Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/_Usci1VDUaA

A large, multicenter study of  222 breastfeeding babies and their mother shows that insignificant amounts of most anti-seizure drugs pass from mom to babe through breast milk.  The one drug that did pass was lamotrigine marketed as Lamictal.

Nearly 50% of babies had undetectable levels of drug in their blood, and the remainder had insignificant quantities.  Lamictal did pass through more readily into breast milk than the others, and its concentration in the baby depended upon the mother’s dosing.

This study concludes that mothers, taking most drugs for their seizure disorders, can safely breastfeed.  As always, you should consult with your own doctors before proceeding.

Birnbaum AK, Meador KJ, Karanam A, et al. Antiepileptic Drug Exposure in Infants of Breastfeeding Mothers With Epilepsy. JAMA Neurol. Published online December 30, 2019. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.4443

#Breastfeeding #antiseizuredrugs #antiepileptics #lamotrigine #Lamictal

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/_Usci1VDUaA

A large, multicenter study of  222 breastfeeding babies and their mother shows that insignificant amounts of most anti-seizure drugs pass from mom to babe through breast milk.  The one drug that did pass was lamotrigine marketed as Lamictal.

Nearly 50% of babies had undetectable levels of drug in their blood, and the remainder had insignificant quantities.  Lamictal did pass through more readily into breast milk than the others, and its concentration in the baby depended upon the mother’s dosing.

This study concludes that mothers, taking most drugs for their seizure disorders, can safely breastfeed.  As always, you should consult with your own doctors before proceeding.

Birnbaum AK, Meador KJ, Karanam A, et al. Antiepileptic Drug Exposure in Infants of Breastfeeding Mothers With Epilepsy. JAMA Neurol. Published online December 30, 2019. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.4443

#Breastfeeding #antiseizuredrugs #antiepileptics #lamotrigine #Lamictal

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/iMqDLWIj6Rk

Confining food consumption to 10 hours produces significant weight reduction, better overall health and sounder sleep.  Researchers at UC-SanDiego studied 19 unhealthy subjects with so-called metabolic syndrome before and after 3 months of time-restricted eating (TRE). Metabolic syndrome includes a number of issues including obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes..

Time restricted feeding during any 10 hour timeframe led to a significant loss of abdominal fat, some blood pressure and cholesterol reductions, and, for 70% of subjects, better sleep.  Many participants tended to eat breakfast later and dinner earlier.

This plan involves no ca lorie counting but suggests healthy eating.  Try it!

M.J. Wilkinson, E. N.C. Manoogian, A. Zadouri, S. Navlakh, S. Panda, P.R. Taub. Ten-Hour Time-Restricted Eating Reduces Weight, Blood Pressure, and Atherogenic Lipids in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.  CellPress,:December 05, 2019DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.11.004

#Timerestricteddiet #metabolicsyndrome #dieting #sleep

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/iMqDLWIj6Rk

Confining food consumption to 10 hours produces significant weight reduction, better overall health and sounder sleep.  Researchers at UC-SanDiego studied 19 unhealthy subjects with so-called metabolic syndrome before and after 3 months of time-restricted eating (TRE). Metabolic syndrome includes a number of issues including obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes..

Time restricted feeding during any 10 hour timeframe led to a significant loss of abdominal fat, some blood pressure and cholesterol reductions, and, for 70% of subjects, better sleep.  Many participants tended to eat breakfast later and dinner earlier.

This plan involves no ca lorie counting but suggests healthy eating.  Try it!

M.J. Wilkinson, E. N.C. Manoogian, A. Zadouri, S. Navlakh, S. Panda, P.R. Taub. Ten-Hour Time-Restricted Eating Reduces Weight, Blood Pressure, and Atherogenic Lipids in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.  CellPress,:December 05, 2019DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.11.004

#Timerestricteddiet #metabolicsyndrome #dieting #sleep

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/qaShibFU3hU

Men and women under 45 who cut their levels of bad cholesterol by half have a 4 times lower risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.  This conclusion comes from an international collaborative study of  nearly 400,000 individuals published in The Lancet.

This population and computer-modeling study shows that the effect of lowering non-HDL cholesterol on later life-threatening disease is greatest for millennials and younger.  Those over 60 cutting their damaging cholesterol by half only cut their risk by half.

It’s never too soon to speak with your personal doc about regular lipid screens.  Keep your levels normal by cutting out saturated fats, consuming fiber, and exercising. 

Brunner, Fabian JZeller, Tanja et al.  Application of non-HDL cholesterol for population-based cardiovascular risk stratification: results from the Multinational Cardiovascular Risk Consortium.  The Lancet, Volume 394, Issue 10215, 2173 - 2183

#Cholesterol #HDL #cardiovasculardisease #millennials

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/qaShibFU3hU

Men and women under 45 who cut their levels of bad cholesterol by half have a 4 times lower risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.  This conclusion comes from an international collaborative study of  nearly 400,000 individuals published in The Lancet.

