancer, screening