Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/jYta_STVrhg

I hate to be a nag, but a new study from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital now adds avoiding arthritis to the already long list of reasons to quit smoking or never start. 

The researchers looked at data from nearly a quarter million women participating in the Brigham’s Nurse’s Study and focused in on the nearly 1500 with so-called rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  Compared with non-smokers, smokers were 47% more likely to have developed RA.  The more packs per day that they smoked, the higher the risk.

Smokers with RA who quit for good showed a reduction in arthritis risk after 5 years and a substantial 37% risk reduction by 30 years.   The risk improvement was most notable for those with auto-antibodies, so-called seropositive RA.

Here’s one more reason to avoid smoking.   The more we learn, the longer the list becomes.

#smoking #arthritis #healthnews

Xinyi Liu, Sara K. Tedeschi, Medha Barbhaiya, Cianna L. Leatherwood, Cameron B. Speyer, Bing Lu, Karen H. Costenbader, Elizabeth W. Karlson, Jeffrey A. Sparks. Impact and timing of smoking cessation on reducing risk for rheumatoid arthritis among women in the Nurses’ Health Studies. Arthritis Care & Research, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/acr.23837

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/jYta_STVrhg

I hate to be a nag, but a new study from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital now adds avoiding arthritis to the already long list of reasons to quit smoking or never start. 

The researchers looked at data from nearly a quarter million women participating in the Brigham’s Nurse’s Study and focused in on the nearly 1500 with so-called rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  Compared with non-smokers, smokers were 47% more likely to have developed RA.  The more packs per day that they smoked, the higher the risk.

Smokers with RA who quit for good showed a reduction in arthritis risk after 5 years and a substantial 37% risk reduction by 30 years.   The risk improvement was most notable for those with auto-antibodies, so-called seropositive RA.

Here’s one more reason to avoid smoking.   The more we learn, the longer the list becomes.

#smoking #arthritis #healthnews

Xinyi Liu, Sara K. Tedeschi, Medha Barbhaiya, Cianna L. Leatherwood, Cameron B. Speyer, Bing Lu, Karen H. Costenbader, Elizabeth W. Karlson, Jeffrey A. Sparks. Impact and timing of smoking cessation on reducing risk for rheumatoid arthritis among women in the Nurses’ Health Studies. Arthritis Care & Research, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/acr.23837

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/j39J8Pg4EgQ

Your soap or toothpaste, touted to be fortified with antibacterial powers, will ironically arm any bacteria entering your body to resist commonly prescribed antibiotics.  

A new study from Washington University-St. Louis shows that the triclosan added to toothpaste, mouthwash, cosmetics, clothing, baby toys, and even plastic cards in hopes of reducing bacteria growth actually protects the bugs from dying after exposure to common antibiotics like ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin.  Worse yet, triclosan hangs around in the body for long periods of time.

The FDA warned against adding triclosan to soap two years ago, but it’s still being added to other products.  This is yet another reason for you to carefully read product labels.  

Avoid buying any product containing triclosan.  You’ll find a long list on beyondpesticides.org.

#triclosan #cosmetics #toothpaste #antibiotic #healthnews

Corey Westfall, Ana Lidia Flores-Mireles, John Isaac Robinson, Aaron J.L. Lynch, Scott Hultgren, Jeffrey P. Henderson, Petra Anne Levin. The widely used antimicrobial triclosan induces high levels of antibiotic tolerance in vitro and reduces antibiotic efficacy up to 100-fold in vivo. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2019; DOI: 10.1128/AAC.02312-18

https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/antibacterials/triclosan/products-containing-triclosan

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/j39J8Pg4EgQ

Your soap or toothpaste, touted to be fortified with antibacterial powers, will ironically arm any bacteria entering your body to resist commonly prescribed antibiotics.  

A new study from Washington University-St. Louis shows that the triclosan added to toothpaste, mouthwash, cosmetics, clothing, baby toys, and even plastic cards in hopes of reducing bacteria growth actually protects the bugs from dying after exposure to common antibiotics like ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin.  Worse yet, triclosan hangs around in the body for long periods of time.

The FDA warned against adding triclosan to soap two years ago, but it’s still being added to other products.  This is yet another reason for you to carefully read product labels.  

Avoid buying any product containing triclosan.  You’ll find a long list on beyondpesticides.org.

#triclosan #cosmetics #toothpaste #antibiotic #healthnews

Corey Westfall, Ana Lidia Flores-Mireles, John Isaac Robinson, Aaron J.L. Lynch, Scott Hultgren, Jeffrey P. Henderson, Petra Anne Levin. The widely used antimicrobial triclosan induces high levels of antibiotic tolerance in vitro and reduces antibiotic efficacy up to 100-fold in vivo. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2019; DOI: 10.1128/AAC.02312-18

https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/antibacterials/triclosan/products-containing-triclosan

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/QbvCjKTHBag

Here’s another reason for you to put down that salt shaker.  Immunologists at the Technical University of Munich report that higher concentrations of sodium chloride, better known as table salt, turbocharges T cells increasing their production of the inflammatory mediators interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 and helping them go rogue.

Such rogue T-cells are at the heart of atopic dermatitis, a common allergy-mediated skin condition.  It turns out that atopic dermatitis is also associated with a 30 fold higher concentration of skin salt compared with that in normal skin.  The extra salt turns out to be doubly unhealthy as it not only triggers T-cell overactivity but also growth of that nasty bacterium Staph aureus.

There is plenty of natural salt in the food we eat so don’t pile on more.  If you want more flavor, use seasonings and spices that won’t throw your bodies machinery out of whack.