This population and computer-modeling study shows that the effect of lowering non-HDL cholesterol on later life-threatening disease is greatest for millennials and younger.  Those over 60 cutting their damaging cholesterol by half only cut their risk by half.

It’s never too soon to speak with your personal doc about regular lipid screens.  Keep your levels normal by cutting out saturated fats, consuming fiber, and exercising. 

Brunner, Fabian JZeller, Tanja et al.  Application of non-HDL cholesterol for population-based cardiovascular risk stratification: results from the Multinational Cardiovascular Risk Consortium.  The Lancet, Volume 394, Issue 10215, 2173 - 2183

#Cholesterol #HDL #cardiovasculardisease #millennials

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/x96mfKzKFDo

Children given whole milk have a 39% lower risk of becoming overweight or obese.  Canadian researchers publishing in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition report this conclusion from their meta-analysis of 28 studies and nearly 21,000 children 1-8 years of age.

This finding flies in the face of current pediatric recommendations to switch from whole milk with 3% fat to reduced fat milk ranging from <1% to 2% fat.  My take: show your pediatrician this study and inquire about continuing whole milk after age 2 particularly if your child and family have risk factors for obesity.  Then cut out the fat by avoiding fried foods.

Shelley M Vanderhout, Mary Aglipay, Nazi Torabi, Peter Jüni, Bruno R da Costa, Catherine S Birken, Deborah L O'Connor, Kevin E Thorpe, Jonathon L Maguire. Whole milk compared with reduced-fat milk and childhood overweight: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz276

#Milk #wholemilk #fatfreemilk #obesity #overweight

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/x96mfKzKFDo

Children given whole milk have a 39% lower risk of becoming overweight or obese.  Canadian researchers publishing in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition report this conclusion from their meta-analysis of 28 studies and nearly 21,000 children 1-8 years of age.

This finding flies in the face of current pediatric recommendations to switch from whole milk with 3% fat to reduced fat milk ranging from <1% to 2% fat.  My take: show your pediatrician this study and inquire about continuing whole milk after age 2 particularly if your child and family have risk factors for obesity.  Then cut out the fat by avoiding fried foods.

Shelley M Vanderhout, Mary Aglipay, Nazi Torabi, Peter Jüni, Bruno R da Costa, Catherine S Birken, Deborah L O'Connor, Kevin E Thorpe, Jonathon L Maguire. Whole milk compared with reduced-fat milk and childhood overweight: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz276

#Milk #wholemilk #fatfreemilk #obesity #overweight

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ufXT9FHoXAs

Thinking of fathering a child or having problems doing just that.  A new Swedish study shows that only 2 weeks of healthy eating including a lots of sugar the second week might boost your odds.

The investigators checked sperm quality for 15 healthy young men before and at the end of two weeks of controlled healthy eating.  During the second week, the healthy offerings were joined by sugary soda and pastries.

At the beginning, one-third of the men had low sperm motility.  At the end, all had vigorous swimmers!  We don’t know yet whether the healthy diet or the sugar did the trick.  For best results, use both.

Daniel Nätt, Unn Kugelberg, Eduard Casas, Elizabeth Nedstrand, Stefan Zalavary, Pontus Henriksson, Carola Nijm, Julia Jäderquist, Johanna Sandborg, Eva Flinke, Rashmi Ramesh, Lovisa Örkenby, Filip Appelkvist, Thomas Lingg, Nicola Guzzi, Cristian Bellodi, Marie Löf, Tanya Vavouri, Anita Öst. Human sperm displays rapid responses to diet. PLOS Biology, 2019; 17 (12): e3000559 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000559

#Sperm #infertility #motility #healthyeating #sugar

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ufXT9FHoXAs

Thinking of fathering a child or having problems doing just that.  A new Swedish study shows that only 2 weeks of healthy eating including a lots of sugar the second week might boost your odds.

The investigators checked sperm quality for 15 healthy young men before and at the end of two weeks of controlled healthy eating.  During the second week, the healthy offerings were joined by sugary soda and pastries.

At the beginning, one-third of the men had low sperm motility.  At the end, all had vigorous swimmers!  We don’t know yet whether the healthy diet or the sugar did the trick.  For best results, use both.

Daniel Nätt, Unn Kugelberg, Eduard Casas, Elizabeth Nedstrand, Stefan Zalavary, Pontus Henriksson, Carola Nijm, Julia Jäderquist, Johanna Sandborg, Eva Flinke, Rashmi Ramesh, Lovisa Örkenby, Filip Appelkvist, Thomas Lingg, Nicola Guzzi, Cristian Bellodi, Marie Löf, Tanya Vavouri, Anita Öst. Human sperm displays rapid responses to diet. PLOS Biology, 2019; 17 (12): e3000559 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000559

#Sperm #infertility #motility #healthyeating #sugar