Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/S9WDXawVQMQ

Systemic therapy with estrogens, progesterones, or a combination of both can more than double a post-menopausal woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.  This frightening warning comes from a collaborative study just published in The Lancet.

The research focused on nearly 107,000 postmenopausal breast cancer patients half of whom had received hormonal therapy.  The more hormones a woman receives and the longer she receives them will drive up the risk of cancer from a low of 17% for a 1-4 year course of estrogen alone up to 230% for estrogen-progestin combo therapy taken for 5-14 years.  The only hormonal therapy that did not increase cancer risk was topical vaginal therapy.  

This sobering study is proof positive that menopausal systemic hormonal therapy is dangerous.  Women suffering from severe menopausal symptoms have found significant relief from moisturizing topical agents, counseling, anti-depressants, Vitamin E, and acupuncture.

Raja Dhar et al. Type and timing of menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis of the worldwide epidemiological evidence. The Lancet, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31709-X

https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/AlternativestoPostmenopausalHormones.html

#Menopause #hormonaltherapy #MHT #cancer #breast

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/S9WDXawVQMQ

Systemic therapy with estrogens, progesterones, or a combination of both can more than double a post-menopausal woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.  This frightening warning comes from a collaborative study just published in The Lancet.

The research focused on nearly 107,000 postmenopausal breast cancer patients half of whom had received hormonal therapy.  The more hormones a woman receives and the longer she receives them will drive up the risk of cancer from a low of 17% for a 1-4 year course of estrogen alone up to 230% for estrogen-progestin combo therapy taken for 5-14 years.  The only hormonal therapy that did not increase cancer risk was topical vaginal therapy.  

This sobering study is proof positive that menopausal systemic hormonal therapy is dangerous.  Women suffering from severe menopausal symptoms have found significant relief from moisturizing topical agents, counseling, anti-depressants, Vitamin E, and acupuncture.

Raja Dhar et al. Type and timing of menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis of the worldwide epidemiological evidence. The Lancet, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31709-X

https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/AlternativestoPostmenopausalHormones.html

#Menopause #hormonaltherapy #MHT #cancer #breast

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/JAh9odm_68c

Electric scooters are all the rage, but their use in the US and around the world has fostered an epidemic of injuries.  A study by surgeons at UC-San Diego shows that most scooter disasters occur when their users drink alcohol, use drugs, and fail to wear helmets.

The investigators tabulated eScooter-related admissions to their emergency department over just one year.  The 103 patients with an average age of 37 years were two-thirds male.  Only 2% of them were wearing helmets, half of them were legally drunk, and at least 30% had a positive drug screen.  One-third of the patients admitted went to the operating room for treatment of intracranial bleeding, severe extremity fractures, or facial fractures.  

EScooters provide convenient, alternative transportation, but their use on urban streets requires intense vigilance, a choice of quiet streets, a clear mind, and a helmet-protected brain.

Leslie M Kobayashi, Elliot Williams, Carlos V Brown, Brent J Emigh, Vishal Bansal, Jayraan Badiee, Kyle D Checchi, Edward M Castillo, Jay Doucet. The e-merging e-pidemic of e-scooters. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open, 2019; 4 (1): e000337 DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2019-000337

#Escooters #helmets #fractures #headtrauma

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/JAh9odm_68c

Electric scooters are all the rage, but their use in the US and around the world has fostered an epidemic of injuries.  A study by surgeons at UC-San Diego shows that most scooter disasters occur when their users drink alcohol, use drugs, and fail to wear helmets.

The investigators tabulated eScooter-related admissions to their emergency department over just one year.  The 103 patients with an average age of 37 years were two-thirds male.  Only 2% of them were wearing helmets, half of them were legally drunk, and at least 30% had a positive drug screen.  One-third of the patients admitted went to the operating room for treatment of intracranial bleeding, severe extremity fractures, or facial fractures.  

EScooters provide convenient, alternative transportation, but their use on urban streets requires intense vigilance, a choice of quiet streets, a clear mind, and a helmet-protected brain.

Leslie M Kobayashi, Elliot Williams, Carlos V Brown, Brent J Emigh, Vishal Bansal, Jayraan Badiee, Kyle D Checchi, Edward M Castillo, Jay Doucet. The e-merging e-pidemic of e-scooters. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open, 2019; 4 (1): e000337 DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2019-000337

#Escooters #helmets #fractures #headtrauma

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wbftavTqh_w

Eat nuts, virtually any type of nuts, twice a week, and you’ll cut your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 17%.  That’s the bottom line from an Iranian study just presented to the World Congress of Cardiology.

Nearly 5500 participants 35 years or older who were disease-free at study onset were followed for 12 years.  Their consumption of walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and seeds as well as their incidence of fatal and non-fatal heart disease and stroke were tabulated.

Nuts are a great source of unsaturated, healthy fat, but they also contain lots of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  The recommended nut consumption is 30 grams of unsalted, raw nuts a day, and that’s one-quarter cup.

