Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/wG0PHbEeh70

Eyeing that 10 layer chocolate cake or mile high apple pie before you select your main and side dishes will help you make a  more nutritious choice.  So says a study from the University of Arizona’s marketing department just published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology:Applied.

Dining subjects  were presented with either a luscious lemon cheesecake or fresh fruit as a dessert choice at the beginning or at the end of a cafeteria line.  For the meal, they could chose healthy by selecting grilled chicken fajitas with a side salad or unhealthy by picking fried fish and chips.

When the diners put the cheesecake versus the fresh fruit dessert on their trays before selecting the remainder of their meal, they were twice as likely to pick the healthy entree and actually consumed 30% fewer calories.  There were similar findings in a test of online ordering for home delivery.

The researchers also observed that diners with alot on their minds by being challenged with a memory test, a so-called “cognitive load,” made poorer food choices.  They selected the high cal, high fat foods as well as the mega cal cake.

The next time you eat out or order in, check out that tantalizing dessert display before you order.  To relax yourself and clear your mind, have that small glass of wine.

#dessert #cake #fruit #healthyeating #healthnews

David Flores, Martin Reimann, Raquel Castaño, Alberto Lopez. If I indulge first, I will eat less overall: The unexpected interaction effect of indulgence and presentation order on consumption.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/xap0000210

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/wG0PHbEeh70

Eyeing that 10 layer chocolate cake or mile high apple pie before you select your main and side dishes will help you make a  more nutritious choice.  So says a study from the University of Arizona’s marketing department just published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology:Applied.

Dining subjects  were presented with either a luscious lemon cheesecake or fresh fruit as a dessert choice at the beginning or at the end of a cafeteria line.  For the meal, they could chose healthy by selecting grilled chicken fajitas with a side salad or unhealthy by picking fried fish and chips.

When the diners put the cheesecake versus the fresh fruit dessert on their trays before selecting the remainder of their meal, they were twice as likely to pick the healthy entree and actually consumed 30% fewer calories.  There were similar findings in a test of online ordering for home delivery.

The researchers also observed that diners with alot on their minds by being challenged with a memory test, a so-called “cognitive load,” made poorer food choices.  They selected the high cal, high fat foods as well as the mega cal cake.

The next time you eat out or order in, check out that tantalizing dessert display before you order.  To relax yourself and clear your mind, have that small glass of wine.

#dessert #cake #fruit #healthyeating #healthnews

David Flores, Martin Reimann, Raquel Castaño, Alberto Lopez. If I indulge first, I will eat less overall: The unexpected interaction effect of indulgence and presentation order on consumption.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/xap0000210

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/DMRmeoFeVUg

We know all about the dangers of second-hand smoke, those clouds of toxic fumes emanating from cigarettes, cigars, and pipe bowls.  Now a study from the University of Cincinatti and the Cincinatti Children’s Hospital hone in on the vapors that waft up from those yellow stains on walls, ceilings, carpets, upholstery and, yes, the fingers of smokers themselves.  We call these third hand smoke.

The investigators measured the levels of nicotine on the hands of children exposed to these 3rd hand sources but not to parental smoking directly, and these children had the same levels of nicotine as an indirect measure of all toxic chemicals as those kids directly exposed to cigarette smoke.

Also know that these poisonous chemicals accumulate.  The children under 2 years had average hand nicotine levels of 69 ng, and that figure shot up 2.5 times by age 4 years.  The nicotine levels detected were a function of the number of cigarettes smoked by their parents and caregivers.  Even more disturbing was the finding that those with higher nicotine levels suffered from more respiratory symptoms including cough and wheezing.

Don’t smoke in your home even if your children aren’t present.  Better yet, kick the habit entirely if you love your kids.  If you have been smoking indoors, give your walls and furnishings a thorough cleaning in an honest attempt to exorcise cigarette nicotine and tars..

#thirdhandsmoke #secondhandsmoke #nicotine #tar #cigarettestain #health news

E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, Ashley L Merianos, Eunha Hoh, Penelope JE Quintana, Georg E Matt. Nicotine on Children’s Hands: Limited Protection of Smoking Bans and Initial Clinical Findings. Tobacco Use Insights, 2019; 12: 1179173X1882349 DOI: 10.1177/1179173X18823493

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/DMRmeoFeVUg

We know all about the dangers of second-hand smoke, those clouds of toxic fumes emanating from cigarettes, cigars, and pipe bowls.  Now a study from the University of Cincinatti and the Cincinatti Children’s Hospital hone in on the vapors that waft up from those yellow stains on walls, ceilings, carpets, upholstery and, yes, the fingers of smokers themselves.  We call these third hand smoke.

