Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/6YdaC5YgAuQ

Raw dog food is becoming quite the rage.  A study just published in the British Medical Journal’s Veterinary Record reveals that raw dog food from 10 different sources contains dangerous levels of E.coli and other fecal bacteria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Clostridia.

Raw pet food is prepared from miscellaneous body parts and organs that are a byproduct of slaughtering cattle, chickens, sheep, turkeys, pigs, ducks, salmon, and even reindeer.  The raw meat is not heat treated or freeze-dried to kill bacterial contaminants but rather only packaged and fresh frozen.  This type of simple freezing fails to kill many bacteria.

The bacteria in these products can easily pass to you and to your children.  If you choose to feed it to your poor dog and risk making the animal sick, keep the raw dog food frozen until just before using it, keep it far away from your own food,, and handle it with separate kitchen equipment while you wear gloves.

If you really want to give your doggie a treat, cut that oversized slice of beef your are about to consume in a restaurant and save it for Rover.  Both of you will be healthier.

Josefin Hellgren, Lovisa Staaf Hästö, Camilla Wikström, Lise-Lotte Fernström, Ingrid Hansson. Occurrence of Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium and Enterobacteriaceae in raw meat-based diets for dogs. Veterinary Record, 2019; vetrec-2018-105199 DOI: 10.1136/vr.105199

#Rawmeat #Ecoli #fecalcontaminants #salmonella #campylobacter #clostridia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rLcHzGnCbCw

Want to boost your long distance running performance in only 4 days?  Get yourself on the Mediterranean Diet says investigators from St. Louis University.

They studied 11 male and female 5K runners giving each 4 days of the Mediterranean Diet or 4 days of the typical Western Diet before they ran the 5K on a treadmill.  Consuming the Mediterranean Diet with its fruits, veggies, nuts, olive oil and whole grains pumped the runners performance up by a consistent 6 percent compared with their times after consuming the Western Diet’s red meats, processed meats, dairy, refined sugar, and fats.  

The researchers attribute the performance boost to the Mediterranean Diet’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  Just be aware that these advantages are quickly lost after stopping the diet.

If you want top performance from your body in so many challenging situations, not just in running, eat the fruits and vegetables that your body craves and treat the offerings of the typical Western diet as special treats or desserts.

Michelle E. Baker, Kristen N. DeCesare, Abby Johnson, Kathleen S. Kress, Cynthia L. Inman, Edward P. Weiss. Short-Term Mediterranean Diet Improves Endurance Exercise Performance: A Randomized-Sequence Crossover Trial. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2019.1568322

#MediterraneanDiet #WesternDiet 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/6YdaC5YgAuQ

Raw dog food is becoming quite the rage.  A study just published in the British Medical Journal’s Veterinary Record reveals that raw dog food from 10 different sources contains dangerous levels of E.coli and other fecal bacteria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Clostridia.

Raw pet food is prepared from miscellaneous body parts and organs that are a byproduct of slaughtering cattle, chickens, sheep, turkeys, pigs, ducks, salmon, and even reindeer.  The raw meat is not heat treated or freeze-dried to kill bacterial contaminants but rather only packaged and fresh frozen.  This type of simple freezing fails to kill many bacteria.

The bacteria in these products can easily pass to you and to your children.  If you choose to feed it to your poor dog and risk making the animal sick, keep the raw dog food frozen until just before using it, keep it far away from your own food,, and handle it with separate kitchen equipment while you wear gloves.

If you really want to give your doggie a treat, cut that oversized slice of beef your are about to consume in a restaurant and save it for Rover.  Both of you will be healthier.

Josefin Hellgren, Lovisa Staaf Hästö, Camilla Wikström, Lise-Lotte Fernström, Ingrid Hansson. Occurrence of Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium and Enterobacteriaceae in raw meat-based diets for dogs. Veterinary Record, 2019; vetrec-2018-105199 DOI: 10.1136/vr.105199

#Rawmeat #Ecoli #fecalcontaminants #salmonella #campylobacter #clostridia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rLcHzGnCbCw

Want to boost your long distance running performance in only 4 days?  Get yourself on the Mediterranean Diet says investigators from St. Louis University.

They studied 11 male and female 5K runners giving each 4 days of the Mediterranean Diet or 4 days of the typical Western Diet before they ran the 5K on a treadmill.  Consuming the Mediterranean Diet with its fruits, veggies, nuts, olive oil and whole grains pumped the runners performance up by a consistent 6 percent compared with their times after consuming the Western Diet’s red meats, processed meats, dairy, refined sugar, and fats.  

