Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/1YUDCkhva2g

If you tend to sleep poorly and are prone to migraine headaches, beware that a doozie may strike you two days later.  This warning comes from a Harvard study of 98 young persons 35 yrs on average who wore wrist devices to quantitate their sleep and kept headache diaries.  

The data shows that a night with 6 and a half hours or less of fragmented sleep triggers a 39% chance of a migraine the second day after.  Ironically, the chance of a next day migraine is lower.  

Migraine sufferers should do all they can to assure a good nights sleep every night including avoiding caffeine, late night meals, and agitation. 

Suzanne M. Bertisch, Wenyuan Li, Catherine Buettner, Elizabeth Mostofsky, Michael Rueschman, Emily R. Kaplan, Jacqueline Fung, Shaelah Huntington, Tess Murphy, Courtney Stead, Rami Burstein, Susan Redline, Murray A. Mittleman

Neurology Dec 2019, 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008740; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008740

#Migraines #insomnia #fragmentedsleep

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/1YUDCkhva2g

If you tend to sleep poorly and are prone to migraine headaches, beware that a doozie may strike you two days later.  This warning comes from a Harvard study of 98 young persons 35 yrs on average who wore wrist devices to quantitate their sleep and kept headache diaries.  

The data shows that a night with 6 and a half hours or less of fragmented sleep triggers a 39% chance of a migraine the second day after.  Ironically, the chance of a next day migraine is lower.  

Migraine sufferers should do all they can to assure a good nights sleep every night including avoiding caffeine, late night meals, and agitation. 

Suzanne M. Bertisch, Wenyuan Li, Catherine Buettner, Elizabeth Mostofsky, Michael Rueschman, Emily R. Kaplan, Jacqueline Fung, Shaelah Huntington, Tess Murphy, Courtney Stead, Rami Burstein, Susan Redline, Murray A. Mittleman

Neurology Dec 2019, 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008740; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008740

#Migraines #insomnia #fragmentedsleep

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/TdNB8BS7RGY

More than 2 million teens 15 through 19 years underwent uncomfortable bi-manual pelvic exams and Pap tests over a recent 6 year period.  More than half the pelvics and nearly two-thirds of Paps were unnecessary according to a just published CDC/UC-San Francisco study.  

FYI: A routine pelvic is not recommended for young women unless pregnant or symptomatic.  Pap tests for cervical cancer screening are not suggested for those under 21.  

Ok young ladies and mothers of same, listen up.  You have a right to question and refuse these procedures if inappropriate.  Unnecessary procedures can be painful, add to your costs, and can lead to complications and other unnecessary testing.  

Jin Qin, ScD1; Mona Saraiya, MD, MPH1; Gladys Martinez, PhD2; et al. Prevalence of Potentially Unnecessary Bimanual Pelvic Examinations and Papanicolaou Tests Among Young Women Aged 15-20 Years In The United States.  JAMA Network.   https://ja.ma/37IYWYx

#Teens #gynecology #cervicalcancer #unnecessarymedicine

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/TdNB8BS7RGY

More than 2 million teens 15 through 19 years underwent uncomfortable bi-manual pelvic exams and Pap tests over a recent 6 year period.  More than half the pelvics and nearly two-thirds of Paps were unnecessary according to a just published CDC/UC-San Francisco study.  

FYI: A routine pelvic is not recommended for young women unless pregnant or symptomatic.  Pap tests for cervical cancer screening are not suggested for those under 21.  

Ok young ladies and mothers of same, listen up.  You have a right to question and refuse these procedures if inappropriate.  Unnecessary procedures can be painful, add to your costs, and can lead to complications and other unnecessary testing.  

Jin Qin, ScD1; Mona Saraiya, MD, MPH1; Gladys Martinez, PhD2; et al. Prevalence of Potentially Unnecessary Bimanual Pelvic Examinations and Papanicolaou Tests Among Young Women Aged 15-20 Years In The United States.  JAMA Network.   https://ja.ma/37IYWYx

#Teens #gynecology #cervicalcancer #unnecessarymedicine

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rFJpY1FDVCQ

The polyphenols and fiber in just two apples a day can lower cholesterol and normalize other lipids and vascular function.  This conclusion comes from a British and Italian Study just published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Study participants were 40 overweight men and women with mildly elevated cholesterol who consumed 2 Renetta apples a day for 8 weeks.  The apple supplement significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL “bad” cholesterol, and triglycerides.  Beneficial vascular relaxation was better after downing the apples.