The investigators measured the levels of nicotine on the hands of children exposed to these 3rd hand sources but not to parental smoking directly, and these children had the same levels of nicotine as an indirect measure of all toxic chemicals as those kids directly exposed to cigarette smoke.

Also know that these poisonous chemicals accumulate.  The children under 2 years had average hand nicotine levels of 69 ng, and that figure shot up 2.5 times by age 4 years.  The nicotine levels detected were a function of the number of cigarettes smoked by their parents and caregivers.  Even more disturbing was the finding that those with higher nicotine levels suffered from more respiratory symptoms including cough and wheezing.

Don’t smoke in your home even if your children aren’t present.  Better yet, kick the habit entirely if you love your kids.  If you have been smoking indoors, give your walls and furnishings a thorough cleaning in an honest attempt to exorcise cigarette nicotine and tars..

#thirdhandsmoke #secondhandsmoke #nicotine #tar #cigarettestain #health news

E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, Ashley L Merianos, Eunha Hoh, Penelope JE Quintana, Georg E Matt. Nicotine on Children’s Hands: Limited Protection of Smoking Bans and Initial Clinical Findings. Tobacco Use Insights, 2019; 12: 1179173X1882349 DOI: 10.1177/1179173X18823493

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/fM3zWSu7ZAA

Alcohol abuse is rampant in teens and young adults, and hospitals are reporting an epidemic of premature chronic liver disease and failure in millenials.  A new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics now shows that binge drinking prevents development of normal connections in the developing brain’s amygdala.  That’s the region of the brain responsible for emotion, fever, and anxiety.

The Chicago research group studied the brains of drinkers who began binge drinking before they reached 21 years.  They compared them to drinkers who started after 21 and to non-drinkers.  All subjects died in their mid to late fifties.  

The early onset drinkers had a 30 to 40% deficit of the molecule BDNF in their amygdalas, and without this chemical normal brain connections fail to form leading to increased anxiety and then  likely to more drinking through life.

With each new study, we learn how important health behaviors during our childhood, teen, and young adult years are for the function of our bodies and minds throughout the remainder of our lives.  Like any successful journey, preparation, forethought, and discipline help to guarantee a smooth voyage.

#alcohol #teendrinking #bingedrinking #brain #amygdala, healthnews.

John Peyton Bohnsack, Tara Teppen, Evan J. Kyzar, Svetlana Dzitoyeva, Subhash C. Pandey. The lncRNA BDNF-AS is an epigenetic regulator in the human amygdala in early onset alcohol use disorders. Translational Psychiatry, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0367-z

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/fM3zWSu7ZAA

Alcohol abuse is rampant in teens and young adults, and hospitals are reporting an epidemic of premature chronic liver disease and failure in millenials.  A new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics now shows that binge drinking prevents development of normal connections in the developing brain’s amygdala.  That’s the region of the brain responsible for emotion, fever, and anxiety.

The Chicago research group studied the brains of drinkers who began binge drinking before they reached 21 years.  They compared them to drinkers who started after 21 and to non-drinkers.  All subjects died in their mid to late fifties.  

The early onset drinkers had a 30 to 40% deficit of the molecule BDNF in their amygdalas, and without this chemical normal brain connections fail to form leading to increased anxiety and then  likely to more drinking through life.

With each new study, we learn how important health behaviors during our childhood, teen, and young adult years are for the function of our bodies and minds throughout the remainder of our lives.  Like any successful journey, preparation, forethought, and discipline help to guarantee a smooth voyage.

#alcohol #teendrinking #bingedrinking #brain #amygdala, healthnews.

John Peyton Bohnsack, Tara Teppen, Evan J. Kyzar, Svetlana Dzitoyeva, Subhash C. Pandey. The lncRNA BDNF-AS is an epigenetic regulator in the human amygdala in early onset alcohol use disorders. Translational Psychiatry, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0367-z

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/0CezKXdha_o

Electronic cigarette use is on the upswing, and their makers trumpet the latest studies showing that e-cigs help current tobacco smokers kick the habit.  In actuality, as older smokers quit more teens use e-cigs and move on to the nasty and dangerous habit that is tobacco cigarette smoking.

Besides the addicting nicotine, the e-cigs vaporize and spew a raft of of chemicals into the lungs including heavy metals, propylene glycol or anti-freeze, and formaldehyde.  The latest study from Harvard’s School of Public Health focuses on the toxicity of the chemicals used for flavoring the vapors.

Those ingredients are diacetyl and pentandione, and they create a buttery aroma.  You’ve definitely smelled it at the movie theater, and repeatedly inhaling the vapor leads to chronic irreversible lung damage and a disease appropriately named “popcorn lung.”

