Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/WmKXvNLFi1Y

One or two hits of cannabis in any form does permanently affect the brain structure of young people.  New studies by University of Vermont psychiatrists looked at brain imaging for 46 teens experiencing cannabis for the first time and compared their brains with those of with non-users.

The data reveals greater gray matter volumes in cannabis-binding zones of the brains in teens who used marijuana only once or twice by age 14.  The differences occur in the emotion-processing amygdala and in the memory processing hippocampus.

The researchers point out the teens’ brains naturally thin during adolescence in a type of pruning or refinement process.  Even a joint or two of marijuana may prevent this vital process from occurring.

The increasing legalization of marijuana means more of us and our kids will have access to it.  Studies like this should make us pause and ask if that’s a good thing.

Catherine Orr, Philip Spechler, Hugh Garavan, etal. Grey Matter Volume Differences Associated with Extremely Low Levels of Cannabis Use in Adolescence. The Journal of Neuroscience, 2019; 3375-17 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3375-17.2018

#cannabis #marijuana #brainchange, teendruguse #emotion #memory #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/WmKXvNLFi1Y

One or two hits of cannabis in any form does permanently affect the brain structure of young people.  New studies by University of Vermont psychiatrists looked at brain imaging for 46 teens experiencing cannabis for the first time and compared their brains with those of with non-users.

The data reveals greater gray matter volumes in cannabis-binding zones of the brains in teens who used marijuana only once or twice by age 14.  The differences occur in the emotion-processing amygdala and in the memory processing hippocampus.

The researchers point out the teens’ brains naturally thin during adolescence in a type of pruning or refinement process.  Even a joint or two of marijuana may prevent this vital process from occurring.

The increasing legalization of marijuana means more of us and our kids will have access to it.  Studies like this should make us pause and ask if that’s a good thing.

Catherine Orr, Philip Spechler, Hugh Garavan, etal. Grey Matter Volume Differences Associated with Extremely Low Levels of Cannabis Use in Adolescence. The Journal of Neuroscience, 2019; 3375-17 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3375-17.2018

#cannabis #marijuana #brainchange, teendruguse #emotion #memory #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/x0ty9N1p3D4

Newborns and infants have very sensitive developing respiratory and gastrointestinal channels.  When parents have brought them to my pediatric ENT office, I found that their breathing issues were usually due to  airway irritation from refluxed feedings and dryness.  These observation became so common, that I began to offer 3 tips to every parent of a newborn or young infant.

1. Never Put Your Baby To Bed With A Full Stomach.

2. Wash Your Baby’s Nasal Cavities with Aerosol Saline After Every Meal.

3. Keep Your Child’s Bedroom At A Comfortable Humidity.

ONE: 

Never put your baby to bed with a full stomach.  Newborns and infants under a year of age have developing and poorly functional esophageal sphincters or gates.  Any fluids or foods in the stomach and the stomach acids they induce will easily back up, reflux, into the upper esophagus, the throat, the nose, and fall down into the airway.  The fluids, food particles, and acids are all irritating to linings and produce swelling and irritation in the throat, nasal linings, voice box, windpipe, and the lungs.  This leads to nasal congestion, coughing, and poor feeding.

It takes 60 to 80 minutes for the stomach to naturally empty, and gravity helps the rate of emptying but also prevents reflux.  You can put your baby in a swing or a carseat during this emptying period.  If the baby falls asleep, you can transfer the child after the stomach is empty.  If in a carseat, it’s fine for the infant to sleep on.

TWO:

Clean your baby’s nasal passages with aerosol saline after every meal.  

Just as esophageal valves are incompletely functional, so too are the throat and nasal valves that keep oral and throat material out of the nose.  Since fluids, food particles, salivary enzymes, and stomach acids back up into the rear nasal passages, cleansing the nose with a puff or two of nasal aerosol spray will clean the surfaces on each side of the nose and prevent lining swelling and often severe nasal congestion.  Nasal saline is available over-the-counter as under the brand names Simply Saline and Little Noses.  All nasal saline is normal saline, and it may be used for children and adults of any age.

THREE:

Keep Your Child’s Bedroom At A Comfortable Humidity.  Room air, particular during the dry winter months or in desert climates, tends to dry out respiratory linings.  Newborns and infants breathe more rapidly than older children and adults and sometimes at twice the rate. This drying prevents their normal function, creates lining swelling, and leads to thick mucus that can harbor growing bacteria.  The ideal relative humidity is between 40 to 50%, and you can check the level with an inexpensive humidity gauge available at the hardware store.  If you have forced hot air heat, you can put a central humidifier on your system, but it must be cleaned regularly to remain safe.  Alternat

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/x0ty9N1p3D4

Newborns and infants have very sensitive developing respiratory and gastrointestinal channels.  When parents have brought them to my pediatric ENT office, I found that their breathing issues were usually due to  airway irritation from refluxed feedings and dryness.  These observation became so common, that I began to offer 3 tips to every parent of a newborn or young infant.