The Italian-grown Renetta apples are particularly rich in the very bioactive polyphenol proanthrocyanidins.  The researchers don’t know if these polyphenols or fiber do the trick.  Either way, don’t pass up apples.

Athanasios Koutsos et al. Two apples a day lower serum cholesterol and improve cardiometabolic biomarkers in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2019). DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz282

#Apples #cholesterol #lipids

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rFJpY1FDVCQ

The polyphenols and fiber in just two apples a day can lower cholesterol and normalize other lipids and vascular function.  This conclusion comes from a British and Italian Study just published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Study participants were 40 overweight men and women with mildly elevated cholesterol who consumed 2 Renetta apples a day for 8 weeks.  The apple supplement significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL “bad” cholesterol, and triglycerides.  Beneficial vascular relaxation was better after downing the apples.

The Italian-grown Renetta apples are particularly rich in the very bioactive polyphenol proanthrocyanidins.  The researchers don’t know if these polyphenols or fiber do the trick.  Either way, don’t pass up apples.

Athanasios Koutsos et al. Two apples a day lower serum cholesterol and improve cardiometabolic biomarkers in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2019). DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz282

#Apples #cholesterol #lipids

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/tak9_VV6Yuc

Pre-teens viewing healthy food prep on TV are nearly 3 times more likely to make healthy food choices for themselves.  

A Dutch study focused on 125 participants 10 to 12 years of age who viewed a 10 minute TV clip before choosing a snack.  The snack choices included healthy apple and cucumber pieces versus unhealthy chips and min-pretzels

Those pre-teens viewing the clip showing fruit and vegetable prep were 2.7 times more likely to choose a healthy snack compared with those who viewed the clip of burgers and fries being readied.

I suggest your kids view one of the kid cooking shows such as Chopped Junior.

Frans Folkvord, Doeschka Anschütz, Marieke Geurts. Watching TV Cooking Programs: Effects on Actual Food Intake Among Children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2019.09.016

https://coolmomeats.com/2017/09/26/food-tv-shows-for-kids/ 

#TVcookingshows #healthyeating #parenting #kidcookingshows

TVcookingshows, healthyeating, parenting, kidcookingshows

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/tak9_VV6Yuc

Pre-teens viewing healthy food prep on TV are nearly 3 times more likely to make healthy food choices for themselves.  

A Dutch study focused on 125 participants 10 to 12 years of age who viewed a 10 minute TV clip before choosing a snack.  The snack choices included healthy apple and cucumber pieces versus unhealthy chips and min-pretzels

Those pre-teens viewing the clip showing fruit and vegetable prep were 2.7 times more likely to choose a healthy snack compared with those who viewed the clip of burgers and fries being readied.

I suggest your kids view one of the kid cooking shows such as Chopped Junior.

Frans Folkvord, Doeschka Anschütz, Marieke Geurts. Watching TV Cooking Programs: Effects on Actual Food Intake Among Children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2019.09.016

https://coolmomeats.com/2017/09/26/food-tv-shows-for-kids/ 

#TVcookingshows #healthyeating #parenting #kidcookingshows

TVcookingshows, healthyeating, parenting, kidcookingshows

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/EAor3z2zmXE

Kindness to others can reduce your feelings of pain.  This the conclusion of Chinese experiments just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In one experiment, the needle jab to donate blood hurt less when volunteers were giving to earthquake victims rather than making a routine donation.  In another, subjects were exposed to extreme cold but those working on a project to help migrant children complained less about the temperature.  In a third experiment, cancer patients helping to care for others noticed their own pain less.

Previous studies have shown that giving will bring you and others happiness.  Now, we know that charitable deeds also have therapeutic benefits for you.

Yilu Wang et al. Altruistic behaviors relieve physical pain, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2019). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911861117

#Charity #pain #altruism

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/EAor3z2zmXE

Kindness to others can reduce your feelings of pain.  This the conclusion of Chinese experiments just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In one experiment, the needle jab to donate blood hurt less when volunteers were giving to earthquake victims rather than making a routine donation.  In another, subjects were exposed to extreme cold but those working on a project to help migrant children complained less about the temperature.  In a third experiment, cancer patients helping to care for others noticed their own pain less.

Previous studies have shown that giving will bring you and others happiness.  Now, we know that charitable deeds also have therapeutic benefits for you.

Yilu Wang et al. Altruistic behaviors relieve physical pain, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2019). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911861117

#Charity #pain #altruism