The Harvard team conclusively showed that these flavoring chemicals interfere with the genes that control development of normally functioning human ciliated respiratory lining cells growing in tissue culture.  This confirms findings in previous animal experiments where exposure to vaporized flavoring chemicals produced significant airway lining cell injuries.

Vaping, like tobacco smoking, is hazardous to your health.  E-cigarettes should not be marketed to children and they should be avoided by people of any age.

#e-cigarette #vaping #flavoredvapors #popcornlung #diacetyl #pentadione #ciliatedlinings #healthnews

Hae-Ryung Park, Michael O’Sullivan, Jose Vallarino, etal.  Transcriptomic response of primary human airway epithelial cells to flavoring chemicals in electronic cigarettes.  Scientific Reports.  Volume 9, Article number: 1400 (2019) 

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/0CezKXdha_o

Electronic cigarette use is on the upswing, and their makers trumpet the latest studies showing that e-cigs help current tobacco smokers kick the habit.  In actuality, as older smokers quit more teens use e-cigs and move on to the nasty and dangerous habit that is tobacco cigarette smoking.

Besides the addicting nicotine, the e-cigs vaporize and spew a raft of of chemicals into the lungs including heavy metals, propylene glycol or anti-freeze, and formaldehyde.  The latest study from Harvard’s School of Public Health focuses on the toxicity of the chemicals used for flavoring the vapors.

Those ingredients are diacetyl and pentandione, and they create a buttery aroma.  You’ve definitely smelled it at the movie theater, and repeatedly inhaling the vapor leads to chronic irreversible lung damage and a disease appropriately named “popcorn lung.”

The Harvard team conclusively showed that these flavoring chemicals interfere with the genes that control development of normally functioning human ciliated respiratory lining cells growing in tissue culture.  This confirms findings in previous animal experiments where exposure to vaporized flavoring chemicals produced significant airway lining cell injuries.

Vaping, like tobacco smoking, is hazardous to your health.  E-cigarettes should not be marketed to children and they should be avoided by people of any age.

#e-cigarette #vaping #flavoredvapors #popcornlung #diacetyl #pentadione #ciliatedlinings #healthnews

Hae-Ryung Park, Michael O’Sullivan, Jose Vallarino, etal.  Transcriptomic response of primary human airway epithelial cells to flavoring chemicals in electronic cigarettes.  Scientific Reports.  Volume 9, Article number: 1400 (2019) 

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/VyMYFtxNodM

First we had tennis elbow, more recently football CTE dementia, and now we have golfer’s wrenched back.  The latest study in the Joural of Neurosurgery:Spine sounds an alarm for golfers to ease up on their swings a bit.

Over the past 40 years, competitive pressure has driven the golf swing to become more and more powerful.  Golfers now seek strength training to turbocharge their swings, but they should also be seeking defensive coaching to prevent their swings from crippling them.

During a powerful downswing, dangerous compressive forces target the spinal discs and verterbal joints.  Since a golfer swings those clubs more than 300 times during an average round, repeated micro trauma to spine structures leads to repetitive traumatic discopathy or RTD, likely the injury suffered by Tiger Woods.

If you golf, do seek a professional analysis of your swing.  With proper training, you can play low handicap golf without breaking your back by developing RTD.

#golf #discopathy #spinal disc #ruptured disc #twist injury #health news #health tips

Walker CT, Uribe JS, Porter RW. Golf: a contact sport. Repetitive traumatic discopathy may be the driver of early lumbar degeneration in modern-era golfers. J Neurosurg Spine, 2019

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/VyMYFtxNodM

First we had tennis elbow, more recently football CTE dementia, and now we have golfer’s wrenched back.  The latest study in the Joural of Neurosurgery:Spine sounds an alarm for golfers to ease up on their swings a bit.

Over the past 40 years, competitive pressure has driven the golf swing to become more and more powerful.  Golfers now seek strength training to turbocharge their swings, but they should also be seeking defensive coaching to prevent their swings from crippling them.

During a powerful downswing, dangerous compressive forces target the spinal discs and verterbal joints.  Since a golfer swings those clubs more than 300 times during an average round, repeated micro trauma to spine structures leads to repetitive traumatic discopathy or RTD, likely the injury suffered by Tiger Woods.

If you golf, do seek a professional analysis of your swing.  With proper training, you can play low handicap golf without breaking your back by developing RTD.

#golf #discopathy #spinal disc #ruptured disc #twist injury #health news #health tips

Walker CT, Uribe JS, Porter RW. Golf: a contact sport. Repetitive traumatic discopathy may be the driver of early lumbar degeneration in modern-era golfers. J Neurosurg Spine, 2019