Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/BdkFM7lAJ7Q

Eating fiber-rich foods and whole grains rather than fast food carbs will prolong your healthy life.  A meta-analysis of 135 million person-years of data, completed in New Zealand, was just published in The Lancet.

The highest consumption of dietary fiber and whole grains led to a 15-30% reduction in deaths from all causes, in the incidence and deaths from heart disease, in the incidence and deaths from stroke, in the incidence of diabetes, and in the incidence of colon cancer.

Most of us eat half of the recommended daily fiber which is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.  Boost your fiber intake by eating: pears; strawberries; avocado; apples; raspberries; and bananas.  For whole grains, you should have at least 48 grams or 3 servings a day that include: oatmeal; popcorn; whole wheat bread, pasta, or crackers; brown rice; quinoa, and barley.

Andrew Reynolds, Jim Mann, John Cummings, Nicola Winter, Evelyn Mete, Lisa Te Morenga.  Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.  The Lancet, Available online 10 January 2019

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31809-9

#fiber #whole grains #heart disease #diabetes #stroke #colon cancer #health news

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/BdkFM7lAJ7Q

Eating fiber-rich foods and whole grains rather than fast food carbs will prolong your healthy life.  A meta-analysis of 135 million person-years of data, completed in New Zealand, was just published in The Lancet.

The highest consumption of dietary fiber and whole grains led to a 15-30% reduction in deaths from all causes, in the incidence and deaths from heart disease, in the incidence and deaths from stroke, in the incidence of diabetes, and in the incidence of colon cancer.

Most of us eat half of the recommended daily fiber which is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.  Boost your fiber intake by eating: pears; strawberries; avocado; apples; raspberries; and bananas.  For whole grains, you should have at least 48 grams or 3 servings a day that include: oatmeal; popcorn; whole wheat bread, pasta, or crackers; brown rice; quinoa, and barley.

Andrew Reynolds, Jim Mann, John Cummings, Nicola Winter, Evelyn Mete, Lisa Te Morenga.  Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.  The Lancet, Available online 10 January 2019

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31809-9

#fiber #whole grains #heart disease #diabetes #stroke #colon cancer #health news

VidCast: https://youtu.be/BfUxLso3b5I

Restricting childrens’ sedentary screen time in favor of more physically active pursuits is the latest weapon in the war against childhood obesity.  New Canadian research just published in the journal BMC Obesity reminds us that parenting practices are key factors in their offsprings’ screen time.

Nearly 40 families with at least one child 18 monthS to 5 years of age were studied.  Parental device use and television viewing during meals as well as the offering of extra screen time as a reward resulted in excessive screen times for the children. 

Kids are sponges, and they quickly see if you follow your own advice.  Get your head out of your phone and offer a good example.  To reward healthy behavior, offer physical activities such as the playground, sports play with you, and healthy treats rather than always suggesting extra screen time and sugary treats.

Lisa Tang, Gerarda Darlington, David W L Ma, Jess Haines. Mothers’ and fathers’ media parenting practices associated with young children’s screen-time: a cross-sectional study. BMC Obesity, 2018; 5 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s40608-018-0214-4

#screen time #parenting #exercise #obesity #healthnews

VidCast: https://youtu.be/BfUxLso3b5I

Restricting childrens’ sedentary screen time in favor of more physically active pursuits is the latest weapon in the war against childhood obesity.  New Canadian research just published in the journal BMC Obesity reminds us that parenting practices are key factors in their offsprings’ screen time.

Nearly 40 families with at least one child 18 monthS to 5 years of age were studied.  Parental device use and television viewing during meals as well as the offering of extra screen time as a reward resulted in excessive screen times for the children. 

Kids are sponges, and they quickly see if you follow your own advice.  Get your head out of your phone and offer a good example.  To reward healthy behavior, offer physical activities such as the playground, sports play with you, and healthy treats rather than always suggesting extra screen time and sugary treats.

Lisa Tang, Gerarda Darlington, David W L Ma, Jess Haines. Mothers’ and fathers’ media parenting practices associated with young children’s screen-time: a cross-sectional study. BMC Obesity, 2018; 5 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s40608-018-0214-4

#screen time #parenting #exercise #obesity #healthnews

VidCast: https://youtu.be/seKiQCg_VEw

Excess abdominal fat, particularly visceral fat around the bowels that creates a pear-shaped belly, can substantially raise your risk of heart disease even more than just being overweight or obese.  A new study published in the journal Neurology now associates pear-shaped bellies with smaller brains.  

The study reviewed over 9600 middle aged people and looked at the association between various weight parameters and brain volumes as determined by MRI imaging.  Those with the smallest volumes of brain gray matter, the so-called thinking tissue, were those overweight with pear-shaped bodies.  Overweight subjects without the expanded mid-sections had less reduction in gray matter compared with those of normal weight.  Reduced gray matter is associated with less cognitive ability and eventually dementia.

These results only show an association, and we don’t yet know if obesity and excess abdominal fat make your brains shrink or if those with small brains are unhealthy eaters.  Whichever the case, it’s smart to eat healthy and maintain normal weight.