1. Never Put Your Baby To Bed With A Full Stomach.

2. Wash Your Baby’s Nasal Cavities with Aerosol Saline After Every Meal.

3. Keep Your Child’s Bedroom At A Comfortable Humidity.

ONE: 

Never put your baby to bed with a full stomach.  Newborns and infants under a year of age have developing and poorly functional esophageal sphincters or gates.  Any fluids or foods in the stomach and the stomach acids they induce will easily back up, reflux, into the upper esophagus, the throat, the nose, and fall down into the airway.  The fluids, food particles, and acids are all irritating to linings and produce swelling and irritation in the throat, nasal linings, voice box, windpipe, and the lungs.  This leads to nasal congestion, coughing, and poor feeding.

It takes 60 to 80 minutes for the stomach to naturally empty, and gravity helps the rate of emptying but also prevents reflux.  You can put your baby in a swing or a carseat during this emptying period.  If the baby falls asleep, you can transfer the child after the stomach is empty.  If in a carseat, it’s fine for the infant to sleep on.

TWO:

Clean your baby’s nasal passages with aerosol saline after every meal.  

Just as esophageal valves are incompletely functional, so too are the throat and nasal valves that keep oral and throat material out of the nose.  Since fluids, food particles, salivary enzymes, and stomach acids back up into the rear nasal passages, cleansing the nose with a puff or two of nasal aerosol spray will clean the surfaces on each side of the nose and prevent lining swelling and often severe nasal congestion.  Nasal saline is available over-the-counter as under the brand names Simply Saline and Little Noses.  All nasal saline is normal saline, and it may be used for children and adults of any age.

THREE:

Keep Your Child’s Bedroom At A Comfortable Humidity.  Room air, particular during the dry winter months or in desert climates, tends to dry out respiratory linings.  Newborns and infants breathe more rapidly than older children and adults and sometimes at twice the rate. This drying prevents their normal function, creates lining swelling, and leads to thick mucus that can harbor growing bacteria.  The ideal relative humidity is between 40 to 50%, and you can check the level with an inexpensive humidity gauge available at the hardware store.  If you have forced hot air heat, you can put a central humidifier on your system, but it must be cleaned regularly to remain safe.  Alternatively, I recommend the use of a warm air humidifier or vaporizer that safely distills the water and creates water vapor or clouds rather than droplets.  Cold mist humidifiers spew the water into the air as droplets that may contain chemicals, bacteria, mold, and any other contaminants found in your humidifier’s reservoir.

Congratulations on the new baby in your family.  Do these 3 things to keep them healthy and happy….. and out of the ear, nose, and throat specialists’ offices.

#newborns #infantbreathing #gerd #reflux #salineaerosolspray #SimplySaline #LittleNoses #warmhumidifiers #carseats #infantswings

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/50fbFNDy8bE

Repeated miscarriages, that is 3 pregnancy losses in a row each before 20 weeks of gestation, are usually thought to be due to maternal factors including uterine defects, infection, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune disease.  A study from Imperial College, London, now suggests that flawed sperm may also play a key role in some miscarriages.

After analyzing the sperm of 50 men whose partners experienced recurrent miscarriages and compared them with sperm from 60 males whose partners had delivered successfully, the investigators found twice the incidence of DNA damage in the recurrent miscarriage group.  The damage may be done by an excess of reactive oxygen species that, in normal quantities, protect sperm from bacterial infection.

Isolated miscarriage occurs in about 15% of pregnancies, but recurrent miscarriage happens in only 1-2% of pregnancies.  If you are experiencing recurrent miscarriages, be certain that both you and your partner are studied.

#Recurrentmiscarriage #miscarriage #sperm #healthnews #womenshealthcare #radionews

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/50fbFNDy8bE

Repeated miscarriages, that is 3 pregnancy losses in a row each before 20 weeks of gestation, are usually thought to be due to maternal factors including uterine defects, infection, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune disease.  A study from Imperial College, London, now suggests that flawed sperm may also play a key role in some miscarriages.

After analyzing the sperm of 50 men whose partners experienced recurrent miscarriages and compared them with sperm from 60 males whose partners had delivered successfully, the investigators found twice the incidence of DNA damage in the recurrent miscarriage group.  The damage may be done by an excess of reactive oxygen species that, in normal quantities, protect sperm from bacterial infection.

Isolated miscarriage occurs in about 15% of pregnancies, but recurrent miscarriage happens in only 1-2% of pregnancies.  If you are experiencing recurrent miscarriages, be certain that both you and your partner are studied.

#Recurrentmiscarriage #miscarriage #sperm #healthnews #womenshealthcare #radionews

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ANDsWahh5Ow

Metabolic syndrome is a nasty group of problems that might kill you but certainly will make your life miserable.  If you have any 3 of these 5 issues, namely central obesity or a body like a pear, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, high blood triglycerides, or low high density lipoproteins, then you’ve got metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is accompanied by excess body oxidation and it puts you at risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and mental dullness deteriorating into dementia.