The researchers attribute the performance boost to the Mediterranean Diet’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  Just be aware that these advantages are quickly lost after stopping the diet.

If you want top performance from your body in so many challenging situations, not just in running, eat the fruits and vegetables that your body craves and treat the offerings of the typical Western diet as special treats or desserts.

Michelle E. Baker, Kristen N. DeCesare, Abby Johnson, Kathleen S. Kress, Cynthia L. Inman, Edward P. Weiss. Short-Term Mediterranean Diet Improves Endurance Exercise Performance: A Randomized-Sequence Crossover Trial. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2019.1568322

#MediterraneanDiet #WesternDiet 

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/Krls1Vigp3E

Using popular mouthwashes may cause your blood pressure to jump up significantly.  Dentists and cardiologists at the University of Texas report that the antibacterial agent in mouthwash, chlorhexidine, prevents the normal oral bacteria from metabolizing ingested nitrates into the nitric oxide that plays a key role in normalizing blood pressure.

The investigators recruited subjects from the faculty, staff, and student populations in order to study their oral bacteria, oral nitrites, and blood pressures before, during, and after their use of mouthwash.  The subjects used Peridex mouthwash twice daily for 7 days.

Use of the mouthwash and tongue cleaning significantly elevated both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressures as it depressed counts of oral bacteria and the concentration of nitric oxide.  Parameters returned to baseline 3 days following mouthwash discontinuation.

This study is an additional reason why so-called therapeutic mouthwashes containing anti-bacterial agents should be avoided except on the express recommendation of your dentist or periodontist.

Tribble GD, Angelov N, Weltman R, Wang B-Y, Eswaran SV, Gay IC, Parthasarathy K, Dao D-HV, Richardson KN, Ismail NM, Sharina IG, Hyde ER, Ajami NJ, Petrosino JF and Bryan NS (2019) Frequency of Tongue Cleaning Impacts the Human Tongue Microbiome Composition and Enterosalivary Circulation of Nitrate. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 9:39. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00039

#mouthwash #chlorhexidine #nitric oxide #hypertension

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/SL6hU7sJnWQ

Listen up men.  Two chemicals that can damage your sperm and your ability to father a normal child are lurking in and around your home.   A study just published by England’s University of Nottingham shows that the plasticizer DEHP and the industrial chemical PCB153 both reduce the motility and increase the level of DNA damage of sperm exposed to them in the test tube.

DEHP is found in carpets, linoleum flooring, upholstery, clothing, and even children’s toys.  Although PCB use was banned in the US more than 40 years ago, these chemicals degrade so slowly that they remain in many structures and in the soil on which we all walk and play.

Male fertility is on the decline, and sperm samples from around the world demonstrate a 50% reduction in quality over the past 80 years.  If you are trying to father a child, avoid drinking from plastic containers or wearing plastic clogs that contain the organic compounds DEHP, PCBs, or BPAs.   To maintain your reproductive health, drink from glass or aluminum containers and wear leather sandals.  See that your kids do the same.

Rebecca N. Sumner, Mathew Tomlinson, Jim Craigon, Gary C. W. England, Richard G. Lea. Independent and combined effects of diethylhexyl phthalate and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 on sperm quality in the human and dog. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39913-9

#DEHP #PCB #sperm #fertility #plastic #clogs

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/Krls1Vigp3E

Using popular mouthwashes may cause your blood pressure to jump up significantly.  Dentists and cardiologists at the University of Texas report that the antibacterial agent in mouthwash, chlorhexidine, prevents the normal oral bacteria from metabolizing ingested nitrates into the nitric oxide that plays a key role in normalizing blood pressure.

The investigators recruited subjects from the faculty, staff, and student populations in order to study their oral bacteria, oral nitrites, and blood pressures before, during, and after their use of mouthwash.  The subjects used Peridex mouthwash twice daily for 7 days.

Use of the mouthwash and tongue cleaning significantly elevated both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressures as it depressed counts of oral bacteria and the concentration of nitric oxide.  Parameters returned to baseline 3 days following mouthwash discontinuation.

This study is an additional reason why so-called therapeutic mouthwashes containing anti-bacterial agents should be avoided except on the express recommendation of your dentist or periodontist.