Mark Hamer, G. David Batty. Association of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio with brain structure. Neurology, Jan. 9, 2019; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000006879

#overweight #obesity #abdominalfat #pearshapedbody #brainatrophy #healthnews

VidCast: https://youtu.be/seKiQCg_VEw

Excess abdominal fat, particularly visceral fat around the bowels that creates a pear-shaped belly, can substantially raise your risk of heart disease even more than just being overweight or obese.  A new study published in the journal Neurology now associates pear-shaped bellies with smaller brains.  

The study reviewed over 9600 middle aged people and looked at the association between various weight parameters and brain volumes as determined by MRI imaging.  Those with the smallest volumes of brain gray matter, the so-called thinking tissue, were those overweight with pear-shaped bodies.  Overweight subjects without the expanded mid-sections had less reduction in gray matter compared with those of normal weight.  Reduced gray matter is associated with less cognitive ability and eventually dementia.

These results only show an association, and we don’t yet know if obesity and excess abdominal fat make your brains shrink or if those with small brains are unhealthy eaters.  Whichever the case, it’s smart to eat healthy and maintain normal weight.

Mark Hamer, G. David Batty. Association of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio with brain structure. Neurology, Jan. 9, 2019; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000006879

#overweight #obesity #abdominalfat #pearshapedbody #brainatrophy #healthnews

VidCast: https://youtu.be/cdG-7SCuuSk

Women experiencing serious post-menopausal symptoms including hot flashes and flushing are frequently prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  One uncommon but life-threatening risk associated with this therapy is venous thromboembolism, the formation of blood clots in leg or other veins that can travel up into the heart and lungs or beyond.

British epidemiologists studied nearly 6000 women 40 to 79 years of age who had used HRT and compared them to over 21,000 who had not.  The only hormonal drugs not associated with any increased risk of thromboembolism were hormone patches, and with some patches the risk of clots was actually lower than for those women not using HRT.

Women at higher risk for vein clots including those who are older, overweight, immobile, or having a family history of clotting should consider patch rather than oral estrogen therapy.

#hormonereplacementtherapy #HRT #venousthromboembolism #VTE #estrogenpatch #healthnews

Vinogradova Yana, Coupland Carol, Hippisley-Cox Julia. Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of venous thromboembolism: nested case-control studies using the QResearch and CPRD databases BMJ 2019; 364 :k4810 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k4810

VidCast: https://youtu.be/cdG-7SCuuSk

Women experiencing serious post-menopausal symptoms including hot flashes and flushing are frequently prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  One uncommon but life-threatening risk associated with this therapy is venous thromboembolism, the formation of blood clots in leg or other veins that can travel up into the heart and lungs or beyond.

British epidemiologists studied nearly 6000 women 40 to 79 years of age who had used HRT and compared them to over 21,000 who had not.  The only hormonal drugs not associated with any increased risk of thromboembolism were hormone patches, and with some patches the risk of clots was actually lower than for those women not using HRT.

Women at higher risk for vein clots including those who are older, overweight, immobile, or having a family history of clotting should consider patch rather than oral estrogen therapy.

#hormonereplacementtherapy #HRT #venousthromboembolism #VTE #estrogenpatch #healthnews

Vinogradova Yana, Coupland Carol, Hippisley-Cox Julia. Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of venous thromboembolism: nested case-control studies using the QResearch and CPRD databases BMJ 2019; 364 :k4810 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k4810

VidCast: https://youtu.be/BXJr5-3AZ80

Terrifying flashbacks and horrifying visual memories are suffered by those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  German and Swedish researchers now publish data in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that demonstrates suppression of these hallucinations by playing  Tetris.

Their studies showed that 75% of those who played Tetris while experiencing triggers that normally would provoke the flashbacks experienced a 64% reduction in those scary visions.  The investigators explain the effect by proposing that the flashbacks and Tetris compete for the same brain regions.  Apparently Tetris wins.

If you or yours have PTSD, playing Tetris may be a winning strategy whether or not the game is won.

#PTSD #posttraumaticstress #Tetris #healthnews #healthtips

Henrik Kessler, Emily A. Holmes, Simon E. Blackwell, Anna-Christine Schmidt, Johanna M. Schweer, Anna Bücker, Stephan Herpertz, Nikolai Axmacher, Aram Kehyayan. Reducing intrusive memories of trauma using a visuospatial interference intervention with inpatients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2018; 86 (12): 1076 DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000340

VidCast: https://youtu.be/BXJr5-3AZ80

Terrifying flashbacks and horrifying visual memories are suffered by those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  German and Swedish researchers now publish data in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that demonstrates suppression of these hallucinations by playing  Tetris.

Their studies showed that 75% of those who played Tetris while experiencing triggers that normally would provoke the flashbacks experienced a 64% reduction in those scary visions.  The investigators explain the effect by proposing that the flashbacks and Tetris compete for the same brain regions.  Apparently Tetris wins.

If you or yours have PTSD, playing Tetris may be a winning strategy whether or not the game is won.

#PTSD #posttraumaticstress #Tetris #healthnews #healthtips

Henrik Kessler, Emily A. Holmes, Simon E. Blackwell, Anna-Christine Schmidt, Johanna M. Schweer, Anna Bücker, Stephan Herpertz, Nikolai Axmacher, Aram Kehyayan. Reducing intrusive memories of trauma using a visuospatial interference intervention with inpatients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2018; 86 (12): 1076 DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000340