Researchers at Oregon State University now show that the type of overeating and fat consumption that triggers metabolic syndrome also causes a body depletion of Vitamin C since less is absorbed.  This critical anti-oxidant works in tandem with another anti-oxidant, Vitamin E, to put a lid on tissue inflammation.  If your Vitamin C levels are low, your Vitamin E stores then begin to drain as your body makes hopeless efforts to prevent oxidative inflammation.  At this point, the sickening consequences of metabolic syndrome begin to appear.

The good news?  You can prevent all this by eating plenty of  vitamin-rich fresh fruits and vegetables that prevent obesity, blood sugar chaos, and lipid problems.  The triad that will prevent metabolic syndrome is ONE - dietary moderation except for fruits and vegetables, TWO - exercise, and THREE - stress elimination. 

If you think that you may have metabolic syndrome, have your doctors check on your levels of Vitamins C and E.  If you are depleted, remember that Vitamin C abounds in citrus fruits and know that Vitamin E is found in almonds and wheat germ.  Nutritional guidelines suggest at least 90 milligrams (mg.) of Vitamin C and 15 milligrams of Vitamin E each day.  Just be aware that vitamin supplements are never a substitute for a balanced diet so eat real food rather than wolfing down pills.

#metabolicsyndrome #diabetes #hypertension #heartattack #stroke #dementia #healthnews #radionews

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ANDsWahh5Ow

Metabolic syndrome is a nasty group of problems that might kill you but certainly will make your life miserable.  If you have any 3 of these 5 issues, namely central obesity or a body like a pear, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, high blood triglycerides, or low high density lipoproteins, then you’ve got metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is accompanied by excess body oxidation and it puts you at risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and mental dullness deteriorating into dementia.

Researchers at Oregon State University now show that the type of overeating and fat consumption that triggers metabolic syndrome also causes a body depletion of Vitamin C since less is absorbed.  This critical anti-oxidant works in tandem with another anti-oxidant, Vitamin E, to put a lid on tissue inflammation.  If your Vitamin C levels are low, your Vitamin E stores then begin to drain as your body makes hopeless efforts to prevent oxidative inflammation.  At this point, the sickening consequences of metabolic syndrome begin to appear.

The good news?  You can prevent all this by eating plenty of  vitamin-rich fresh fruits and vegetables that prevent obesity, blood sugar chaos, and lipid problems.  The triad that will prevent metabolic syndrome is ONE - dietary moderation except for fruits and vegetables, TWO - exercise, and THREE - stress elimination. 

If you think that you may have metabolic syndrome, have your doctors check on your levels of Vitamins C and E.  If you are depleted, remember that Vitamin C abounds in citrus fruits and know that Vitamin E is found in almonds and wheat germ.  Nutritional guidelines suggest at least 90 milligrams (mg.) of Vitamin C and 15 milligrams of Vitamin E each day.  Just be aware that vitamin supplements are never a substitute for a balanced diet so eat real food rather than wolfing down pills.

#metabolicsyndrome #diabetes #hypertension #heartattack #stroke #dementia #healthnews #radionews

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/PGXT-Mn_Dwo

Food scientists at the University of Georgia report that cottonseed oil outperforms olive oil 

in terms of blood lipid normalization during a 5 day trial diet of each.  The scientists studied 15 men using a crossover design study in which each subject followed a diet rich in one oil or the other for 5 days, enjoyed a break, and then followed a diet with the other oil.

When the data was tabulated, those eating the cottonseed oil-rich diet had higher HDL cholesterol values but lower total cholesterols, LDL cholesterols, and triglycerides than when eating the olive oil-rich diet.  It appears that cottonseed oil will be the new oil of choice in your diet.

Kristine R.PolleyaNatalie J.OswellbRonald B.PeggbChad M.PatonabJamie A.Cooper.  

A 5-day high-fat diet rich in cottonseed oil improves cholesterol profiles and triglycerides compared to olive oil in healthy men

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2018.09.001

 #Cottonseedoil #oliveoil #cholesterol #HDL #LDL  #triglycerides

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/PGXT-Mn_Dwo

Food scientists at the University of Georgia report that cottonseed oil outperforms olive oil 

in terms of blood lipid normalization during a 5 day trial diet of each.  The scientists studied 15 men using a crossover design study in which each subject followed a diet rich in one oil or the other for 5 days, enjoyed a break, and then followed a diet with the other oil.

When the data was tabulated, those eating the cottonseed oil-rich diet had higher HDL cholesterol values but lower total cholesterols, LDL cholesterols, and triglycerides than when eating the olive oil-rich diet.  It appears that cottonseed oil will be the new oil of choice in your diet.

Kristine R.PolleyaNatalie J.OswellbRonald B.PeggbChad M.PatonabJamie A.Cooper.  

A 5-day high-fat diet rich in cottonseed oil improves cholesterol profiles and triglycerides compared to olive oil in healthy men

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2018.09.001

 #Cottonseedoil #oliveoil #cholesterol #HDL #LDL  #triglycerides