European Society of Cardiology. "Eating nuts linked with lower risk of fatal heart attack and stroke." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 August 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190831155847.htm

#Nuts #cardiovasculardisease #stroke

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wbftavTqh_w

Eat nuts, virtually any type of nuts, twice a week, and you’ll cut your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 17%.  That’s the bottom line from an Iranian study just presented to the World Congress of Cardiology.

Nearly 5500 participants 35 years or older who were disease-free at study onset were followed for 12 years.  Their consumption of walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and seeds as well as their incidence of fatal and non-fatal heart disease and stroke were tabulated.

Nuts are a great source of unsaturated, healthy fat, but they also contain lots of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  The recommended nut consumption is 30 grams of unsalted, raw nuts a day, and that’s one-quarter cup.

European Society of Cardiology. "Eating nuts linked with lower risk of fatal heart attack and stroke." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 August 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190831155847.htm

#Nuts #cardiovasculardisease #stroke

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/-I3_f7U00RU

The Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage, and Tyson’s Raised and Rooted Chicken Nuggets are all the rage.  Besides the debate about the taste and the genetically-engineered content of these plant-based products compared with the meats they replace, a UK nutritionist sounds the alarm in the British Medical Journal that exclusive use of meatless foods threatens a choline deficiency that could cause brain damage.

Choline is an essential brain-building nutrient that our bodies cannot synthesize in sufficient quantities, and most of us obtain it from meat and fish.  It is necessary for brain health and particularly critical for the developing fetal brain.  The minimum daily intake is 425 mg for women, 550 mg for men, and 450-550 mg for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Pregnant women should avoid plant-based meat and fish fakes in order to maintain a healthy choline intake.  They and those of us who do use the plant-based products can boost our choline intake by eating eggs and other dairy products, nuts, beans, and broccoli.

Emma Derbyshire. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2019; bmjnph-2019-000037 DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000037

#Plantbasedprotein #choline #pregnancy #brain

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/-I3_f7U00RU

The Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage, and Tyson’s Raised and Rooted Chicken Nuggets are all the rage.  Besides the debate about the taste and the genetically-engineered content of these plant-based products compared with the meats they replace, a UK nutritionist sounds the alarm in the British Medical Journal that exclusive use of meatless foods threatens a choline deficiency that could cause brain damage.

Choline is an essential brain-building nutrient that our bodies cannot synthesize in sufficient quantities, and most of us obtain it from meat and fish.  It is necessary for brain health and particularly critical for the developing fetal brain.  The minimum daily intake is 425 mg for women, 550 mg for men, and 450-550 mg for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Pregnant women should avoid plant-based meat and fish fakes in order to maintain a healthy choline intake.  They and those of us who do use the plant-based products can boost our choline intake by eating eggs and other dairy products, nuts, beans, and broccoli.

Emma Derbyshire. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2019; bmjnph-2019-000037 DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000037

#Plantbasedprotein #choline #pregnancy #brain

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/BTotDqF8O1U

Even if your parents suffered a heart attack at a young age, you can avoid that fate.  Lack of exercise, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes are more important than genetic factors when it comes to the early development of cardiovascular disease.  

This conclusion stems from a Portuguese study just presented to the European Society of Cardiology.  The researchers analyzed data from just over 1,000 mostly male patients under the age of 50 half of whom had developed premature coronary artery disease.  The tabulated results showed that 73% of those who did fall ill had at least 3 of the 5 risk factors versus only 31% of the healthy controls.  The probability that a young person will fall victim to heart disease rises even higher by a factor of 3 with the addition of 1 more risk factor, escalates 7 fold with two more factors,, and soars 24 times higher with 3 additional factors.

Since lifestyle factors far outweigh any genetically-controlled family history of early cardiac disease, you have the power to control your destiny by exercising, avoiding smoking and vaping, eating healthy, and controlling your weight.

European Society of Cardiology. "Lifestyle, not genetics, explains most premature heart disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 September 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190902181602.htm

#Lifestyle #genetics #prematureCAD #prematureheartdisease

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/BTotDqF8O1U

Even if your parents suffered a heart attack at a young age, you can avoid that fate.  Lack of exercise, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes are more important than genetic factors when it comes to the early development of cardiovascular disease.  

This conclusion stems from a Portuguese study just presented to the European Society of Cardiology.  The researchers analyzed data from just over 1,000 mostly male patients under the age of 50 half of whom had developed premature coronary artery disease.  The tabulated results showed that 73% of those who did fall ill had at least 3 of the 5 risk factors versus only 31% of the healthy controls.  The probability that a young person will fall victim to heart disease rises even higher by a factor of 3 with the addition of 1 more risk factor, escalates 7 fold with two more factors,, and soars 24 times higher with 3 additional factors.

Since lifestyle factors far outweigh any genetically-controlled family history of early cardiac disease, you have the power to control your destiny by exercising, avoiding smoking and vaping, eating healthy, and controlling your weight.

European Society of Cardiology. "Lifestyle, not genetics, explains most premature heart disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 September 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190902181602.htm

#Lifestyle #genetics #prematureCAD #prematureheartdisease