Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/VLC_LDRCHwI

If you’re overweight and suffering from migraine headaches, dropping those extra pounds will literally take a load off your mind.  This conclusion comes from a new study by Italy’s University of Padova recently presented to the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.

Researchers there conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies covering more 473 migraine sufferers.  They found that any weight loss in obese subjects led to significant improvement including fewer migraines, shorter and less intense headache spells, and less disability.

The improvement did not depend upon the degree of obesity, the numbers of pounds lost, or how subjects achieved the weight reduction.  Dieting and surgery both worked, and the effects were similar in adults and children.

If you’re popping pills, getting shots, having psychotherapy, using biofeedback, enjoying therapeutic massages, getting acupunctured, or wolfing down exotic herbs all to prevent or control your migraines and you are overweight, you will help yourself by making an honest effort to knock off those pounds.

The Endocrine Society. "For migraine sufferers with obesity, losing weight can decrease headaches." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 March 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190323145207.htm.

#Migraines #obesity #overweight #dieting

xvid https://youtu.be/vV1J4sIPyy0

Paying creatives for every idea they churn out led to optimal results.  The alternatives, paying for idea quality or offering no motivational reward at all, fell flat according to studies by business school researchers at The University of Texas-Austin and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.

Their data also demonstrated the most interesting finding that true creativity has an incubation period.  The greatest creative productivity occurred when the idea kids spewed out rough ideas, took at least a 20 minute break, and then returned to their initial thoughts and refined them into very practical plans.

The bottom line?  When you need creative solutions throw as many ideas up on the board as you can, and don’t be cheap about paying the brainstormers or yourself.  Then go out for a walk and return to fine-tune the initial ideas many minutes or days later.

Steven J. Kachelmeier, Laura W. Wang and Michael G. Williamson. Incentivizing the Creative Process: From Initial Quantity to Eventual Creativity. Accounting Review, March 2019

#Creativity #brainstorming #motivation #mindbreak

xvid https://youtu.be/vV1J4sIPyy0

Paying creatives for every idea they churn out led to optimal results.  The alternatives, paying for idea quality or offering no motivational reward at all, fell flat according to studies by business school researchers at The University of Texas-Austin and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.

Their data also demonstrated the most interesting finding that true creativity has an incubation period.  The greatest creative productivity occurred when the idea kids spewed out rough ideas, took at least a 20 minute break, and then returned to their initial thoughts and refined them into very practical plans.

The bottom line?  When you need creative solutions throw as many ideas up on the board as you can, and don’t be cheap about paying the brainstormers or yourself.  Then go out for a walk and return to fine-tune the initial ideas many minutes or days later.

Steven J. Kachelmeier, Laura W. Wang and Michael G. Williamson. Incentivizing the Creative Process: From Initial Quantity to Eventual Creativity. Accounting Review, March 2019

#Creativity #brainstorming #motivation #mindbreak

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/VLC_LDRCHwI

If you’re overweight and suffering from migraine headaches, dropping those extra pounds will literally take a load off your mind.  This conclusion comes from a new study by Italy’s University of Padova recently presented to the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.

Researchers there conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies covering more 473 migraine sufferers.  They found that any weight loss in obese subjects led to significant improvement including fewer migraines, shorter and less intense headache spells, and less disability.

The improvement did not depend upon the degree of obesity, the numbers of pounds lost, or how subjects achieved the weight reduction.  Dieting and surgery both worked, and the effects were similar in adults and children.

If you’re popping pills, getting shots, having psychotherapy, using biofeedback, enjoying therapeutic massages, getting acupunctured, or wolfing down exotic herbs all to prevent or control your migraines and you are overweight, you will help yourself by making an honest effort to knock off those pounds.

The Endocrine Society. "For migraine sufferers with obesity, losing weight can decrease headaches." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 March 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190323145207.htm.

#Migraines #obesity #overweight #dieting

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/uttUY1yfe9Q

Playing organized team sports grows the hippocampus, the brain’s emotion and memory center, while reducing the incidence of adult depression.  This is the finding by neuroscientists at the Washington University-St. Louis.  

They studied a nationwide sample over over 4000 children 9 to 11 years of age using questionnaires to determine their participation in sports and their emotional outlook.  Each underwent MRI brain imaging to measure their hippocampal volumes. 

Participation in regular, organized team sports but not casual pickup games or non-sport activities such as music or art triggers hippocampal growth in both boys and girls.  The sports-playing boys but not the girls showed a notably reduced incidence of clinical depression later in life.

The authors caution that this observation is merely an association and not proof of cause and effect.  Even so, it underscores the value of participation in after-school athletics as long as they don’t trigger head injuries.

Lisa S. Gorham, Terry Jernigan, Jim Hudziak, Deanna M. Barch. Involvement in Sports, Hippocampal Volume, and Depressive Symptoms in Children. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.01.011

#Sports #teams #hippocampus #depression #music #art

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wGewmy9_u90

A green light over the salad bar and a red light over the burgers and fries triggers healthier and environmentally more responsible food choices.  Experimental psychologists at London’s Queen Mary University set up a lunchtime canteen and studied the choices of over 400 subjects.