Tribble GD, Angelov N, Weltman R, Wang B-Y, Eswaran SV, Gay IC, Parthasarathy K, Dao D-HV, Richardson KN, Ismail NM, Sharina IG, Hyde ER, Ajami NJ, Petrosino JF and Bryan NS (2019) Frequency of Tongue Cleaning Impacts the Human Tongue Microbiome Composition and Enterosalivary Circulation of Nitrate. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 9:39. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00039

#mouthwash #chlorhexidine #nitric oxide #hypertension

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/SL6hU7sJnWQ

Listen up men.  Two chemicals that can damage your sperm and your ability to father a normal child are lurking in and around your home.   A study just published by England’s University of Nottingham shows that the plasticizer DEHP and the industrial chemical PCB153 both reduce the motility and increase the level of DNA damage of sperm exposed to them in the test tube.

DEHP is found in carpets, linoleum flooring, upholstery, clothing, and even children’s toys.  Although PCB use was banned in the US more than 40 years ago, these chemicals degrade so slowly that they remain in many structures and in the soil on which we all walk and play.

Male fertility is on the decline, and sperm samples from around the world demonstrate a 50% reduction in quality over the past 80 years.  If you are trying to father a child, avoid drinking from plastic containers or wearing plastic clogs that contain the organic compounds DEHP, PCBs, or BPAs.   To maintain your reproductive health, drink from glass or aluminum containers and wear leather sandals.  See that your kids do the same.

Rebecca N. Sumner, Mathew Tomlinson, Jim Craigon, Gary C. W. England, Richard G. Lea. Independent and combined effects of diethylhexyl phthalate and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 on sperm quality in the human and dog. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39913-9

#DEHP #PCB #sperm #fertility #plastic #clogs

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/6Gp35HxNfKI

If you burn your candle at both ends during the week and think that you can catch up on sleep over the weekend, think again!  A study from the University of Colorado shows that you won’t catch up on sleep and that your irregular sleep pattern will torpedo your glucose metabolism and internal time clock.

The study assigned health young adults to one of three groups: a group with only 5 hours of sleep at night with no weekend catch-up; a group with only 5 hours of sleep for 5 nights followed by the chance to snooze forever on the weekend; and a control group who slept 9 hours each night.  The researchers studied the subjects’ sleep patterns via sleep studies, their weight gain, insulin sensitivity, and body circadian rhythms.

The results revealed that the sleep-deprived group only recaptured a little more than one hour of the more than 12 hours of lost sleep when they were able to sleep in over the weekend.  Of even more importance, they could never recapture all the lost critical deep or slow wave sleep.  They gained more weight than the well-rested group and suffered reduced insulin sensitivity, a risk factor for diabetes.

So..... to avoid flogging your body, try to get 8 or 9 hours of sleep a day on a regular basis.  Those weekend hours on the couch won’t repay your sleep debt, and they rob your loved ones of your sterling presence.

Christopher M. Depner, Edward L. Melanson, Robert H. Eckel, Janet K. Snell-Bergeon, Leigh Perreault, Bryan C. Bergman, Janine A. Higgins, Molly K. Guerin, Ellen R. Stothard, Sarah J. Morton, Kenneth P. Wright. Ad libitum Weekend Recovery Sleep Fails to Prevent Metabolic Dysregulation during a Repeating Pattern of Insufficient Sleep and Weekend Recovery Sleep. Current Biology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.069

#sleepdeprivation #weekendsleep #insulinsensitivity #deepsleep

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/_DFUFfgGHsc

If a parent constantly corrects an infant, that child’s brain becomes more sensitive to angry vocalizations.  Investigators at Britain’s University of Manchester studied 40 six month old infants and their mothers utilizing the novel neuroimaging technique of Near Infrared Spectroscopy.  This permits the study of a baby’s brain activation by maternal vocalizations without the noise of MRI.

Infants as young as 6 months can differentiate happy and unhappy vocal rhythms.  The researchers found that those babies whose mothers repeatedly corrected them developed nerve networks that preferentially respond to angry vocalizations.

This study underscores the exquisite sensitivity of infant humans.  Parents need to monitor their own and each other’s interactions with their children and realize how much their behavior imprints their offspring in both negative as well as positive ways.  

Good parenting is creating a safe, happy environment for your child by constructing boundaries in a playful and positive manner.

Chen Zhao, Georgia Chronaki, Ingo Schiessl, Ming Wai Wan, Kathryn M. Abel. Is infant neural sensitivity to vocal emotion associated with mother-infant relational experience? PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (2): e0212205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212205

#anger #parentalcorrections #happy #helicopterparenting