#salt #Tcells #atopicdermatitis #healthnews

J. Matthias el al., "Sodium is an ionic checkpoint for human TH2 cells and shapes the atopic skin microenvironment," Science Translational Medicine (2019). stm.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/ … scitranslmed.aau0683

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/QbvCjKTHBag

Here’s another reason for you to put down that salt shaker.  Immunologists at the Technical University of Munich report that higher concentrations of sodium chloride, better known as table salt, turbocharges T cells increasing their production of the inflammatory mediators interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 and helping them go rogue.

Such rogue T-cells are at the heart of atopic dermatitis, a common allergy-mediated skin condition.  It turns out that atopic dermatitis is also associated with a 30 fold higher concentration of skin salt compared with that in normal skin.  The extra salt turns out to be doubly unhealthy as it not only triggers T-cell overactivity but also growth of that nasty bacterium Staph aureus.

There is plenty of natural salt in the food we eat so don’t pile on more.  If you want more flavor, use seasonings and spices that won’t throw your bodies machinery out of whack.

#salt #Tcells #atopicdermatitis #healthnews

J. Matthias el al., "Sodium is an ionic checkpoint for human TH2 cells and shapes the atopic skin microenvironment," Science Translational Medicine (2019). stm.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/ … scitranslmed.aau0683

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/nuCPMtRIhI4

Johns Hopkins investigators, surveying US consumer behaviors, reports that more than half of those questioned had key misconceptions about the date labeling found on food.  As a result, US Agriculture Department estimates nearly one-third of food is wasted at the retail and consumer levels.

The latest standards for food labeling use the term “Best if used by” to indicate the date after which food’s quality and taste may decline.  In contrast, the term “Use by” is the date after which it is unsafe to consume the food.

The Hopkins study also reveals how likely people are to respond to the date warnings.  Nearly 70% of respondents tossed raw chicken on time, a little over 60% discarded deli meats or prepared foods, and only 49% dumped soft cheese.  

These stats are worrisome since deli meats and soft cheeses have a high risk of bacterial contamination with listeria as they sit in the fridge.  On the other hand, raw chicken will be safe even after the expiration date if you thoroughly cook it.

Food poisoning can be devastating for even healthy adults.  If it occurs in children or older adults, it may be deadly.

#foodsafety #expirationdates #foodlabeling #delineat #softcheese #healthnews

Roni A. Neff, Marie Spiker, Christina Rice, Alexandra Schklair, Sally Greenberg, Emily Broad Leib. Misunderstood food date labels and reported food discards: A survey of U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors. Waste Management, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.01.023

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/nuCPMtRIhI4

Johns Hopkins investigators, surveying US consumer behaviors, reports that more than half of those questioned had key misconceptions about the date labeling found on food.  As a result, US Agriculture Department estimates nearly one-third of food is wasted at the retail and consumer levels.

The latest standards for food labeling use the term “Best if used by” to indicate the date after which food’s quality and taste may decline.  In contrast, the term “Use by” is the date after which it is unsafe to consume the food.

The Hopkins study also reveals how likely people are to respond to the date warnings.  Nearly 70% of respondents tossed raw chicken on time, a little over 60% discarded deli meats or prepared foods, and only 49% dumped soft cheese.  

These stats are worrisome since deli meats and soft cheeses have a high risk of bacterial contamination with listeria as they sit in the fridge.  On the other hand, raw chicken will be safe even after the expiration date if you thoroughly cook it.

Food poisoning can be devastating for even healthy adults.  If it occurs in children or older adults, it may be deadly.

#foodsafety #expirationdates #foodlabeling #delineat #softcheese #healthnews

Roni A. Neff, Marie Spiker, Christina Rice, Alexandra Schklair, Sally Greenberg, Emily Broad Leib. Misunderstood food date labels and reported food discards: A survey of U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors. Waste Management, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.01.023

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/TsI8ZjCiebU

Our cells, like our homes, fill up with garbage very fast.  The latest research from Harvard Medical School reveals that vigorous exercise and even some fasting will help our cells with their housekeeping duties of removing damaged, toxic, and unnecessary proteins.

Previous studies have shown that the signal for flushing your cells is the messenger molecule cyclic-AMP.  This new discovery that exercise triggers the dumping junk proteins from the cell is almost certainly explained by that fact that exercise bumps up your adrenalin and that, in turn, triggers a burst of cyclic-AMP.

Since cell garbage plays a key role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as storage diseases like amyloidosis, it may well be that prevention of these dread diseases can be added to the list of exercise’s benefits.

#exercise #cellcleansing #cAMP #Alzheimers #Parkinsons #healthnews

Jordan J. S. VerPlank, Sudarsanareddy Lokireddy, Jinghui Zhao, Alfred L. Goldberg. 26S Proteasomes are rapidly activated by diverse hormones and physiological states that raise cAMP and cause Rpn6 phosphorylation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201809254 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1809254116

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/TsI8ZjCiebU

Our cells, like our homes, fill up with garbage very fast.  The latest research from Harvard Medical School reveals that vigorous exercise and even some fasting will help our cells with their housekeeping duties of removing damaged, toxic, and unnecessary proteins.

Previous studies have shown that the signal for flushing your cells is the messenger molecule cyclic-AMP.  This new discovery that exercise triggers the dumping junk proteins from the cell is almost certainly explained by that fact that exercise bumps up your adrenalin and that, in turn, triggers a burst of cyclic-AMP.

Since cell garbage plays a key role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as storage diseases like amyloidosis, it may well be that prevention of these dread diseases can be added to the list of exercise’s benefits.

#exercise #cellcleansing #cAMP #Alzheimers #Parkinsons #healthnews

Jordan J. S. VerPlank, Sudarsanareddy Lokireddy, Jinghui Zhao, Alfred L. Goldberg. 26S Proteasomes are rapidly activated by diverse hormones and physiological states that raise cAMP and cause Rpn6 phosphorylation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201809254 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1809254116