They conducted two experiments.  In the first, one group of subjects saw traffic signals over the food reflecting its caloric content and healthfulness.  In the second experiment, two traffic signals were present: one again representing the health rating of the food; the second signal revealed the environmental friendliness and carbon emission quotient of the food.  The control groups saw no lights.

Even though the investigators presupposed that multiple lights would be confusing, the group choosing food while exposed to the one signal for calorie count but also the group exposed to indicators for both calories and carbon emissions choose healthier options.  The bonus was that the group also exposed to the environmental signals also chose meals representing fewer carbon emissions.

The traffic light is the ubiquitous signal that governs our behavior both walking and driving.  It turns out that the intuitive nature of this graphic also works at the dining room table.

Magda Osman, Katie Thornton. Traffic light labelling of meals to promote sustainable consumption and healthy eating. Appetite, 2019; 138: 60 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.03.015

#Trafficlight #calories #carbonemissions #dieting #graphics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wGewmy9_u90

A green light over the salad bar and a red light over the burgers and fries triggers healthier and environmentally more responsible food choices.  Experimental psychologists at London’s Queen Mary University set up a lunchtime canteen and studied the choices of over 400 subjects.

They conducted two experiments.  In the first, one group of subjects saw traffic signals over the food reflecting its caloric content and healthfulness.  In the second experiment, two traffic signals were present: one again representing the health rating of the food; the second signal revealed the environmental friendliness and carbon emission quotient of the food.  The control groups saw no lights.

Even though the investigators presupposed that multiple lights would be confusing, the group choosing food while exposed to the one signal for calorie count but also the group exposed to indicators for both calories and carbon emissions choose healthier options.  The bonus was that the group also exposed to the environmental signals also chose meals representing fewer carbon emissions.

The traffic light is the ubiquitous signal that governs our behavior both walking and driving.  It turns out that the intuitive nature of this graphic also works at the dining room table.

Magda Osman, Katie Thornton. Traffic light labelling of meals to promote sustainable consumption and healthy eating. Appetite, 2019; 138: 60 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.03.015

#Trafficlight #calories #carbonemissions #dieting #graphics

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/uttUY1yfe9Q

Playing organized team sports grows the hippocampus, the brain’s emotion and memory center, while reducing the incidence of adult depression.  This is the finding by neuroscientists at the Washington University-St. Louis.  

They studied a nationwide sample over over 4000 children 9 to 11 years of age using questionnaires to determine their participation in sports and their emotional outlook.  Each underwent MRI brain imaging to measure their hippocampal volumes. 

Participation in regular, organized team sports but not casual pickup games or non-sport activities such as music or art triggers hippocampal growth in both boys and girls.  The sports-playing boys but not the girls showed a notably reduced incidence of clinical depression later in life.

The authors caution that this observation is merely an association and not proof of cause and effect.  Even so, it underscores the value of participation in after-school athletics as long as they don’t trigger head injuries.

Lisa S. Gorham, Terry Jernigan, Jim Hudziak, Deanna M. Barch. Involvement in Sports, Hippocampal Volume, and Depressive Symptoms in Children. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.01.011

#Sports #teams #hippocampus #depression #music #art

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rU2V0Knw6ZE

Pregnant women will suffer colds and may get the flu despite receiving the flu vaccines.  When that occurs, the babies they are carrying are more likely to develop excessive neural sensitivity.  That in turn leads to agitation for infants and toddlers and attention deficits and even serious psychosis such as schizophrenia later in life.

A study by University of Colorado pediatricians and psychiatrists reveals that this problem may be prevented by sufficient levels of the essential B vitamin choline.  Choline is necessary for the synthesis of the cell membranes of neurons and the sheaths of nerves.

While choline is found in some foods including eggs, red meat, and liver, 75% of pregnant women fail to consume the recommended daily 450 milligrams of this nutrient.  Unfortunately, prenatal vitamins do not contain choline.

Pregnant women should take a 500 mg choline supplement daily for at least the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.  Choline may be obtained from most drugstores and online.

Robert Freedman, Sharon K. Hunter, Amanda J. Law, Brandie D. Wagner, Angelo D'Alessandro, Uwe Christians, Kathleen Noonan, Anna Wyrwa, M. Camille Hoffman. Higher Gestational Choline Levels in Maternal Infection Are Protective for Infant Brain Development. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.12.010

#Choline #neuropathy #agitation #ADHD #psychosis #schizophrenia #pregnancy

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Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/OxOPYMo9fdk

The knee takes a beating in many athletic contests, and anterior cruciate ligament repair is a frequent operative event in the world of sports medicine.  During recovery, though, there tends to be a loss of muscle mass and bone density despite good rehabilitation therapy.

Orthopedic surgeons at Houston’s Methodist Hospital report to the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine that precise and cyclic limitation of blood flow to the healing limbs during postoperative rehabilitation exercises reduced if not eliminated the loss of both muscle and bone mass.  An automated tourniquet was used to reduce the blood flow by about 80% on an intermittent basis.

Researchers across the country and around the world are now studying this phenomenon to better understand the underlying reasons for the benefit.  If you are contemplating an ACL repair, ask your orthopod about this tourniquet technique.

American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. "Blood flow restriction therapy may protect against bone loss following ACL reconstruction." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 March 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190316162205.htm.

#ACL #anteriorcruciateligament #sportsmedicine #musclewasting #osteoporosis